Hi … I’m a black man.
In case you haven’t heard, there is some interesting news relating to my kind and the police. Seemed like a fitting time for me to talk about my story.
I was born in the 80’s and grew up in the 90’s, with my formative years spent in the DC area. The majority in Prince George’s County, known at the time for it’s high rate of police initiated shootings & deaths. Personally, had no issues with the police, because I avoided them with every ounce of my being.
It wasn’t until recently I finally realized something about myself.
I have always been terrified of the police.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re giving me side eye. You’re saying “yeah … of course”.
It wasn’t until I approached 30s where my whole world was rocked as I learned the following fact when I moved outside the DMV to sunny California.
Most people in America trust and depend on the police.
I mean like “I love the police for keeping me safe”. I’m talking “I feel better when a cop is around me” and “I ask the police for help” type of trust.
Maybe obvious to most, not to me.
For me, I KNEW talking to the police could get you shot. I KNEW a traffic stop could result in my death. I KNEW calling the police wouldn’t absolve me from dying by the police. It was their job to shoot people, especially while black. It was as much a fact of life as the sky being blue. I knew it was bad for black people, but I assumed everyone hated the police.
I learned to walk … then I learned to not walk near the police.
So, when the #BlackLivesMatter campaign started and deaths at the hands of police officers were coming to light, I’ll be honest … I wasn’t that mad.
How could I be? It was like being mad at a skunk for stinking or at a baby for crying.
In my world, police killing people like me was natural. I had been given a lifetime of warnings from my Caribbean parents not to talk to them, give them any trouble, or reach for sh*t. They would shoot me.
I supported #BlackLivesMatter, but it was just a new slogan to an old problem. I didn’t feel the same outrage as others did. I couldn’t focus my energy on this new problem, because it wasn’t a new problem … it was life. I remember (shamefully) watching one video and thinking “Why did he run? Doesn’t he know he’s gonna get shot?!”
And that … that is the problem.
Why have I instantly been banished from this public service? Why is this “protection” force I pay for in taxes not accessible to me? Why must I fear a traffic stop the same way I fear an armed robbery?
Maybe I’m the only one who was mad they weren’t mad. Maybe it came naturally to me. Maybe my natural avoidance of the police over the last 30+ years made me feel like I wasn’t personally affected.
But things are different. We have a black president (literally a joke as a kid … remember Head of State). The progress we’ve made is incredible (unfinished, but good as sh*). I can’t, won’t, and shouldn’t accept the same terms my parents came to America on.
This isn’t just a problem for those who have died or will die at the hands of unnecessary police force. This is being forced to live in fear of the people you pay to protect you. This is an unfair denial of service by everyone with a dark skin tone. This is wrong.
For many of you, you don’t need to hear another reason to be outraged. But, my hope is if there is another person who was internally wrestling with how to respond, this helps you understand why this affects us all. We deserve police officers who protect and serve us too.
– SBM aka Woke
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Thankfully gun crime isn’t as high in the UK as it is in the US, but even still I find myself explaining to a few of my white colleagues that #BLACKLIVESMATTER != Not all lives matter.
Anyway i’m not going to rant. good post.
….and yet OP still sounds like a whiny bitch
Reality check: No one “fears” you. Stop making excuses & everything a race issue. World doesn’t revolve around you, blackie. Get used to it.
not black but my parents too created a fear of the police in me when i was younger. they also told me that i had to speak respectfully to a police officer when I was hailed by them or had to talk to them. i’ve seen others who did not act respectful or acted too arrogantly get their asses kicked (most deservedly i might add).
i was always told that they would charge me with random crimes if i talked to them. it took me several years to get over my fear of talking to the police. once i got over and started conversing with them like any other normal person, i found most of them were far better than one could imagine. some were ornery but it might have had something to do with the fact that their job is a thankless job with bad shifts and less opportunity to spend time with their own families.
imagine that – spending christmas night patrolling the roads instead of spending time with your wife and kids! totally unfair! the pressure gets to you and you start looking at the worst in the best people with best intentions. when someone is running, you have to assume the worst – that they stole something, or murdered someone etc. can’t just see it and leave it.
very hard life for them, something we would never understand. i believe people in general should introspect by creating positive relationships with the police from a young age. parents must introduce their kids to the police as people who protect you as long as you are good. it is not difficult to find decent policemen to talk to, in order to acclimatise children to trusting them and listen to what they say. abusing the police or running from them when called (or in general) is the worst thing anyone can do.
Thank you for sharing informative and valuable information.