Dear White People: Stop Thinking So Much
In memory of too many to list
They thought D’Arreion was an intruder in their apartment building
They thought Ahmad was a robber
They thought 12 year old Tamir’s toy was a gun
They thought Alton’s and Amadou’s wallets were guns
They thought 120 pound massage therapist Elijah wearing a ski mask made him “sketchy”
They thought bird watching Christian was threatening their lives
They thought Amadou was reaching for a gun
They thought Trayvon looked suspicious
They thought Willie’s itch on his chest was him reaching for his gun
They thought Marvin was acting strange
They thought Andre’s keychain was a revolver
They thought Terrence looked like a “bad dude”
They thought Aaron was reaching into his glovebox to grab a gun
They thought Philando’s reaching for his driver’s license and registration was a gun
They thought Eric pulling his hands away deserved a choking
They thought it was ok to make up a car ramming story to justify gunning down Howard grad, Navy enlistee and new father Prince Jones
They thought it was a good idea to open fire on Earl and Ronald’s vehicle moving in reverse
They thought Jamaal’s flashlight was a weapon
They thought an officer could wear an inside-out untucked tan T-shirt, jeans, sneakers and ballcap at 1:30 in the morning and come across as a cop to Corey
They thought it was ok to shoot Yvette, who called 911, and ask questions later
They thought it was ok to send the police when Shereese’s sister called for an ambulance
They thought James was reaching for a weapon when he went to unbuckle his seatbelt
They thought it was ok to ram their cruiser into Victor riding a bicycle
Now they thought their 34 ounce metal gun was actually an 8 ounce plastic taser
They thought
Jeffrey Kass is an award-winning author, lawyer, speaker and thought leader on race and society. He is a top-50 writer on medium.com on the issues of race, diversity and black lives matter. His newest book, The Rona Diaries, journals through the last year of the COVID and racism viruses. jeffreykassglobal.com
