Black Teen Reveals The Unwritten Rules His Mom Makes Him Follow To Stay Safe
Just days after George Floyd’s death, an unarmed black man who died in police custody, Cameron Welch from Houston, Texas, posted a clip on TikTok that illustrates the racial tensions the US currently faces. In the video, the 18-year-old shares the unwritten rules his mom has instilled in him in order to stay safe.
“Don’t ride with the music too loud. Never leave the store without a receipt or a bag, even if it’s just a pack of gum.” It’s heartbreaking that someone needs such a list. We shouldn’t have to live like this.
Cameron’s TikTok immediately went viral. It has been viewed more than 10 million times and has received over 45,000 comments, most of which criticize the injustice in America.
Image credits: camig.ftp
Watch the full video below
@skoodupcamJus some unwritten rules my mom makes me follow as a young black man ##fyp ##blacklivesmatter♬ original sound – marcappalott
“I made the video for more people to understand how my people feel day to day,” Welch told Bored Panda, adding that, “The attention I’m receiving is very positive [and I] love to see that I’m making a difference.”
The teen believes that our society has been at a standstill when it comes to racial discrimination for a very long time and now we are actually moving in the right direction.
And he has a point. Similar versions of The Talk have been around since the days when a black man could be lynched for “reckless eyeballing” and “bumptious contact,” or for simply refusing to step off a sidewalk when a white person approaches.
Image credits: www.tiktok.com
Sadly, it shows that there’s something intrinsically wrong in the first place. Fred Robinson, a minister and father of three children, including one teenager said he too was taught to cooperate with cops. But he thinks The Talk has to change because, according to him, it puts the burden on black behavior. There isn’t a critique of the public or the authorities, it’s all about what black people are supposed to do.
“It puts the focus on us rather than where it should be — on racism in the police department and the way black people are targeted,” Robinson told CNN. “We are Americans and we ought to have a right to have a bad day, to question a police officer or to question an order that doesn’t seem right.”
Welch expressed similar thoughts, too. “Our voices are heard but not felt by the people. We endure too much pain and hurt to just be heard — we need you to feel just a fragment of what my people feel on a day-to-day basis in order to get meaningful change. I believe if you felt the bottled-up emotions of silence that our country makes us hold in, then we can make real change, because not one race should ever feel this way,” he said.
Here’s what people said after watching the viral TikTok
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Just a little comment to those thinking these are "normal rules for all kids" - yes, they might be considered practical, normal rules. The difference is - black people fear being hurt or killed if they don't follow the rules. Us white ones? Sure we ought to wear proper clothing and all, but the police won't shoot us "by accident" if we fail to comply. (at least the risk is very much smaller, and that's a fact!)
The risk is also much, much smaller in countries where the police don't have guns as standard.
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I zzi - the guns are a factor though and we shouldn't demean the fears of black people in the US by pretending they aren't. Charlotte A at the top of these comments has said there are fears of the police shooting them 'by accident' and she isn't alone in saying that. Yes, armed officers can be deployed in the UK but they aren't wandering around with them when dealing with everyday incidents.
More to the point - where the police are not d*cks on a power-trip as soon as they see someone who they think they can get away with bullying... There are good police, but everyone suffers because of the bad ones, and the good ones not reporting the bad ones, are just as a bad for continuing to allow it to happen.
Not even about guns. I live in the UK and had the same rules...although my mum told be never do what your little white friends do as you are not white and they will press charges. Always the first asked when something's gone missing. Always watched in shops, even if we'll dressed and actually there to spend money. Always assume that I do drugs or have drugs...by work colleagues....the list is endless
Please counter the racists downvoting @I zzi below. He/she is sharing their own experiences, albeit in the UK. Racism knows no borders.
Guns should not be used. They are brutal, unnecessary, and often wrongly-used artefacts. In England and other countries who do not have as much access to guns, we usually do things better than places like America and don't shoot our own innocent people. I firmly believe they should be illegal, and everyone should be treated fairly. If I was taught anything at school, it was how to stand up to things that are unfair or you don't believe in, and we were very strong about this when it came to racism. Everyone should be treated fairly, no matter their colour, height, age or whatever. And they still taught this. Even though the school had only one coloured person, of whom was in foundation when I left for high school.
