“If we all have been socialized to have certain biases and prejudices, then we are capable of enacting those biases in our words and actions.”
- Kevin Nadal, Psychology Professor
It’s as simple as that.
While this quote comes from an article about microaggressions experienced by LGTBQ+ individuals, it is equally relevant when considering the treatment of Black and Brown people in our country and in our community. I’ve been thinking a lot about this quote this week. There are so many people in Columbia/HoCo who deny that these biases and prejudices are at play even as the evidence surrounds them.
The recent videos of Ocean City Police using tasers on young people for vaping on the boardwalk constitute something significantly greater than microaggression, however. This is physical assault for an act that clearly does not warrant such a response. Sadly the video is both horrifying yet not surprising: of course the young people were Black. Had they been white, that would have been surprising.
How can we ask our own young people to attend schools that bring the representatives of such violent and racially skewed actions into the building to police them in a place where they schould be learning? Where they should feel safe? It’s preposterous to suggest that SROs will provide examples of “what the police really are.” These students know quite well what the police really are. More accurately, what the police really are for Black and Brown people.
They see the videos. They hear the stories from friends and family. Or they already know from personal experience.
If the police will tase you for vaping on the boardwalk, why won’t they tase you for smoking in the bathroom?
White parents who continue to demand the presence of police in schools are somehow comfortable with dismissing the evidence Black and Brown students are disproportionately targeted for punitive action. I can only guess that this is because it’s not their child. It’s not their child who is traumatized, whose learning is compromised, whose future is hanging in the balance.
It’s a lack of empathy. Instead of responding by thinking, “no one’s child should be treated this way,” they think, “they must have done something wrong.”
We have all “done something wrong.” As white people it’s highly unlikely that we have been tased for it, or put in a chokehold, or arrested. As a teenager I snuck into a movie with some friends once. I got caught up in wanting to do what my friends were doing. I felt horrible almost immediately. I still feel guilty.
Lesson learned, right? Teens do stupid things and need guidance. They need mentors and caring adults to set healthy boundaries. I truly believe this and I believe this is true for all our kids, not just the white ones. This is why we need funds to provide counselors, mental health support, training in restorative justice techniques. These are investments that can lift all students up. This is an approach that meets needs, rather than allowing bias to direct response.
If we all have been socialized to have certain biases and prejudices, then we are capable of enacting those biases in our words and actions.
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