I’m a White middle class middle-aged man with more than a few dollars in the bank. I see the police and can wave at them and drive safely on by. If I reach into my coat pocket for my wallet and identification I will probably not get shot with forty bullets. I can shout out my magic protective words, “Don’t shoot me, I’m White. Put on some James Brown, see I can’t dance!” Oops, did I just fall into a stereotype? So, as a White guy does racism affect my life? Being White and of European descent I don’t worry that I’ll be mistaken for a brown Muslim named Mohammed, strip searched, and undergo a rectal probe at the airport. However, given Timothy McVeigh’s role in blowing up the Federal buildings in Oklahoma it would seem reasonable that White guys should equally be suspect and the US should have launched an invasion on Scotland. (Though it is still puzzling to me why fifteen Saudis attacked the World Trade Center Towers and the US invaded Iraq and not Saudi Arabia: A case of the US being geographically challenged?) When I apply for work and they look at my credentials or college education employers will not wonder if I was successful because of affirmative action. The employer may assume I did it on my own merit or at the least perhaps if I did attend an Ivy League school, it was because I was smart or in the case of GW from a wealthy and well connected family. If I was from that well connected family a gentleman’s C grades will do. When I go into a grocery store and decide not to use a shopping cart and stuff a few things in my pockets; generally, it is assumed that I was in a rush and the management doesn’t call the police. Because I am a White middle aged man who is not walking around in raggedy clothes mumbling to myself (most times) it’s assumed that I’m harmless, a little careless in not using a cart, but not a significant problem. If I was Black or Hispanic, how long would it take before the police are called? I can walk into a local bank and cash a check without an ID. They will not ask me for four pieces of ID, even though I might have had a bank account there for years. I will not have the bank guard calling for back up because I get in an argument with a teller over an error in my bank account. As a White middle aged middle class professional, I know she will defer to her manager, and we will resolve this. If I move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live. I don’t need to ask my friend to find an apartment. I can let the grass grow on my front lawn, have the hedges a bit shabby and the neighbors will think “He’s still a bit of a hippy.” But if my name was Gonzales would the neighbors think, “Those damn Hispanics – one moves into the neighborhood and look what happens.” It is the hundreds of small clues during the course of day that says, “You’re different. You’re not quite like us.” If there is a fistfight at the school do they assume the Black or Hispanic youngster is the aggressor? When an African American friend of mine comes to town, do I need to give them a heads up about our local police department’s history of racial profiling or bias. If he is stopped does he need to do his Black thing? “Yes, sir officer. I know it looks suspicious being a six foot tall black man wearing a suit and tie waiting on the street corner for my wife. No, I wasn’t casing the store for a robber. Yes, officer I have identification. Yes officer, observe my hands as they are going into my pocket. No, I don’t have a gun or a shiv.” Do people of color and various ethnicities feel safe and welcome coming into town? Will they spend their money for shopping? Will they buy second homes here? Will they invest their talents as lawyer, carpenter, artist or poet? Will the richness of many diverse cultures that have strengthened our collective national cultures be welcomed and become an asset to our community? Does racism affect me in my life? On the surface it doesn’t. As a White middle-aged man, living in a predominantly White community, racism can be a ghosted shadow drifting invisibly by. However, racism/ bias/ discrimination, is the sure and slow corrosive acid that that eats away at the fabric of a community. It says there is an “us and them.” It is another wall in the community that divides neighbors, differenced solely based on ethnicity or color.
Cop Named Joe
In a small Vermont town there was a cop there by the name of Joe and four years ago he became chief of police. He said, “About 80% of our cops are good, it is the 20% we have problems with, but as chief I am going to see if I can do something about that.” He went through the department and put together a list of the cops that had a long history of attitude problems and those cops he put on a short leash. One cop said at a staff meeting, “Joe, we’re the cops and we run this town. You know if there is a spic or one them colored boys that come around we know what to do.” Joe spoke up, “That attitude no longer works here. It’s a different day and I’m the chief. If you got an ax to grind, we can get you help, but only if you’re willing to change. From now one the word is – Respect; regardless, if the citizen is rich, poor, or whatever color.” A few cops left, a few of the big mouths become quieter. Every cop knew that something different was going on. This was made really clear when be hired a Dominican Sergeant from a neighboring city and an African American Lieutenant from Hartford. But all of that good work appeared as if it was going to go out the window. One night there was a guy in a church who was going to kill himself. Three cops burst in to the room. One cop realized that it was a scared and frightened guy and returned his gun to his holster. The other two were hot headed cops who had a long history of being abusive and at a distance of about 12 feet they shot this guy dead. The guy was only threatening to kill himself and yet they shot him dead. Joe had a couple of daughters and as a parent he imagined what it would be like if one of his girls who had been killed. Most chiefs would have dummied down, issued a statement that their men had acted correctly, and pretended that everything is fine. Joe went to that man’s funeral services. At the end of the service he stood up, “I know some of you would rather I wasn’t here, as the Chief of Police of my town I want you to know that I am sorry for this man’s death. I don’t know what had happened, but I will do everything in my power to find out the real story.” Everyone was astonished by his courage and honesty. In the following weeks he met with all the local citizens’ groups to talk about the shooting. Instead of denying it and pretending it was that fellow’s fault, he addressed the problem head on. When the town tried to stop the grand jury investigation Joe said, “I want the grand jury. If my men did something wrong they need to be held accountable. If they were innocent, then they will be exonerated. Otherwise, they’ll walk around with the shame of having killed a man for no reason.” The courts found the two cops guilt of involuntary manslaughter and they served time for this. Most towns would have fired the Chief of Police, but because Joe was open, honest, willing to listen to the citizens of his town, they came out and supported his continued tenure. Best of all, the town avoided a protracted and expensive lawsuit. In a neighboring town, they had a similar issue, and the Chief brazenly lied his way through the problem, and in doing so alienated everyone in town. Joe said, “If I wasn’t honest about this and the problems we have had in the Police Department no one would trust us. We’re not perfect, but we’re learning.” Joe even championed an Independent Civilian Police Review Board despite opposition from the Selectboard, “I know most of the police don’t like the idea, but if I want my department to be transparent and open to the public, then I need to put my action where my mouth is.” “There are a lot of things in policing I don’t know about, but there are people in the community who have terrific ideas how to improve service and policing. If I get the community to work with us on the issue of bias, drugs, good neighbor relations, and so forth it means my department doesn’t have to work so hard.” A Chief of Police and a cop named Joe. Just, imagine.
