OK, I've followed this story off and on. What struck me was the assumption that Ms. Guyger could have killed Botham Jean because he was black. One of the of Jean's family's representatives, the first night the story broke, asked if that could be the actual reason she shot him.
And then I got to thinking, as I am wont to do. Is the only reason we ask about the killing's racial motivation is because Officer Guygar is white? Upon what other basis would we make that assumption? Are we saying it's safe to assume that if a white person commits a crime, it could be racially based simply because the accused is white?
Isn't that a form of racial profiling? Aren't we saying that, solely on the basis of her skin color, it's fair to assume she could be racist, and therefore the crime racially motivated? Are we therefore saying racial profiling is, in principle, correct? I'm not saying she didn't do it because he was black. But if the only reason we assume she might have is because she's white, isn't that the same as assuming someone else might do something else based on a different skin color?
I saw that interview also. I was taken aback when the first words out of the mother's mouth were, "would she have shot him, if he was white?" Very telling!
ReplyDeleteYep. Again, if that's not racial profiling, nothing is. Perhaps it's a fair question, but then it's always a fair question no matter who we're talking about.
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