On the same day that ex-officer Michael Slager was indicted for the murder of Walter Scott, another Black Lives Matter incident went viral.
It’s about a recent situation in McKinney, Texas that involved a group of black teens, and it is quite troubling.
Eric Casebolt was the McKinney police officer who had been taped slamming one of teen girl to the ground and raising his gun towards other teens at the scene. His police chief spoke of his actions as “indefensible.” Days after the incident, Casebolt’s lawyer said his client had decided to resign.
Although the investigation is still being thoroughly reviewed, to me there is no denying that this incident is highly racialized.
Of course, there will always be people who are going to say that this violent attack has nothing to do with race. But in reality, I think only communities of color should get to decide whether or not any incident that involves violence against people of color have racial undertones. In the video, it seemed quite clear that the people who were being chastised and abused by the police were people of color. The boy who was recording, who is white, was not even reprimanded or told anything like the others kids.
Apparently, a woman at the party mentioned that an argument commenced when the black children were confronted and were told to go back to Section 8 housing. In other words, when a group of black people are congregated in a suburb that is predominately white, they are presumed to be poor, not worthy of humane treatment, and outcasted.
So maybe the real question that we should be asking is that if in fact this incident involved racial slurs, why are the people of color being castigated?
Photo courtesy of YouTube video
I believe the people of color are being castigated, because there is a culture in suburbia that thrives on “otherizing” people who do not look like them. Historically, many white police officers have not been reprimanded for their brutality against communities of color. I think something has to be done to eliminate these continuous seemingly racial situations. No race should fear the police. We need to stop the racism within our society.
Photo courtesy of YouTube video
I have called the police once in my lifetime, and I regretted it wholeheartedly. They put the man in handcuffs and treated him terribly. The individual that was handcuffed was black, and he was pushed up against the wall, which was completely unnecessary for what happened. I went home and felt extremely melancholic and guilty for calling the police.
Did I betray my community for calling the cops? Whether I betrayed my community or not should be irrelevant. However, just the fact that I have to think about these dilemmas proves that there is a structural system in this society that oppresses communities of color in law enforcement.
This has become a mental health issue for me, as I am sure it has for others as well. Police brutality against communities of color can cause toxic depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other debilitating conditions. I do not have the answer to solve all of these multiple intersectional issues, but I know that it is going to take a national movement to do so.
I am thankful for the Black Lives Matter movement and all of the other organizations that have been created to directly address these systemic issues. I hope that we can begin to create change.
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