Racism Post #3
3:10 p.m. January 11, 2007
GREENWOOD, Miss. – A videotaped scuffle between a black teenager and a white police officer who twice pulled his gun in a crowded high school hall has prompted a $1 million lawsuit, accusations of racism and calls for the officer’s dismissal. The Dec. 6 school surveillance tapes that show the officer pointing his gun at the back of the unarmed teenager’s head were released Friday as part of discovery in student James Marshall’s lawsuit.
This article is proof that racism is still a very large part of today’s world. This article was posted only a few days ago. Racism is very much existent, especially in cities where racism has been a reoccurring theme. The fact that the police officer was white while the teenager was African American incites feelings of racism because the white person is the “bigger, stronger” individual, with a weapon, threatening the life of an African American. Sound familiar? Incidents like this are very common with policemen. It horrifies me that they think they can just pull a gun on anybody and nobody will think twice about it just because they are the ones “in charge.” Just because someone is a policeman does not mean they can threaten just anybody, especially in a crowded high school. News like this upsets me, but also intrigues me. How far can humans go before they realize what they are doing is so taboo it will make the news? How far will humans go anyway? Racism can definitely tie into our other theme of evil, where racism can blind someone, making them go into senseless rage and do things they wouldn’t normally do. People stop and stare, and wonder how someone can be so ridiculously twisted in their thinking, but sometimes the intense feeling of racism can do that to someone. I could never, ever imagine hating someone so much just because the color of their skin.
