This situation diminish equity in the issue of race and sexism that a man cannot drive down the street in daylight. The factor of talking on the phone was an afterthought when he found no other cause for stopping. Then the assumption of him possibly doing wrong diminishes also. It made me have a feeling of sympathy for other people who have experienced same thing, and women have experienced sexism from police before. Being stopped to be sexually harassed. it would be a joint effort from the community to change their perception of someone being up to something, and the social group to work in removing the stigma they sometimes can unknowingly portray.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression
A moment I remember of bias was when my brother an African American Male was stopped by Police. My brother was driving home from the gym one day, he had received a phone call from his job where he is a supervisor. He was talking on a hands-free device. The police officer was going the opposite direction of him. The officer proceeded to make a U-turn in the street and came back his direction and pulled him over. The officer asked normally for the needed information then ran his info which was clean, and said I pulled you over because you were driving and talking on the phone with two ears plugged. His first thought was how be saw he had both ears plugged? He told the officer he was on a work call and the officer looked surprised and told him well you still cannot ride like that.
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Angelika,
ReplyDeleteThe injustices culturally diverse individuals suffer at the hands of law enforcement are pervasive, currently calling for action in our nation. The incident were the asthmatic gentleman died from a choke-hold applied by a police officer is just one of many incidents that signifies the prevalence of racism in our law enforcement, our country. Although not as often, the pendulum of racism can swing both ways. A few months ago a white man stopped in Detroit to assist an African American boy who ran into the side of his pickup. Once he got out of his vehicle, a group of African American people converged around the white man, and began to beat him into unconsciousness. Both acts I mentioned were both uncalled for and racially motivated. Although our nation has made great strides regarding racism, it is the incidents experienced by your brother, as well as the two individuals I mentioned, that signifies that the journey is far from over. Thank you for sharing your personal experience of bias and prejudice. :)
Pamela
Hi Angelika,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your personal experiences with biases, prejudice and oppression. I'm sure that we have all heard stories about law enforcement officers using their roles of power to oppress, discriminate against and even intimidate others. I am so sorry that your brother had to face such unfair treatment by someone who is supposed to be looking out for our well-being and safety objectively and fairly. While I was in University I worked at the shopping mall fairly close to my home. One of my co-workers and I were walking home minding our own business after a shift when two officers pulled over. They began telling us to get in because it was unsafe. We felt very safe, were in our neighbourhood and it was still daylight. They were making sexual comments and made us feel very uncomfortable. It is awful when law enforcement take advantage of their positions of power.
Thanks again for sharing!
Rhiannon
Hey Angelika,
ReplyDeleteGreat post ! It is truly sad to see this type of thing still happening. We have come so far as a nation but unfortunately still face several of the "ism's" in our society. I went into a car lot recently to purchase a new car. It took a while for one of the salesmen to come over and help me. When one did he was a younger black guy whom appeared to be new. When I picked a car and told him what my down payment would be all of the white salesmen crowded the office to see if I needed anything. It was amazing how differently they treated me after they heard how much my down payment was.
Hi Angelika,
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend and I were talking about this same example last week. As a Caucasian women I have always believed the police would only pull me over if I am truly doing something wrong. However, as we were driving the other day my boyfriend became paranoid that a police car was behind us, even though we were doing nothing wrong. He did this because of what has happened to him in the past, being pulled over for no apparent reason, just like your brother because of his skin color. It's sad that this type of thing still happens in our society.