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Which is five countries, and in those countries when they feel the need for guns, they send in people who are more like special forces. Soldiers even in police uniforms make poor law offers. And that includes most U.S. police SWAT members.
Absolutely. I warn my son about the same things, should he get pulled over. My son can get a bit "mouthy", but I still don't think he'd get much more than roughed up. Definitely a different kettle of fish.
Good point (gave you an upvote). But still she will be asked, by the police or by lawyers "What were you wearing?" after the damage is done.
Yeah, we humans have a tendency to treat others badly for all sorts of reasons.
Also, don't forget this is all about the USA. Here in the first world the problem isn't like this at all. Sure we have racism, unfortunately, but POC don't have to fear being shot by the cops for every little thing that might happen.
@Rissie, I believe she meant something along the lines of 'the old continent', but with the third world tendencies the US are displaying with such fervor right now, I really can't find it in me to blame her. Before you begin swearing at me, let me expand. I have heard very well to do people from so-called developing countries state quite a few times that they would never want to live in Europe. And I must say that I understand them. Their standard of living is much higher! In Europe, they would have to go without the chauffeur, the cook, the gardener, the cleaner, the nanny, the housekeeper, etc. The widening income inequality in the US, the lack of comprehensive healthcare, high infant mortality rate (the CIA lists the US in 56th place, after Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia), high maternal mortality ranking (the US ranks 55th, just behind Russia (17 per 100,000) and just ahead of Ukraine (19 per 100,000), Add to that the huge differences in quality of education and access to highe
(2) ...access to higher education, the "food deserts" i.e. the lack of shops selling fresh food ingredients in low income neighbourhoods, and at another parameter, the United States prisoner rate (number of prisoners per 100,000 people) is 737, the highest in the world, followed by Russia at 615. Then you can add Trump's totalitarian tendencies and it truly makes me mad that a country with such resources for a large part chooses to behave like a banana republic while steadfastly claiming that everything is The Best it can possibly be.
I highly recommend reading this article: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/defund-police/612682/
There are always going to be people who just refuse. They just REFUSE to see. Anyone who would comment to say that these rules are felt on the exact same level by a white teen is just disagreeing to disagree. That is ignorance. Ignorance is a CHOICE. I’ve said this for a long time: The difference between stupidity and ignorance is that the stupid can’t, while the ignorant won’t. When dealing with ignorance, it’s best to take the high road, for these are people who are not INTERESTED in learning the truth. They lack compassion because they choose to. For the dim-witted, however, there is the possibility for education.
@Stickman, The answer is yes. Maybe even more so. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/nyregion/nypd-social-distancing-race-coronavirus.html
First world country: "Any country with little political risk and a well functioning democracy, rule of law, capitalist economy, economic stability, and high standard of living." So, you know, Europe.
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I'm a white mother of three Sons and except for the comment about Caucasian women, I always expected my Sons to follow these same rules. It has nothing to do with color, it has to do with respect for self and others. To bad all mothers don't stress these things. I know my Sons didn't always do right but it wasn't because they didn't know better.
Judith, the difference is that your sons wouldn't be killed for not following the rules. That could happen to a black person.
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What planet are you on? In the USA, black people kill and assault whites at a rate of 25X White on black. When I look at these rules, I’m like “black person may get their feelings hurt in white places. White person wandering into black area at the wrong time: DEAD”. That makes this laughable.
"Krivo and Peterson’s analysis of crime data in Columbus, Ohio shows that economic disadvantage, not race, is the strongest predictor of violence in a particular neighborhood. “In fact,” they conclude, “violent crime rates for extremely disadvantaged white neighborhoods are more similar to rates for extremely disadvantaged black areas than to rates for other types of white neighborhoods.” https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2018/05/03/homicide_overtime/
Race and ethnicity in the United States: White: 72.4%; Black or African American: 12.6%; Hispanic and Latino Americans, the largest ethnic minority, 18%
Murder victims: White6,088; Black 7,407; Hispanic or Latino 2,173; Total 14,123. https://www.statista.com/statistics/251877/murder-victims-in-the-us-by-race-ethnicity-and-gender/
Unfunded fear breeds violence. An older white man, commenting somewhere on this post, describes how he was getting beaten up by the police for living in a black neighbourhood in his younger days...
