“We are Black People and We Shouldn’t Have to Feel Like This”

[yuiyoshida]

A 9-year-old girl’s tearful speech has gone viral after she spoke out from her home town of Charlotte, North Carolina, against police brutality.

Zianna Oliphant bravely stood before the city council meeting on Monday to share her personal feelings concerning the death of Keith Lamont Scott and other black Americans at the hands of police.

I feel like that we are treated differently than other people. I don’t like how we’re treated. Just because of our color doesn’t mean anything to me.”

Oliphant tried to be strong as she shared her thoughts, but when she talked about her fears of losing her own life, she broke into sobs.

The girl continued,

http://trofire.com/2016/09/28/black-people-shouldnt-feel-like-childs-tearful-speech-must-see/

[loyalsister]

1. Must see indeed

for all white people who keep denying this reality. She is NINE years old and fears for her life in an allegedly civilized country.
We (especially those of us who are white) should be ashamed because we continue to benefit (as in, our 9 year olds do not fear death) disproportionately without challenging the power structures that give us these advantages.
Thanks for posting this reality needs to be broadcast far and wide.

[yuiyoshida]

2. kind of shocked there is little response to this

What's up with that?

[loyalsister]

3. I'm not

It's hard to see. With all of the denials and defensiveness lately, I think a lot of people might be exhausted and afraid to look. I also have some more pessimistic thoughts, but will avoid them.

[yuiyoshida]

4. I don't know what the excuses are...

but it sure looks bad to me.

[loyalsister]

7. In some cases I think it may also be distressing

It should be required viewing with this country's current state. In many conversation I have been having about racial strife, I have been trying to point out that these tragedies are inflicted upon entire families and neighborhoods to no avail.

[yuiyoshida]

8. I give up...

I am logging off. Its stuff like this that should be out and front, and in people's faces. There should be comments. There should be discussion. This is very disappointing.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

11. You didn't make the only thread(s) about it.

Here's another one, and I saw at least one other thread created yesterday too.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141582729

[Buckeye_Democrat]

6. There's another thread about it.

I feel terrible for that little girl!

I also hope that her family didn't put her up to it. When I was that age and my Mom didn't like certain people in our neighborhood (it was never racial), I didn't question her judgement at all.

I'm also reminded of discussing a CNN special about race (aired a few years ago) with an African American co-worker. It showed little African American children pointing to the white dolls being the "good ones" and such, and that broke my heart. The special also brought up how white families rarely discuss skin color (true for my family) and how AA families discuss it frequently, often warning their children about being mistreated. I expressed regret that little children are being told such things at an early age, and my co-worker said he'd never done such a thing with his little kids. Then he said, "I just taught them very early to never trust the dirty cops! They learned that before kindergarten!" He made that comment years before before BLM became a movement.

[loyalsister]

12. If you have talked to any families or children of color recently

you would know that kids see the news. Even young ones talk about it with each other. African American families absolutely have to talk about skin color because their kids ask. They ask because white kids ask "why is your hair like that?" "Can I touch it?" "Why is your skin so dark?" "Do you know if any of your family were slaves?"
They absolutely have to explain why the other kids see them as different.

This country assume black children are delinquent early on. When they evaluate kids for developmental disabilities, black children are more likely to receive a diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder rather than autism and the window for early intervention passes.

Thus teachers expect delinquency and the kids are sent into the school to prison pipeline. Those discussions start early out of survival.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

18. That makes sense.

My older brothers were friends with Cris Carter's (NFL Hall-of-Famer) family years ago, Well, not so much Cris because he was so young, but his older brothers Butch and George. I was too young to remember them before they moved away with their mother. My brothers say that Cris was a fat butterball as a preschooler, but they were amazed that he could still put a basketball in the hoop (10' up) at that early age. My parents had a small basketball court as part of the driveway back then.

I think it was the Carter kids who would stroke my Dad's thick arm hair in amazement. He just laughed about it. That's an example of touching and being curious too.

The CNN special that showed YOUNG black children pointing to white dolls as the "good" dolls was the most sad part for me. Feeling endangered is also something they shouldn't have to deal with!

[loyalsister]

19. White is good is deeply embedded in our system and culture

As is, men are good, straight is good, etc. The implicit bias testing is really interesting and surprises most people who take it- including myself. I found it instructive, though.

If you haven't done it, you can take it here...

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html

[Buckeye_Democrat]

20. I already took it.

At least I took the skin color test awhile back after watching a PBS show about race.

It indicated that I had a slight bias in favor of white people.

For shits and giggles a few weeks later, I later identified myself as African American (lying) and took it again. It then indicated that I had a slight bias in favor of dark skinned people!

[loyalsister]

23. Most people work around it the second time around

when it is no longer measuring unconscious bias.

[Foggyhill]

28. Good grief, is the US really like that?

I live in Montreal, and although not everything's peachy for blacks around here
(there is some subtle profiling and discrimination),
integration between various races and ethnic groups seems a lot better.

