Maybe we were fooling ourselves. I’m thinking back to before Barack Obama was first elected president. At the time, most of the country seemed to think that racism was a thing of the past—unless, of course, you experienced it firsthand. Some say electing an African-American president was what unleashed something once hidden in our society, but I think that’s just something we tell ourselves.
When it comes to police brutality against people of color, the real game changer hasn’t been an increase in those murdered, but the fact that most people have cell phones that are equipped with cameras.
Now we live in a world where everyone has to face the reality that’s existed for different communities for decades.
However, it does seem like we are a country more divided than ever before. Does the tragedy in Dallas have anything to do with that? Perhaps. But it’s also the reaction that people have had to the Black Lives Matter movement since its inception—continuing to neglect the importance of this movement and deflecting it with such ridiculous terms as All Lives Matter.
Hopefully, this isn’t a turn in the Black Lives Matter movement that destroys the work before them, and incidentally, the work before all of us. Hopefully, this isn’t a turn that creates more division that is activist vs. police. It doesn’t have to be that way, nor did it ever have to be that way, even if the tragedy in Dallas never occurred. But it does have to be about making a change in how we continue to address race in this country and how we address police violence.
The worst thing that could happen now is all the lives taken up to this point are just wasted and that we hold on to division, rather than opening hearts and mind to change. The worst thing that could happen now is to think that Black Lives Matter is a movement means nothing at all when actually it could be the most important thing we have at this very moment.
— Mari Herreras,
mherreras@tucsonweekly.com
This article appears in Jul 14-20, 2016.
Please explain to us how you open hearts and minds espousing hatred to achieve your goals. Constantly siding with victims of police action does not make them innocent. It fuels division. This is so misguided. And now I see Jesse Jackson at the back of the parade. I should have known it.
The election of the first black president was an event that many in this nation never thought they would see in their lifetimes. They were OK with being politically correct in public and keeping long-held beliefs about race to themselves and their like-minded family and friends. Then it really happened and they hardened their hearts and lost their minds. No matter the cost to this nation these people have tried at every opportunity to turn back time to no avail and now, irony of ironies – one of the architects of the hate is on the verge of being elected the next president of the United States.
We’ve already had the “architect of hate” for almost seven years in the white house and he has wrought exactly what he planned.
Get Whitey, Make Him Pay!
sgsmith – hate to break your heart, but Barack Hussein Obama was not the first black president. Did you forget he’s half white as all liberals do?
And besides, Bill Clinton already took the mantle of first black president.
Within one week we have had a Facebook live stream of a man dying after being shot by a police officer, then, a racially motivated attack on white police officers, and finally, a group of young black men being shot while in their car (30+ round fired at them). I think these videos are all related.
Young black men face far more of a threat from other young black men then they ever will from the police. There will be about 30-40 black men killed by police this year whereas there will be about 4000+ black men murdered by other black men this year. That’s right, in the last 2 days there were as many young black men killed by other young black men as shot by police in the previous year. 82% of all black men dying from a gun wound is a homicide.
There is racial/bigoted violence directed at police officers every day in some of these communities. Federal statistics show that police are far more likely to be shot by a black man than to shoot a black man. Black cops are more likely to shoot a black man than a white cop is. These police officers are targeted for their lives every single day that they put on their uniform. It might be their last.
Officers are faced with split second decisions on a daily basis and when they make a mistake people can die. Some police officers are clearly abusing their power and committing crimes. We have to develop mechanisms to sort out the accidents from the abuses without the general public condemning both. We have to increase funding and training so that police officers are less stressed and have better skills and training to fall back on in stressful situations.
Fixing the problems within a few isolated departments will require increased funding and directional support, but it should be pretty easy.
Fixing disparate and diverse communities rife with poverty, broken families, crime and dysfunctional social mechanisms will be much more difficult and until these communities get the support they need from the rest of us, nothing is going to change. Thousands of black men are going to continue to needlessly die.
Spreading the myth that police officers are targeting or hunting young black men is both dangerous and inappropriate. I don’t understand what your motives are because this myth only serves to perpetuate the conditions of poverty and crime within black communities by not addressing them head on, by pretending that they are not related. The myth of police hunting black men is as racist a trope as there ever was and only continues the subjugation of black men and women by avoiding the real issues within the community.
You fix the police today and there will still be 15-20 black men murdered by other black men tomorrow. What does it really change?
Hey, take a wild guess on who funded BLM to the tune of 33 million bucks. Yep, Mr. George Soros
again. The same guy who used his checkbook to create “Occupy” which was another Democrat party front group. These organizations are in no way “organic” movements. Maybe Soros is your true “architect of hate”. Any bitches about his ” dark money ” out there? Nope, I can only hear crickets.
Amazing how the Tea Party was blamed for all kinds of shit, often for things they were in no way responsible for, but the true haters on the left get a free pass once again.
George Soros hates America. Look at his actions.
