In case you missed it, The Palm Beach Post just published a story about a man who was shot by the police while in the care of an autistic man. Yes, the man who was shot was black.
As it turns out, I was already aware of this story before it hit local news papers. In the next few days it is probable that the story will go national. The reason I knew about this story before the news is because I work in the field, providing services to handicapped and disabled adults in South Florida. Thankfully, this was not one of my employees, but it just as easily could have been as the details to to story (preceding the police involvement resulting in a man being shot), is a familiar one. A mentally challenged man with autism eloped from his facility and one of his caregivers went to retrieve him. Apparently, both men were seen walking down the road and a witness contacted the police department reporting the two men, claiming one man had a gun. As it would turn out, the man did not have a gun. The only thing found was a toy truck, which likely belonged to the handicapped patient.
Here again we have another tragic story about an unarmed black man being shot by the police. Unfortunately, things like this seem to be happening a lot lately. Truthfully, they've probably always been happening, but modern technology has allowed for more accountability. The reason I'm writing this blog is because this instance is a perfect example of one the bigger, underlying problems in the 'Black Lives vs. Blue Lives' debate, which I feel is often overlooked.
You see, the problem is not as simple as the police being racist. That is certainly a problem, and there are certainly police officers that are racist. But, the heart of the problem seems to be that PEOPLE in general are racist, and the police department is comprised entirely of PEOPLE. This isn't to imply that all people are racist in the same way it is not implying that all police officers are racist. But, to argue that NO ONE is racist is absurd. And, if we can all agree that some people are racists it is certainly reasonable to conclude that some police officers are racists because they makeup at least a portion of the collect population of our country.
What, however, is interesting about this debate is the supporting statics. Without bogging you down with a bunch of big numbers that you probably won't read anyways, on average our most current statics tell us that black men are approximately 2.5 times more likely to be shot and killed by police officers, than white men. This is a staggering statistic and unequivocally shows the imbalance between white lives vs. black lives. Yet, what is often never addressed is the statistical ratio of reported "crimes." In short, law enforcement is more likely to receive a call or report about a black man than a white man. Statistics suggest that black men are also about 2.5 times as likely to be reported to the police for suspicious behavior. These numbers are rough but worthy of note as they suggest that the greater issue may be racism within the broader community, not simply law enforcement itself. If a black man is more than twice as likely to be reported for "suspicious" behavior this implies that police officers or more than twice as likely to have to engage a black man than a white man. This would certainly help to explain some of the imbalance in numbers.
To be clear, this in no way alleviates those police men who are taking Black Lives. Shooting an unarmed man is unacceptable; yet, it does add another layer of complexity to the debate. In short, the problem we are witnessing in America is bigger than just Blue Lives. The problem is racism itself.
This most recent incident in Miami is a perfect example of what seems to be a terrible scenario. Fault certainly lies in the police officer who decided to shoot an unarmed black man. But fault also lies in the witness who saw a 'suspicious man carrying gun' when in fact it was simply a black man doing his job. I'm writing this blog not because I feel compelled to assuage justifiable anger against law enforcement, but rather to remind us all that law enforcement also cannot be America's racial scapegoat. We as Americans need to be outraged by the taking of black lives by law enforcement, but we also need to be outraged by the broader communities perception that because a man is black, he is up to no good or a criminal.
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