Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t we been told over and over that black Americans are scared of cops?
I’m pretty certain that I’ve heard one politician after another, one activist after another, one “community leader” after another, tell us that black people spend every day in fear that today will be the day that a police officer will walk up to them and shoot them – just because they’re black.
I’ve heard that black parents have to have “the talk” with their kids. No, not the talk about sex and life consequences. No, I mean “the talk” about how to act if a cop approaches them. You know, so the cop might decide not to kill them for being black.
In fact, Lebron James just barfed out a statement about “black fear” right HERE.
Normally, when I detect bullshit, I call bullshit. But I’m going to restrain myself here, and ask a question instead.
If black people across America are scared that cops will simply shoot them because of their color, then why do they stand in the calling cops names during protests? Why am I still watching videos out of Portland showing black rioters blatantly targeting innocent people for assault and robbery? Don’t they know that all it takes is one cop to show up, and the shooting is going to start? The cops don’t need any excuse to shoot them – that’s what we’re told. So why are they doing it?
Watch the Jacob Blake video again. Forget what you’re seeing from Blake. Look to the left. I count THREE adult black women standing there yelling at the cops. They stand there even while the cops have their guns out! I thought they were scared of the cops. Could it be that they are SO afraid of cops that all they can do is stand, frozen in fear, and yell at the cops with guns literally aimed in their general direction? Or, could it be that they know full well that the cops are focused only on the guy causing the problems?
Once the shooting stops, I hear a woman close by screaming at the cops, demanding to know why they shot Blake “so many times.” Is this the behavior of someone who is afraid?
Call me crazy, but if I’m unarmed, and someone produces a gun and points it in my direction, and I’m convinced that they will shoot me…I run, and/or take cover. Maybe that’s just because I’m a dumb white guy. Maybe I’ve been doing it wrong all this time.
I know that because of my white privilege, I’m not supposed to question anything about how another group of people does things. But I’ve seen people who were genuinely afraid that they were about to die, and they did not act the way I’ve been seeing these people in the streets acting who claim to be afraid of cops.
Your thoughts?
Brian Whiddon is a 15 year police veteran and author of BLUE LIVES MATTER – The Heart Behind The Badge. It is available from his publisher Booklocker.com, Amazon, and wherever books are sold.
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