This past week we have all been reminded that we do not yet live in a color blind society. As the case of Dr. Gates' arrest this past week makes abundantly clear, racial profiling is alive and well. I readily admit as a middle-aged white man in America, I cannot begin to fathom the frustration that must arise from deep within whenever a black man is stopped by the police simply because of his race. I can understand, though perhaps never completely comprehend, why President Obama would choose to describe the arrest of Dr. Gates with the word, "stupidly." With perfect hindsight it sounds like both the police and Dr. Gates used less than 100% of their brain power earlier this week.
Today, however, I'd like to respond to a couple paragraphs from this morning's New York Times, "Case Recalls Tightrope Blacks Walk With Police:"
Mr. Vivian, the diversity trainer in Atlanta, said that what
happened to Professor Gates was “age old” in America, but that what was
different this time was that it happened in a so-called post-racial
America.
Mr. Vivian, 47, said that he had been unfairly stopped
by the police in the past, but that he lived by “an unwritten code” for
dealing with these incidents. And Dr. Gates certainly did not obey the
code, he said.
Quiet politeness is Rule No. 1 in surviving an incident of racial profiling, he said. So is the frequent use of the word “sir.”
There certainly is "an unwritten code," one should use when encountering the police. Quiet politeness and the frequent use of the word "sir" is good advice for people of any race - including middle aged white men. My dad taught me this unwritten code long before I was a teenager. To quiet politeness and the frequent use of the word, "sir," I would add the attitudes of humility and respect for authority. Also dredged up from my childhood memories are "speak when spoken to" and "answer only the question asked."
And, ever since I turned 14, I have always thought to myself whenever I've encountered a police officer: "This man or this woman might have to lay his life on the line for my safety some day. Speak as if I may owe him or her my life... because I very well might!"
When I was 14 two armed men robbed my home at gunpoint and held my brother and I hostage. Because of the brave actions of my father and of the quick response of the Norton Police Department, I have survived these last 38 years. When one survives a day like that, one never looks at a police officer in quite the same way again.
No one - of any color or race or sex - likes to have his or her day interrupted with the authority of the police officer. And frankly it is understandable that one could be tempted to disrespect a police officer, who has unfairly intruded without cause. But from where I sit - in deference to the brave men who apprehended my potential killers - I will always give the benefit of the doubt to today's men and women who wear the uniform of authority in my life. They encounter the worst our society has to offer every day of their lives. They deserve my humilty and my respect.
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