No one can dictate for whom we feel sympathy or sadness or loss for, and that goes in all directions. What I’m hoping is that this latest example or poor training, trigger-happy use of the last resort as the first resort will begin to slice away at the piece of police brutality we actually have control over — the culture of kickass over problem solving and crush over deescalation. The willingness to abuse power over serving the public.
We also must note that the officers and brass who ARE held to account have been disproportionately women and POC. The “I feared for my life” argument shows weakness when a woman claims it and good judgment when a man claims it. A POC who shoots first is living up to negative stereotypes (etc, etc) while a white officer must have had good reason.
I realize Son Of Baldwin wouldn’t give a fuck if I were shot or strangled or raped or had my suicide faked in a jail cell. And that’s actually fine. I’ve worked with domestic violence victims and in gun violence for too long to think the only issue in police culture is race, but race is a big one. Especially when combined with the other issues alluded to above.
And more white people need to stop getting mopey about not being centered in sympathy and attention FOR ONCE and start using their voices and phones and platforms to demand justice consistently and regardless of gender and racial and religious allegiance.
