Letter from Gotham Comments on Crime In NYC
The author has picked up on the Central Park Jogger story, and I need to gather my thoughts and reply calmly. But I am stewing about this description of her trip to a police station house following a mugging:
"When I went to the station house to try to ID the perps the cops handed me photo albums. Yeah, like family photo albums. I imagined some cop whose job it was to fit the pictures into the plastic sleeves ("hey! this is such a wonderful picture of little Albert!").
Not one honky in the bunch. Hardly any Hispanics, either, I noticed."
Not having spent a lot of time in station houses, I do not know for a fact that these books would normally be sorted by race. I mean, I would, but I sort my socks pretty carefully too. So, as I said, let me reflect - I have kids that need to get to school.
UPDATE: Looks like I'm not alone in being alone... Should I be quoting "The Police" right now? Pandagon is not happy. Balancing that, Letter From Gotham is open to correction on this point, but stands by her major theme.
UPDATE: Originally I had hoped to say something sensible, but now I'm just hoping to avoid anything stupid. Any bettors?
Right, then. "Body and Soul" asserts that young black men were unfairly stigmatized as a result of this incident. Diane E. of "Letter From Gotham" replies "Unfair! I've been mugged, my friends have been mugged or worse, look at the crime statistics and tell me if I am being unfair or unwise in steering clear of young black men for my own protection."
Now, my wife is quite sensible on this point. She has no problems whatsoever with black people, yellow people, brown people, any color people. Her problem is with violent people. I have a problem with violent people too, when I don't make this distinction clearly and she kicks me in the shins. Sensitivity training. Anyway, my wife is a "root causes" type: education, poverty, family upbringing, neighborhood, housing - nothing unusual on her list. She believes that there are plenty of places in America today populated by poor, menacing white folk. And that, less than two hundred years ago, the Irish neighborhoods in New York were cesspools of crime and drunkenness. But you knew that is where "paddy wagons" comes from, so let's press on.
Her point, and mine, and we presume Diane E's, is that self-preservation is not a race thing per se. Nobody is suggesting a genetic pre-disposition towards bad behavior. However, because the sidewalks of New York often do not allow enough time for a full review of a person's family and lifestyle, rapid assessments are made based on gender, race, age, and demeanor. Explaining why this is OK and not racist is a bit of a balancing act which probably ought to be approached carefully.
Look, if you are getting your lessons in empathy here, we have all fallen on hard times. But hey, rock bottom, it can only get better! I'll type quickly; perhaps that will make this less painful. I'm a middle aged white guy. What do I know about this? Nothing. I lived in Manhattan for ten years (1981-'91) but now I am in a leafy suburb. One fine morning, I was unshaven, unkempt, and properly dressed to mow the lawn when my wife sent me off on an errand to some tony women's clothing store. Yes, she needed it now, no, she couldn't wait, fine, dear. So, I get to the store, not looking at all like their typical customer. A peculiar coolness settles over the store. No, Mr. Invisible, we cannot see you, how could we possibly be expected to help you? Hmm. Not my normal reception. Do they have any idea how much my wife spends here? I don't, but I'm sure it's a lot. I do know that if I were wearing my snazzy business suit, looking like the Important Businessman I play at during the week, they would be falling all over themselves trying to separate me from my money. My situation is quite infuriating, but nobody cares and why should they, because I Do Not Belong. Eventually an older male clerk helps me out and chases me out, and there we are. So, one bad experience ten years ago, and I still remember it. And if it happened ten times a day?
Do I have stories about the police? Fine, once I was jogging in Beverly Hills, of all places. I was there for a friend's wedding, and a cop stopped me for jaywalking. Since I was not carrying my wallet and had no ID, there was some idle speculation about the merits of taking me "downtown". I was very deferential and kept to myself questions as to whether busting joggers for jaywalking represented the fast track to "Detective" in this burg. And I did not ask if I could meet Eddie Murphy, and I kept my own counsel on the seemingly relevant point that I had not left my wallet "downtown" either, it was in the hotel two GD blocks away, maybe THEY had left something "downtown", like their BRAINS... no, I did not walk that road, because I have incredible street savvy. So, no personal police stories to speak of, but I still get that sense of "here we go" when a policeman approaches. And if I were a young black kid, how would the world seem?
Look, I'm not saying Diane E is wrong, other than about the perp book and the implication that every criminal in Manhattan is young and black. But there are multiple sides to this, so please bear in mind a bit of relevant folk wisdom: Don't criticize someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. That way, you'll be a mile away when you criticize them. AND, you'll have their shoes.
That's it. We now resume our regularly scheduled butt-kicking.
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