“…continuing to neglect the importance of this movement and deflecting it with such ridiculous terms as All Lives Matter.”
Really?! ALL lives matter is a deflecting and a ridiculous term? I say NOT!
ALL lives do matter. Just because injustices against those of different races have been largely ignored by the media doesn’t mean they are not happening. The media will pick and choose what they feel gets more attention, with Tucson Weekly most definitely included. If someone thinks that there aren’t as many interesting stories including white (although these are usually poor white people in these circumstances) and brown people, then they aren’t thinking. I’m sure there are plenty of other colors, races and creeds where these injustices happen which I myself am ignorant to.
Obama has been the “Big Divider,” instead of bringing people closer. His constant racial bias before knowing all the facts as made him like Sharpton and Jackson.
All lives matter , not just black . When a white person gets shot by a black cop , no one days a word ! So what does this tell you ?
Enough said .
Obummer had no problem lighting up the White House in purple when Prince died. But, he refused to light it up in blue to honor 5 Police officers who were killed in the line of duty. Says a lot.
“Bill Clinton already took the mantle of first black president.”
What the @$&% does that even mean???
stalecloud – perhaps before your time
Clinton Honored As ‘First Black President’ at Black Caucus Dinner
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/clinton-honored-first-black-president-black-caucus-dinner
Clinton told CNSNews.com he was honored to be considered America’s “first black president.”
stalecloud:
Like I’ve mentioned to you before, Wrong, Again’s ignorance runs deeper than you can handle.
P.S. If you ever consider changing your username, you should change it to tablecloth. For some reason that’s what my auto correct keeps changing your name to whenever I type it.
Mari Herreras , what is wrong with you ? If those entrusted to enforce our law fail to do their job and are reckless in their judgement, then they will be held accountable. However, a jury of their peers will be the ones to pass judgement upon them and find them either guilty or not guilty, and not a reporter or vigilantly mob, who have become both judge and jury and are ready to lynch them without having the luxury of due process.
Many African Americans in America, were lynched without a trial, they were found guilty solely on the basis of the color of their skin and murdered. However, isn’t the’ Black Lives Matter’ organization demanding officers also be found guilty without a trial, just because of the color of their uniform ?
Before you write a negative opinion on such a sensitive subject, you must first take into consideration what is at stake. 99.9 percent of our officers are honorable. By the way, have thee officers, who shot the two black men, have they had their day in court ? Have they been given the opportunity to give their testimony before a jury ? Well have they ? No they have not ! But you assume that race played a part in the shooting. Mari, let me give you a piece advise, do some investigating reporting ” Take a vacation to the city of Chicago and ask to be taken on a drive along in the hood. I guarantee you that you will have a change of heart about the brave men and women in blue, who risk their lives to make sure journalist and members of the black lives matter can sleep comfortably during their watch.
This makes me think that some in the media are actually inciting violence.
Mari, Three more officers have been murdered and four wounded. Do you believe that the debt has been paid in full ? Do you believe that there has been enough blood shed to compensate for the two men shot by police and that the protests by the group B.L.M. can stop now ? If you do, lets hear you’re thoughts on the ‘matter’.
” There will be about 30-40 black men killed by police this year whereas there will be about 4000+ black men murdered by other black men this year.”
where did you get these obscene numbers
there have already been 146 black people killed by police this year http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-inte…
“The myth of police hunting black men is as racist a trope as there ever was and only continues the subjugation of black men and women by avoiding the real issues within the community.”
“There is racial/bigoted violence directed at police officers every day in some of these communities. “
are you trying to say that stereotypes and prejudice towards police is a form of racism, as if police officers are a race
30-40 UNARMED black men, I apologize for the mistake. My source is the same as yours. In 2015 there were 38 unarmed black men shot and killed by police, so far this year there are 19.
Those other 100+ you want to add to the mix were ARMED at the time they were shot. Even amongst the unarmed men, most were shot after being tazed and continuing to attack officers or were going for the officers guns. GO read the reports, I did. A few more are tragic accidents and then, what’s left? Maybe a handful of cases that amount to a bias or abuse of power by the police, and that is for the Justice Department to investigate, you know, the department headed by an incredible competent black woman who was nominated by a black president!
And meanwhile thousands of young black men are going to be murdered by other young black men.
Police officers are judged both by their badge and their race, the combination of the two can be lethal as we have seen in Dallas and Baton Rouge. To many of these people white cops are the ‘devil’ and black officers are ‘Uncle Toms’ or ‘house *******’. Stereotypes and tropes that rob communities of the power to fix themselves by externalizing their issues are incredibly damaging for all of us in this society. The trope of the racist and abusive police officers hunting young black men is a most dangerous one and is one of the biggest threats to the futures of all Americans, not just the black men who are dying because of it.
How may more black men have to die before people like you realize that the police are a part of the solution and are not the problem?
mm no, youre still wrong. that site says there were 79 unarmed black people shot and killed last year