Daunte Wright. I am heartbroken and horrified at his death.
As a police chaplain, I am careful what I say about this. There have been times that I have wanted to speak out, express anger, but then I think about all of the men and women who I have ridden with and talked to over the years here in Youngstown. They are such good people doing a very hard and dangerous job. Know how much I admire and value them and pray for them.
And there is a problem. Racism is a problem. Stereotyping is a problem. White supremacy is a problem. Cheap violence is a problem. Fear is a problem.
When I was in college I heard Black man speak about how he felt when people saw him and locked their car doors. Car locks were more obvious back then. He expressed his horror that anyone thought he might hurt them. And I felt so guilty because that was what I was taught as a child. You drive into those “bad neighborhoods”, which is code for Black neighborhoods, and my Dad would tell us to lock the doors.
When I walk now in Wick Park in the mornings, I say hello to everyone. But I am especially careful to greet any person of color. Not because I am afraid of them, but because I don’t want them to be afraid of me. I want them to know I am not dangerous or fragile or crazy or racist, and I will not do anything to endanger them. There have been too many stories about mean white women.
Fear is a problem. We have been taught to fear each other. And because of that we overreact, we jump to conclusions, we make bad choices. Most people are nice people, good, kind, generous, willing to help, wanting to be connected in community. There are some dangerous people, but the numbers are actually low. We just hear about them more, they make news. It has us thinking we have to be afraid when in fact we don’t. We have to give each other a chance.
The problem is that the stakes are different. For white people, there is a danger of being misunderstood, feelings hurt. For Black people, there is a danger of being killed. It is not an even playing field. Our being able to be in relationship is literally a matter of life and death.