Just watching that old mini-doco that femmenoire posted:
- 18 year old Black man, Stephen Lawrence was killed by 5 or 6 white men because he was black and the BBC ask young black men, “Are you going to carry a knife now?”
- The reporter stated that “even though” one of the white men shouted a racial taunt, Stephen didn’t move and then without provocation, Stephen was attacked.
- Post-attack Stephen was on the road bleeding and asking for help, and in “even in this middle-class area”— no car stopped for him so he bled to death.
- Cop said that the only way the force will change is if young black men are recruited.
- The Lawrences stated that the police did not interview known white racists during their investigation.
- One cop said that the case is more complex than interviewing white racists.
- Doreen Lawrence argued that if it was a white boy, police would have been cornering the black community.
- She also said that black youth are not safe on the streets.
- The white cop said that he is able to look at the situation more objectively than they can. And that black folks aren’t in danger.
So in some sense it is up to black folks to:
- be psychic and know we will be killed/physically attacked and protect themselves regardless of the circumstances—i.e. run like a mother fucker, (VICTIM-BLAMING plus expecting all black people to be STREET-WISE and tough)
- prove that they are not violent and retaliatory toward white folks who are perpetually afraid of black folks (and this fear is used to just white-on-black violence), even though white folks commit psychological, emotional and physical violence against black folks every single day. Moreover BLACK FOLKS ARE NOT WORTHY OF BEING SUPPORTED NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCE. Why weren’t white people asked: WHY DO YOU NOT HELP BLACK FOLKS WHO ARE BLEEDING TO DEATH ON THE ROAD? It doesn’t matter that Stephen Lawrence was the 4th racial murder in 2 years in the area; to exist as a black male is to be criminalised and to be black is to be inherently violent. (TWO CHOICES — BE STREET-WISE YET NON-VIOLENT I.E. RUN OR BE STREET-WISE AND BE AT RISK OF BEING VIOLENT I.E. CARRY A KNIFE)
- join an institution that does jacksquat for them to ‘prevent violence’ when this institution perpetuates violence through the officers and through their not taking racial murders seriously and their cover-ups etc. So basically the police are admitting they can do nothing for black people. And once again it is incumbent on black folks to smash violence—in a more official and authoritarian way.
- be impervious to feelings of fear and anxiety around white supremacy—and not be hypervigilant around the reality of being attacked or murdered ‘cause you’re black—and ‘cos some wilfully naive fuck white cop believes too much in the enlightenment and that white is right. (WE ARE NOT HUMAN AND DON’T FEEL A FULL RANGE OF FEELINGS & WE ARE VICTIM-BLAMED IF WE LEAVE THE HOUSE AND ARE NOT STREET-WISE YET ALSO WE SHOULD LEAVE THE HOUSE BECAUSE WE’RE NOT IN AS MUCH DANGER AS WE THINK ‘COS WHITE PEOPLE WHO DON’T SUPPORT US OR TAKE RACISM SERIOUSLY SAY SO)
- In the Bexley area, there were 56 reports of racial assaults in the previous year. According to the cops, this is seen as a ‘success’ that people feel more comfortable reporting racial crime.
- To me this shows that the police exists to protect themselves and the state—where administration and bureaucracy become external proofs to some imaginary non-cop audience. They become a way to prove that they are doing their job—even when the same cop basically admits that they don’t know what they are doing when it comes to racial murder and black folks, thus black folks have to join the force. But also to show that these glue guzzlers know the score and that they are safe to contact and know what people of colour feel and experience because they can argue that fucking police statistics have a direct link to people of colour’s realities. All in all to control people of colour through administration and bureaucracy—they/we are obviously overly irrational and the cops and the state is rational. When many of us know that the police and the state are stinking piles of shit—where the cops especially, serve noone except themselves.
Anyway it was awesome to see POC getting together and fighting the Council, the BNP and racial attacks. And to see Nelson Mandela meeting the Lawrence family. And of course the Lawrence family.
ETA: OOOh femmenoire has corrected the mistake up there. So there were people with Stephen—his friend Duwayne and some folks, include white folks. Thank you!
“femmenoire replied to your post: Just watching that old mini-doco that femmenoire…
one thing: there were people with Stephen when he died. his friend Duwayne who was across the street looking for the bus, a few other people (some white) and a married White couple, the woman held Stephen’s hand while waiting for the ambulance.