Black vs. white. Cop vs. civilian. Us vs. them. When we start thinking like that, we've already lost. We've already let the establishment beat us when we divide over racial and social issues. We've already let the media manipulate us when we hate each other.
Cops aren't out there looking to kill black people. Certainly there are some cops who are racists, but your average police officer does not harbor ill will for every black person he sees. Police brutality does occur, and it ought to be punished appropriately, but rioting in the streets and gunning down "pigs" is not the solution. Blind faith in our police force is hardly advisable, but most cops don't want wake up in the morning hoping to make the news because they shot someone. There will be bad eggs. For example, there was a local cop in Canton, OH who made the news for all the wrong reasons when he harassed a driver with a concealed carry license. One of my friends had an unfortunate run-in with this very same cop. My friend was treated harshly. My friend is white. Bad cops are bad cops. They should be punished and removed from duty. Let's not automatically assume every shooting is part of a war on black men.
On the other hand, all black people who are mistreated by police are not criminals--even when they're criminals. That's what makes it so hard to decide how to react to the recent videos, particularly the Alton Sterling videos. It's admittedly more difficult to empathize with a man who has prior legal issues. This does not, however, justify police officers in killing a man who did not deserve to die. Even if he was engaged in an illegal activity (it sounds like he was selling bootleg CDs/DVDs and carrying an illegal weapon), he should not be harmed if he was not a direct threat to anyone's life at that moment. Our legal system is supposed to guarantee justice for everyone, even bad people. Law enforcement has no right to function as the judge, jury, and executioner. The cornerstone of Biblical justice is the principle that the punishment must fit the crime. Our nation inherited that principle. Unless a criminal appears to be (sometimes it's difficult to tell) a threat to the livelihood of those around him, he should be detained as peacefully as possible.
Patience. We all just need a little patience. When a shooting occurs, maybe we should wait a few hours before shotgunning our emotions on social media outlets. Even when we have video evidence, we should be patient. Remember how NBC edited that 911 call to make it sound like George Zimmerman was a racist. Yeah, you can't always trust what you see on the news. Also remember that no video shows every angle or every minute of an event. Both videos of Alton Sterling's death are difficult to see and fail to show what preceded the take-down. Before we go caterwauling on Facebook, we need to wait until the entire story emerges. More video will probably come out to complement what already exists. More eyewitness accounts will clarify the precise series of events. Don't automatically assume the cops are guilty. Don't automatically assume the black guy was a criminal. Don't prematurely assume the shooting was racially motivated. Many times the police are shown to be justified in their actions. Other times they are not. Sometimes cops get away with murder. It's an unfortunate reality. What we must never do, however, is circumvent justice in the name of justice. We must never jump to conclusions that this shooting was unjustified and that this cop is a racist just because injustices have occurred in the past. That's no better than assuming the guilt of the black man that the cops just shot.
Let me clarify one thing. I understand why black Americans are upset. I can't fault them for it. This country does have a history of racism and discrimination (though most countries do and most people groups have experienced discrimination). Once again, however, we must never circumvent justice in the name of justice.
Things to remember:
All white people aren't racists.
All cops aren't bad people and/or racists.
All black people aren't criminals.
Having a Facebook doesn't make you an expert at anything.
Overreaction is rarely productive.
The pigment of our skins means nothing.
All lives matter.
Cops aren't out there looking to kill black people. Certainly there are some cops who are racists, but your average police officer does not harbor ill will for every black person he sees. Police brutality does occur, and it ought to be punished appropriately, but rioting in the streets and gunning down "pigs" is not the solution. Blind faith in our police force is hardly advisable, but most cops don't want wake up in the morning hoping to make the news because they shot someone. There will be bad eggs. For example, there was a local cop in Canton, OH who made the news for all the wrong reasons when he harassed a driver with a concealed carry license. One of my friends had an unfortunate run-in with this very same cop. My friend was treated harshly. My friend is white. Bad cops are bad cops. They should be punished and removed from duty. Let's not automatically assume every shooting is part of a war on black men.
On the other hand, all black people who are mistreated by police are not criminals--even when they're criminals. That's what makes it so hard to decide how to react to the recent videos, particularly the Alton Sterling videos. It's admittedly more difficult to empathize with a man who has prior legal issues. This does not, however, justify police officers in killing a man who did not deserve to die. Even if he was engaged in an illegal activity (it sounds like he was selling bootleg CDs/DVDs and carrying an illegal weapon), he should not be harmed if he was not a direct threat to anyone's life at that moment. Our legal system is supposed to guarantee justice for everyone, even bad people. Law enforcement has no right to function as the judge, jury, and executioner. The cornerstone of Biblical justice is the principle that the punishment must fit the crime. Our nation inherited that principle. Unless a criminal appears to be (sometimes it's difficult to tell) a threat to the livelihood of those around him, he should be detained as peacefully as possible.
Patience. We all just need a little patience. When a shooting occurs, maybe we should wait a few hours before shotgunning our emotions on social media outlets. Even when we have video evidence, we should be patient. Remember how NBC edited that 911 call to make it sound like George Zimmerman was a racist. Yeah, you can't always trust what you see on the news. Also remember that no video shows every angle or every minute of an event. Both videos of Alton Sterling's death are difficult to see and fail to show what preceded the take-down. Before we go caterwauling on Facebook, we need to wait until the entire story emerges. More video will probably come out to complement what already exists. More eyewitness accounts will clarify the precise series of events. Don't automatically assume the cops are guilty. Don't automatically assume the black guy was a criminal. Don't prematurely assume the shooting was racially motivated. Many times the police are shown to be justified in their actions. Other times they are not. Sometimes cops get away with murder. It's an unfortunate reality. What we must never do, however, is circumvent justice in the name of justice. We must never jump to conclusions that this shooting was unjustified and that this cop is a racist just because injustices have occurred in the past. That's no better than assuming the guilt of the black man that the cops just shot.
Let me clarify one thing. I understand why black Americans are upset. I can't fault them for it. This country does have a history of racism and discrimination (though most countries do and most people groups have experienced discrimination). Once again, however, we must never circumvent justice in the name of justice.
Things to remember:
All white people aren't racists.
All cops aren't bad people and/or racists.
All black people aren't criminals.
Having a Facebook doesn't make you an expert at anything.
Overreaction is rarely productive.
The pigment of our skins means nothing.
All lives matter.
Comments
Post a Comment