Friday, August 16, 2013

Police brutality is justified by black on white crime says Sheriff David Morgan

Well… I think the clock is ticking on Florida Sheriff Dave Morgan. Officers under his command shot an unarmed African American male as the he was looking for cigarettes in his mother's car, which was parked in his own driveway. Sheriff David Morgan explained that the shooting was a tragedy of non-compliance. Which is another way of saying, the victim, Roy Howard Middleton, had it coming. Sheriff Morgan went on to say that the officers were trained and acted properly. Which is like saying they are trained to shoot an unarmed man. Right?

Two white officers shot Middleton, who survived, 15 times. Sheriff Morgan claims that the shooting was caused by black on white crime. I think he's a racist.

Then Morgan loftily adds that we “must address those statistics for what they are, and not inject race,” adding, “Last night we had four black male teenagers attacked a 77-year-old white man. Where was the public outrage in that?” He cites another attack in which “two black males and one black female brutally attacked a white female ... beat her to death with a hammer and crowbar . . . where is the public outrage in that?” Then he cites another execution-style murder by an armed black male against a white male. Plus graphic crime scene details. None of these cases involves the police. They’re just examples of vicious black-on-white crimes that presumably justify—what, exactly? Police brutality? Racial profiling? More warrantless searches? Morgan never exactly tells us what we are meant to conclude from all these allegedly neutral “statistics,” but it’s certainly implied: The real racism in America is in fact directed at white people who are not allowed to defend themselves from being called racists whenever they act like racists.

Source: David Morgan is wrong, Terribly wrong by Dahlia Lithwick

Silly Morgan. Black on white crime does not give you the right to violently confront every black man you meet. In fact, black on white crime is not a factor. Are you suggesting that black on white crime justifies the use of force against African Americans? Lets look at proper police conduct. Is it proper to shoot an unarmed man 15 times? Would you have done the same to a white man, or would the interaction have been friendly? I'm betting friendly, or no interaction at all. 

I don't write about racial issues much. I am a early 50s, white American male, and I know the unspoken and sometime ignorantly overt games that racists play. I refer to myself as an Irish American. I am married to a Filipino. My sons are biracial. I have a smart and beautiful African American daughter-in-law, and a wonderful little multiracial grandson. And don't get me started on the Puerto Rican side of my family. I have few white friends, instead, I have plenty of Asian, Pacific Islander, Latino, and African American friends and relatives (Did I mention my LGBT friends? No? How silly of me). I may be white, but I live in the mixing pot of Los Angeles. My friends and family reflect the diversity of my reality. People like Sheriff Dave Morgan would not survive here. His racism and screwed up perspective would have caused his self-destruction long ago. 

My views are simple and consistent. Judge a person by what he or she does. Be kind. Love everyone. Extend trust slowly. Keep your word. Don't lie. Do you see anything about race in my words? I'm not color blind, I've just grown past the stupidity of judging a person by the stereotypes of his or her race. Now excuse me, I have an early game of disc golf with my Chinese best friend and half-Dutch, half Puerto Rican co-worker… I wonder if he will wear that damn orange teeshirt?