Racism is alive and well in America. But mostly from major help from the mainstream media. But much media condemnation seems to come from “driving while black”. It is the claim that police are inherently racist, who assume that any driver that is black is likely involved with something untoward or illegal.
But closer inspection reveals that the media seem to be making some major assumptions. First, it is assumed that most cops have a preconceived notion that because you’re black, you’re guilty. For that reason alone, almost all police are extremely cognizant of that perception, and would tend to be more lenient with black drivers.
Thomas Sowell(Creators Syndicate) tells of a well known black journalist who rode along in a police car with a white policeman. After pulling a car over that had no lights on, the driver exclaimed, “You only pulled me over because I’m black!” Later, when the journalist asked the cop how often he got these types of responses, he said “About 80% of the time.”
Second, black drivers would tend to be more cognizant of this ‘bandied about’ charge, and would tend to think first about being ‘black’ as a likely reason they might be stopped. Third, and worst of all, “driving while black” makes the assumption that white police officers are automatically prejudiced.
Heather MacDonald(Manhattan Institute) recently wrote “Are Cops Racist?” In this book, it cited how the empirical evidence did not support the widely publicized media claims. The media largely ignored her book.
The claims that Blacks are being unfairly targeted by police are rife with a “…attitude of belligerence that is being promoted literally by word and song.” Sowell continues, “…it’s not hard not to wonder whether some people’s responses to policemen do not have something to do with the policemen’s responses to them.”
Many Blacks see these media racial inequalities. They refuse to participate in something they know to be wrong. They know that real racism needs to be attacked. They also know that falsely accused racism is not only counterproductive to real racism, and generates racism where there was none before.
Easy remedies are to take the “zero tolerance” pledge. Treat free speech as you would treat the word “fire” in a crowded theatre. Do not tolerate any “n”, “h”, or “c” words, or any violence that is race related without severe consequences. Carefully inspect media stories on race before they’re printed. Send the mainstream media a message—something like “We’re mad as hell, and we won’t take this anymore.”