Ted Rall: They Shoot White People Too, Don't They?

Ted Rall reminds people that They Shoot White People Too, Don’'t They?

There is considerable evidence that white privilege won’t protect you from being beaten or otherwise abused when you fall into the clutches of white (or black) cops. In 2000 I was roughed up by an LAPD motorcycle cop for no apparent reason, other than the fact that he didn’t like the cut of my jib. (He charged me with jaywalking, which as a New Yorker I do often, but wasn’t doing then.)

In the United States, local law enforcement has a license to kill — and if they use it, the odds are, nothing will happen to them. Black or white, the smartest course of action when you fall into their clutches is with deference and courtesy, including when declining to answer questions, which is your right.

Although white people are less likely to be killed by the police without good reason, we are not immune. We should shed this stupid idea that we are safe because we are white.

The pain and suffering of non-whites is our pain and suffering because we are all human beings.