Sunday, December 7, 2014

Help me understand…Why Protesting Brown/Garner and Not 12 year old?


Since Michael Brown was killed while resisting arrest, the Black/African American (B/AA) community has been in protest mode.  The overall claim, as I am understanding it, is police brutality.   In these cases, a young Black man was unarmed and was shot by a white police officer.   A few months later, an older Black man was killed by white police officers.  Shortly later, a very young Black male was again shoot to death by a white police officer.  Ok, so I can see some outrage at the fact that the deaths of three Black people where at the hands of white police officers.  What I can’t understand, and this is where I need help; why are there protest for two Black men who were resisting arrest and not for a young Black man who was playing at a park?  What am I missing here?

Is the Black community telling the rest of the world that they can commit a crime, resist arrest and not have anything happen to them?  Yet, a young boy who is playing in the park can be shot to death and that’s ok?

I am a white male, now in his 50’s who has broken a few laws over the years.  Each time I have been arrested, I have not resisted.  I know that I broke the law, and that I have to pay for the crime.  Thus, the police officer is only doing their job by arresting me.  Those arrests have been from waking me up from a dead sleep, to being pulled over in a car, and even a simple knock on the door.

I thought it was common sense that if you break the law, don’t resist!  If you didn’t break the law, but you are still being arrested for suspicion, don’t resist!  By resisting you are creating more problems for yourself, no matter if you are White, Black, Hispanic, pink or purple. 

So again, I must ask this question:  Why is it ok to be protesting the death of two people who were resisting arrest and not to be protesting the senseless death of a young boy who was playing in a park?

The only answer I can think of, is that a group of people would rather cause more harm by getting people all worked up for the wrong reason, then to deal with an issue that has many layers to it.  A young boy is bored, and playing at a neighborhood park.  An officer wrongfully shoots him. A parent gives a young Black boy a play gun, that in itself considering that there is a false perception about Blacks and guns should not have happened.  So why is no one protesting this wrongful death?


I want to understand, so please feel free to leave comments free of hate and help me better understand.

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