Teh One Who Knocks
07-30-2018, 11:11 AM
By Veronica Wells - Madame Noire
https://i.imgur.com/g7fze8R.jpg
White folks calling the cops on innocent Black people, including children, has become an epidemic. And really, there are no words to describe the level of frustration and anger we feel watching these incidents happen week after week.
Aside from recording the interactions and hoping that the person will face some sort of consequences for their actions—likely through the help of social media—there is little we can do about it. (Especially since the police don’t seem to want to penalize people for wasting their time and the city’s money on these frivolous matters.)
But one Black woman, who pulled up on a group of White children selling ice cream, took a different approach.
p/BlvDyHElhcc
Kids: Hi!
Woman: Where’s your permit?
Kids: inaudible
Woman: Do you have a permit to do this? How much is it?
Kids: Give her the prices.
Woman: And so you guys don’t have a permit to do this. And you’re doing it. In this complex right here? You have nothing. No. Where are your parents? I need to speak to someone before I call 911. This is ridiculous.
Kids: Why?
Woman: Because you need a permit to sell this type of stuff out here! You don’t have a permit, yeah. Take it in the house now! I’m joking. Here you go. Hands them money. I don’t even want any ice cream.
Kids: Thank you!
I get what she was trying to do. Honestly, there are some people who don’t understand how ridiculous or unjust an action is until it’s perpetrated against White people. Still, those people are usually racist. And I doubt her little prank will change the way they feel when they feel threatened or seek to disenfranchise Black and other people of color simply living their lives. I can’t say this is an effective strategy.
But my biggest issue with all of this is that at this point she was trying to prove came at the expense of children, children who were likely scared by her threat of calling the police. I know this is the same thing they do to us and our children—and far worse. Still, it’s adults doing it to children. I have yet to see a White child attempt to weaponize the police against an innocent Black person. The prank would have been better executed against an adult—who would have been much more equipped to understand the message.
Someone in a comment section said that she picked the right children because if another group of parents had been out there, she might not have had time to mention that she was just joking before something popped off.
In the grand scheme of things, these kids will be just fine. She told them she was joking, she gave them money and at the end of the day, they’re White. But also, they’re not the ones who need to be learning the lesson. It’s their parents and their parents’ peers. And if it’s one thing I can’t stand, regardless of the race, is punishing a child for the “sins of the father.”
What do you think about this video? Was it too much or did she get her point across? Do you think it will change the way White folks react to Black people in public?
https://i.imgur.com/g7fze8R.jpg
White folks calling the cops on innocent Black people, including children, has become an epidemic. And really, there are no words to describe the level of frustration and anger we feel watching these incidents happen week after week.
Aside from recording the interactions and hoping that the person will face some sort of consequences for their actions—likely through the help of social media—there is little we can do about it. (Especially since the police don’t seem to want to penalize people for wasting their time and the city’s money on these frivolous matters.)
But one Black woman, who pulled up on a group of White children selling ice cream, took a different approach.
p/BlvDyHElhcc
Kids: Hi!
Woman: Where’s your permit?
Kids: inaudible
Woman: Do you have a permit to do this? How much is it?
Kids: Give her the prices.
Woman: And so you guys don’t have a permit to do this. And you’re doing it. In this complex right here? You have nothing. No. Where are your parents? I need to speak to someone before I call 911. This is ridiculous.
Kids: Why?
Woman: Because you need a permit to sell this type of stuff out here! You don’t have a permit, yeah. Take it in the house now! I’m joking. Here you go. Hands them money. I don’t even want any ice cream.
Kids: Thank you!
I get what she was trying to do. Honestly, there are some people who don’t understand how ridiculous or unjust an action is until it’s perpetrated against White people. Still, those people are usually racist. And I doubt her little prank will change the way they feel when they feel threatened or seek to disenfranchise Black and other people of color simply living their lives. I can’t say this is an effective strategy.
But my biggest issue with all of this is that at this point she was trying to prove came at the expense of children, children who were likely scared by her threat of calling the police. I know this is the same thing they do to us and our children—and far worse. Still, it’s adults doing it to children. I have yet to see a White child attempt to weaponize the police against an innocent Black person. The prank would have been better executed against an adult—who would have been much more equipped to understand the message.
Someone in a comment section said that she picked the right children because if another group of parents had been out there, she might not have had time to mention that she was just joking before something popped off.
In the grand scheme of things, these kids will be just fine. She told them she was joking, she gave them money and at the end of the day, they’re White. But also, they’re not the ones who need to be learning the lesson. It’s their parents and their parents’ peers. And if it’s one thing I can’t stand, regardless of the race, is punishing a child for the “sins of the father.”
What do you think about this video? Was it too much or did she get her point across? Do you think it will change the way White folks react to Black people in public?