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Nope. Police shoot white people too. when you factor in socioeconomic factors like crime rates, and poverty, white people are just as likely or even more likely to have a fatal encounter with a cop as their black peers. It's just white death is not newsworthy or politicized.
Lies, lies and damn lies.
FACT: Black population in the US = 13.4%
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219
FACT: Black people are 2.8 time more likely to be SHOT & KILLED by police than white people.
To make matters worse; 14.8% of black people shot and killed by police were unarmed compared to 9.4% of white being unarmed. So you are 1.6 times more likely to be shot and killed as an unarmed black person than a unarmed white person.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6080222/
FACT: It's not about crime as you can see from the image I've post from https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/
Remember, when you lie, you will get called out on it. You should consider that most people can fact check and prove you to be a liar in about 10 minutes. I have one simple question and I would like to tell the truth..... did you lie due to ignorance or racism? Socioecono...33-png.jpg 
Really? Can you give a source for this. Death by cop is #5 death reason among African American men. I can't find anything about whites so I'm seriously curious what you're basing this on.
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White people(unarmed) shot down by the police in the USA are more than black people. 90% of the black people's homocides are done by black people.
To those who are saying that these are rules for everyone: Not every race gets killed or beaten or detained for just being that race. My father had the police called on him for throwing newspapers. Can any of you say that happened to you? My sister and I almost had the police called on us at a gas station even though we paid for the gas. Did this happen to you. Please stop comparing experiences and just listen to us. Please. As much as you think you do, you don't understand.
Deanna, I wish that your response could get upvoted to the top of this thread. Many of us are not from the US and are reading this article with a lot of cultural bias. I think that more people really need to be directed to your response.
Load More Replies... Thank you for your support, Loki. I am kind of afraid that some people might get angry about what I said, but I thank you for your support.
I know this has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the thread but, I loveeee your name :)
I grew up in Northern Ireland during the troubles - a violent time. The police were armed. You were bloody sure you were going to be polite to them. However, I never seriously feared I was going to be harmed by them even if I got caught doing something I shouldn't. Might have got a clout round the ear but the fear that you might get shot? No. Even with everything that went on it still does NOT compare to what black people in the US have to worry about.
I want to say thank you to all the people who gave me positive feedback, but unfortunately I can't continue to be on this site. The last several days have allowed me to see how many people don't understand the situation of being black in America. It is getting very mentally and emotionally stressful for me to keep being told that I don't know what I am talking about and that I am wrong in my opinion. I have lived in this skin color for 34 years and I think I know the experience better than anyone. I have been told that people have gone through these situations regardless of their race and I am looking at it wrong. So again thank you to Loki, Liam, Chancey, and Aragorn; but I can't continue to argue with people who refuse to listen. I am talking to you Truth. I can't believe anyone would be insensitive enough to call the discrimination I have experienced sad and laughable.
Dilly, I don't want to leave, but I can't keep having people think that my life experiences are funny because they have been through worse. I will stay, but just ignore the people who are not ready to listen.
You will be a great loss to Bored Panda Deanna but I respect your decision. There are people who don't understand and don't even appear to be trying to. I can't share your experience as I'm a white person in the UK but I can accept and believe what I'm being told. I tell people what I hear you say. I want to say Please Don't Go because your voice is an important one. We need people to say everything you have been - Desiree Burch a comic from the US - said something similar last night on The Last Leg. That we need people to not just 'defriend the person making the stupid comments on Facebook' otherwise who else will tell them they are wrong? However, I'm not the one being hurt by the constant stream of ignorance. I'm not the one growing tired of not being listened to. So I don't judge you. I wish you nothing but the best. I say to you go in peace but come back soon. You will be missed. ❤
I'm really pleased you are staying! As I said we need your voice! But at the same time take care of yourself as no-one wants you to be unhappy or struggle to cope. Definitely ignore the fools who refuse to accept what is going on but take heart in that there will be many of us ready to support you. See you around BP.
Thankyou for being so damn educated, and so educational. You have done much good and I praise you!
