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Here's the most important, and most difficult thing, for white people like me to accept about George Floyd: his murder wasn't a tragic isolated incident by one lone wolf bad police officer.
That event (like so many others that have captured national attention in the last few years) reflects the nationwide problem of a police force - and criminal justice system - that does absolutely nothing to serve or protect African Americans. This is the norm, not an exception
Don't take my word for it, look at the data. "African Americans are more likely than white Americans to be arrested; once arrested, they are more likely to be convicted; and once convicted, and they are more likely to experience lengthy prison sentences." https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/un-report-on-racial-disparities/?fbclid=IwAR0ITGVwVT6AtGgOeAhXeBKK8P41azOgNnunKwsnJhQnJxFKVu1LY-GFltY
"For young men of color, police use-of-force is among the leading causes of death."
Think about that. One of the leading causes of death for young black men is being killed by the police officers who are supposed to protect them. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/police_mort_open.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1eM0ps69aY-pLjGQ6fqjZ2veEs11HVbOMvh8eTwrCyAXw2DROOZN3_s0M
Think about that. One of the leading causes of death for young black men is being killed by the police officers who are supposed to protect them. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/police_mort_open.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1eM0ps69aY-pLjGQ6fqjZ2veEs11HVbOMvh8eTwrCyAXw2DROOZN3_s0M
Chicago police are 14 times more likely to use force against young black men than against whites.
I could go on and on, Google it and be shocked at how many studies there are laying out in painstaking detail the massive racism in our justice system. https://theintercept.com/2018/08/16/chicago-police-misconduct-racial-disparity/?fbclid=IwAR36Ocq7ekxW_2-_eirFDT9Uol-zodxX-bHDOq2SLrTgyDz9vfVwT5rD50o
I could go on and on, Google it and be shocked at how many studies there are laying out in painstaking detail the massive racism in our justice system. https://theintercept.com/2018/08/16/chicago-police-misconduct-racial-disparity/?fbclid=IwAR36Ocq7ekxW_2-_eirFDT9Uol-zodxX-bHDOq2SLrTgyDz9vfVwT5rD50o
That's to say nothing of massive racial inequality in education ( https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11256-017-0421-1?fbclid=IwAR0xwyGlYVriSxz6Umd-QTeLUm4IFPiXUg94gvpq35aBLn6M1Wbhn2HeQHc), including in how black students are treated by their teachers https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/11/cover-inequality-school?fbclid=IwAR2XIB3-ULI7pLZ9qRUsYaHSI22q-kGjFmr7UTY0WNnNU_Nwrp-_1uqoFTQ
Or massive racial inequality in healthcare ( https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/the-state-of-healthcare-in-the-united-states/racial-disparities-in-health-care/?fbclid=IwAR1h5r4JkwfIp-FUXwd8xy0Rz_ORrI5bOCw6jsmi5xoX_30j5WsOMPLY4kY), which we've seen play out in people of color taking the brunt of Covid-19 https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/27/as-us-coronavirus-deaths-cross-100000-black-americans-bear-disproportionate-share-of-fatalities.html?fbclid=IwAR1VD7y987ZoW5fixbOk4o2xcKLF7-kY6q4flAMcDFN7Dcd2T5aZE_oXt3U
Or racial inequality in wages ( https://www.epi.org/blog/stark-black-white-divide-in-wages-is-widening-further/?fbclid=IwAR3r0r53UzgIGtBezoDiYrp_FfQwl9CmhtgUjBr0kKHePHAvRb7jNGuzARM) and benefits https://www.sociologicalscience.com/articles-v5-20-461/?fbclid=IwAR1qcUrQaFvomJw1BFJqlyOHvYWqXEG2dKvd5rWF0mHb5zHh-21Kw8il4F4
To put it frankly, American society is set up to favor white people at the expense of people of color, especially black people. That remains just as true today as it has ever been, even though slavery and Jim Crow no longer exist.
White America – myself included – like to pretend that is no longer the case, but we have overwhelming evidence that’s not true (see links above as a small start).
White supremacy isn’t a fringe belief held by a few radicals; it’s a fundamental part of our entire society.
White supremacy isn’t a fringe belief held by a few radicals; it’s a fundamental part of our entire society.
Let me say that again, because it’s the whole point of this thread: White supremacy isn’t a fringe belief held by a few radicals; it’s a fundamental part of our entire society.
The first step is admitting the problem. Until we as a nation do that, nothing changes
The first step is admitting the problem. Until we as a nation do that, nothing changes
If you truly mourn George Floyd's death and want to honor his legacy, start by saying - to yourself and others - that America is and remains a nation of white supremacy.
If you can't/won't do that, then don’t bother pretending you actually care about George Floyd's murder
If you can't/won't do that, then don’t bother pretending you actually care about George Floyd's murder
