Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and Terrorism
No Me Digas. Op-Ed: Keith Price
Last week I got to celebrate Michael R. Jackson, a young African-American playwright winning a Pulitzer Prize for Theater, and now I mourn the loss of Ahmaud Arbery, a young African-American citizen of untold potential. Watching the glee on Mr. Jackson’s face of winning such a prestigious award contrasted greatly with waking up and seeing footage of a young, unarmed, black man hunted down like an animal by armed white men. It took 2 months for the rest of the nation to hear about it too, and to see that it is now recorded for eternity.
To say this country has become a jungle truly is no longer an exaggeration or turn of phrase. We know that our president’s son is partial to hunting big game, but in the real world, this behavior is not acceptable. It does explain why we have mysteriously not heard one word from the president about this entire situation, either.
In one of my recent posts, I asked the good white people of this country to speak up against some of the injustices that are happening now politically, because believe it or not, this is their problem, too. We, as people of color, are constantly bringing the burden of proof to well-meaning, thoughtful white people, but it is often met with inaction or worse, silence.
I recently had a small Twitter exchange with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Paula Vogel. She is a fabulous human being, a wonderful teacher, and an awesome talent. In my coverage of theater events, we have had one or two really quick moments in the past. She recently posed the question that many conscious and woke white people need to be asking within their communities.
She, too, is asking for good white people to look inside their hearts and try to talk to these animals within their communities to let them know that their behavior is making them all look bad. As people of color, we are doing it every day with our own. I think that it begins with good white folks finally acknowledging that there are people in their communities that can not or will not behave in a manner that seems civilized or reasoned, and they must be willing to confront them with the same fervor that they do when an errant Latinx or Black person is behaving the same way. Yet, in this country that equity is STILL not happening.
The great comedian Paul Mooney has said in his act that white people have the “complexion for the protection.” I want to add that they have the “complexion for non-detection”, too. Many white people generally move through the world not questioning nor being questioned about their comings or goings. If you happen to be white and reading this, then ask yourself these questions. From the minute you walk out your front door, have you had a second thought about throwing on a hoodie to run to the store? I know that I do. Assuming you were not drunk or carrying something illicit, have you ever had a posture change when a police officer walked by you? I do, and I have been stopped by the police. Or as you are jogging, do you expect to be “misidentified” and hunted by a vigilante group and then shot on the street? I definitely do now, but I don’t jog.
Please know that I do not mean to make you feel bad about not having to deal with those queries because we ALL should be living an unquestioned life. You must admit that it is not happening to and for everyone, especially folks of color. We are taught as children and like comedian Wanda Sykes says “white people are looking at you!”
When it comes to these moments where white people behave badly, the complexion for non-detection is what keeps these sociopaths hidden. White people’s first instinct is to give the benefit of doubt to other white people, especially if they present well. Actually, we all do it. It is not until the police uncover the backyard bunker of women that YOUR next-door neighbor had for YEARS, and you had NOOOOO clue because he seemed SOOOOO nice. If he or she is remotely attractive and can hide behind a cute smile and a hot body, then it is not until the moment turns into a scene from AMERICAN PSYCHO, that people begin to realize that they are in the presence of a deranged human being. Unfortunately for me, I only have the luxury of my customer service voice to save me, assuming they ask first before shooting. So when Ms.Vogel took the bold step to call those men terrorists, I thought that she bravely said what most prominent white folks are not willing to say. Learn about her and get a better flavor of why I am loving me some Paula Vogel.
Now that it has been revealed that one of the alleged murderers has had a longstanding relationship with said District Attorney’s office, the case becomes even more suspect. Does this now become a game of people playing prosecutorial “hot potato” to protect their friends and family, or it is flat out racism with a pinch of white supremacy? To me, the optics of this case read as the constant need to give white people a pass on behavior that would land any person of color in hot water. This happens every day.
Those white men who gunned down Ahmaud, claiming they were making a “citizen’s arrest” and then shot him in “self-defense”, along with the person who videotaped it happening, are not heroes. They are not even vigilantes or deputies of the law. They are terrorists, plain and simple. They are people who use unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of some political aim. Their action has created a new level of terror for anyone of any hue simply walking or jogging down a street in broad daylight.
For most people, the loss of Ahmaud Arbery to this kind of violence is a tragedy. It goes beyond race and should appeal to our humanity. For others, this is another confirmation that we still have so far to go with conquering racism in this country. As long as we continue to see images from protests where behavioral inequities, like screaming white men with large guns roaming freely and so blatantly ignored by ACTUAL law enforcement, we are going to continue to see more cases in this dystopian Trump era that will always have the stench of terrorism. In its wake, there will be more mothers crying.
