Stereotypes kill (cross post from GD)
Stereotypes are as much to blame for the deaths of black men as racism. And it bears much of the blame for our inability to discuss openly the reality of racism/stereotypes in America.
As a white person, people feel free saying racist things to me. For example my coworker and her husband are two of the nicest people to know. They are fun and thoughtful and caring and would do (have done) anything for the people in their circle. They built a new home recently and in the process dug out a beautiful pond. When the husband bought a statue of a stereotypical 1950's little black boy fishing he proudly told me he got a n****r for his pond. When I asked him, "Why do you say such racist things?" his predictable response was "I'm not a racist."
People like him don't see themselves as racist. They believe they treat everybody the same and for the most part maybe they do. But the problem for white people is they continue to wall themselves into a blinding white sameness where they feel safe from the stereotypical Differents. They're just fine with the individuals (co-workers mostly) that they know but when they consider whether the unknowns like Trayvon Martin or Kajieme Powell or Michael Brown or John Crawford III or Eric Garner or Jordan Baker or even 12 year old Tamir Rice deserved to die at the hands of police, it's the stereotype that informs their opinions. And of course they don't think those incidents were about racism. They might have done the same thing and they're not racists.
Now, put a man like him in a uniform with a gun into a confrontation with a black man in a hoodie and if he is only informed by negative stereotypes of young black men in hoodies, he is most likely going to react accordingly, even without overt racism in his heart.
I believe we need a new dialogue in America. People will stop listening as soon as you call them a racist. But if we can have a conversation about stereotypes and how, in real life and in life and death terms, they impact the lives of black people maybe we can begin to get the "I'm not a racists" out of the dark and into the light.
And while I'm at it, it hasn't escaped me, the stereotyping of police here on DU. After the horrific barrage of unjustified killings by police it's easy to condemn them all as racists. Just as it is when white people let in only the images that reaffirm their stereotypes about blacks. It is the same principle whether you're in the dark or in the light. If it's all you see or at least all you acknowledge, it leaves no room for those that don't fit your stereotype. It robs good cops of your respect and the dignity they deserve for being good cops.
My advice is, who ever you are, get to know a Different. Whether it's a cop, a Republican, a Muslim, a Jew, a gay, begin a dialogue in hopes of unlearning your stereotypes. Open your heart. Share your personal experiences so maybe you might teach as well. Let's begin to heal.
Peace
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