‘I’m Tired of Having to Argue My Humanity to You’ Click for more comments and photos.
I’m a retired San Francisco police officer. I’m sorry for all the deaths that occur that involve my brother and sister officers.
I
know that many of the shootings will be found to be “justified,” but I
can tell you that every officer I ever knew who was in a shooting wished
it hadn’t happened.
When
an officer kills in a wanton manner, it’s a kind of murder that we all
find nightmarish beyond belief — and that includes all of the good cops
who will be going into communities this night to try and solve problems.
I’m
truly sorry for the victims of wrongful deaths and I hope all officers
will keep trying to do the job justly and with compassion. My experience
in 29 years was that the community was willing to give us a chance. We
want to live up to that. It’s our opportunity ... and it’s our job.
To all white people who are offended at being lumped in with whiteness as a whole: this is not about you as an individual.
This is about you as a member of a privileged class.
Whether
you want this privilege or not, you have it and you benefit from it. No
matter how progressive you are, no matter how many black friends, no
matter how much you speak up or fight back, you will always have it as
long as systemic racism exists.
It’s
not about you. Think outside yourself. We won’t undo these systems of
oppression until we acknowledge our part in it. And we all have a part
in it, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.
— Emily Patka in New York, responding to an Op-Ed essay that addressed the shootings by the police this week.
. Truly heartbreaking and stupefying. This and the Baton Rouge incident prove the point that black lives don’t matter.
This
is precisely why black folks don’t trust the police. And yet she was
wrestled to the ground, handcuffed and put in a police car.
All of this inside the car, all outside of the car takes place in front of their child.
I’m not sure what America is anymore, if the Constitution and Bill of Rights are worth the paper they were written on.
The
violence and racial hatred that white supremacy has wrought for
centuries in the United States doesn’t seem to ever disappear, and it’s
all being churned up with fury in the quest for power this election
cycle.
— Sojtruth in New York, responding to
the fatal shooting of Philando Castile by the police in Minnesota,
which was filmed and streamed live on Facebook by his girlfriend,
Diamond Reynolds.
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If
you have a weapon, and you resist arrest, then you are not going to
enjoy the result. I don’t know why people think it is somehow okay to
ignore commands from a police officer. It’s very simple, do what they
say and figure out the rest later.
— Chris in New York, reacting to an article about the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police officers in Baton Rouge, La..
In the same way that we — correctly —
avoid any language blaming the entire Muslim population for terrorist
attacks (partially to avoid attacks towards innocent Muslims and further
segregation), we need to remind ourselves that good policemen put their
lives at risk every single day for people to be safe.
It is heartbreaking to see the language often used towards the police and the horrible scenes from Dallas.
I
hope that the very real issues that some policemen have with race will
not overshadow the immense majority of good, honest, hardworking people
that keep us safe.
We were brought here in chains, against our will. Beaten, raped,
abused, and then tortured if we fought back. Our men valued for their
strength and brawn until that physicality no longer lined your pockets,
and then we became frightening and aggressive.
We
were lynched, terrorized in our own country, and denied the rights that
we were entitled to in our own Constitution. We served our nation to
secure freedom for the world, only to return to a nation in which we
ourselves were not free.
We
are targeted, harassed, falsely accused and then told we bring this on
ourselves because we do not “act like the rest of society.” But did any
of the above happen to the rest of society?
I’m
tired. Tired of smoothing your ruffled feathers in my presence because
of your fear. Tired of being exceptional so that I can be treated like
“the rest of society.”
I’m tired of having to argue my humanity to you.
But
most of all, tired of looking into the faces of my little boys, and
feeling like I have to extinguish their joy, their exuberance, because
you think “black men are more dangerous than men of other races.”
My
boys like Pokemon, probably like your boys. My boys play soccer,
probably like your boys. My boys are bright, and curious and gifted,
probably like your boys. But my boys will be hunted. Will yours?
Continue reading the main story
— Midwest Dermatologist in Maryland, reacting to
an article about a sniper in Dallas who shot 12 police officers,
killing five, during a peaceful demonstration against police shootings.
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Source: New York Times
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