What a Time to be Alive

Photo Credit: Rudy Flowers

Student walk outs, teacher protests, repealing of net neutrality, the me too movement, Kendrick Lamar winning the Pulitzer Prize, Black Panther continues to break records, even in Saudi Arabia where movie theaters had been banned for decades). These are all exciting because they are different outcomes than what we typically see in America.

When I see the headlines about people destroying Black Panther statues in Korea, the two men being arrested at Starbucks because they were "waiting while black," that a black man saved lives after a white man opened fire at a Waffle House , or that a fifteen year old was shot at for "asking for directions while black," I don't  bristle. My eyes no longer grow wide with disbelief. It's a theme that has become common on our podcast, where we are disgusted but no longer shocked. We get it, racism is very much real and as a person of color in the United States in 2018 we live with that truth every, single, day. 

If you read headlines about people of color losing their lives at the hands of police officers, or armed citizens you have one of two reactions. 

1. We lost another one.

2. Well, what were they doing?

While the first statement is one that reflects loss and mourning, the suffocating, chest tightening, familiar anxiety that slowly introduces the thought of, will I be next? The second serves a different purpose. The second reaction is one that can easily lead to victim-blaming. 

When the video of the two men being arrested at Starbucks was posted, many of the comments were, "well, what did they do?" This reaction begins with the assumption that all people of color are bad and all police officers are simply doing their job. Not even that all cops are perfect. No, those that adopt this approach will state that cops are simply people who, like anyone, can make a mistake but they also allot them the benefit of the doubt rather than the person of color.

Take Stephon Clark, before  he was murdered in his backyard by two Sacramento police officers, he tweeted some misogynistic comments. Sandra Bland also had made homophobic comments on social media before dying in police custody and here is why this is important. White people are allowed to be multi dimensional, flawed , imperfect "just trying to figure it out," beings. They are treated with grace. When black people are murdered they have to be saints for their lives to matter. 

Do I support the late Stephon Clark's statements towards women? Absolutely not. Do I agree with Sandra Bland's hate? Abhorrently no. Do I think they should have been killed? No. As a black gender fluid pansexual they probably wouldn't like me but I will still fight for them because the color of your skin shouldn't effect whether or not you live or die. 

I'm not saying every black person takes this stance and we are allowed to be individuals and have our own opinions but the problem is we are seen as a monolith. The moment black women started speaking out about the problematic statements of Stephon Clark people began to fall into their belief of, "see, he did deserve to be shot at 20 times."

That's not fair. When you are a marginalized group member you are denied individuality. Your opinions, actions and comments, represent an entire group-not just yourself. It is a major pillar of racist ideology and also why the second reaction is so dangerous. 

While I'm advocating for you to do your homework, just make sure you aren't tipping the scales. Your first question, when looking at the Starbucks video, should be, why were the cops called? Why is the reaction of so many white people to call the police? To deny access? To shoot? When they encounter a person of color?