To anyone still struggling with understanding why #blacklivesmatter is so important, here are some videos to explain the injustices that our country has been living through since its inception. The videos demonstrate how Black lives and White lives are treated differently by the Police. Police sign up to protect and serve everyone, and many do, but the internet is full of videos of Black men gunned down by police and very few videos of the same treatment for White people. There is a very real disparity as shown here.
The video below shows an example of police doing the right thing when handling a very difficult White suspect (See linked videos below). In the linked video a White man resists arrest, chases the police officer on foot, tries to steal a cop car, and finally rams the cop car with his own car. A taser was used, but he was not shot and no one died. I’m sure it was frustrating and challenging for the officers, but at the end of the day, these officers did indeed work to protect and serve.
Here is another one, where a white man suspected of murdering a child and two women is resisting arrest, chasing police, and running away. He was maced but is still alive. Once again, Police showed proper behavior and finally arrested the man.
https://youtu.be/NqnN6OT3IFk
Compare these two videos with Rayshard Brooks. To me he does appear to have been drinking, he passed out in his car in the Wendy’s drive through, and eventually resists arrest and takes the officer’s taser. I do not condone any of this, but wish that the police had shown the same respect for Rayshard’s life that the other officers gave. So what if an identified unarmed man, not endangering anyone, runs off? Circle around and pick him up. Why the use of deadly force? Would that have happened if I, a White man, had done the same. No. Plain and Simple. Somehow it is clearly seen as comical when White men run and dangerous when Black men do the same.
https://youtu.be/Fdf8vscar7M
If you need any more evidence, take the shooting of Charles Kinsey, who had committed no crime. In fact, he was rescuing and autistic child and was surrounded by police. He was shot while on the ground with his hands up. Thankfully he lived.
https://youtu.be/eRMYVFmEmx8
I hope that through the work of Black Lives Matter and all those that support their cause we can have more Black men and women treated like their white counterparts and cherish their lives.
Zak