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Acting Stupidly
By Kate Burch
Human beings very early learn and begin to implement behaviors that
will help them to minimize risk and optimize safety. Some
examples: infants who are just beginning to crawl possess depth
perception and an awareness of danger of falling so that they will not
venture onto a sheet of glass covering a depression; at eight or nine
months, infants start to cry rather than smile at unfamiliar persons;
in situations of abuse or trauma, even very young children will
protectively withdraw in order to avoid psychological pain. These
behaviors are universal, and are countered and overcome only with
further learning.
Responsible, pro-social, thoughtful black citizens are justifiably
distressed by their awareness that they are often, on a first
encounter, treated with wariness or outright suspicion by whites or
people of other ethnicities. One man wrote about women clutching
their purses tighter when he stepped onto an elevator. This
is heartbreaking.
Those who are not so responsible or pro-social loudly complain that
they are targeted by law enforcement because of their skin color.
They assert that they are hated and oppressed, not only by police, and
politicians who pander to them, encourage retaliation, outright
violence, even killing in response.
The truth is that a certain wariness is a rational response to the
facts. Blacks commit violent crimes, including murder, rape,
robbery, and assault, at rates that are seven to ten times higher than
rates for whites. Even Jesse Jackson, in a remark that he would
rue if it were widely reported, said some years ago that if he were
walking down a Chicago street at night and saw a black stranger walking
toward him, he would cross to the other side. Even more
than being a thought-out, rational response, it is a reflection of some
hard-wired human behaviors that are in support of survival.
So, if additional learning is necessary to overcome the self-protective
behaviors of white people, is it likely that violent assaults and
murders will be effective? Talk about acting stupidly…
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