The Gangsta-thug …image and enthusiastic embrace of society’s stereotypes are the most pressing problem facing African-American males.
When they see you, it’s shameful that the hue of your skin defines who you are in the eyes of the world; (the police)for sure. (You are an abomination!)
And so…the rules of law don’t immediately pertain to you.
In most atrocious ways, you are guilty until proven innocent. Then again, that part…until proven innocent never comes into play.
Why? Because you fit the Gangsta-thug narrative! Therefore, there is no need to look elsewhere for the guilty other.
Perhaps, some of you have spent years in prison for a crime you never committed. In short, thirty years later, DNA proves…YOU WERE INNOCENT!
But…in the eyes of the prosecutor…
You were seen as suspicious. People distrust you because your black or brown skin and foreign accent make you difficult to understand.
So you are guilty as charged…the DNA lied!
It’s a shame…no matter how hard you work, you will never be given the same opportunities as your white counterparts.
For the most part, if you are from another country, you are a second-class citizen, and if you are black…you are a Gangsta Thug!
This blog post explores how words such as thug, thuggery, and thuggish are biased to stereotype Black people and other minorities based solely on their appearance or origin…rather than any real evidence of threatening behavior.
The ghetto life — typically poor, predominantly black neighborhoods — have become microcosms of racial tensions and social injustice.
There is nearly 1.5 million Black youth in the U.S. living in areas considered “statistically high risk” for social, economic, and cultural failure.
For Black youth living in urban ghettos across the country, their experience with racism is more than just an abstract concept or a history lesson—it’s their everyday reality.
It can be especially difficult to navigate this world as a young person of color whose experiences are often alienated by society or invalidated as unimportant.
Even
Sidewalk
within marginalized communities, it can feel like you’re the only person who sees things differently — then you’re the only one who feels so alone and misunderstood.
The isolation that comes with being different from your peers can be incredibly destabilizing and alienating.
The ghetto life…here’s what it looks like to be a Black youth today!
Everyday Racism: What It Feels Like to Be Black in America
The most frustrating part about being Black in America for many Black youths is that it’s a struggle that never really ends.
While there’s certainly value in reflecting on racism and racial inequality history, it’s also important to acknowledge that today’s issues are alive.
Everyday racism is the feeling of being profiled by law enforcement, given a cynical eye from a store clerk.
Unfortunately, it’s always been this way, but there are more occasions where people openly ridicule or make jokes about race nowadays- especially since Donald Trump got elected president!
Everyday racism is the feeling that you’re always under surveillance, receiving a side-eye from a stranger on the subway, and being the only Black person in the elevator or the feeling that you’re always the outsider.
The Ghetto life..Discrimination Is Inescapable
Being Black in America often means that you’re being actively discriminated against.
And unfortunately, this discrimination often occurs in places where you’d expect it to be least tolerated;
That said…discrimination can be both explicit and implicit — it can be intentional, but it can also be unintentional and subconscious.
Black youth experience discrimination in all of its forms. It takes many forms, including the disproportionate discipline of Black youth in schools;
The under-representation of Black people in the workforce, leadership positions, and the racial biases of teachers or other authority figures.
Discrimination also plays out in the form of stereotypes and harmful assumptions about Black culture.
the ghetto life…You’re Constantly Being Judged Based on Your Appearance
Couple of hip-hop afroamerican on undergraund
What’s more, blackness is often associated with being “thugged-out,” wearing gold chains, having braids or dreads, or having tattoos covering your body.
The insidious stigma around our Blackness often creates a certain aesthetic expectation for people to fit; and for many Black youth, these expectations can feel restrictive and judgmental.
Additionally, it can be incredibly isolating to be judged based on your appearance rather than your character — but it’s important to remember that you are so much more than the way you look.
You are beautiful, powerful, and enough — no matter what other people think.
The Ghetto Life…People Are Afraid of You — Even Strangers
Nonetheless, stereotypes associated with Black people often make white people uncomfortable and trigger an instinctual fear.
This implicit bias is one of the most frustrating parts of being Black. Likewise..it is frustrating to watch people cross the street when you walk past them or to struggle to get a taxi ride home because drivers see you as a threat.
In spite of , how racism make white people feel afraid of you, no matter where you are… studying in the library or shopping in a store …non of that reflects negatively on you.
Good News Is Rare, and Bad News Is Normal …The Ghetto life
The fact that you are Black means that you are more likely to be poor, more likely to be incarcerated, more likely to be unemployed, and more likely to experience a lower healthcare quality.
Therefore, if you’re Black and want to succeed in school, you have to fight against these statistics. You have to be an overachiever to meet the standard of success.
The Police Are Always Out to Get You
Police steel handcuffs lying on dark blue jeans background
By comparison…being a Black youth in the United States means that you’re more likely to be stopped by the police, more likely to be arrested, and more likely to be killed by the police.
As such, it’s important to remember that the police aren’t your friends — they’re meant to serve and protect the people of your community.
Unfortunately, the police don’t always follow protocol or treat Black people fairly, which can be incredibly frustrating.
And it can be especially frustrating if you’re a Black youth who has been taught to be respectful and polite to authority figures — but those authority figures aren’t always respectful in return.