I am listening Deanna!!! You are correct, as a white middle class American, my family did not think of these things but we are thinking of them now. I have brought my children up to believe that all people should be treated equally and am proud of the grown ups they have become. But we have never had these things happen to us. Change is coming and people are opening their eyes.
The first eye opening experience I ever had was flexing my white privilege on behalf of my Filipino boyfriend who had just been pulled over because his "license plate light was out." Shortly after that I was driving some black friends to the store when I got pulled over. Apparently the cop pulled me over because "my license plate light was out, and then he wanted to make sure I was okay. As Joanna put it: "Gurl, he thought we kidnapped yo'white a*s after we jacked you." I cringe every time I think about how clueless I was to the subtext.
Mexicans get called all the time for the newspaper thing also. I dont get why people question someone throwing papers out there vehicle to the point they call cops. Black men get s**t called on them for little to no reason. Guy got called on because it was dark and he had a flashlight in a parking lot. His bike was broke, he was trying to fix it... two good cops lit up the bike with their lights so he could see. White guy wouldn't have never had the pleasure to meet them cuz no call would have been made.
Deanna, I hear you and I agree.... however, yes these are simple rules for everyone. I may be "white" (which I'm not but that's what people SEE me as) but I'm also heavily tattooed so to answer your question has these things happened to you? YES I get followed everywhere I go in stores. I get whispered at. Cops have treated me like a "tweaker" because of my tattoos and some other medical issues that I have. The funny part? I'm friggin in law enforcement. lol. So it happens to more than you just think. Not that it makes it right. The world just sucks now. For real.
People suck, honestly I think we are all equal, but I'm not quite sure how I can make that change, I still have the rest of my life ahead of me.
It is sad that because of your tattoos that the police treat you that way.
I´m so sorry that you and your family had to go through many difficult and unjust instances of racism. Your response is what we all need to hear now. I hope that by educating myself and supporting others, things improve for the black community.
i believe that race should be the last thing to come to mind ever because race is just how we look on the out side i think that police really need to focas on the killers and terrist and rapist rather than saying well i don't like this person cause he\she is black so i'm ganna shoot them
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I can say ive had the police called on me when I had done nothing wrong. Ive had encounters with police where they overreacted. I'm American white (Indian mixed in) and so I find your thinking that only minorities can suffer from bad policing and discrimination laughable . And sad, if I'm honest. Please stop framing your anecdotal experiences as proof of racism and start listening to everyone, not just those you already agree with.
Please stop, if you are here to disagree with something as bad as this, I don't think you should be saying stuff like this. Yes, it's not just racism, It's the fact that people suck. It's human nature, there's always that one person, so don't be that one person, be the one who advocates for equality, for change.
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Um, as a teenager in southern California, I was stopped by local police on my way alone to early mass one Sunday morning. Walking down a residential street. Blonde, blue-eyes, wearing a dress, carrying purse & Bible. Guess it depends on the LEO and his/her feelings of authority?
It isn't about being stopped as a one off and asked a few questions. Black people are being regularly and persistently stopped with the threat of violence very much a part of it. Maybe you were frightened by being stopped but I doubt you feared being shot or hurt. Try to understand - it isn't comparable. Of course white people get stopped and questioned but for them it is an unusual occurrence and not the norm. The fact that you have the one example proves that.
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Deanna I understand but like 90 % of blacks act so loud and obnoxious. They think the rule don't apply to them. Are very disrespectful. It's not about the color of your skin, it's about the self centered attitude and disrespect for others.
Well, that's about as racist as it gets - well done. 'Deanna I understand' is the least honest thing I've read in ages - you clearly don't. What a disgusting attitude. Opinions aren't facts you know. Go and get some education - you need it.
I think the main point of this young man's post is that the things his mother taught him may actually be a life or death situation for him... where the treatment he might receive as consequence would outstrip anything done to a white person in the exact same situation. It made me sad to hear how he has to censor his life in order to survive in society (in a system that is against him from the get-go). I was horrified to learn that George Floyd was unlawfully killed because of a possible fake $20 bill!
Plus, as the respective shop owner mentioned, he might have not even been aware it was fake.
