Banking while black: College students handcuffed after ‘uncomfortable’ white customers complain

[MrScorpio]

TOM BOGGIONI
13 OCT 2015 AT 17:05 ET

According the Metro Police report, three individuals were approached and one fled, leading to a chase.

“The individual resisted, and was handcuffed while resisting after he refused to stop,” the report stated. “The person making the video was interfering with police, and was also detained while the incident was investigated.’

The report concludes, “Neither individual was arrested.”

In the video, two cops can be seen wrestling with 18-year-old Jason Goolsby on the ground, pulling his arms behind his back as he screams, telling him to stop resisting.

Goolsby’s companion, who was filming the incident, can be heard repeatedly telling the police, “He didn’t do nothing.”

After one officer screams at him to back up, a third officer shows up and threatens the cameraman with arrest before a scuffle breaks out and the video stops.

In a later tweet linked to the video, @darealbighomiee wrote: “We were approached because a white couple felt uncomfortable around me and my friend in the bank, this is how the police responded …”

Twitter users are planning a rally near the bank where the incident occurred, using #justiceforjason as a rallying call.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/banking-while-black-college-students-handcuffed-after-uncomfortable-white-customers-complain/comments/

AS black people, we NEVER have the luxury of ever being in ANY situation and not taking the time to consider how the color of our skin affects our own surroundings. We must always be aware of this and measure how much the color of our own skin may put us in danger, or affects the behaviors of white people within our vicinity, or whenever we find ourselves in mostly white spaces. For a moment, these young men relaxed from that self-awareness and found themselves targeted.

When uprisings happen, as did happen in Ferguson and Baltimore, these are explicit rejections of this kind of targeting and are events when black people reject the notion in this country that we must always behave as if we're some representing some kind of implicit threat to whites within our vicinity with our very presence alone. Because this is so, we must consciously make them feel safe at all times, or else reap the consequences. The fear of black people inside the heads of whites can create conditions where we're harassed and arrested for no reason at all, and even killed while unarmed and not posing any kind of threat whatsoever. We are the "other," and as such are not safe to be around, even when we don't care if whites are around us.

These are the conditions by which white supremacy fashions implicit threats out of black people in the minds of whites, and justifies to them the harsh and unfair treatment of black people. Why, I believe, is because must white people do understand how harsh and unfair a system of white supremacy and white privilege actually is and were the tables to be turned, they believe that retaliation against whites for being beneficiaries of this system for so long would be swift and harsh as well.

While the system exists, it must always be enforced. Even against black people who were doing nothing more than standing around, minding their own business, but doing so in the vicinity of whites who are always fearful of being victimized if the tables were turned at that very moment,

[malaise]

1. It's known as

institutional racism

[roguevalley]

9. WTF! I don't get it. I never will.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Unreal

Those poor uncomfortable people! How traumatized they must be. (I don't need the sarcasm thingie, do i?)

[iamthe99]

3. no words

[leftofcool]

4. Jesus H. Christ! No banking, driving, eating, swimming, bicycling, or playing while Black

Will breathing be next?

[MrScorpio]

6. Don't forget jogging…

WATCH: Alabama man shuts down cops who questioned him for jogging while black — and it’s perfect
Travis Gettys TRAVIS GETTYS
14 OCT 2015 AT 11:17 ET

An Alabama man recorded himself shutting down two police officers who questioned him for jogging while black.

The man, identified as Corey Dickerson, was out of breath and resting after a hard sprint when an officer pulls up in his patrol car to ask who he is and where he is going, reported The Free Thought Project.

Dickerson, of Talladega, asks the officer if he has done anything wrong, and then he calmly and politely refuses to give his name or state his business.

“You look like you been running,” the officer says, and Dickerson agrees he has been. “Where you been running from?”

The jogger says he has been running “just around,” and says he’s headed “nowhere in particular.”

Dickerson tells the officer he’s carrying identification and gives his first name, and the officer pulls over to park.

“Well,” pants Dickerson, still out of breath, “looks like I’m about to get harassed.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/watch-alabama-man-shuts-down-cops-who-questioned-him-for-jogging-while-black-and-its-perfect/

[ananda]

11. Breathing is already covered.

At least twice if I recall -- "I can't breathe!"

