If you haven’t been living under a rock within the couple of months then you are more than aware of the shootings that have been occurring. Whether or not you believe that these shootings were justifiable or not, you have some sort of opinion, either towards the ones who pulled the trigger or the individual who got shot. Being an African-American male while being a criminal justice major at the same time, my opinion about these shootings is two-sided, yes, but at the same time, these two viewpoints have given me a unique view and opinion about the police department and what is happening within our country.
Coming from a criminal justice perspective, what irritates me the most about the comments after a shooting has happened from those just scrolling down their Twitter feed or their Facebook feed, unaware of the entire situation, just as most of us are who were not there when the incident occurred. Alton Sterling is the most recent case that has erupted to us thanks to our social media platforms so this is the example I will be using.
CNN reporters Catherine E. Shoichet, Joshua Berlinger and Steve Almasy state that, “In the new 38-second recording, Sterling is already on the ground, on his back. One officer is kneeling to Sterling's left. The other officer appears to be straddling Sterling's legs. Sterling can be seen from the chest up and his lower legs are also visible. His left arms and hands are not visible; his right arm is by his side. After gunshots are heard, the camera pans to the right then back to Sterling, who has a large blood stain on his chest. The officer who was on his legs now lies on the pavement above Sterling's head, his gun pointed.” This video compared to the first one is recorded at another angle, as well as closer to the shooting compared to the first video that was released when the shooting happened recorded in a car.
The information given to us within these 30 seconds in honestly not enough. We do not know what happened right before the individual decided to hit the record button. We also don’t know how biased the individual is towards police officers. These are all factors we need to take into consideration before we scream “I HATE COPS” or “POLICE BRUTALITY.” Let’s not forget that the ones who become officers go through intense training in order to pursue the career that they are currently involved in. No matter what you believe, cops do not shoot to kill. They shoot to stop a threat. If a man has a gun pointed at an officers at the scene of the crime tell the individual to put down their weapon multiple times and he does not listen, by law, for the safety of the officers and those in the surrounding area, they shoot.
We as a people have to remember that the police department is there to protect and serve us. They do not necessarily want to be forceful with someone; however, if there is a danger present they are there to do whatever it is they have to do in order to keep everyone safe. The only individuals that truly know what happened that day are the two officers that were there. So why bad mouth the individual you are going to call when something tragic happens to you? Although I do believe in certain cases we have seen there has been an awareness that some cops have this “God complex” and overuse their authority because of the uniform they wear, that doesn’t mean every single officer is like that. The stereotyping we are doing to these officers is the exact same thing they are doing to us as a people. So why is it that when we bash them it’s fine, but when they reciprocate the same action of stereotyping they are oppressing the color of our skin?
Now, coming from the viewpoint of an African American male. With the increasing amount of shooting happening to the black community, in my opinion there is something wrong with the way certain officer come about an encounter with an African-American male/female. The term “White Privilege” has been brought up several times when it comes to shootings. While some, mostly of the Caucasian majority, say that there is no such thing as white privilege, I would have to disagree with this term, to an extent. Most being from the American-American say that white privilege is when a Caucasian man/women gets treated better and everything that goes along with that statement. This is where I stand alone. My definition of “white privilege” is that they don’t see white privilege. It’s not like they can completely relate and say I understand what we’re going through when they can’t because they have not been through it. That’s the privilege I see. How can you expect someone to relate to something when they have no clue how to feel about it? You can’t.
As an African-American male, I have been told my entire life to be on my best behavior and beyond when it comes to encountering a cop because of my skin color and because all of the profiling being done — not just by the police, but also by those who are common around us! Yes, I have been pulled over because of “suspicion” of being somewhere that I apparently did not belong. Yes, I have been followed around stores multiple times because the store owner wanted to make sure I wasn’t stealing something. We as a people need to realize that no matter the race, there are stereotypes about every single race out there. It just so happens that we predominately see this prejudice and stereotypes about African-Americans more because that is what is headlined more. These stereotypes are annoying, yes, but rather than yelling at those who do not understand, we should instead educate. The more someone knows about a certain situation the more they can relate and then ultimately try to make a change. I am not mad at those who say that there is no racial prejudice within our country, but I am still disappointed because they know what is going on, but choose to stay silent and in the shadows because they don’t think their voice can make a difference.
From a young age, I have been very aware about what has been going on to my fellow African-American brothers and sisters, and that’s why I chose the major that I did. I want people to know that skin color does not mean anything in this society and that the law enforcement officials are there to protect and serve the community. Although I do believe that there is some racial prejudice in this country, I also believe that it is our duty within the African-American community to educate those of every race that may not see what is happening to us and who may not understand why we are this angry. So that way this message spreads across and teaches those to not make the same mistakes certain law enforcement officers are making.