Load More Replies... No that it makes a difference, but we never have heard whether he even knew he had a counterfeit bill. I mean, a good one, who knows how long it was in circulation, but the assumption is the black guy was the bad buy.
Unfortunately these are survival tools in a flawed society like the one promoted in the US. For heaven sake they protested the coronavirus when the death toll was the highest among all the countries. I wonder if the same reaction would have taken place if a white person would have been instead of George Floyd?
#ALLLIVESMATTERGeorge Floyd might have not been killed because he had fake money or because he was black but could have had something to do with him been a rapist and any one who kills rapists are ok in my book.
He was contained. He was helpless. He begged for AIR. If you solidarize yourself with rape victims, who felt helpless, and begged, during their rape, how the fudge can you be so cruel and do not see the helplessness of another victim just because it was a black victim, in a similar helpless situation. Do you ask the rape victim what he or she had been wearing? Is it ok to rape because the victim has had a short skirt on? Is it ok to murder someone because the victim might or might not be guilty? Does not even a guilty person have the right on a trial in the developed country you claim to be in? Your opinion is dumb, cruel and uneducated, and i fear for every poc living with people like you, being policed by people like you.
Just a little comment to those thinking these are "normal rules for all kids" - yes, they might be considered practical, normal rules. The difference is - black people fear being hurt or killed if they don't follow the rules. Us white ones? Sure we ought to wear proper clothing and all, but the police won't shoot us "by accident" if we fail to comply. (at least the risk is very much smaller, and that's a fact!)
The risk is also much, much smaller in countries where the police don't have guns as standard.
Load More Replies... I zzi - the guns are a factor though and we shouldn't demean the fears of black people in the US by pretending they aren't. Charlotte A at the top of these comments has said there are fears of the police shooting them 'by accident' and she isn't alone in saying that. Yes, armed officers can be deployed in the UK but they aren't wandering around with them when dealing with everyday incidents.
More to the point - where the police are not d*cks on a power-trip as soon as they see someone who they think they can get away with bullying... There are good police, but everyone suffers because of the bad ones, and the good ones not reporting the bad ones, are just as a bad for continuing to allow it to happen.
Not even about guns. I live in the UK and had the same rules...although my mum told be never do what your little white friends do as you are not white and they will press charges. Always the first asked when something's gone missing. Always watched in shops, even if we'll dressed and actually there to spend money. Always assume that I do drugs or have drugs...by work colleagues....the list is endless
Please counter the racists downvoting @I zzi below. He/she is sharing their own experiences, albeit in the UK. Racism knows no borders.
Guns should not be used. They are brutal, unnecessary, and often wrongly-used artefacts. In England and other countries who do not have as much access to guns, we usually do things better than places like America and don't shoot our own innocent people. I firmly believe they should be illegal, and everyone should be treated fairly. If I was taught anything at school, it was how to stand up to things that are unfair or you don't believe in, and we were very strong about this when it came to racism. Everyone should be treated fairly, no matter their colour, height, age or whatever. And they still taught this. Even though the school had only one coloured person, of whom was in foundation when I left for high school.
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Which is five countries, and in those countries when they feel the need for guns, they send in people who are more like special forces. Soldiers even in police uniforms make poor law offers. And that includes most U.S. police SWAT members.
Absolutely. I warn my son about the same things, should he get pulled over. My son can get a bit "mouthy", but I still don't think he'd get much more than roughed up. Definitely a different kettle of fish.
Good point (gave you an upvote). But still she will be asked, by the police or by lawyers "What were you wearing?" after the damage is done.
Yeah, we humans have a tendency to treat others badly for all sorts of reasons.
Also, don't forget this is all about the USA. Here in the first world the problem isn't like this at all. Sure we have racism, unfortunately, but POC don't have to fear being shot by the cops for every little thing that might happen.
