its not enough to just not be racist

 A helpful guide on how to respond to these tired, obviously racist, talking points: 

1. “Black people commit more crime”

Black neighborhoods are more heavily policed than white neighborhoods. Nearly every police department has arrest and ticketing quotas. Black crimes are simply better documented, also given the corrupt nature of many departments sometimes crimes are just made up.

*and let's not forget that we rarely criminalize white collar crime*

2. “More white people are killed by cops than black people”

There are 200,000,000 non-Hispanic white people and 40,000,000 black people. By sheer numbers yes more white people are killed by police. But black people are shot by police 4 times as often. Also do you not think cops killing unarmed people generally is not a problem?

3. “White privilege isn’t real”

One of the most effective ways to transfer wealth generationally is through the property. Black people were excluded from owning good property until as late as the 1970s. White people have had a 300-year head start where all the institutions, economic rules, and laws were created by them with them in mind. That doesn’t make you, in particular, a bad person and it doesn’t mean your life isn’t hard. However, it’s an acknowledgment that your life would be more difficult if you were black.

4. “This is all sad but I can’t support rioting and looting”

As black support for congressional legislation rises from 0% to 100% the chances of Congress's acts fall from 40% to 30%. That’s not true for white people. If you get punished for taking part in the normal political process by voting, lobbying, petitioning, running for office, etc....and peaceful protesters are arrested and abused, you’re literally being told: “non-violence doesn’t work”. You should be made at every level of government for making people feel that desperate.

5. “All Lives Matter”

No, they don’t and they should hence the reason we’re protesting. Would you say “All Neighborhoods Matter” during natural disaster clean-up? No, because that’d be horribly insensitive and ignore that there is a neighborhood in particular that is suffering right now. Exactly.

6. “White people have been oppressed too!”

Yeah, by other white people. When Black people create a nation enshrining in their founding documents the right to own and trade white people, we can talk.

7. “How come (insert race here) doesn’t riot or protest or loot?”

I promise you they do, but it’s not well reported in the media you consume. White people burn cars and buildings if a sporting event goes wrong.

8. “What about black on black crime”

Black people don’t kill each other because they’re black. America is still very segregated, many neighborhoods are nearly all white or all black. People aren’t driving 20 miles across the county to kill, they kill whoever is nearby. Whites kill about as many whites as blacks kill blacks. Also, ask yourself do you only bring this up in conversations about police brutality? Have you literally ever posted or talked about this in any other context?

9. “Blue Lives Matter”

You can stop being a cop, you can’t stop being black. Getting hurt, shot, or killed while on the clock is an occupational hazard, cops signed up for that. People of color did not.

10. “Many of those killed had prior criminal histories. They were no angels”

Many of the cops also have prior records of DUIs, Domestic Abuse, and other on-the-job murders. Also, there are no perfect people, and do you deserve to die because you have excessive parking tickets or have been evicted or have tried drugs, or yes have even been arrested before?

11. “If they just followed the law, they’d be fine”

Eric Garner was killed for selling loosey cigarettes, which isn’t even a misdemeanor. Even if you do commit a crime, it’s up to the legal system to determine the consequences. What traffic stops warrant a death sentence? Also, innocent people have been killed for simply fitting a description.

12. “Why can’t they just peacefully protest?”

We still get tear-gassed, shot, harassed, and arrested. Martin Luther King only peacefully protested and was literally murdered. Also, peaceful protest is easy to ignore. A riot is the voice of the unheard. 

13. “Not all cops kill or brutalize people”

But many do and face no pushback from other officers or the systems in place to catch “bad cops”. A system that allows a class of people to exist above the law and above all reproach is not for anyone’s benefit.

14. “Cops are people too and have human reactions”

Famously being a cop is a high-pressure job. If you don’t have the mental fortitude to not beat the living hell out of someone because they yelled at you, then you shouldn’t have a gun and you definitely shouldn’t be a cop. Police departments should require anger management, more extensive background checks, and yes regular mental wellness evaluations. But they’d rather spend money on riot gear and drones.

15. “I don’t see color”

That’s bad. You’re ignoring the experience of every black person in this country. You’re pretending everyone is treated equally or has equal experiences in this country when that’s demonstrably false. Just because you wish it true don’t make it so. Those differences and that diversity are important to recognize.