I live in massively multi-ethnic neighborhood, there are about 15% children of haitian descent at our grade school, 5% from subsaharan African, 10% from South East Asia, 10% from the Magreb, 15% from East Asia, 5% from the middle east, 15% from Latin America and finally 25% French Canadian.

And that's in the province of Quebec, which is a lot less multi-ethnic than Ontario or British Columbia.

In Toronto, 50% of the population is foreign born! That tells you how massive Canadian immigration is compared to the US.

We get 250K immigrants a year, a lot more compared to pop than any country except Australia.

My two next door neighbors are of Haitian ancestry; one I'm very close to.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

31. Canada didn't have widespread slavery in the past, right?

Exploitation and mistreatment can leave wounds and biases that last for generations.

EDIT:
Will Ireland and the UK ever become one nation? I doubt it.

[Foggyhill]

32. Doesn't explain the treatment the better treatment of visible minorities in general

Until 1776 we were essentially the same country.

Slavery explains some, but not all the differences between Canada and the US.

I think the myth of the melting pot vs multiculturalism is the biggest difference.

In Canada, not everyone is asked to "melt" into the mass.
Keeping a strong cultural identity is not seen as aggressing anyone.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

34. That might be part of it.

Long-time segregation could play a role too. The many Amish that live near me don't seem to experience many problems around the city, though, and they keep themselves segregated. On the other hand, there was also no history of Amish enslavement in this country.

Bitterness can last for generations. I've seen the anger in towns that had coal mined by exploited Irish immigrants too. Bias can last for generations as well.

EDIT: And the countries weren't the same prior to 1776. I looked up African slavery in Canada a little while ago, and it only numbered in the hundreds there.

[psychmommy]

21. This little girl is living through things i hope you never have to experience.

Her parents didn't have to put her up to this. She is feeling and seeing the hurt in her family, her neighborhood and friends. I worry about the men in my life. They are in danger and she feels that same danger. There is a sense of dread, waiting for the next hammer to drop. I worry about my daughter all of the time. For people like you to begin to feel empathy for people like me, it will have to touch your own family or neighborhood.

Its like an adaptation to that poem:
First they came for the civil liberties of Blacks and I did not speak out-Because I am not black
Then they came for the civil liberties of Hispanics and I did not speak out-Because I am not hispanic
Then they came for the civil liberties of all ethnic minorities and I did not speak out-because I am not an ethnic minority
Then they came for the civil liberties of the LGBTQ community and I did not speak out-Because I am not LGBTQ
Then they came for the civil liberties of the Disabled and I did not speak out-Because I am not disabled
Then they came for my civil liberties and there was no one left to speak for me.

This is but 1 black child in a city full of pain. This is just 1 city in a country full of cities in pain.

You may see these deaths of black men as isolated incidences but we see it cumulatively.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

25. I indeed wouldn't want to feel that way.

I acknowledge that African Americans have it harder in this country and they have reasons to feel endangered.

I haven't had an easy life, but it's probably a safe bet that it would be even harder if I was black.

I was assaulted by rednecks at a nearby "biker bar" that I briefly visited out of curiosity. One of the patrons approached me, telling me that he'd never seen me before, and then went into a racist anti-Obama tirade. I could tell he was dangerous and mostly stayed quiet except for a few statements like, "Well, I think it's more complicated than that." He glared at me me as he walked away. When I departed the place, I was apparently clobbered in the back of the head with a pipe which knocked me out, and then the attackers proceeded to punch me in the face (I'm guessing) because I needed several stitches.

All of my money was taken from my pants pocket. Cops showed up later, while I was still unconscious in the parking lot, and I was transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance. I awoke while getting stitches.

I walked home seven miles when I was released in the morning. The hospital was in the middle of a mostly black neighborhood, and they just made remarks like, "Sheeeeit!" when they saw me walking by and covered in dried blood. I didn't ask anyone for help, though, and at least I didn't get assaulted by them too!

Here's the kicker...
After I finally made it home and called my boss to tell him why I missed work and then passed out in my bed for several hours (still extremely dizzy), I looked up the local court online to see if there was a police report or arrest that would identify my attacker. I instead found my name as a defendant! I was charged with disorderly conduct because the police walked into the bar and asked what happened to me, and they were told that I went outside and hurt myself!

If not for looking up court records online, I wouldn't have even known about my scheduled court appearance! I told the judge what actually happened. She asked me if I'd been drinking. I told her that I was in a bar and so I indeed drank some beer. I was convicted for public intoxication instead. Smh.

I wasn't killed, obviously, so I can say that I haven't experienced that yet.

[mopinko]

5. and there you have it people.

it's as simple as that.

[Coolest Ranger]

9. She echos

what a lot of us in the black community have been feeling for years. Children can have a powerful impact. So what now? You going o make excuses and tell this poor little girl to shut up? That's what I see on this site all the time and I'm sick of it

[loyalsister]

15. I keep seeing it too

The only way those of us who are white are going to begin to comprehend is to listen without judgement, without defensiveness, and without denial. I keep getting frustrated because there is so much and I have been told that those subtle forms can be the hardest to combat. I won't give up, though.

