I've been watching a lot of police videos lately of police officers harassing and assaulting black lives. Again and again, I am witnessing a common theme where the police are looking for a reason to exercise their power and control over the situation. It doesn't need to be a good reason, it can be something as simple as reaching for something, resisting arrest in some way, questioning the officer about why they are being pulled over or arrested. Sometimes the officer will keep harassing the individual until they do something that qualifies as a reason to ask them to step out of the car, and things start to escalate. (BTW, I've been pulled over three times for traffic stops and never been asked to get out of the car. If an officer asked me to get out of the car, I would question them too.)
Give blue bodies a reason to exercise power and control over black bodies, and they will.
Of course this isn't unique to police officers, we all (we all being people who conceive of being white) have this too. Imagine walking down a sidewalk at night and two black men are walking towards you. What is your bodily response? Do you feel a sense of heightened awareness? Do you get a little kick of adrenaline? You probably do a quick safety check- Are you in control of your body? Yes. In control of your surroundings? Yes. Do you feel threatened? No. Feeling safe and secure and in control of your own body, you probably walk right by and so do they.
What happens if those black men are wearing a suite and tie? How does that affect the situation? What if those black men are wearing baggy jeans and hoodies? What if you hear one of them swearing? In each of those situations, you are going to be assessing your safety and control over your own situation. We do this to everyone, poor people, drunk people, people with dogs. It is normal to have a physiological response to your surroundings. You should pay attention to the way you feel and respect your right to feeling safe and secure. Your life matters.
Here's the thing: it is not normal for a white body to fear a black body. White bodies have never been tormented or oppressed by black bodies. It would be normal, and probably is normal, for black bodies to feel fear and insecurity around white bodies. After all, black lives have been regularly tormented and oppressed during the entire period of recent black history. For white people, it is their perception that gives rise to these feelings of fear and insecurity.
Where is the highest rate of crime in your city? Let me guess, it is probably an area with a high minority population. This area has poor schools, lower income housing, poor city planning and development. More than likely, the city wants people to avoid that area and directs resources accordingly. As a result, white people build an association that urban, low income black people are dangerous. Black people = bad*
(*Conditional terms apply)
So let's imagine a young black man wearing baggy jeans and a hoodie comes to your front door in your middle to upper class neighborhood. Are you going to answer the door? Are you going to call the cops? What if it is a middle aged man wearing jeans and a t-shirt? What if it is a black man wearing a suit and tie?
What if there is a non-descript black man appearing drunk as they walk down the sidewalk? What if there is a black man off the trail in your local park (you didn't see him taking a picture of his favorite flower)?
What is your body and mind doing in all of these situations? How does your body feel? Do you feel threatened? Do you have a sense of control over your own body and the situation? What reason do you need to call the cops?
Give me a reason to call the cops, and I will.
Here is what I am seeing in our culture. White lives matter. The feeling that white bodies have over their sense of security and the control they feel over their situation matters. When white bodies feel threatened, even if it is just a mental perception, they will act to take control over their situation and exercise their power. White power might be a divisive term thrown around by hate groups and the media, but truly this is the essence of white power, that at any time white bodies can exercise their control and power over black bodies. If you are white, you have white power simply because your perceived sense of control over your body matters to our culture.
The same cannot be said for black lives. Not at this time in history. It cannot be said on a cultural level that we respect the same level of power and control that black people have over their own lives. Sure, we can say black lives matter, but give the white body a reason and it will take control of that black body. What is disgusting about some police officers that we are seeing is that they are using any reason to take control of that black body and then using excessive force without restriction or consequence.
All of this has to do with how we perceive or feel about our own security and sense of control over our own lives. This is a fundamental human right, and to this day we are not giving as much importance to this right to black lives. This is why we say Black Lives Matter.
Collectively, we all need to examine and unlearn our own unconscious biases. We need to build systems that respect and value black lives as much as other lives. The path forward is not easy or clearly formed, but we can start by recognizing what is going on in our own body and mind and learning how to work with that more effectively.
