HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-05-06, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 6,1992.
The Other Side
By Keith Roulston
Round and
round and
round
Aside from the jurors in last
week's Los Angeles trial there were
probably few people in North
America who weren't shocked by
the verdict of not guilty on the
police office video taped beating a
black motorist.
How could it be, we wondered.
Can we not believe what we saw
with out own eyes? The truth that
seems to be emerging is that the
jurors saw something different
looking at that tape than the rest of
us.
The term "racist" is one that is
tossed around as frequently, and as
dangerously, in the 1990's as "com
munist" was in the McCarthy era of
the early 1950's. Call someone a
racist and he has no defence, he is
branded for life. Yet what has come
out of the trial of the police charged
with the beating of Rodney King
seems to illustrate the damage the
quiet side of racism can do.
The trial of the police officers
had been moved out of Los Ange
les because the televising of that
video-taped beating had made it
impossible for them to get a fair
trial. According to observers in Los
Angeles, Simi Valley, where the
trial was held, is peopled by people
who have, in many cases, located
there to escape the crime and
degradation of the city. They had a
perception of black people as per
petrators of much of that crime
(there were no blacks on the jury,
only one Asian and a Hispanic as
well as 10 whites). They had a fear
of that crime so they honestly could
more understand the position of the
police in the situation than Rodney
King, the victim of the beating.
They could make excuses for the
police because they know they
have a tough job to do. After all,
hadn't the police chased King for
eight miles before they finally
pulled him over. King didn't co
operate with police then either. And
if the police had been racist, would
n't they have beaten the other two
black people in his car as well?
Besides, they claimed, watching the
tape in slow motion, the beating
wasn't as bad as it seemed. Many of
the blows didn't land.
Even after the riots that resulted
from the anger of blacks at the ver
dict, one juror was quoted as saying
"I have no regrets".
Probably he or she (the gender of
the juror was not identified) was
also thinking: "what can you expect
from these people".
The tragedy of the verdict is that
it reinforced for blacks that they
can't get a fair break from the jus
tice system, even when the evi
dence is videotaped. How, black
people ask, can we ever expect jus
tice? Are the police immune from
the laws of assault everyone else
must live by? Few could be sur
prised when the frustration and
anger resulted in violence.
Yet the tragedy of the riots,
(besides the fact the rioters hurt
mostly other blacks) is that they
only helped reinforce the stereotype
of blacks as being violent and dan
gerous. The wedge has been driven
deeper between the races.
Human beings have a fear of
things different. Go into Toronto
and go to a neighbourhood where
people speak Portugese or Greek
and you're likely to feel an uneasi
ness. Go to a Chinese shopping
area as I did a few years ago, and
you'll start to feel disoriented and
wonder if you're in your own coun
try or not. Go to an area like "the
corridor" infamous for its drug
problems and crime and, being
white, you may start to wonder
about every black person you see.
I remember travelling through
downtown Detroit a year after the
terrible riots of 1967. Knowing the
history of the area, knowing the
root cause had been anger and frus
tration against whites, one had an
uneasy feeling, bordering on fear.
Sure, nothing was likely to happen
but what if... what if that guy
lounging against the side of that
building just happened to be one of
those who had attacked the cars of
white tourists who strayed into the
area? What if he was one of the
murderers Detroit had become
famous for.
How do we break the cycle of
fear of the unknown? To try to
build self-esteem among black peo
ple whose roots go back to slavery
and degradation, there has been a
concerted effort to build up black
pride, to tell the black story and
make people feel they are different,
but equal to whites. For a people
with low self esteem it is a neces
sary re-education, just as the return
to native roots helps North Ameri
can natives find a new pride after
years of poverty and feeling
ashamed had led to alcoholism and
violence.
But there's a danger that goes
with it. Whenever we promote the
differences between people, we set
up barriers to understanding. The
more you are different than I, the
more I doubt you feel the same
about many things in life, the less I
can trust that we will feel the same
about any given situation, the more
I may worry that you may dislike
me because of my language or skin
colour.
Our challenge in our multi-racial,
multi-cultural society is how to cel
ebrate our roots, to feel proud of
who we are, without building more
distrust; to keep from creating an
"us against them" feeling.
CCB meets
The Executive for the Canadian
Council for the Blind, Bluewater
Club met on Friday, April 1 at the
home of Gwen Watson, Clinton
with 11 in attendance.
The meeting opened with the
Lord's Prayer. Many things were
discussed and a schedule was
drawn up for the coming year.
The May meeting will be a bowl
ing party at the Clinton Lanes with
lunch to follow at the Reddi-Chef.
ICELEBRATE
National Tourism
Awareness Week
May 10-16, 1992
M.
lSLsIqiirism
fl Tourism involves thou-
| sands of businesses in
transportation, retail
trade, accommodation,
restaurant, recreation and
entertainment.
Tourism is a major
national industry playing a
key role in the vitality of
the Canadian and Huron
County economy.
Visit your local Huron
County tourism businesses
fl this week!
UWatch for their Open
fl Houses!
School rental
Continued from page 1
per hour, $15 per hour
•film projectors- $5 flat rate, $5
per item, $10 per item
•audio-visual equipment- $5 flat
fees increase
rate, $5 per item, $10 per item
All groups will also be charged
for custodial costs at an hourly rate.
Current rates are $14 per hour
straight time and between $20-$27
per hour overtime.
Walden
Weddings &
Portraits
Call
Gary Walden
482-7675
Who says
Canada is the
best country
in the world?
The
United Nations.
The Human Development Report (1992)
is published by the United Nations
Development Programme. The Human
Development Index (HDI) used in this
report is based on an evaluation of the
life expectancy, education levels and
purchasing power in 160 countries.
11*1Canada
125 years to celebrate