Member-only story
The Sin of “Potential”
Imagine a group of Black or brown people gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia, wielding torches and weapons, and chanting hate mantras and explicitly wishing to do harm to other races. The condemnation would have been swift; the consequences instant, law enforcement would have come down. Down and hard.
The FBI 2015 report into hate crimes in the US showed that white Americans commit more domestic acts of terrorism than any other race. When examined from the basis of religion and faith, it turns out that white American Christians commit more hate crimes in the United States than radical Islamists. However, persons of colour and Muslims are presented as the ones to fear. This sadly leads to the harassment and sometimes death of innocent people in the hands of law enforcement.
I remember the first time I was stopped and searched by the police. I was coming home from my university. I was three minutes from my door when it happened. I was told a crime was committed in the neighbourhood and I looked like the guy who committed the crime.
I was searched and questioned. When I was finally allowed to leave, I ran into another Black man around the corner. He had been watching what was going on and told me he had also been searched and also told he looked like the alleged suspect.
