A video of a man assaulting the police has gone viral and people on social media are questioning whether the outcome would have been different if the person had been black, not white.
This is White Privilege
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) October 16, 2019
If he was black or brown, he would have been shot.
THIS IS WHY WE KNEEL! pic.twitter.com/eRxNa8WEZ4
In the video, a man approaches two police officers, swinging his weapon threatening to hurt them. Meanwhile, the officers back away, without shooting or beating the assaulter.
Police brutality against people of color in the US has been often documented in videos and this incident points out a stark contrast in the officers' reaction.
here is another example of police tolerating white people attacking them, with deadly consequences.https://t.co/Kj4dcsEDRr
— Rick Ragan (@Rick_Ragan) October 16, 2019
If anybody ever asks you what white privilege is, show them this video.
— Shaun King (@shaunking) October 16, 2019
Now listen to me. I’m glad the police didn’t kill this man. I hope he gets help. But right now, off the top of my head, I could name 100 Black folk who didn’t do anything like this and got shot and killed. pic.twitter.com/zptdQOwrev
The incident triggered a strong response on social media, with people pointing out several examples in which people of color had been treated much worse for less aggressive behavior toward police officers.
Agreed. The single most likely person to get shot by police is:
1. Black.
2. Young.
3. Mentally ill.— Shaun King (@shaunking) October 16, 2019
If he were Black he wouldn’t have been able to get that close to the police. He would have been killed when he walked out of his door.
— Majadi Rodney Perry (@AfrikanLion3) October 16, 2019
Saw this on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/NAy4QwzAgp
— Damian. A (@MovingKorrect) October 16, 2019
Right on.. but Police shoot black ppl when they walk down the street laughing singing or watching tv or washing their car.. so this would have been 600 rounds at least and then taser for 4 hours..
— Robbie (@Cortini) October 16, 2019
But others were pleased to witness police officers handling the situation well regardless of skin color. Instead they praised them for knowing how to respond to the incident peacefully.
Yes blacks do get treated very bad by cops, shot, beat up or whatever, but the cop is handling the situation in a good way here, would you like for him to shoot him? Every cop is different.
— LioN (@ios_Rion) October 16, 2019
But that's a small percentage of officers.
— MooKai297 (@Moo_Kai297) October 17, 2019
Each officer has a different background, training, set of mind, etc that makes them different, as well as different amounts of time on the force.
Or maybe it’s a better trained police force. Where is this?
— Esteban Michaels (@EstebanMichaels) October 16, 2019
The issue of police brutality continues to haunt the American justice system. A recent study showed the records of over 26,000 people killed by police across the US since 2000, at an average of over 1300 people per year until 2019.
