Are we that quick to
be noticed?
Sitting at home and
catching up with the news has caused me no end in distress as a black man in
the UK and observing the world at large.
In these Coronavirus
pandemic times, first, I read of the indication that Black, Asian and ethnic
minority [BAME] people are 54% more likely to be fined for the contravention of
Coronavirus laws than whites, considering we hardly make up to 15% of England
and Wales population. [Guardian:
BAME People Fined] [GOV.UK:
Ethnic Population Distribution]
Law enforcement would
contend that the distribution of fines is proportional, I would beg to differ.
One can only wonder what proportionality means to them in the face of the
numbers, yet, one must endeavour to keep an open mind. Whether it is
over-enthusiasm or an unfortunate predilection to attract to and intimidate the
BAME by the police, something does have to shift, because it does not augur
well for community relations.
This is not to forget
that BAME are also disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus with poorer
outcomes that the government has instituted an enquiry to determine why. It is
as if there is no respite in going about our business or being afflicted. The
little triumphs in the overturning of some of the convictions and fines are
almost worthy of celebration when they should never have happened, in the first
place.
Flushing out no guns
I have once had an
encounter, where on visiting a public toilet there was a SWAT raid, apparently,
the coincidental presence of 4 black men in a large facility that could have 10
standing at the urinals and 4 water closet cubicles. Someone had called the
police to report that one of us was in possession of a gun.
The ordeal in the
early 1990s was as unsettling as it could be, we were bundled out, searched,
questioned and had our details taken down. They found nothing and offered no
apology. Despite their elaborate and extraordinary intervention is what
amounted to a ruse, I could not obtain a record from the police at that place
or after two visits to the police station as to how I was roughed up.
They basically got
away ultra vires exercising untrammelled authority without accountability or
consequence, we, being left hard done by. I have probably only had one
encounter with the police out of maybe 5 in the UK and the Netherlands, where
it has been courteous and satisfactory. Thankfully, the only thing harmed has
been my pride and a knock on my self-esteem.
Being Black in
America
Crossing the pond,
when I first saw a video of a woman choking her dog by the collar, it was
without the sound on. It was bad enough. My Twitter timeline was lit up with
outrage and indignation about being ‘Black in America’. When I then returned to
watch the video with the sound on, it was a woman who had been called out to
put her dog on a leash as she was required to do taking umbrage to being spoken
to by a black man. [BBC News: White
woman called police on black man in dog row]
She then called the
police on the African American feigning being violently attacked, the good fortune
of it all was it being caught on video along with the police not attending the event
at the time might just have let the man live another day, safe in America. What
kind of providence allowed for both their surnames to be Cooper? Quite uncanny.
Black Lives Must
Matter Always
As if this was not
bad enough, a black man was apprehended under the influence and found sitting
on the bonnet of his car. To a man inebriated, one would expect some
consideration as to their incapacity and irrationality. When he was asked to
step away from his car, he resisted. He was overpowered and handcuffed only for
one of the policemen to kneel on his neck whilst he was in medical distress and
he died. [BBC
News: FBI to investigate death of black man in Minnesota after arrest]
It is like being
Black in America puts you high in the list of threatened and endangered species,
from those who cannot countenance the presence of black in any space to the
point to a sighting of a black person is tantamount to violation of every law
of humanity, a threat to existence and the need to exterminate their person.
Touching on the topic of police brutality and use of excessive force leading to
the violent deaths of black people, that is a plaque on America for which a
remedy is yet to be found.
Things ought not to
be this way, it is why movements as Black Lives Matter
exist because there is a discussion we all must have about our common and
diverse humanity regardless of race, the need for consideration, courtesy,
respect, humility, fairness, and justice is paramount.