The Issue of Racism Between Authorities and the Public
The issue of racism between authorities and the public has always been an issue, but lately it has increased. There was a recent vote in 2015 asking how many people think that Police Officers lie for the better of themselves, 43.8% disagreed, 30.9% agree, and 25.2% are unsure. We as a society need people to know that the police do what is best for the community. They do not arrest people just for the fun of it, they do not give someone a ticket just because they feel like it, they do not kill someone just to do it. There is a good reason behind everything the police do, no matter the person, their beliefs, and especially their skin color.
A big problem the world has faced in the past and still facing to this day is Racism. The idea of Racism is sometimes blown out of proportion in a way, people make a bigger deal out of it, then it really is sometimes. Racism can go both ways between people. Sometimes the person who is being called “racist” is not actually the person who is acting that way. Sometimes it is the person who is accusing them of that. An example of something like this happening is the shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, a issue in between a African American criminal and a White Cop. The African American, Michael Brown, was caught stealing from a local convenience store and had been reported for doing so. The White officer, Officer Wilson, had tracked him down. After that Brown tried to take control of Wilson’s car, steal his gun, then Brown punched Wilson and took off. It then became a foot race that lead to the death of Brown being shot by Wilson. A lot of chaos happened after that. It became a big deal that a white officer shot a black male. This is the point where some people are causing racism themselves, because if the man was white or black, he still would have been shot because he committed theft, assaulted an officer, taunted the officer and then denied arrest. Wilson did not care if the suspect was black or white, his main concern was keeping that town safe. In a interview with Wilson, he stated that he apologized for taking the life of someone. He said that is something he will never be able to forget, but he also said he doesn’t regret his action, Wilson stated: “He was not only protecting himself, but also protecting his community.”
A group of people who are concerned with this issue is the organization, “Center for Policing Equity.” They are located in Los Angeles, California, and their organization started in 2007 and has been going ever since. There slogan is; “Empowering law enforcement agencies with useful data and tools to continuously improve and strengthen relationships with the community they serve.” These people are the ones who are going to change this issue. They are stating what is going on without taking anyone sides, all they want to do is help. Most groups that are trying to so call, “stop” the issue are trying to do it by rioting, but is that working? Clearly it is not, fighting in life will get you nowhere. The interesting idea CPE contributes is the fact that their main focus in the issue is understanding. The group says, “We are researchers, thought leaders, and law enforcement professionals who believe the key to achieving equitable democracy in our nation lies in understanding-understanding people, their practices, and priorities.” To help solve this issue, their goal is to recreate a bond that has been broken in between police and their communities. They are making agreements with some states to start a year long research on trying to reconnect the bonds. They believe once those bonds are built again, there will be not as many issues because the people of the community will know that the police are not bad people. The people need to know that the police are on their side, their goal is to protect their community, that is what they are doing. CPE is trying to rebuild these bonds by using the National Justice Database to track policies work and by using research to track people's behavior. Anyone can join CPE no matter what skin color you are. You can keep up-to-date with the latest research by checking their website daily and joining/participating in their events. You can find all this information on their online website.
To many people in the world today think that the rules our society has to follow are unfair, when truly they are not. Rules are not made only for some. Rules are made for everyone, no matter the age, beliefs, or skin color. Everyone should have to follow the same rules, there should be no exceptions. The big issue we are facing today is that people think there should be exceptions to rules for only some people. These “exceptions” are giving police a bad rep which is not fair to them. All police are trying to do is keep the community safe, that is there job. But all these issues with racism and “your only arresting this person because of this,” are taking police away from what their job should be focused on, keeping people safe. So next time you think something is unfair, think to yourself, is it really that unfair?
Works Cited
"Center for Policing Equity (CPE) | Center for Policing Equity." Center for Policing Equity. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
Sanchez, Ray. “Darren Wilson Says He is Sorry, But his Conscience is Clear.” CNN News. November 26, 2014.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/10/the-cop
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-siege-after-police-shooting.html?_r=0