@Rissie, I believe she meant something along the lines of 'the old continent', but with the third world tendencies the US are displaying with such fervor right now, I really can't find it in me to blame her. Before you begin swearing at me, let me expand. I have heard very well to do people from so-called developing countries state quite a few times that they would never want to live in Europe. And I must say that I understand them. Their standard of living is much higher! In Europe, they would have to go without the chauffeur, the cook, the gardener, the cleaner, the nanny, the housekeeper, etc. The widening income inequality in the US, the lack of comprehensive healthcare, high infant mortality rate (the CIA lists the US in 56th place, after Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia), high maternal mortality ranking (the US ranks 55th, just behind Russia (17 per 100,000) and just ahead of Ukraine (19 per 100,000), Add to that the huge differences in quality of education and access to highe
(2) ...access to higher education, the "food deserts" i.e. the lack of shops selling fresh food ingredients in low income neighbourhoods, and at another parameter, the United States prisoner rate (number of prisoners per 100,000 people) is 737, the highest in the world, followed by Russia at 615. Then you can add Trump's totalitarian tendencies and it truly makes me mad that a country with such resources for a large part chooses to behave like a banana republic while steadfastly claiming that everything is The Best it can possibly be.
I highly recommend reading this article: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/defund-police/612682/
There are always going to be people who just refuse. They just REFUSE to see. Anyone who would comment to say that these rules are felt on the exact same level by a white teen is just disagreeing to disagree. That is ignorance. Ignorance is a CHOICE. I’ve said this for a long time: The difference between stupidity and ignorance is that the stupid can’t, while the ignorant won’t. When dealing with ignorance, it’s best to take the high road, for these are people who are not INTERESTED in learning the truth. They lack compassion because they choose to. For the dim-witted, however, there is the possibility for education.
@Stickman, The answer is yes. Maybe even more so. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/nyregion/nypd-social-distancing-race-coronavirus.html
First world country: "Any country with little political risk and a well functioning democracy, rule of law, capitalist economy, economic stability, and high standard of living." So, you know, Europe.
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I'm a white mother of three Sons and except for the comment about Caucasian women, I always expected my Sons to follow these same rules. It has nothing to do with color, it has to do with respect for self and others. To bad all mothers don't stress these things. I know my Sons didn't always do right but it wasn't because they didn't know better.
Judith, the difference is that your sons wouldn't be killed for not following the rules. That could happen to a black person.
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What planet are you on? In the USA, black people kill and assault whites at a rate of 25X White on black. When I look at these rules, I’m like “black person may get their feelings hurt in white places. White person wandering into black area at the wrong time: DEAD”. That makes this laughable.
"Krivo and Peterson’s analysis of crime data in Columbus, Ohio shows that economic disadvantage, not race, is the strongest predictor of violence in a particular neighborhood. “In fact,” they conclude, “violent crime rates for extremely disadvantaged white neighborhoods are more similar to rates for extremely disadvantaged black areas than to rates for other types of white neighborhoods.” https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2018/05/03/homicide_overtime/
Race and ethnicity in the United States: White: 72.4%; Black or African American: 12.6%; Hispanic and Latino Americans, the largest ethnic minority, 18%
Murder victims: White6,088; Black 7,407; Hispanic or Latino 2,173; Total 14,123. https://www.statista.com/statistics/251877/murder-victims-in-the-us-by-race-ethnicity-and-gender/
Unfunded fear breeds violence. An older white man, commenting somewhere on this post, describes how he was getting beaten up by the police for living in a black neighbourhood in his younger days...
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Nope. Police shoot white people too. when you factor in socioeconomic factors like crime rates, and poverty, white people are just as likely or even more likely to have a fatal encounter with a cop as their black peers. It's just white death is not newsworthy or politicized.
Lies, lies and damn lies.
FACT: Black population in the US = 13.4%
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219
FACT: Black people are 2.8 time more likely to be SHOT & KILLED by police than white people.
To make matters worse; 14.8% of black people shot and killed by police were unarmed compared to 9.4% of white being unarmed. So you are 1.6 times more likely to be shot and killed as an unarmed black person than a unarmed white person.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6080222/
FACT: It's not about crime as you can see from the image I've post from https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/
Remember, when you lie, you will get called out on it. You should consider that most people can fact check and prove you to be a liar in about 10 minutes. I have one simple question and I would like to tell the truth..... did you lie due to ignorance or racism? Socioecono...33-png.jpg
Really? Can you give a source for this. Death by cop is #5 death reason among African American men. I can't find anything about whites so I'm seriously curious what you're basing this on.
