After watching an episode of ABC’s
television series Blackish, in which
they discussed and addressed America’s justice system from different angles and
perspectives, I am forced to ask myself: do I trust it, or fear it? In school
growing up we are all taught the nuances of our supposedly fair justice system,
and hear nothing but good from it. We understand that it was created not only
to bring justice to those who do wrong against the law, but also to protect all
American citizens. We are all protected under the law, which is enforced by
officers, who are specially trained to get it right. If brought to trial, we
are given fair treatment, and are seen as equals with a jury of our peers. The
verdict is determined based on simply the facts and neglects other factors and
variables that may conflict. All of this sounds good, but is it reality?
After
seeing case after case of blacks gunned down or tazed repeatedly for whatever
reason, I can not help but see the reality in conflict with what I was taught
to be the truth. Watching the trial of George Zimmerman, and witnessing the
uprisings of the deaths of Mike Brown and Tamir Rice, I can only look in the
mirror and see a young black male whose life could abruptly end just like many
of my fellow black brothers and sisters. My parents and other mentors continue
to teach me to always submit to the instructions of the authority, and do not
be easily provoked, but should not that already be understood? I should not
have to be told that there is an automatic target on my back, and I am guilty
until proven innocent. I should instead be given the same fair chance that my
white friends and all other races, and not be automatically profiled.
In the
episode of Blackish, they focused on
the generational views and the conflicts that have remained the same. Although
the different generations have their separate leaders and advocators, such as
Malcolm X or Ta-Nehisi Coates, the same narrative of a young black girl or boy
being killed by authorities remains constant. With the separate generations
ranging from a 60 plus year-old grandfather to kids less than ten and different
economic backgrounds, they struggle with how to handle the issue. They do not
know whether they should grow to trust that the system would get it right, or fear
it as they continue to see cases where it simply does not. As for myself, I
remain in a state of confusion, and can do nothing but to simply carefully, yet
confidently live, as I struggle to either live in a state of fear or trust the
system that is designed to get it right.
Like you, my brothers and I grew up being regularly reminded about the discrimination from police and how to stay safe. While my brothers were disciplined about this more than me, we were all taught to remain calm and not be provoked by their words or actions. Growing up, we received critique about hair and the clothes we wore, specifically how we wore them, and what colors we could not wear. I never could understand why something as simple as what color hat you were wearing could be interpreted in a bad way, until I saw the Trayvon Martin case in the news where a black teen was shot for “looking suspicious” and wearing a hoodie. I find it incredibly hard and frustrating to think that my friends, family, or even myself could become a victim of this tragedy simply for being black in the wrong place at the wrong time. My father has always expressed his distrust of the police, telling stories like, “when I was your age, we couldn’t call the police in my neighborhood. If you had a problem, you got your friends and family and took care of it yourselves”. With every news story that features an African-American being wrongfully arrested, hurt, or even killed by police without justification makes it more difficult for me to trust this institution that was designed to protect its citizens. How are we supposed to react to a broken system where blacks are automatically presumed to be “guilty until proven innocent”?
ReplyDeleteThis episode and your blog post have brought up a lot of things that I, as a white female, would likely never have to think of—or never would have crossed my mind to warn my children about even if they were mixed-race. In one of my classes we brought up the debate about whether it is better to let children experience racial prejudice on their own, or to be warned about it beforehand and have preconceived notions of how they will be treated in certain situations. My professor said that there is no current data on which would be healthier for the child, however when thinking about relations with the justice system and the potential for violent harm it seems obvious that most parents would especially warn about these instances of racism.
ReplyDeleteThis post caused me to question where my beliefs about the judicial system originated. My white parents always taught their white daughter to trust the system. They told me that justice would prevail if something went wrong. I accepted what they said because I had no reason not to. In high school, my track coach was also a police officer. Throughout the years, I began to transfer the trust that I had in him to my idea of the entire police system. The police are supposed to keep you safe so it made sense to trust them. Then I got to college and realized that not every police officer was like my track coach. Some police officers are not as great as my Coach Kelly. Is he the only good police officer? Or will all police officers be kind to me because I am white? I should not have to ask these questions. All police officers should treat people of all races with respect. They are in a position of authority. They are supposed to protect the citizens. Until those three statements are true, it is reasonable to fear the judicial system.
ReplyDeleteMy perception of the U.S. Justice system draws from both the personal experiences of myself and those close to me and in my description of this I would more times than not use the word fear then opposed to trust. I say this not just as black man, yes I believe my ethnicity has greatly influenced my experience with the legal system as well as other institutions but I believe whether or not most of America is conscious of it or is ready to admit it, everyone lives in fear of the legal system now more so than ever with the seemingly endless stream of 'Snowdenesque' stories of overreaching and corruption looming in the American subconscious. Distrust of the law transcends race with stories police corruption such as in the case of the Netflix Original, 'Making a Murderer' making their way to the mainstream. The relationship between law enforcement and the average citizen more and more resembles one between predators and their prey as they are motivated by quotas and not the maintenance of individual safety and that of the greater public in accordance with the original spirit of the law or ordinance. I believe the relationship to be an unhealthy one promoting adversarial climate instead of one of mutual respect and cooperation.
ReplyDeleteMy perception of the U.S. Justice system draws from both the personal experiences of myself and those close to me and in my description of this I would more times than not use the word fear then opposed to trust. I say this not just as black man, yes I believe my ethnicity has greatly influenced my experience with the legal system as well as other institutions but I believe whether or not most of America is conscious of it or is ready to admit it, everyone lives in fear of the legal system now more so than ever with the seemingly endless stream of 'Snowdenesque' stories of overreaching and corruption looming in the American subconscious. Distrust of the law transcends race with stories police corruption such as in the case of the Netflix Original, 'Making a Murderer' making their way to the mainstream. The relationship between law enforcement and the average citizen more and more resembles one between predators and their prey as they are motivated by quotas and not the maintenance of individual safety and that of the greater public in accordance with the original spirit of the law or ordinance. I believe the relationship to be an unhealthy one promoting adversarial climate instead of one of mutual respect and cooperation.
ReplyDelete