Racism
A police officer shoots and kills an unarmed man. The sentence says different things to different people. Each character plays a different part to drastically different genres of story. In one, the officer is a hero doing his duty. He is faced with a difficult decision, and must weigh more than just public criticism with whatever choice he makes. If all were right in the world, he wouldn't even have to make such a choice, with life and death hanging in the balance of the uncertainty about what may come next. And as a hero would, he must take whatever comes, even if he must sacrifice himself for some greater good.
The other story is a tragedy. A man with flaws that he can or cannot control in a world that has ordained his demise. Perhaps he is involved in criminal activity, a flaw that draws the attention of those that ultimately end his life. Or it can be that he literally looks like other men that have been proven worthy of dangerous suspicion. And in proper tragic circumstance, it is when he is unarmed that he is mistakenly, fatally confronted. Were it not a tragedy, were there just one small difference to the story, his disasterous end could have been averted.
Then comes the storytellers. Reports of the officers race spells out a criticism against many other people that are considered part of that same race. An indictment is made about that race, as to say that this is explemplifies a characteristic of that race. The dead man's race becomes a critical element of why he was targeted. The scrutiny on his life and past behavior also becomes the story of other people of his race.
Next comes the social commentary. There are some that say even if the victim's race was his only flaw, it is justified by a conclusion that his race is a reliable judge of character. There are others that say that even if the officer does not exhibit a racist attitude in everyday life, the facts of the event (including the officer's race) and other similar events prove that he is racist. Proclamations that the people of the victim's race are responsible for his behavior, and by extension his inevitable treatment. This emboldens others to exclaim expressions of explicit hatred and mockery. The officer's race is also labeled responsible by others (along with the rest of the justice system). Some people take this as an opportunity to disregard the justice system entirely through vandalism and rioting.
Amidst all this clamor and hatred and anger and destruction, there is a majority of people that wish that police officer mistakes were only so bad as arresting the wrong man, not wrongly killing a man. There is a wish that the violence that pervades poor communities could be routed out without neglecting the rights and dignity of law-abiding citizens in that community. There is a wish that the story of a man isn't wholly defined by the exposure of his flaws and a wish that the history of a man's race isn't defined by the failures of that man. And there is a current of despair at those that truly believe in hatred and those that truly believe that justice cannot be had in our society; We the people wish to protect our heroes and to prevent our tragedies, but it is a great challenge given that we are all flawed.
The other story is a tragedy. A man with flaws that he can or cannot control in a world that has ordained his demise. Perhaps he is involved in criminal activity, a flaw that draws the attention of those that ultimately end his life. Or it can be that he literally looks like other men that have been proven worthy of dangerous suspicion. And in proper tragic circumstance, it is when he is unarmed that he is mistakenly, fatally confronted. Were it not a tragedy, were there just one small difference to the story, his disasterous end could have been averted.
Then comes the storytellers. Reports of the officers race spells out a criticism against many other people that are considered part of that same race. An indictment is made about that race, as to say that this is explemplifies a characteristic of that race. The dead man's race becomes a critical element of why he was targeted. The scrutiny on his life and past behavior also becomes the story of other people of his race.
Next comes the social commentary. There are some that say even if the victim's race was his only flaw, it is justified by a conclusion that his race is a reliable judge of character. There are others that say that even if the officer does not exhibit a racist attitude in everyday life, the facts of the event (including the officer's race) and other similar events prove that he is racist. Proclamations that the people of the victim's race are responsible for his behavior, and by extension his inevitable treatment. This emboldens others to exclaim expressions of explicit hatred and mockery. The officer's race is also labeled responsible by others (along with the rest of the justice system). Some people take this as an opportunity to disregard the justice system entirely through vandalism and rioting.
Amidst all this clamor and hatred and anger and destruction, there is a majority of people that wish that police officer mistakes were only so bad as arresting the wrong man, not wrongly killing a man. There is a wish that the violence that pervades poor communities could be routed out without neglecting the rights and dignity of law-abiding citizens in that community. There is a wish that the story of a man isn't wholly defined by the exposure of his flaws and a wish that the history of a man's race isn't defined by the failures of that man. And there is a current of despair at those that truly believe in hatred and those that truly believe that justice cannot be had in our society; We the people wish to protect our heroes and to prevent our tragedies, but it is a great challenge given that we are all flawed.