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White people(unarmed) shot down by the police in the USA are more than black people. 90% of the black people's homocides are done by black people.
To those who are saying that these are rules for everyone: Not every race gets killed or beaten or detained for just being that race. My father had the police called on him for throwing newspapers. Can any of you say that happened to you? My sister and I almost had the police called on us at a gas station even though we paid for the gas. Did this happen to you. Please stop comparing experiences and just listen to us. Please. As much as you think you do, you don't understand.
Deanna, I wish that your response could get upvoted to the top of this thread. Many of us are not from the US and are reading this article with a lot of cultural bias. I think that more people really need to be directed to your response.
Load More Replies... Thank you for your support, Loki. I am kind of afraid that some people might get angry about what I said, but I thank you for your support.
I know this has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the thread but, I loveeee your name :)
I grew up in Northern Ireland during the troubles - a violent time. The police were armed. You were bloody sure you were going to be polite to them. However, I never seriously feared I was going to be harmed by them even if I got caught doing something I shouldn't. Might have got a clout round the ear but the fear that you might get shot? No. Even with everything that went on it still does NOT compare to what black people in the US have to worry about.
I want to say thank you to all the people who gave me positive feedback, but unfortunately I can't continue to be on this site. The last several days have allowed me to see how many people don't understand the situation of being black in America. It is getting very mentally and emotionally stressful for me to keep being told that I don't know what I am talking about and that I am wrong in my opinion. I have lived in this skin color for 34 years and I think I know the experience better than anyone. I have been told that people have gone through these situations regardless of their race and I am looking at it wrong. So again thank you to Loki, Liam, Chancey, and Aragorn; but I can't continue to argue with people who refuse to listen. I am talking to you Truth. I can't believe anyone would be insensitive enough to call the discrimination I have experienced sad and laughable.
Dilly, I don't want to leave, but I can't keep having people think that my life experiences are funny because they have been through worse. I will stay, but just ignore the people who are not ready to listen.
You will be a great loss to Bored Panda Deanna but I respect your decision. There are people who don't understand and don't even appear to be trying to. I can't share your experience as I'm a white person in the UK but I can accept and believe what I'm being told. I tell people what I hear you say. I want to say Please Don't Go because your voice is an important one. We need people to say everything you have been - Desiree Burch a comic from the US - said something similar last night on The Last Leg. That we need people to not just 'defriend the person making the stupid comments on Facebook' otherwise who else will tell them they are wrong? However, I'm not the one being hurt by the constant stream of ignorance. I'm not the one growing tired of not being listened to. So I don't judge you. I wish you nothing but the best. I say to you go in peace but come back soon. You will be missed. ❤
I'm really pleased you are staying! As I said we need your voice! But at the same time take care of yourself as no-one wants you to be unhappy or struggle to cope. Definitely ignore the fools who refuse to accept what is going on but take heart in that there will be many of us ready to support you. See you around BP.
Thankyou for being so damn educated, and so educational. You have done much good and I praise you!
I am listening Deanna!!! You are correct, as a white middle class American, my family did not think of these things but we are thinking of them now. I have brought my children up to believe that all people should be treated equally and am proud of the grown ups they have become. But we have never had these things happen to us. Change is coming and people are opening their eyes.
The first eye opening experience I ever had was flexing my white privilege on behalf of my Filipino boyfriend who had just been pulled over because his "license plate light was out." Shortly after that I was driving some black friends to the store when I got pulled over. Apparently the cop pulled me over because "my license plate light was out, and then he wanted to make sure I was okay. As Joanna put it: "Gurl, he thought we kidnapped yo'white a*s after we jacked you." I cringe every time I think about how clueless I was to the subtext.
Mexicans get called all the time for the newspaper thing also. I dont get why people question someone throwing papers out there vehicle to the point they call cops. Black men get s**t called on them for little to no reason. Guy got called on because it was dark and he had a flashlight in a parking lot. His bike was broke, he was trying to fix it... two good cops lit up the bike with their lights so he could see. White guy wouldn't have never had the pleasure to meet them cuz no call would have been made.
