[Cali Panthers Fan]

So I took some time to reflect after the extremely negative reaction to my comments yesterday and I have some thoughts, so bear with me.

I didn't really understand at first why people would be so upset with what I said, but after a moment I came to the realization that it was obvious victim blaming, although that wasn't my intention. It's a sad reality that black people have to be concerned about any interaction with the police, but it's the reality all the same...hopefully for not much longer. I can accept that my thoughts were condescending and grossly insensitive, and for that I apologize. I won't attempt to double down on those thoughts or say they were the right take, because obviously they weren't, and that's the problem. Let me elaborate.

For those that don't know me well, I, and my whole family, do regular charity work within the Florence Fuller Foundation. This is a local charity that works to fill in the gaps in education and opportunity for those living near or below the poverty line. The work provides after school care and extra education for children of poor families, mostly people who are the working poor. The population of students is disproportionately black and latino, and so I am familiar with the problems in those communities

When I teach, I am constantly educating students on economic and social disparity in America, and how it affects minority communities much more than white communities. The school I teach at prides itself on an extremely diverse population of students from a variety of ethnic and economic backgrounds, not to mention a large international population.

When I discuss social justice with students, some of these exact topics come up, and the words I said yesterday have been regularly said to me by my black students, and at first I was surprised, but it is a common thought process in the black community because it's necessary for survival. And that is the problem right there. It shouldn't be necessary for survival. It shouldn't even occur to someone that their life might be in danger for a routine stop, but it is. However, it's not my place to say those things because I don't experience this myself.

I think we in the white community have a tendency to try to be paternalistic to minority communities. We think that somehow we need to save them, but that's the wrong perspective. All we have to do is be allies and advocates.

I look at my comments and I see that paternalism and insensitivity. It's not appropriate for me to say "hey, try not to get shot", but rather the discussion should pivot to saying "hey, this is horrible. How can I help?"

Just one last point: It can be hard for any of us to see how we could be part of the problem, and yesterday was a moment for me to see that clearly in myself. I consider myself to be quite progressive and sensitive to issues, but even I am not perfect and have terrible takes at times. We all do, and when people call us out it's important to stop, reflect, and listen. If enough of us do that and take it seriously, I think long-lasting change can happen, but it takes a conversation. Keep having conversations, and keep listening to each other.

Thanks for letting me air my thoughts.