
MYTH: The ‘say their name’ slogan is designed to bring awareness to black people being targeted by anti-black racism and police brutality. People like George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Tamir Rice, and Jacob Blake are proof that there is systemic racism in this country. Police officers often target black people just because of the color of their skin. By saying the names of the victims, we bring awareness to this reality.
REALITY: Much of the BLM narrative is built on misleading data, falsehoods, and confirmation bias. It’s important to highlight actual examples of racism. Unfortunately, the ‘say their name’ slogan doesn’t do that. There are so many objections to the slogan that can’t be ignored.
For example, in my article “The Myth of Systemic Racism“, I debunk the false narrative that racism or discrimination is embedded in the laws and institutions of our society.
No one is denying that there are disparities, corruption, or individual cases of racism; but none of it is because of systemic racism.
Another objection is that research into the subject has failed to find any link that racism was the driver in a majority of these cases (Check below for more information)
In fact, there are many examples equivalent to BLM cases where the unarmed victims were white. (Check below for more information)
One of the biggest objections to the ‘say their name’ slogan, is that any group can use the same method to push a different political narrative.
For example, white or Asian people can put together a list of names of victims of their race/ethnicity who were attacked or killed at the hands of a black person (Check below for more information). They can then push the political narrative that black people are racist and out to get them. This of course is very misleading, but that’s my point.
As you can see, it’s very deceptive to use the ‘say their name’ slogan as evidence of systemic racism or any other BLM narrative.
(Check below for evidence)
POLICE SHOOTINGS
As I stated above, studies have failed to find a connection between police shootings and racial bias.
According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, Asians are more than 50% less likely to be killed by police than white people.
A 2015 analysis of the Philadelphia Police Department, by the Justice Department, found that white police officers were less likely than black officers to shoot unarmed black suspects.
According to a large study conducted by African-American Harvard Economist Roland Fryer, there’s no racial bias in police shootings. The study examined more than 1,000 shootings in 10 major police departments, in Texas, Florida, and California.
UNARMED POLICE SHOOTINGS
According to the Census Bureau, there are 41.6 million black people in the United States.
According to the Police Blue Nation Organization, there are now “more than 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States.”
Despite, the high number of officers and the large black population, there were only 27 unarmed black men were killed in 2019, according to Mapping Police Violence.
The odds of an unarmed black man being shot dead by a police officer are about the same as being struck by lightning.
A 2018 study conducted by Jon Shane and Zoë Swenson, two criminal justice researchers, found that an overwhelming majority (90%) of times an officer used lethal force against unarmed suspects, it was because the officer felt their life was in danger— not racism. The other 10% of cases involved “accidental shootings or unintentional discharges.”
“The study’s findings show that when police officers used deadly force during an encounter with an unarmed citizen, the officer or a third person was facing imminent threat of death or serious injury in the vast majority of situations. Moreover, when police officers used force, their actions were almost always consistent with the accepted legal and policy principles that govern law enforcement in the overwhelming proportion of encounters (as measured by indictments).”
According to Lexipol, of the 90%, the suspects had been “attempting to disarm an officer, drown an officer, throw an officer from a bridge or rooftop, strangle an officer, gesturing as if armed with a real weapon, keeping hands concealed despite commands and charging toward an officer with apparent intent to assault.”
If you are a law-abiding citizen, your chances of being shot by the police are almost nonexistent.
INTERRACIAL VIOLENCE: BLACK-ON-WHITE VIOLENCE AND BLACK-ON-ASIAN VIOLENCE
Contrary to popular belief, the rate of black-on-white violence is more common than white-on-black violence. The rate of interracial violence has significantly declined in the last several decades, but it’s still a problem.
According to a 2018 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, “Similar to the trend for intraracial violent victimization, the rate of interracial violent victimization declined from 1994 to 2015. The rate of white-on-black violence declined 74%, from 10.2 victimizations per 1,000 black persons to 2.6 per 1,000. The rate of black-on-white violence declined
80%, from 14.9 victimizations per 1,000 white persons to 3.0 per 1,000. In 1994, the rate of black-on-white violence was higher than the rate of white-on-black violence.”
When you adjust for population, black people are more likely to be criminal offenders than whites, Asians, and Hispanics.
The 2018 Bureau of Justice Statistics report said, “Based on victims’ perceptions of the offenders, the offender-to-population ratio shows that the percentage of violent incidents involving black offenders (22%) was 1.8 times the percentage of black persons (12%) in the population. In contrast, the percentage of violent incidents involving white (50%) or Hispanics (14%)
offenders was about four-fifths (0.8 times) the percentage of whites (62%) or Hispanics (17%) in the population, and the percentage involving Asian offenders (2.5%) was about two-fifths (0.4 times) the percentage of Asians in the population (6%). The percentage of violent incidents
involving offenders of other races (Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and persons of two or more races) was 3.8 times the percentage of those races in the population.”
Heather Mac Donald, a contributing editor of the City Journal, pointed out that “according to the National Victimization Survey, whites are the overwhelming target of interracial violence. Between 2012 and 2015, blacks committed 85.5 percent of all black-white interracial violent victimizations (excluding interracial homicide, which is also disproportionately black-on-white). That works out to 540,360 felonious assaults on whites. Whites committed 14.4 percent of all interracial violent victimization or 91,470 felonious assaults on blacks. Blacks are less than 13 percent of the national population.”
Mac Donald used data based on an October 2017 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, titled “Race and Hispanic Origin of Victims and Offenders, 2012-15.”
When it comes to violent attacks against Asian Americans, blacks are the most likely to be the offenders. According to the 2018 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, 27.5% of the 182,300 violent attackers of Asians were black, 24.1% were Caucasian, 21.4% were either Hispanic or other/mixed, and less than 25% were Asian.
EXAMPLES OF CASES EQUIVALENT TO BLM CASES WHERE THE VICTIMS WERE WHITE
The examples listed below are unarmed police shootings or killings of white people. These examples are meant to illustrate that these cases are not exclusive to one race or ethnicity. Similar to the BLM cases, in many of the examples listed the police were justified or it was an accident. Being unarmed and shot by the police remains very rare, no matter what race or ethnicity you are.
Here’s a list of unarmed white people who were killed or injured by the police—
Tony Timpa: similar to George Floyd, there is a video of Timpa dying while police were on his back for 14 minutes. In the video, you can hear him stating that he couldn’t breathe and that the police were killing him. To make matters worse, the officers joked about the whole incident.
Nicholas Farah: similar to George Floyd, Farah was killed while handcuffed in police custody. Like George Floyd, he was also a resident of Wisconsin.
Timothy Coffman: similar to George Floyd, Coffman died after an officer had their knee on his neck.
Daniel Harris: was a deaf man killed by a black officer.
Gilbert Collar: a white man killed by a black police officer.
Justine Damond: was an unarmed white woman killed by a Black police officer in Minneapolis.
Ariel Roman: similar to Jacob Blake, Roman, after resisting arrest, was shot. The officer that shot him was a black female officer. He survived being shot (there was no mention of race in the ABC News article about the story)
Jonathan Mansilla: unarmed and shot by a black police officer. First Aid wasn’t provided immediately after the shooting.
John Geer: unlike Michael Brown, Geer was actually killed by police while his hands were up.
Jeremy Mardis: an unarmed six-year-old with autism that was shot by police.
Noah Hunter Brittain: unarmed white teenager shot by police.
Daniel Shaver: unarmed and killed by police while crying. There is a disturbing video of the incident.
Zachary Hammond: unarmed and shot by the police.
Trevor Seever: unarmed and shot by the police.
Dylan Noble: unarmed and shot by the police.
Jason Conoscenti: unarmed and shot by the police.
John Winkler: unarmed and shot by the police.
All of the people on this list died except Ariel Roman.
EXAMPLES OF CASES EQUIVALENT TO BLM CASES WHERE THE INDIVIDUALS WERE WHITE AND CARRYING A TOY GUN
Andy Lopez, Peyton Ham, Alexander King, and Hannah Williams: similar to Tamir Rice, all were shot by police while carrying a toy or replica gun.
According to CBS News, “86 people carrying fake or toy guns were killed by police in 2 years… Of those killed, all but five were men, 54 were white, 19 were black and 11 were Hispanic.
Full Disclaimer: Peyton Ham was also armed with a knife. However, he didn’t pull out the knife until he was first shot after aiming the fake gun at the officer.
SOURCES
Donald, H. M. (2020, May 31). The terrifying collapse of the rule of law across the country. City Journal. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.city-journal.org/terrifying-collapse-of-the-rule-of-law#:~:text=Between%202012%20and%202015%2C%20blacks,540%2C360%20felonious%20assaults%20on%20whites.
Chu, H. (2014, April 10). Los Angeles deputies mistakenly killed innocent man in west hollywood. ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://abc7.com/west-hollywood-fight-shooting-weho/29322/
Keays, A. J. (2021, December 10). New video shows no aid provided for at least 2 minutes after police shot a man in McDonald’s in Rutland. VTDigger. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://vtdigger.org/2021/12/08/new-video-shows-no-aid-provided-for-at-least-2-minutes-after-police-shot-a-man-in-mcdonalds-in-rutland/
Rasmussen, A. (2021, August 12). Family demands justice after deputy fatally shoots unarmed teenager during routine traffic stop. Investigation Discovery. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/family-demands-justice-after-deputy-shoots-unarmed-teenager-during-routine-traffic-stop
Crimesider Staff. (2016, December 19). Report: 86 people carrying fake or toy guns killed by police in 2 years. CBS News . Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/report-86-carrying-fake-or-toy-guns-killed-by-police-in-2-years/
Alexander, K. (2014, July 8). Boy with toy gun said to be high when shot by cop. SFGATE. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Boy-with-toy-gun-said-to-be-high-when-shot-by-cop-5607005.php
WBAL. (2021, April 14). MSP: Trooper fatally shoots 16-year-old boy in Leonardtown. WBAL. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.wbaltv.com/article/maryland-state-police-trooper-shoots-peyton-ham-leonardtown/36110549#
Hutchinson , B. (2019, July 9). BB gun found at scene of fatal police shooting of California teen Hannah Williams: Prosecutor. ABC News. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/police-officer-shot-california-teen-hannah-linn-williams/story?id=64214226
Shane, J., & Swenson, Z. (2018). Unarmed and Dangerous: Patterns of Threats by Citizens During Deadly Force Encounters with Police (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429443749
Bader, H. (2020, June 8). Narrative of racist police killings melts when you know these stats. CNS News. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/hans-bader/narrative-racist-police-killings-melts-when-you-know-these-stats
Saxena, V. (2021, April 23). The real number of unarmed black people killed by police you can share with your liberal friends. BizPac Review. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.bizpacreview.com/2021/04/23/the-real-number-of-unarmed-black-people-killed-by-police-you-can-share-with-your-liberal-friends-1063902/
Young, T. (2019, December). The doctrine of “White privilege” is undermined by the facts. The Critic Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/december-2019/no-need-to-plead-guilty/
Bui, Q., & Cox, A. (2016, July 11). Surprising new evidence shows bias in police use of force but not in shootings (published 2016). New York Times . Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/upshot/surprising-new-evidence-shows-bias-in-police-use-of-force-but-not-in-shootings.amp.html
Donald, H. M. (2016, February 8). Black and unarmed: Behind the numbers. The Marshall Project. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/02/08/black-and-unarmed-behind-the-numbers
Hutchinson , B. (2019, July 9). BB gun found at scene of fatal police shooting of California teen Hannah Williams: Prosecutor. ABC News. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/police-officer-shot-california-teen-hannah-linn-williams/story?id=64214226
Richardson, V. (2014, November 27). White Teen Gilbert Collar killed by black cop Trevis Austin in Alabama mirrors Ferguson. The Washington Times . Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/27/white-teen-gilbert-collar-killed-by-black-cop-trev/
Smith, K. (2022, May 25). Dallas police promote officer who pinned Tony Timpa to ground before he died in 2016. Dallas News . Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2022/05/25/dallas-police-promote-officer-who-pinned-tony-timpa-to-ground-before-he-died-in-2016/%3foutputType=amp
Wang, V. (2017, December 9). From 2017: Video shows Daniel Shaver pleading for his life before being shot by officer (published 2017). The New York Times . Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2017/12/09/us/police-shooting-video-arizona.amp.html
Queally, J. (2015, August 4). Why the police killing of this unarmed white man has not led to national outcry. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-zachary-hammond-police-shooting-20150804-htmlstory.html
Appleton, R. (2018, August 1). Family of slain teen Dylan Noble reaches settlement with city of Fresno. Fresno Bee. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.fresnobee.com/news/local/article215949690.html
De León, C. (2021, January 7). Body camera video shows fatal shooting of unarmed California man by police (published 2021). New York Times . Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/us/modesto-church-police-shooting.amp.html
Reuters Staff. (2016, July 14). Police release body camera video showing shooting of unarmed white man. Reuters . Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN0ZU0IH
Quelly, J. (2016, September 1). Long Beach police officers won’t be charged in fatal 2014 shooting of man fleeing down stairs. LA Times . Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-long-beach-conoscenti-20160901-snap-story.html%3f_amp=true
Teague, M. (2015, November 5). Louisiana police concede officers fired shots that killed six-year-old boy. The Guardian . Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/05/louisiana-police-deny-car-reversing-six-year-old-shot
Hutchinson , B. (2020, June 19). How 2 doting dads, George Floyd and Nicholas Farah, died in the hands of police. ABC News . Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/doting-dads-george-floyd-nicholas-farah-died-hands/story%3fid=71054699
Leave a Reply