06/02/2020
I’m a generic-looking white guy. Low-end of average height, medium-short length brown hair, brown eyes. Basically, with avatar-makers or video-game character creators, I can run with the default most of the time. I am represented in media. I watch a movie, a guy who looks a lot like me saves the world. Or strikes up a passionate romance with a beautiful French woman he just met on a train. That matters.
That matters because one of my best friends and writing partners is black and he gets to see that a helluva lot less often. When he sees people who look like him on screen, they’re being choked to death by the people who promised to protect and serve. And that’s on the news.
Yes, unarmed white people have been killed by the police too, but at far lower rates and with stronger consequences for the offending officers than cases involving people of color.
I just want to say this to people who look like me:
You might not think things are as bad as they are. But that’s because it’s easy to miss the things that are not directed at you. It’s easy to not notice that, on average, people of color get harsher sentences than white people for the same crime. It’s easy to miss that, on average, sentences are harsher when the VICTIM is white than when the VICTIM is a person of color.
It’s easy not to notice the suspicious looks from store clerks.It’s easy not to notice the woman on the train clutch her purse a little tighter when you sit next to her.
Or the guy calling his kid back over to him when he sees you at the park.
It’s easy not to notice co-workers and clients saying how “articulate” you are like it’s surprising.
It’s easy not to notice these things when they don’t happen to you.
But when they do. You notice. Start looking. It’s there. Or ask the people who have no choice but to notice.
And the saddest thing is, some people may not be fully aware they’re doing it. That’s how deeply ingrained it is. These “little” things matter, because they are constant and they lead to the bigger things. The big things you can’t avoid seeing. And we only see that when someone gets it on camera.
Equal treatment in a legal system is not a lot to ask. Especially in a country that claims it as a central tenant. That it has been denied so long is the reason it has come to this. Paradigms need to shift. And spare everybody the “I don’t see color” spiel. Even though it’s typically well-intentioned, if you don't see someone's race then you don't see their culture, their reality, or their experience. You’re overlooking a major part of their identity.
See race. Just don’t see other races as better or worse. Because saying you don’t someone’s race, implies there’s something wrong with their race.
That said. I’ve already gone on too long. Because it’s really time to just listen. But, I say this to everybody, but especially to the police:You want to help the people of color in your community who are hurting? The only thing you need to say is: “Systemic racism is wrong. What can I do to help make things right?”
Then shut up and listen.