Deanna, I hear you and I agree.... however, yes these are simple rules for everyone. I may be "white" (which I'm not but that's what people SEE me as) but I'm also heavily tattooed so to answer your question has these things happened to you? YES I get followed everywhere I go in stores. I get whispered at. Cops have treated me like a "tweaker" because of my tattoos and some other medical issues that I have. The funny part? I'm friggin in law enforcement. lol. So it happens to more than you just think. Not that it makes it right. The world just sucks now. For real.
People suck, honestly I think we are all equal, but I'm not quite sure how I can make that change, I still have the rest of my life ahead of me.
It is sad that because of your tattoos that the police treat you that way.
I´m so sorry that you and your family had to go through many difficult and unjust instances of racism. Your response is what we all need to hear now. I hope that by educating myself and supporting others, things improve for the black community.
i believe that race should be the last thing to come to mind ever because race is just how we look on the out side i think that police really need to focas on the killers and terrist and rapist rather than saying well i don't like this person cause he\she is black so i'm ganna shoot them
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I can say ive had the police called on me when I had done nothing wrong. Ive had encounters with police where they overreacted. I'm American white (Indian mixed in) and so I find your thinking that only minorities can suffer from bad policing and discrimination laughable . And sad, if I'm honest. Please stop framing your anecdotal experiences as proof of racism and start listening to everyone, not just those you already agree with.
Please stop, if you are here to disagree with something as bad as this, I don't think you should be saying stuff like this. Yes, it's not just racism, It's the fact that people suck. It's human nature, there's always that one person, so don't be that one person, be the one who advocates for equality, for change.
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Um, as a teenager in southern California, I was stopped by local police on my way alone to early mass one Sunday morning. Walking down a residential street. Blonde, blue-eyes, wearing a dress, carrying purse & Bible. Guess it depends on the LEO and his/her feelings of authority?
It isn't about being stopped as a one off and asked a few questions. Black people are being regularly and persistently stopped with the threat of violence very much a part of it. Maybe you were frightened by being stopped but I doubt you feared being shot or hurt. Try to understand - it isn't comparable. Of course white people get stopped and questioned but for them it is an unusual occurrence and not the norm. The fact that you have the one example proves that.
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Deanna I understand but like 90 % of blacks act so loud and obnoxious. They think the rule don't apply to them. Are very disrespectful. It's not about the color of your skin, it's about the self centered attitude and disrespect for others.
Well, that's about as racist as it gets - well done. 'Deanna I understand' is the least honest thing I've read in ages - you clearly don't. What a disgusting attitude. Opinions aren't facts you know. Go and get some education - you need it.
I think the main point of this young man's post is that the things his mother taught him may actually be a life or death situation for him... where the treatment he might receive as consequence would outstrip anything done to a white person in the exact same situation. It made me sad to hear how he has to censor his life in order to survive in society (in a system that is against him from the get-go). I was horrified to learn that George Floyd was unlawfully killed because of a possible fake $20 bill!
Plus, as the respective shop owner mentioned, he might have not even been aware it was fake.
Load More Replies... No that it makes a difference, but we never have heard whether he even knew he had a counterfeit bill. I mean, a good one, who knows how long it was in circulation, but the assumption is the black guy was the bad buy.
Unfortunately these are survival tools in a flawed society like the one promoted in the US. For heaven sake they protested the coronavirus when the death toll was the highest among all the countries. I wonder if the same reaction would have taken place if a white person would have been instead of George Floyd?
#ALLLIVESMATTERGeorge Floyd might have not been killed because he had fake money or because he was black but could have had something to do with him been a rapist and any one who kills rapists are ok in my book.
He was contained. He was helpless. He begged for AIR. If you solidarize yourself with rape victims, who felt helpless, and begged, during their rape, how the fudge can you be so cruel and do not see the helplessness of another victim just because it was a black victim, in a similar helpless situation. Do you ask the rape victim what he or she had been wearing? Is it ok to rape because the victim has had a short skirt on? Is it ok to murder someone because the victim might or might not be guilty? Does not even a guilty person have the right on a trial in the developed country you claim to be in? Your opinion is dumb, cruel and uneducated, and i fear for every poc living with people like you, being policed by people like you.
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