[mercuryblues]

16. Staring

A black student in Ohio was suspended after a staring contest with a white girl. She complained to her parents that she was scared, they complained to the school. He got suspended. Of course the child had no idea he was scaring her, because she was laughing during it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

51. No singing, either.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/singing-while-black-oakland-choir-hit-with-nuisance-fines-after-tech-workers-enter-neighborhood/

[KamaAina]

5. Coming soon to Larry Wilmore's "$#*! Black People Can't Do": using an ATM

[Baitball Blogger]

7. The complaint should be registered as a hate crime.

Look, I know this happens because I have personally witnessed this kind of perpetuating behavior.

I'll explain it as a word problem:

One woman has a bad experience with a member of a minority group. And, yes, it is bad. But, based on that one experience she has a lifetime prejudicial reaction to everything that involves minorities; AND, this she passes on to her children, who will, in turn, pass it on to their children.

Question: When do these frivolous and prejudicial accusations that the police have to act on, finally get labeled as a hate crime?

[Generic Other]

44. I am inclined to agree with you

But the police are also guilty of acting on their assumptions without knowing the facts first (Joe Friday's first rule of policing his city "Just the facts, Ma'am.&quot .

[hifiguy]

8. Not sure who the bigger assholes are here.

The people who were "uncomfortable" (grow UP, for chrissakes) or the kkkops.

I think it's a dead heat.

[Blue_Tires]

10. Ah, yes...The good old "Suspicious-looking person who's about to do something"

911 operators need to stop dispatching police for crimes that haven't actually happened...

[Rex]

14. I agree, this was sad on so many levels.

And what about the comfort level of the three victims? Nope. Doesn't matter, two white people were 'concerned' and their trolling ended up with two young men getting beatdown by cops.

The young men's crime? Standing in public. In a bank.

[oberliner]

12. If you run away when the police come, won't they always chase you?

The opening line says that one of the people fled when the police arrived.

[Glassunion]

15. Well... Sometimes you can get away. And sometimes you can't.

At least with the former you're guaranteed not to be beaten or killed by the state. However, with the latter it's simply a roll of the dice.

[oberliner]

18. Fair enough

I am just saying that if you run away when the police arrive they will most likely chase you.

[Glassunion]

24. No doubt.

However, if your just standing there while black, there is a more than an anomalous chance that they will beat or kill you.

[GummyBearz]

31. You can't out run a radio

At least that's what I've been told...

[Bradical79]

36. Yeah

Though with the videos of torture and murder of black people coming to light, I can see why "flee" would be the first thought for some people.

[Rex]

13. So what about how the three boys would feel? Their comfort level did not matter at all to the bank.

Sometimes I really wonder about my race and what the fuck is wrong with so many of them. Two white people instigated this and we don't see them getting cuffed and stuffed for wasting the time of police.

[TNNurse]

17. Right, isn't there some sort of charge

for calling the police for ignorant and unwarranted reasons?????

The racists are being given too much power and attention. I am sad, angry and horrified. I never wanted to believe there were so many hateful bigoted people in this country. I was so very wrong.

[Rex]

30. I fooled myself into thinking the same thing.

I've lost friends and family after Obama was elected in 2008, they came out and showed their inner racism. I had no idea that America was such a divide nation...I know now!

It is sad, very sad.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

22. There are white people that have called 911 for seeing a black guy walking down the sidewalk.

[csziggy]

34. The Indian man who was walking through an Alabama neighborhood was a victim

Of one of those calls. Someone called into 911 about a "suspicious" looking black man so the cops responded. The Indian gentleman did not speak English well and was thrown to the ground because of his inability to follow the cops directions. He's still partially paralyzed and recovering, months after the incident.

[dixiegrrrrl]

35. "people walking at night" made headlines in our weekly small town Repub. rag

Front page, an article about complaints to the police about "people walking at night" , in a "mixed" neighborhood, so the issue is brought up to the city council and there is much discussion, which was also printed.
No mention of race, but "group of young males" was a phrase used, fraught with meaning.

This means nothing to anyone who does not live down here, where so much that is unspoken is understood.
I know the part of town, and i know that 9 pm on a weeknight is when most people are home, getting ready for bed, cause people get up at 6 am around here, esp. in summer,
that you never call anyone after 7:30 at night, except for emergency for that reason.
and that a "group of young white males" would not raise an eyebrow here,
and this was in summer, too hot to be outdoors, and hardly anyone walks a lot here for that reason.
therefore ........
a "group" of young males, meaning black males, aroused someone's suspicion to the point it became an issue at the City Council meeting,
which also wants to pass a law against baggy low riding pants.
Race of baggy pants owners also not mentioned.

