Man White Folks Are Up In Their Feelings About Justine Damond

Aja Barber
Jul 23, 2017 · 4 min read

In the last 72 hours, I have heard more white folks lecturing people of color about the correct amount of sympathy/empathy to display and express in the case of Justine Damond than I care to hear in a lifetime. Like seriously, that’ll do white folks. We are good. Black people are pretty much looking at you sideways and shouting “I said, what I said”, regardless of what was said. Son of Baldwin got them all riled up with this piece. But regardless of how a black person feels about the murder of a white woman, I’m going to let them have those feelings. BECAUSE IT HAPPENS TO US EVERY DAMN DAY. And when it does, there’s the population of a small country’s worth of white people saying the worst, most despicable things one could ever fix their mouth to say … about murder victims. Slain children as young as 12. So saying you don’t care about the murder of a white person … well that’s par for the course when you live in a police state that murders people that look like you every day. And white folks getting all up in their feelings about black folks being sympathetic reminds me largely of all the news reports talking about black folks and forgiveness after Dylan Roof walked into a church and massacred us. Y’all got some pie in the sky expectations for a group of people you regularly murder.

I’ll tell you what you’re not going to see. Black people running to defend the police officer, Mohamed Noor who killed Justine Damond. Honey, you danced with the devil and I am not coming to rescue you. You’re on your own. What I’m seeing instead is black people challenging the #bluelivesmatter gang to come to the defense of police officer Noor. Not because we really want to see him defended, we just love a double standard. And by love, I mean it disgust us how racist those behind #bluelivesmatter are. If ever you needed proof that the hashtag was started in order to discredit black victims of police violence, there’s your proof. In my mind, all police officers who kill civilians should be in jail. But I love to watch as this crooked double standard plays out before our very eyes. The irony is bitter like a poison.

The response I’m seeing from white people besides mass hysteria of crocodile tears, the bigots that would normally scream #AllLivesMatter and #BlueLivesMatter are instead turning to their favorite thing. Racism. Noor’s Somali background is being used against him six ways from Sunday. And of course bigots and racists hate immigrants so there’s a tiny population on Twitter crying

“Why did we let this Muslim become a police officer?” As if law enforcement is America’s best and brightest or something (smirk). The most fascinating part is that bigots cannot cry for justice for Damond without throwing their bigotry in for good measure. Because attacking a crooked system isn’t at all how this is going to work. Oddly enough aside from Australians, the second biggest group I see calling for justice for Damond is … black people. I always say, in the heart of every racist in America is a firm belief that if black people held the power in the future, we would treat white people the same way they’ve treated us. But again and again this is proved wrong, regardless of who doesn’t emote enough to white liking on social media over Damond’s death.

I do believe Justine Damond should be alive today. But so should Philando Castile. And Mike Brown. And Aiyana Stanley-Jones. And Tamir Rice. And John Crawford. And Sandra Bland. But the majority of white America crying for justice for her isn’t crying for justice for them. And that’s why you can’t expect black folks to join in the chorus of tears. Why should we? Whiteness means that Damond will receive justice. We must mourn our own while living in a system that enjoys murdering us regularly. Finding the sympathy over someone the system will demand justice for isn’t a burden you should feel comfortable asking of black folks. Just like white America shouldn’t expect black people to cry for Otto Warmbier, you getting up in your feelings about Justine Damond with black people isn’t going to change the crooked system that killed her and hundreds of black people. Now white folks imagine if Justine Damond happened almost every, single damn day. And most black folks didn’t care and denied that it was problem.

See how it feels? Keep sitting on your ass and watching as they murder your neighbors and one day they’ll come for you too.

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