[trusty elf]

10. heartbreaking

[Spitfire of ATJ]

13. A child of the 21st century shouldn't go through this.

[bighart]

14. So sad to see

I can't help but think of this song by Garth Brooks:

We Shall Be Free

When the last child cries for a crust of bread
When the last man dies for just words that he said
When there's shelter over the poorest head
We shall be free

When the last thing we notice is the color of skin
And the first thing we look for is the beauty within
When the skies and the oceans are clean again
Then we shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud
'Cause we shall be free

When we're free to love anyone we choose
When this world's big enough for all different views
When we all can worship from our own kind of pew
Then we shall be free
We shall be free

We shall be free
Have a little faith
Hold out
'Cause we shall be free

And when money talks for the very last time
And nobody walks a step behind
When there's only one race and that's mankind
Then we shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith, hold out
We shall be free all Be Free

[loyalsister]

16. And I can't get this verse out of my head

Is it a gun?
Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet?
This is your life.

Reality is brutal, as was learning that those are the rules. Knowing that truth is one thing, knowing that kids learn it so young should have us all in the street non-stop. None of us should put up with that fact of life handed down by white supremacy.

[Coolest Ranger]

30. I don't feel free

I'm sorry but I can't go online and express my opinion without some racist person coming on and telling me I don't know what I'm talking about. When its in plain site.

I see the victim's character getting attacked all the time. I've had it and I'M ANGRY

[LeftishBrit]

17. So sad.

[tblue37]

22. I can't finish watching until I get home. She is making me cry, and I have

more students coming for conferences in a few minutes.

I will say, though, that she has impressive poise and a strong speaking voice. I can see her becoming a leader in 10 or 12 years.

[blm]

26. Blue state DUers - send GOTV dollars to NC Dem party. The fight there is SO real.

I have seen this child and her family at some of our Moral Monday protests against McCrory.

Please help us to change this state for the better.

http://www.ncdp.org

[barbtries]

36. i don't know who runs that website

but when i click it tells me they have my information, but it's wrong even though i've changed it before, and, eh. but don't worry, i'm blue in the red state of NC myself! it'll happen even if it's not through actblue.

[yallerdawg]

27. MSNBC Host empathized with Keith Scott’s wife

I caught this when Chris Jansing said it, and it was another eye-opener about black life in America.

http://egbertowillies.com/2016/09/23/chris-jansing-charlotte-keith-scott/

“I’ll tell you what struck me,” Chris Jansing said. “The difference between how I would have I think reacted — although we never really know — as a white woman in America as opposed to a black woman in America. I probably frankly would have been screaming. I would have been charging at the scene. She is very careful. And in fact at one point makes it very clear after the shooting, ‘I am not coming to you.’ They tell her to stay back, and she makes it clear she is not going to do that. It just shows you that if you are African American in America, you react a certain way to police. And I found it chilling."

Trymaine Lee replied to Jansing’s commentary with the African America and people of color reality. He made it clear that the realization while new to a lot of white people is the lived experience of everyone of color in America.

“The reality is that black folk in America,” Trymaine Lee said. “We clearly understand that so often is literally hanging by a thread. One false move could end up in death. As this woman is emerging from her home and says he has a TBI, he just took his medication, don’t shoot him. And in moments, her husband of twenty something years is dead. That’s what resonates in communities all across the country when you are black and when you are dealing with law enforcement.”

[uponit7771]

29. Yes, that hit me like a brick... something a different perspective would show yuo

[DustyJoe]

33. Childrens tears

No child in any civilized country on this planet should ever have to have these fears and feelings.
It is a time for barbies, slumber parties and grandparents warm laps at bedtime story time.
How things change.

[barbtries]

35. i put this on my fb

can't watch it again right now because i can already feel the tears welling up.

[LWolf]

37. I saw that on FB yesterday.

I cried with her.

[Mr Dixon]

38. SAD

This has always been the case POC especially us men folk understand that we are hunted since the 1st slave ship arrived. Sometimes the young folks need to be reminded that the police are not your friends, the entertainment industry paints a different picture of law enforcement as if they fair and peace loving, then reality hits when your confronted by real cops and the opposite is true.

[Blue_Tires]

39. k+r

[madokie]

40. Tears my heart right out of my chest

We as a country can do better. We must fix this

[blm]

41. we're working to fix NC….the state is NOT what McCrory and GOP turned it into.

http://www.ncdp.org

[radiclib]

42. As if this isn't sad enough, take a look at the comments

...if you have the stomach. Apparently we are a nation of monsters.

[yuiyoshida]

43. Those postings are Vomit inducing

HOW THE FUCK CAN PEOPLE HATE so fucking much? These are all probably Trump worthy White Supremacists who would put a gun to her head, to put her out of her misery. Gahhh.. what Disgusting vile creatures, who don't have a humane bone in their bodies.

Some day they may need blood, after an accident, and wouldn't it be great if they found out the blood donor was African American? What will they do? Rip their arms off their bodies?

[smirkymonkey]

44. Oh my god, that is just heartbreaking.

How can anyone see that little girl and not have compassion?

This country just makes me sick sometimes.