FollowAnytown, U.S.A. — Last week, Caucasian Anytown police officer Thomas Smith, 42, fatally shot an unarmed African-American Anytown resident, John Simpson, 46, after responding to a noise complaint at his residence in an affordable housing complex near the downtown area. The grand jury’s decision not to indict Smith at the preliminary hearing today drew national attention after more liberal groups and members of the media were quick to point to racism as the cause of the deadly encounter.
Presiding Judge Harold Banks tested these claims during the hearing by asking Smith, “Are you racist?” to which Smith earnestly replied, “No, your honor, I’m most certainly not. I like Black people. Heck, I love Black people. My housekeeper is Black. If I believed the stereotype that Black people are dangerous as the prosecution seems to be suggesting, why would I regularly allow a Black person into my home?”
Smith’s lawyer also emphasized that marijuana was later found inside the residence. During the hearing Smith stated, “The smell of marijuana was coming in very strongly through the doorway. I asked myself, ‘If he has an illegal drug on him, what other illegal objects might he have? An unregistered handgun? An AK-47?’ In that moment, I truly feared for my life.”
In an unrelated incident, Officer Smith’s daughter, Stacey, is currently serving a three-day suspension from her high school after school staff found her smoking marijuana in the bathroom.
In a press conference after the hearing, Smith apologized to Simpson’s widow, stating, “I’m really sorry about your husband. I want you to know that, in part because of this incident, I have taken great pains to educate myself on the Black – sorry, African-American – experience and have read every Maya Angelou work available. I hope you can take solace in the fact that now I truly understand what it’s like to be Black in America.”
Smith later added, “Black people are great, really. In fact, I wish I could be exposed to more Black people so I can learn about their culture. But it’s hard because I live in the suburbs and most of them prefer urban environments.” Smith also stated that he appreciates Tyler Perry movies and finds the music of T-Pain “really neat.”
Although racist violence might not come in the form of lynching today, many people of color are brutalized or killed, likely because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong skin color. Today, no stores specify which races need not apply to the “Now Hiring” signs in their windows, but employers still overwhelmingly choose white candidates over equally qualified African-American candidates. Today, few people call themselves racist, but racism is everywhere. This hypothetical, satirical news article was written with the purpose of placing common sentiments about race that may seem harmless in context to emphasize the hidden, detrimental racism of these attitudes. A parting word of advice: the next time you engage in discussion about race, stop and think about the implications of what you’re saying.
No Comments