- Discussing controversial issues is usually frowned upon at work, especially while getting paid
- Why would someone say something? Because you’re black? Because you were afflicted and they were supposed to know? Because you thought there was injustice? Because police were involved? Or just because it was popular and related to current events?
Your article says you never felt so black, but you should have said you never felt so dumb, so stupid, so lucky your work doesn’t fire employees for judging a situation before the most important facts are in.
Because in many, if not all, of those cases when facts were presented in court or for review, it was found the police were not at fault. In fact, in many cases it was found that those killed (innocent or not) were non-compliant or resisted police direction.
No, that doesn’t sound like it means anything to you. They were black. There were cops involved. You’re not biased. You jump to your conclusions before facts are gathered, your conclusions persist even after the case is made. You don’t need to follow up with the case. You’re black. They were black. That’s all you need. That makes you right. You’re black, they were black, police are involved, now they’re dead — did I adequately simplify your stance?
I am not saying people shouldn’t discuss it. I am not saying there isn’t room for police procedure improvement. But when you start saying “people aren’t talking about what I want to talk about at work,” and then you continue on to spew out BLM garbage that is turning into an anti-white, anti-police group. Forgive me for not sympathizing. To me it comes off as whiny.
As I understand it, you’re a person at your work. You could at any point raise the topic for discussion — you’re as much to blame. Perhaps other people did sympathize but realized it’s a touchy subject and weren’t sure how to bring it up, especially around someone who obviously gets emotional about things that they are led to write an essay on Medium.
Listen, you can feel victimized, perhaps alarmed. It’s a good thing you’re speaking up, but you’re telling the wrong people here — tell the people at your work how you feel.
Just to keep things in perspective, there are many white people killed by cops every year. There are many whites killed by black cops. I bet those deaths are also not talked about by the people at your work. The case you’re making about cops killing black men is statistically insignificant, especially when you factor in the demographics of who commits violent crimes.
Furthermore, I know the demographics of the tech industry are lopsided. Women and blacks are under-represented and both have interesting viewpoints that would benefit the industry. I don’t know anything about your personal work and abilities, but thanks for being a pioneer with that respect. I wish you the best.