“I think people shouldn’t have to
live in fear. I think the point of police is to not instill fear, but to
protect and to have them not feel like fear.” (00:01) Kasiem Walters was stopped for the first time when was just
13 years old. Stop and Frisks are legal in Brooklyn and many other places in
the country. Kasiem Walters tells his story and his experiences with Stop and
Frisks and explains how the decisions by police on who to stop are racialized
and “dehumanizing”.
Walters
tells us a story about his first time being ‘stopped & frisked’ when he was
picking his friend up on their way to school. While standing outside his
friends house two cops stopped and started asking him questions. Including
“where you gonna end up? You wanta end up in jail?” (1:20) Both cops became
aggressive. Kasiem explains that he was “Frightened & confused.” He elaborates on this deeper as he explains how he was so afraid of the police that, even after being mugged, he would not call the police for assistance. Why has Kasiem been stopped over twenty times since he was 13? I believe he already understands why.
“This is
not a going to school problem… this is an African American Male problem” (2:52)
Kasiem shows us how our society has created a profile of a criminal. This
profile, among other stereotypes, usually has black skin. What Kasiem is
explaining runs parallel to what Muhammad explains throughout the first few
chapters of his book. While statistics in these neighborhoods may show higher
numbers of African American criminals we must find it in ourselves to dig
deeper than just the numbers for explanations. Why are African Americans more
inclined to participate in crime? Why are African American Neighborhoods
significantly less? Beyond the simple questions we can also ask why white
crimes are significantly less likely to be reported? I think without even
knowing it, Kasiem has provided a basis for much deeper questions without even
knowing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment