The day after the verdict in Ferguson the debate continues, "Was the shooting of Michael Brown justified?" How we answer that question probably has a lot to do with our race.
If you're white like me you're likely to believe the shooting was warranted. Michael must have done something to provoke the police officer. The police don't shoot someone for no reason, so Darren Wilson must have had no other alternative.
As I hear folks on the news make points and counter points it makes me sad because I really think it's the wrong question.
The question we need to ask is, why would an unarmed 18 year old boy attack a police officer? Cop or no cop, who in their right mind would punch a guy with a gun? Until we answer that question, nothing is going to change.
The thing I think we miss in our debate on race is we are culturally separated. There are social norms and cues we miss when we communicate with each other. Because we come from the same country and speak English we think we're speaking the same language. We aren't.
The prisms through which we see life skew our perceptions of reality in different directions.
Those prisms are created by our experiences, our race and socioeconomic realities. All of life is seen through my context, which makes it extremely difficult for me to understand yours.
There is no scenario where would think the rioting last night was justified. And I've never been a young black male in Ferguson. Until we are willing to address the issues that created an environment where my view could be so vastly divergent from those who lit the fires, we will never solve the issue of race in America.
If you're white like me you're likely to believe the shooting was warranted. Michael must have done something to provoke the police officer. The police don't shoot someone for no reason, so Darren Wilson must have had no other alternative.
As I hear folks on the news make points and counter points it makes me sad because I really think it's the wrong question.
The question we need to ask is, why would an unarmed 18 year old boy attack a police officer? Cop or no cop, who in their right mind would punch a guy with a gun? Until we answer that question, nothing is going to change.
The thing I think we miss in our debate on race is we are culturally separated. There are social norms and cues we miss when we communicate with each other. Because we come from the same country and speak English we think we're speaking the same language. We aren't.
The prisms through which we see life skew our perceptions of reality in different directions.
Those prisms are created by our experiences, our race and socioeconomic realities. All of life is seen through my context, which makes it extremely difficult for me to understand yours.
There is no scenario where would think the rioting last night was justified. And I've never been a young black male in Ferguson. Until we are willing to address the issues that created an environment where my view could be so vastly divergent from those who lit the fires, we will never solve the issue of race in America.
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