The "people walking at night" issue seems to have disappeared now.
Baggy pants issue is pending.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

37. Classic "Sunset Laws"....

"Home of the Brave" my ass.

[LeftyMom]

45. You know earlier when you started a thread about why people live in more expensive communities

when housing in yours is so cheap?

I think you answered your question.

[jwirr]

19. Wonder if that bigoted couple stuck around long enough to

see what asses they truly were?

Also I did not see where this took place.

[mnhtnbb]

27. Took place in DC according to the article. The kids were Howard University students.

[jwirr]

28. Thank you.

[smirkymonkey]

43. DC??? You have got to be kidding me?

Of all places to feel uncomfortable around African Americans! They are a majority in that city! WTF? Where are these people from? Podunk, Maine?

[Dustlawyer]

20. I feel uncmfortable around black people all of the time! Actually, one black person in particular.

I get anxious, nervous, scared, fearful, sometime all at once. Of course she is my wife, you really don't want to piss her off or ever get her hair wet!

Seriously, some white people really need to expand their horizons and get to know some black people. They are people just like any others. They are as different as any other person is from each other. Black culture is certainly different than white culture, or Vietnamese, or Russian culture, but is inside that we are all human and have the same hopes, desires, and feelings as anyone else. It is the not knowing anyone from another culture or race that can be scary. It doesn't help that the media pushes certain stereotypes which can increase a fear into an unreasonable fear. At the root is the fact that someone has been sheltered and doesn't know anyone from a particular race that causes this fear. Wake up and join the human race!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

21. More cops fulfilling their role in society of slapping down blacks for the applause of whites.

[pansypoo53219]

23. teevee gnewz maskes stupid. shit. my brother + i grew up near the core.

INTEGRATED grade schools. now, after fux gnewz & limp butt radeoh, he is all chicken shit. i willingly go into 'bad area's for estate sales. no fear.

[Omaha Steve]

25. K&R!

[Number23]

26. You're just a race baiting, "kafkatrapping" SJW!!

Or whatever the latest insult being hurled at people who try to raise awareness of this type of thing is by those who are all too comfortable with the way things are now.

K&R

[MoonRiver]

29. My God!

Just f'n unbelievable!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

32. i like to hashtag all these things with #postracial

[nadine_mn]

33. I am so tired of this racist bullshit

And as someone who has benefited from white privilege her whole life, I know that I haven't even begun to realize just how shitty it is being black in this racist country.

There is literally nothing that a black person can do that doesn't scare some idiot white person and worse, cause police to come harass, arrest, or shoot them. And nothing mitigates this fucked up "fear of the blacks" - not age (oh no children at a pool party), not gender, not ability (blind man walking with a cane=weapon) or even if they are in the fucking hospital - all require armed intervention.

Maybe the reason there are so few black superheroes is because white people just assume black people already have super powers - I mean why else would police respond en masse to something as benign as a fucking pool party? Black kids can turn any toy into a lethal weapon just by touching it and adults have the ability to turn loose cigarettes into nuclear weapons, threaten officers by running away from them, and wipe out entire communities just by moving in.

[hfojvt]

38. unfortunately the title is nonsense

One was handcuffed, because he fled. Not because white customers were uncomfortable, but because he fled.

Apparently they were not "banking" either. They were hanging around an ATM machine. Nothing wrong with that, you see some people you know and stand around talking.

However, some people are probably not gonna feel safe walking past three young males with a handful of money.

Did I ever tell you about the time I "went to the library while white"? There I was walking down the street, listening to my walkman, singing along to "Roxanne" or something, on my way to the library on a Sunday afternoon. Standing on the steps by the front door, I was waiting for my song to finish before shutting my tape player off and going inside. When a cop, who had perhaps been following to me and critiquing my singing waves me over.

An annoying enough incident for me to remember it, even 25 years later, but not really some kind of sweeping indictment of society.

This last Sunday, I was like the only white guy at a Delta Sigma Theta fundraiser. Joining two ladies at a table I said "I don't see anyone I know." and one said "But you come here every year."

Anyway, just one example showing the hyperbole of this "AS black people, we NEVER have the luxury of ever being in ANY situation and not taking the time to consider how the color of our skin affects our own surroundings. " They all looked pretty comfortable there.

