A few points. Mr. Swift's belief that we are "well past" the point where "racist attitudes have precluded some racial minorities from receiving fair and just treatment from the cops and society in general" is really only worth the words he strung together if he happens to be a member of one of said minorities (or has some other personal experience of systemic racism--aimed at himself--that would give him any idea what he's talking about.)
To accuse the Somali community of racism for putting out a statement that basically communicated "we're angry and scared, and we have good reasons to be" is, at best, unkind and not well thought-out. Examine the circumstances of the four questionable police shootings of mentally ill individuals. My understanding is that three of four were black men. Black men are far from seventy-five percent of either the general population or the mentally ill population of our city. Perhaps part of the "us vs. them" indoctrination is racial. "Us": middle class white guys who speak midwest-accented english and likely live in the suburbs. "Them": anyone who does not fit every part of that description, but especially those who don't fit *any* part of that description--poor black guys who don't speak midwest-accented english, live in what "we" consider the ghetto. Sounds a lot like Mr. Jeilani. Could that outlook possibly have anything to do with the behavior of the officers involved? Could it be one source of the fear that has been ascribed as a possible motive in this shooting? Is it really unreasonable for the citizens of Minneapolis who look like Mr. Jeilani to be afraid of our police department? Examine those exposed to police violence in the examples I gave in my last post. Most were members of some minority: racial/ethnic, political, religious, or mental health status. The simple reality is that if we have bad, violent police policies, minorities--not reasonably well-off christian white people with relatively "middling" political beliefs--will bear the brunt of the violence. Robin Garwood Seward _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
