It's gut check time again.
Same rules: If you are not ready to explore your inner feelings and beliefs...leave now...don't read another word! AS ALWAYS YOU'VE BEEN WARNED------
Part V- a. Spousal Abuse
I was watching COPS the other day and saw a young black inner-city guy being chased/ beaten by the police and something they said and did really troubled me. No, I wasn't shocked by the beatings. I expected them to beat him and pepper spray this guy directly in the eyes because he wouldn't put his hands behind his back while they kicked, punched and pulled him in directions that made it all but impossible to put your arms behind your back; standard procedures.
I was troubled because of the conversation that lead up to the case and arrest. It went something like this:
Cops pull into a housing project. You know the type. Mostly low income, under educated, working-poor type neighborhood. They are looking for a robbery suspect whose on the run and headed this way, so they drive up to a crowd of people (young and old) and ask if they've seen this guy.
"Did ya'll see a black guy about 5 foot 8 inches run thru here. He has on blue jeans and wife beater".
"No, I ain't seen nothing"
"Was it a white wife beater"
"Yeah, which way did he go"
At that point the radio interrupts with the guys location and the cops head to the sight of the beat-down. Later they explain the situation to the camera crew:
"We got a call for assistance. A Black male about 5 foot 8 inches had robbed a store and was on foot trying to evade police. The BOLO (be on the look out for) said he had on blue jeans and a white wife beater. That was later confirmed by the people standing near the incident".
BREAK BREAK BREAK
Do we really describe white under shirts as "WIFE BEATERS". It's not bad enough that men and women are victims of violence in the home, have we become so tolerant of this CRIME that we prescribe an attire to these events.
I know why the name came into fad, but the source of the name troubles me. Think of it this way:
What if in every lynching photo the lynchers had on brown boots.
Would we call brown boots "***** hanging Boots"?
What if most child molesters wore neck ties when caught by the police, would we make up some horrible name for the tie?
We have become too accepting of bad, criminal behavior. Why don't we condemn spousal abuse?
Aunt Fancy has been a hostage in her own home for 20 years and all we can say or do is, she should leave him. Or, she should stop pushing his buttons. Why haven't we intervened? Do we love her? Do we love us?
I have heard guys talk harder and rougher to their significant other than they talk to other guys in the streets. We say the most mean spirited things to the love of our lives that cut deep and cause long lasting mental scars. Abuse in our community is rampant and we subjugate that behavior to jokes and attire.
What are your thought?
Am I off on this one?
Do we need a gut check on our tolerance of spousal abuse?
Posted By: Dr. Ahmad Glover
Saturday, August 9th 2008 at 12:12PM
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