The Black Man

I just got finished watching a video clip of some teens eluding the police while driving recklessly, endangering lives on their joy ride. What got me thinking and upset was the response of the cops after the teens were finally caught. From what I could tell from the video they were not handcuffed, even if they were it doesn't matter. The police offers were actually calmly standing next to the perpetrator(s) having a conversation with them. They inquired were they hurt, why they did this and other foolywang. Not to my surprise these teenagers belonged to the privileged class in this society...meaning they were White.

From all the videos I've seen in the news where Blacks were being pursued by cops, never have I ever seen a police officer have a normal and sincere conversation with them. I am by no means saying the Blacks didn't break the law but I'm simply making it aware that the law works differently depending on the color of your skin. When Blacks and Hispanics are engaged in criminal acts they are automatically seen as dangerous and cops shoot first ask questions later. It's no secret that minorities have been injured and killed for less than eluding the police and reckless driving like these White teens from Howell.

What comes to mind are stories where a Black man was killed for just reaching in his pocket because the cops thought his wallet/ID/whatever was a gun or pulling a Black man out of his car and holding him to the ground with a knee in his neck because he fits "the description" of a wanted criminal. In a society that is based on racism and racial discrimination it is evident that the law does not work in my or any Black man's favor.

The sad thing is that many of us really do try to do well and dispel the stereotypes set upon us but when you are constantly told that you are worthless then is it any wonder that the Black man is in his current situation?Is it any wonder they are more likely to be sitting in a prison or grave because it is easier to find shelter in a jail cell than in the real world or find a gun and drugs than to obtain a job?

And even when the Black man has "made it" people have preconceived notions of his past, present and future. I've seen the visage change on a person when I tell them I attend UofM on the Ann Arbor campus because behind their pupils they quietly (sometimes not so quietly) assume I'm only there because of affirmative action or some sports scholarship. Or in the corporate world they assume you are only there to fill some quota because it could never be a possibility that you are actually qualified for the job.

Don't get me wrong there are good people out there who don't place these stigmas on Black men nor do they exercise discriminatory practices against them but unfortunately it doesn't take an individual or two but a movement to excite change.

I have a love-hate relationship with America...however most of the time I feel myself despising her. :)