The criminalization of Black youth can be particularly harmful when unfounded suspicions lead to stereotyping. It also can be scary to think that you could be thrown in jail for doing something as simple as …walking down the street.
For a black person , it can be difficult to prove that you’re innocent when the police are coming after you — especially when they’re racially biased.
Conclusion
Being a Black youth in America is difficult, but it can also be empowering.
It can be empowering to know…
Your history and understand the strength of your ancestors.
To appreciate your culture and the experiences that make you who you are.
To find a community of people who understand what you’ve been through
And know what it feels like to be a Black youth in America.
Although being a Black youth in America can feel isolating, so many people go through the same thing as you. You’re not alone — and hopefully, this article can help you understand that.
There is no doubt about it–the death of George Floyd, has prompted protests across the country and in other countries. It is disturbing to think about how many people of color have lost their lives due to police brutality and misconduct.
Unfortunately, racism and brutality within the criminal justice system extend far beyond going back decades.
Despite our self-identification as a country, African American is harshly incarcerated — disproportionately and receives stiffer sentences.
Racism is still relevant today and is a serious problem; and can no longer be ignored, covered up, and denied.
It was mind-blowing to watch George Floyd dying right before our eyes. He died needlessly, just to bring awareness to the issue of racism. And open the eyes of people worldwide.
No doubt…There is always HOPE that things will change. POLICE VIOLENCE IN AMERICA
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nakia Crawford, an 18-year-old who was a recent high school grad, running errands with her grandmother, was shot in Akron, Ohio, while she was stopped at a red light.
She was shot multiple times inside of the car. Unfortunately, she died later at the hospital.
Meanwhile, the suspect in the shooting has yet to be identified. Still, police are following reports that he was a white male driving a black Mustang with tinted windows.
Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said in a statement, “Na’kia Crawford was a young woman who deserved life and a future.”
For the most part, I fail to understand how any sane person could pull up next to a car and think nothing about shooting the person in the vehicle.
The problem is, though, this person wasn’t reasonable. Nor was he insane…just somebody that wanted to do an evil deed.
So he committed murder. He terminated the life of another person unlawfully. The question is, why?
Some murder for money. Some killers who are mentally sick band their act of shooting is the result of their psychological problems; some murderers commit this crime in a fit of passion.
Whatever that fool’s purpose was for intentionally taking the life of Nakia Crawford, I hope that he is found, that the punishment fits the crime he committed.
What is need more than ever is gun control, which restricts the kinds of guns that can be available for sale to the public?
Who should be allowed to buy them? Where can they be carried? When is it legal to shoot one?
The Punishment: George Floyd died last week after a white cop refused to remove his knee from his neck keeping his airway blocked for nearly 9 minutes. This shocking incident was recorded by bystanders.
Allegedly he tried to pass a phony $20 bill before he died. No matter, those police officers could have handled this differently.
The head of the Minneapolis police union doesn’t care that a human life being taken away. Because he says George Floyd’s “violent criminal history” needs to be remembered and that the protests over his death are the work of a “terrorist movement.”
Bob Kroll –police union told his members in a letter–“the violent criminal history of George Floyd is not airing in the media.
What kind of BS is this?
Really–what kind of thinking is this. A child lost her father over this unnecessary police tactic. So what the Union chief is saying George Floyd deserved to die! Why? His criminal history.
He wants the protesters to know Floyd had landed five years behind bars in 2009 for an assault and robbery two years earlier. Before that, he had been convicted of charges ranging from theft with a firearm to drugs.
The man paid the price for his crimes and should not be further demeaned in the media because of it.
What’s more important is that white cop had every opportunity take his knee off the man neck–especially when he kept REPEATING “I CAN’T BREATHE.”
“I’ve worked with the four defense attorneys that are representing each of our four terminated individuals under criminal investigation, in addition to our labor attorneys to fight for their jobs.
They were terminated without due process,” Kroll wrote.
“This terrorist movement that is currently occurring was a long time build up which dates back years,” Kroll said in his letter of the protests, adding that some of his city’s issues exist because Minneapolis leaders have been “minimizing the size of our police force and diverting funds to community activists with an anti-police agenda.read more here
My take on the statement above is:
The Police Union is full of corrupted members that want to use brutality as a means of defense against people committing crimes, no matter the nature of the offense.
Despite being caught on video–it seems as if they are going to continue brutalizing George Floyd by attempting to making what occurred justified.
Those cops deserved what they got–for not taking the appropriate actions in light of the situation. Floyd was down and handcuffed.
His death was a crime and the cops should be punished, just as Floyd was punished for his crimes.
“Most middle-class whites have no idea what it feels like to be subjected to police who are routinely suspicious, rude, belligerent, and brutal.”
― Dr. Benjamin Spock
“We live in, arguably, the most developed, powerful country in the world, yet we are still unable to find a way to keep corrupt cops from killing black men. Why is that?”
― Carlos Wallace
“I know that it’s hard to believe that the people you look to for safety and security are the same people who are causing us so much harm. But I’m not lying and I’m not delusional. I am scared and I am hurting and we are dying. And I really, really need you to believe me.”
― Ijeoma Oluo, So You Want to Talk About Race
