In July of 2016 a Cobb County, Georgia police lieutenant re-created his version of a famous Saturday Night Live skit.
White America laughed loudly at what they perceived as the absurdity of Eddie Murphy, Black people laughed uncomfortably at what lurked and gnawed in our psyche. Lt. Greg Abbott reassured a female passenger in a stopped vehicle with the words, “remember, we only kill black people, right?”
I am willing to admit the officer sought to reassure the woman involved in the driving infraction. The insidious nature of his comment was the inference that her safety lay in the sanctity of her white privilege. What does that say to every person of color in America? Answer: guilty until proven innocent.
When I was a teen in the 70’s my friends and I would say in response to the command, you had better…, “the only thing I have to do is live, die and be black.” It would appear from the above video besides the attrition of life, white supremacy has publicly and openly deemed, being black a health hazard once more. This is not to cast aspersions on Lt. Abbott or even assert he is a racist, he is just the latest symptom of a vile disease, Racism in America.
I concede, the officer may have felt the need to calm the nerves of the woman’s growing discontent, coupled with her alleged overconsumption of alcohol; but why that choice of words? What made him think the answer was to assure her of her superiority? Over the past few days, we have seen countless numbers of officers Black, White, Asian and Latino pulling people from a perilous situation. People who were literally clinging to life in the flood waters of Texas, that is the best of America. I just read the story of Special Response Group officer, Deputy Rick Johnson. A picture of him has gone viral carrying two young children to safety, one in each arm. Johnson is black the two children are white. The race of the people involved should not be the cause celeb. Johnson’s heroism should be front and center. The story of Deputy Johnson has been repeated by officers of all colors, faiths, and ethnicities. Paraphrasing Deputy Johnson, ‘we’re all the same. We’re all equal’
Shame on you Lt. Abbott
The Cobb County Police Chief. Mike Register, said it best, “I don’t know what is in his heart but I know what came out of his mouth.” I have two granddaughters one is student at a university in North Carolina the other a small business owner and grew up just outside Cobb County, Georgia; I cannot help but wonder had she reached for her cell phone to make a call home for help prior to an arrest, would she be alive to tell the tale? Those are things as a black parent, a black grandparent and a black man I weigh daily. Will I come home alive today; or does my lack of “privilege” make me an unwarranted target of someone’s idea of humorless truth?
I just heard, Deputy Johnson is foregoing the funeral of his grandmother this week because, he felt his place was guarding his community, black and white.
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