Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Police Brutality
I actually wrote an essay about the Ferguson riots in ENG 1310, so discussing something like this intrigues me, especially something as personal as this excerpt. In "The Talk: After Ferguson, a shaded conversation about Race", written by Dana Canedy, the "talk" is about something controversial- something children should never have to hear. Especially after something as traumatic as the Ferguson Riots. When teaching a child about staying low because of their skin color, the discussion becomes difficult because they should learn to love the skin they're in. However, at the same time, they should be cautious because of it. Canedy explains to her son that due to the several police brutality cases, he needs to take several precautions in order to stay safe. The precautions are a list of things in order to make sure the officer does not take a black civilian as a threat, which is sad to say. The author explains how white power has an effect in these situations and if he complies slowly and carefully, he will be seen as someone who is "well-mannered", or a reflection of someone white. Although this seems unfair, the author really means it and hopes her child will understand that it's not safe for black people really anywhere without the heavy weight of prejudice and the chance at staying alive. For many innocent people who have died at the cost of police officers being internally racist, such as Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, and Mike Brown, it's sad to say that these precautions are what black children have to hear in order to stay alive. I think that officers should have more practice when it comes to seeing someone as a threat, because it's becoming scary how many police brutality cases there are in the US today.
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I too did a project on police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement last semester. Both the reading, "The Talk: After Ferguson, a Shaded Conversation about Race" and the podcast, "Ally's Choice" deal with the complicated social status that surrounds the black race. Canedy has to tell her son to be extra careful around police and it is saddening to hear that her son wants to avoid the situation completely by just pretending to be white. In the podcast, Ally has openly decided to only associate with her white side of the family in order to have an enjoyable high school experience and keep her children away from bullying. Despite Ally having to lie, avoiding her identity was worth it. The fact that these type of racial discussions occur shows just how severe our flaws as a society are. We should strive as a country to make sure that no race or ethnicity feels the need to hide or be embarrassed of what they are. In the case of Dana Canedy, it’s not so much embarrassment she is concerned with, as it is her son’s safety. She hopes that as a good parent she will be able to “minimize his contact with the police”, but she still questions whether or not that will be enough for him to avoid being a target. No one should ever feel targeted because of the color of their skin and it makes me upset to know that this is the reality for many African American families. I personally believe that it is important to be proud of your background, but then again, I’m not black. Unfortunately, the only way to truly feel the pressure one feels as an African American living in todays 's to become one, something I can’t do.
ReplyDeleteIn the reading "the talk: After Ferguson, a shaded conversation about Race", a black mother talks about how she had to go through "the talk" with her son about police brutality against black people in particular black men and how his response was if he could just pretend to be white. This reading was eye opening to me in a sense that I would have never expected to read something like this. I know that police brutality against black people is a real thing and i know that it is wrong and it is painful to thing that mothers actually have to have this talk with their kids. it is morally wrong and something needs to be done to stop this because that is not the kind of talk mothers should be giving their kids. she was surprised by his reaction about wanting to pretend to be white and in a way it offended her because her husband and his father was a very good black man and she tells jordan he needs to be proud of his heritage. I think he is proud of it but in the issue of his safety, he knows what needs to be done to potentially save his life and that isnt right at all. he should be able to be safe no matter what race he is.
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