I believe there are few of us that would say we do not live in divided times. Such division is exacerbated by a pandemic and a slow economy, it can all be overwhelming. One of the most prevalent topics of today are the protests of Black Live Matter (BLM), which have taken many forms. There is no doubt this is a divisive topic, one that many do not have the energy to address with a good faith debate. I admit my own struggles processing the recent events.
I have reached my overall opinion on the general aim of BLM, but that is not what I wish to discuss here. Rather I would like to take a look at the differing perspectives on the matter, while looking at how people process current events in general. Note that in an effort to draw some general conclusions, I may over simplify some positions. I understand there is a spectrum of views on the topic.
I would like to begin with the biggest current event, the protests. There’s little doubt 2020 will be a year that has a significant chapter in future history books, and I’m sure the protests will be a large part of that chapter. I’ll say this directly, there has been a lot of generalizations from both supporters of BLM and detractors. The general consensus of the detractors is something along the lines of “rioters and looters have taken over the peaceful protests” or “there were never peaceful protests, they were always violent and are hurting their own cause”.
According to four separate polls, it is estimated between 15-26 million people participated in the protests (1). It takes only a dozen to loot, maybe a hundred to riot, and a single person to start a fire. If we generalize the protests as "mostly violent", then is there a difference between that and generalizing all police officers as racist or violent for the actions of some?
That street might go both ways, that people should equally not generalize police officers, but I would suggest that it’s not an equal argument. As a society, we give police officers a substantial amount of power with a mandate to keep that society safe. There have been numerous released videos of police officers killing unarmed black people (more on that next), so if that is happening while wearing the uniform that symbolizes the power society grants them, then it could be considered representing that institution.
So, to the videos of police officers killing unarmed black men, clearly, they exist. There are also videos of police officers beating and pepper spraying peaceful protestors. However, there are also videos of destroyed property, looted businesses, riots, fires, and violence. How we perceive these events is the same as we perceive many current events, through our filters. Much of our personal filter we create by what we decide to consume, whether it be Fox News, MSNBC, print media, or none of the above. Much of it is filtered by those with whom we choose to surround ourselves and our social media preferences. But in the end, we have to acknowledge that we cannot process the full scale of events today. It’s too much to process, so many of us will only let in what fits our preconceived bias. These filters make it very difficult to see and understand points of view of those with whom we may not agree. This fact is certainly not limited to BLM.
It was the filter, for example, that changed the narrative on Colin Kaepernick’s protest. Kaepernick originally sat during the anthem. It was recommended to him by retired Green Beret, Nate Boyer, to kneel instead (2). Kaepernick’s message was simple, it was a protest against police brutality towards black people. Through misinterpretation and people projecting their own values onto the protest it somehow became a protest against America and its veterans, despite the suggestion coming from a veteran.
Emotion in Visuals
Let’s look at the George Floyd incident specifically, it might be anecdotal, but think about the images we saw. We look at the officer with his knee on George Floyd’s neck. He has no look of concern on his face, no worry that there might be ramifications from his actions. He had three officers standing around him, watching him slowly suffocate a living man to death, and they held the crowd back to let him do it. This is not my indictment on the entire police force, this is simply a call to empathize with those who do.
Do not get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for police officers, I know many put their lives on the line every day and that even more simply want what is best for their community, but this brings me to the next perspective, how people view police officers. This part is difficult for me to write about, it will include speaking to how I perceive much of the black communities’ view of police officers. However, I think it is commonly acknowledged that there has been a trust divide between the police force and much of the black community for a long time.
We can see it in the now seven years old BLM movement and we saw it evidenced during the Rodney King trial and aftermath. We can see it in the polling, a September 2016 Pew Research poll found 75% of white people, compared to 33% of black people, answered “excellent or good” when asked if “police in their community treat race and ethnic groups equally” (3). We can see it in pop culture, “F.T.P” by NWA came out in 1988 and in a 2000 comedy special Dave Chappelle described the black community as “afraid” of police.
As evidenced more specifically in the referenced poll, there is a disagreement between much of the white community and black community on how they view police. Which brings me to a very important point it took me a while to realize, I cannot know what it is like to grow up black in America. Does that mean I’m not entitled to my opinion on race relations as a white man? Of course not, but I would contend that a good faith conversation about race has to start with that acknowledgement. To empathize with people and their beliefs you might not fully understand.
This is not to say there are not plenty of white people that grew up under less than fortunate circumstances, but it does acknowledge I cannot know what it’s like going through growing up in communities with statues of historical figures that owned your ancestors, knowing slavery is likely the reason you’re here, that only 55 years ago you couldn’t sit with a white person in a restaurant, or reading about Jim Crow Laws as a black child.
Similarly, I never grew up in a predominately black community. Many of them feel there are plenty of reasons to distrust the police, or fear them, or even view them as racist. It’s not necessarily that I agree, every interaction I’ve had with the police was as a white man, and they’ve been mostly positive, but I acknowledge I would have no idea what an interaction with the police is like as a black person.
So how is it possible to bridge this gap in perception? It’s clear that it will not simply disappear, the protests are getting more widespread and they’re extending to all major sports in a significant way. Nor will the problem go away by simply telling much of the black community “you’re wrong”. The only way we will begin to solve the problem is collectively empathize with one another. That does not even mean one suddenly has to believe there is systemic racism within the police force, it simply means they have to begin to understand why a black person would, and understand the emotions that would come from that belief.
I’ll close with a relevant quote from Martin Luther King Jr. Much of what is taught about the man is an incomplete history. It must be remembered that he was one of the most hated men of his time, with several arrests for breaking laws of the time. He wrote the following from Birmingham Jail:
“First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Councilor or the Ku Klux Klan, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action’” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- Larry Buchanan, Quoctrung Bui and Jugal K. Patel, “Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History”, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html”, New York Times, July 3, 2020
- Michael Martin, “The Veteran And NFL Player Who Advised Kaepernick To Take A Knee” https://www.npr.org/2018/09/09/646115651/the-veteran-and-nfl-player-who-advised-kaepernick-to-take-a-knee, NPR, September 9, 2018
- Rich Morin and Rene Stepler “The Racial Confidence Gap in Police Performance” https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/09/29/the-racial-confidence-gap-in-police-performance/, Pew Research Center, September 29, 2016
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