People can be paranoid in many situations, some people more than others, and some situations more than others. I mean, last night at the homeless shelter I asked a guy's name and he may have thought "he's asking me questions because I am black". And perhaps he has experienced a number of situations if only because of his size (at about 5' 10', 210 pounds or so, he's a pretty big guy).

So that may be your general outlook, but I don't believe it is universal.

Also C, kinda stated it as a positive. He said "Most people treat black men like dobermans. You don't want to make them mad, and you jump back when they bark." We were talking about customer/kid control - at various events kids often are tearing around and customers will wander any place that is not barricaded like the Berlin wall to stop them.

[MrScorpio]

39. I see that you're still having difficulty in feeling empathy with black life in America.

Saw right, it's the kind of thing that we've come to expect from you.

Just be who you are.

[Rex]

40. Agree. It is pretty obvious what that poster thinks about the world and their worldview.

Totally disgusting, ain't it?

[hfojvt]

47. I like to think I have empathy

but not so much for hyperbole.

I might note that WHO I am, from my post

1. supporting delta sigma theta http://www.deltasigmatheta.org/

you don't appreciate that?

2. volunteering at the homeless shelter from 2-5 AM

I don't get any props for that?

3. being an Eddie Murphy fan - singing "Roxanne" while listening to music, just like Eddie in 'Another 48 hours"

I suppose that is not worth much in the open market. Just an inside joke really.

[MrScorpio]

49. Trust me, you don't get it.

As long as I've known you, I've pretty much known that much about you, at least.

[hfojvt]

50. thank you for your kind words

I am quite sure that I don't get a whole lot of things.

For one thing, I don't get why so many people seem to be unable to disagree with somebody without being disagreeable.

Kinda disgusting, isn't it?

[Bonx]

41. Fwiw, here's a real news article about the incident

"The initial call was for a suspicious person, three subjects may be trying to rob people at the ATM. The location for the call was 6th St and Pennsylvania Ave SE. Officers in the area responded to the assignment. One individual fled on foot from the police, was chased, and then taken down. The individual resisted, and was handcuffed while resisting after he refused to stop. The person making the video was interfering with police, and was also detained while the incident was investigated. Neither individual was arrested," said officer Sean Hickman said.

One witness working nearby at the time of the incident agrees with the police account that the man shooting the video became physical with police.

"He pushed the police guy," Jorge Rivera told ABC7.

Police say after questioning him they released the young man. They also maintain they asked him whether he needed medical attention and despite his pained scream,s he declined and left."

http://wjla.com/news/local/watch-video-of-black-man-arrested-by-two-white-cops-in-dc-goes-viral-prompts-protest

[ieoeja]

42. A cop harrassed you for no reason. Once. Well, there you have it.

Just like the Black experience.




First time my ex-stepson went to the 'burbs by himself, he was stopped by the cops. Six times. In one hour. For the crime of, "walking to a house from the train station."

And, no, it is nowhere near a one hour walk from the station. He was forced to spend more time talking to cops than walking.

You have to work at being this obtuse.

[hfojvt]

46. quite a bit like THIS particular experience

except that I did NOT run and end up in cuffs.

Your anecdote STILL does NOT support what Mr. Scorpio said - that black people cannot be comfortable in ANY situation. Nor does it support the statement that he was handcuffed for "banking while black" when actually he was handcuffed for "running from the cops while black".

[gollygee]

48. I can't imagine why African American young men might be afraid of cops and therefore run.

/sarcasm

[hfojvt]

52. can you undestand why people might be afraid of big dogs?

Once I was doing door to door for a campaign, just dropping off lit. Went up to this one house and was approached by a snarling pit bull. As I was backing away from it, I noticed that the chain it was attached to - was not hooked on anything.

But as a human, I used my brain. I did the smart thing - kept backing away.

Had I done what I wanted to do and run, I might very well have gotten bit.

When you run, when you fight, that's when you have even more reason to fear. You have to know what is going to happen. Can you imagine why a cop thinks somebody who runs at their approach is a criminal?

Of course, now I am remembering an episode of "Good Times" when JJ got arrested. The cops said he was running. He said something like, "yeah, I was running, I had a date with Marsha Jones and I didn't want to be late." They said "you were running to a date?" He said "Yeah. Have you SEEN Marsha Jones?"