Justice Denied, Empathy Witheld
- Maria Motley-Arnold, guest contributor
- May 19, 2017
- 2 min read
November 24th, 2014 – Grand Jury declines to indict officer in shooting of Mike Brown
December 3, 2014 – Grand Jury declines to indict officer in choking death of Eric Garner
December 28th, 2015 – No charges filed against the officer who shot Tamir Rice
May 2nd, 2017 – No federal charges against the officer who shot Alton Sterling
May 17th, 2017 – Officer Betty Shelby who shot and killed unarmed Terrence Crutcher found not guilty of manslaughter
These instances are but a few, a tiny portion. This pattern goes back to the not guilty verdict of Emmet Till’s murderers and lynchings of unruly slaves. Each of these incidents, another example of why people of color do not trust the justice system. Every not guilty and failed indictment perpetuates this distrust. How can we trust a justice system that works seamlessly for the school to prison pipeline but can’t even get charges filed if the perpetrator has a badge? White criminals, even murderers, are given every opportunity to make it back to their families while POC, especially black men and women are not. Suspicion of a crime is enough to be summarily executed if you’re black.
And every single time I post in mourning, in lament, that justice has been denied. I’m scolded. I’m given a litany of reasons as to why they deserved to die. Of why the officer felt the need to snuff out that life. Of how the victim could have made different choices that would not have caused their own murder. I’m told how hard the officer’s job is, how scared they were. I’m told that I’m divisive, part of the problem, that #alllivesmatter.
Every time someone rushes to justify these injustices they’re telling me that my life doesn’t matter. That the safety of members of my family is not important. Not sure if they realize it or not, but they aren’t telling me anything I haven’t heard before. Constantly we’re told how to best prevent our own death:
Be meek.
Comply.
Don’t resist.
Don’t drink.
Don’t do drugs.
Don’t break the law.
Yet for every example of a black person being killed for not following these rules, I can give you 10 examples of a white person who broke the rules and survived. So, really, the rules can be condensed: DON’T.BE.BLACK.
In their rush to defend the police, they forget to mourn with those who are saddened. To comfort those who are in pain. They want to intellectualize my anger and apply logic to my wounds. When really, I’m not even asking for them to agree with me. I’m asking them to show empathy. I’m asking them to grieve with me. To sit with me and hold my hands while I shake in fear for my brothers, nephews, and cousins.
I’m looking for someone to take the initiative to look at an incident like one of the above and check on me without prompting. To say “I’m not feeling the pain but I thought you might, and I wanted to let you know I’m here.”
Is that too much to ask?
The only comfort I take is in knowing that my God is mourning with me and is angry about injustice. People, I hope, will come around eventually.
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