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Dola:
Another thing that I've been thinking about:
This could've been me. This could've been Ben. This could've been any number of Black men that you know. It happens and has been happening for a long time. At the end of the day. some cops don't see that I'm a father and law abiding citizen. They don't see that Ben is a religious leader and a law abiding citizen. They see a Black man that has to be put down by any means necessary.
Is it all officers? No, it's a small number. Do I know if I've hit the lottery when a police car drives past and stares at me as I drive through a neighborhood that many Blacks don't live in, like the one I live in? No, and for a second, the concern hits, then dissipates. It's something you try not to worry about because it's just a part of life that you deal with. But why should I? Why should Ben? Why should anyone have to deal with that?
And it's something that's hard to understand when it's not the way you've had to live. When that's not a concern for you, it's easy to believe those people who have problems with the police have done something wrong because that would never happen to you. Just know, that's not always the case. Sometimes, a Black person can do everything right, be calm, and comply to every order, and still end up dead.
And that is a feeling that's hard to put into words.
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