On Lacking the Words
I don't know how one goes on posting about sale hauls or fun events in Baltimore without recognizing that none of those posts, no matter how charming or interesting they might be, mean less than nothing in a society that allows this to happen.
Since I can't really write you a thesis on my thoughts, fears, or guilt given social media restrictions at my workplace, let me just say this: institutionalized racism has been the subject of a number of sociological and criminological studies. It's well-established that the death penalty is applied disproportionately to minorities compared to whites who have committed the same crime. Does this mean that some judges and juries are being racist on purpose? No. Does this mean that subtle racism may be creeping into these decisions about crime and punishment in such an insiduous way that we don't realize the decisions we make are being informed by race? Sure, that's possible. And when you look at the statistics regarding the death penalty, at least, that's what you see: individuals who believe they are making fair decisions, but the sum total effect of these individual decisions show a disparity explainable by little else other than race. That's what institutionalized racism means in a nutshell. Good people making case-by-case decisions that seem justifiable in isolation, but together show a racial disparity.
It's difficult to grasp the full meaning and effect of the events precipitating the "Black Lives Matter" movement if you are white. I face this problem daily. I read a quote somewhere to the effect of, "White privilege means looking at the case of Michael Brown and Eric Garner and being outraged instead of absolutely terrified." That hits the nail on the head for me. I can think of only one time in my life when I had a negative interaction with a police officer; every other time I've seen a cop, the feeling I've felt has been one of safety or relief as opposed to terror or anxiety. I have a great respect for police officers and am generally inclined to trust a police officer's word more than a civilian's. I'm not sure how many of my readers feel the same. It's difficult --- but vitally important --- to recognize that this perception of law enforcement is largely, if not completely, informed by my race and social background. Because of those factors, my interactions with police growing up and as an adult were more likely to be positive than negative.
Without understanding this, it's impossible to understand the importance of the protests, regardless of the individual facts of the case. As with the death penalty, if a white man and black man commit the same crime, and have the same mitigating/aggravating circumstances, but only the black man gets the death penalty, we clearly have a problem. If a white man and black man have the same negative interaction with a police officer, but the black man is x times more likely to be shot, killed, choked, beaten...
Again, I am not casting blame on the individual officers who were subjects of grand jury investigations. I didn't sit in the grand jury; I didn't see the evidence and argument presented. I would be surprised if the officers in question did what they did because of overt racism. Rather, could race have played a subtle role in the officers' decision-making processes that ultimately lead to unnecessary violence and death? That doesn't make all police officers evil racists. That doesn't make police officers bad people. Rather, these events highlight the need for all of us to be vigilantly attuned to our own stereotypes and how those subtlely inform our instinctual decisions.
Thanks for humoring me here. I didn't see a way to go on with my comparatively trite blogging about my life without recognizing that we are in the midst of one of the defining issues of our decade, if not our generation. Typing the words "Sale Haul" in the title line felt wrong without at least acknowledging, in my own small way, the more important issues.
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