Black Worries. America.

[bigtree]

Last edited Thu Apr 9, 2015, 10:46 PM - Edit history (1)

deray mckesson ‏@deray 10m10 minutes ago
worry. blackness.

[giftedgirl77]

1. Truth...

Every time my boy's walk out the door.

[wendylaroux]

3. No words..

[giftedgirl77]

4. ...

[RealityAdvocate]

2. It is so scary for persons of color.

POCs, especially young males, die violently at such a disproportionate level. Shootings are so common in the community. It is tragic and so many of our leaders are silent. Sure they come out for the high profile brutality cases a few times a year, but are inexplicably absent for the thousands of POCs murdered by others in our community.

[1StrongBlackMan]

6. The other day ...

A long time DUer, upset (apparently) by my questions the rahm/chuy election results, and what it means for the "spout a 'progressive' message and 'they will come' " narrative, asked what I have done to put my life on the line ... the post got hidden before I could respond; but, my first thought was: "watch the news, a $$hole ... I'm a Black man living in America. I put my life on the line every time I take a damn breath."

[1StrongBlackMan]

8. Wow an auto-remove in a race thread ...

In the GD! It must have been a doozy.

Did anyone see it? PM me. I'm in a mood.

[bigtree]

9. I have 54 years in...

It's strange how unafraid I was in my youth. When I consider how I gave police numerous opportunities to waste me and never once considered how my provoking them might end my life right then and there...Today, I'm hands on the wheel, cooperative, non-confrontational, really just a cowed and intimidated wreck when a police car does so much as pull up behind me. For shitsakes, as teens we used to call them out of boredom just make them chase us. One night one of them fired a shot - in the air? Now I'm not so sure. Now I'm not only thinking how lucky I was to have escaped with my life, I'm also recalling all of the DWB stops, and how defiant and confrontational I was, and thinking I must have been out of my mind. One crack on the head with a billy club during a smoke-in in front of the WH...I can't even imagine being that defiant now. That must be the point in all of the brutality and summary executions. It just never phased me until recently. I wonder if there's any worry curve at all for young folks today?

[1StrongBlackMan]

10. My Fraternity is planning a Law Enforcement Engagement session ...

We are bringing together African-American law enforcement officers to talk with the group of (primarily) African-American youth we mentor.

The purpose/message: "Your object of every police encounter is to get home safely (alive)."

[bigtree]

11. smart and necessary

...though, what I'm waiting for are community engagement sessions for law enforcement officers with the purpose/message: "Our black (youths') lives matter.'

[qwlauren35]

12. Youth will be youth.

Like Emmett Till looking the wrong way at a white woman. He was probably warned and it probably didn't sink in. He was a good looking young man, she may have looked at him first!

Our young people are going to engage in risky behavior, and we can warn them, but we can't always stop them. They are young, as you once were, and it is in their nature.

What we MUST do is try to make the world a little safer for them to come into adulthood and outgrow the craziness of youth.

In our white-centered world, white youths do a lot of f***ed up things and get away with it. Maybe it's wrong to suggest that if it's just non-violent petty stuff, cops should look the other way if a black youth does something wrong, but at least apply the law evenly.

[bigtree]

13. that's my thought, as well

...too much focus on conditioning us to accept an over-reactive police state. Where's the expectation that they respect lives and exercise restraint? We certainly see many instances where non-black misconduct is addressed by law enforcement officers with restraint and non-lethal force, if any force at all. Conversely, there are far too many instances where mere blackness is regarded as a weapon and confronted with deadly force when there's no apparent threat to the officer or the public at all.