As a father of two young black children, the Tamir Rice situation terrifies and angers me. The thought that someone could arbitrarily murder your child in cold blood and then have the state, and large sections of the American public, justify that action is beyond disturbing.
My son asked to borrow one of my video cameras to capture shots of him and his friends skateboarding. He was initially upset when I told him no. All of my HD cameras are black could be mistaken for something else by a trigger-happy cop. As a result, I went out and bought my kid an HTC Re camera that looks like a white inhaler so that no one could mistake it for anything dangerous.
I had a black HD camera I used to use with a one-handed pole grip for action shots until I thought about how it might look to some scared cop. And really when we pull back the curtain I believe that most cops are terrified of black people. This accounts for many of their overreactions. Now some honestly hate us, but some of that hate is a direct by-product of their fear.
This was the original action camera he wanted to use. The shame is that it is a great camera, far cheaper than a go pro but with similar quality. However, the form factor is too problematic, especially in black or silver.
The last time I looked, selling untaxed cigarettes didn’t carry the death penalty. To get away with murdering a Black Male in America all you have to do now is say you felt “threatened” or he was a thug/criminal. What happened to due process? When did it become ok to carry out judgment & execution for petty crime? The problem Black people are having is that Black males are dehumanized and depicted as threats worthy of death. In our justice system, I have yet to see the prosecutor seek the death penalty for stealing, walking, or running however this sentence is imposed on Black Males by police at a disproportionate rate.