There is no question that an alarming amount of unarmed blacks are killed in America. On top of this, the media will attempt to villainize them by manipulating their backgrounds or digging up less than flattering pictures or information from the past. Whether a person is guilty of a crime and willing to admit such guilt, or is innocent and will claim their innocence until their last breath, no police officer in “the world’s freest country” should have the right to act as judge, jury, and executioner.
There is no reason that someone unarmed should be gunned down, whether or not they were partaking in illegal activities. In the United States, everyone is allowed a fair trial by the jury of their peers, and is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. There should be no exception to this. The problem lies in two areas: the power that police officers (and the justice system as a whole) have and the institutional racism of this country. For example, in the tragic case of Eric Garner’s death the officer who initiated the fatal encounter, Daniel Pantaleo, was not indicted and even protected by officers 24/7 following the incident.
Subsequently, in the death of Freddie Gray, two of the officers put on trial were acquitted and the third had his ruled a mistrial. Although these calamities were universally criticized, there remains a prevalent lack of accountability for the actions of police officers, thus putting them above the law that they have sworn to enforce. Making matters worse is the fact that other officers fail to criticize their coworkers. While in other professions one would usually display displeasure towards another professional for putting that area of work in bad light, police officers almost never do this. This makes it seem as though they either fail to realize the wrongdoings, they witness and acknowledge them but fail to take action, or agree with what happened. Ultimately this is a horrible reflection of police officers and brews feelings of opposition amongst the oppressed.
Are people born racist, or are they simply taught? While I will not be arguing for either side in this article, I will say this: whether racism is born or taught, America is actively helping to culture racism. Growing up in the United States, racism is a seemingly natural trait that an overwhelming majority of people have, whether they realize it or not. This problem, most unfortunately, is even seen in the youth; in a study done with police officers (which was also comprised of mostly white, middle aged men) as well as other groups, it was found that participants felt as though black children appeared older than white children, and were deemed more responsible for their actions. They were also seen as more likely to commit a crime, leading to the assumption that they are guilty despite not doing a single thing wrong.
Coupled with this horrific information is another study that found that white people view black people almost like “superhumans.” 63.5% of white participants felt that blacks could go longer without food or water, were much quicker, and had thicker, stronger skin. This may explain why some police officers feel it’s necessary to use excess force and take extra “precautions” when dealing with black suspects. This, however, in no way excuses it.
In short, there needs to be a change in the justice system as well as the culture of our country. There needs to be a change now. Though the impact may not be overnight or immediate, the seeds of change in America need to be planted if we can even hope to have true equality.
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