Race and police: Four Seattle-area families share concerns post-Ferguson

The shooting of an unarmed black teen by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., highlights the concerns of parents of African-American and mixed-race youths. Four area families speak with The Seattle Times about their concerns.

By Jack Broom

Seattle Times staff reporter

When you read the article as an informed and intelligent Seattleite, your thinking easily would lead you, to believe, "are the police in my area aggressive toward Black children"?

Based on many discussions on Facebook and Black Twitter, this article would be read with great enthusiasm.

"Keep your hands in view. Don’t make any sudden moves. Don’t reach into your pockets, or for the glove compartment. Even if you’re in the right, save that argument for another day — to ensure that another day will come."

However, the families interviews are NO REPRESENTATION OF WHAT HAPPENED IN FERGUSON, MO. It's as if, Seattle Times got their news from the Fox News Channel with Don Lemon and just used that as their background research.

Sure, there are anecdotal stories glossed over about the microaggressions encountered in Seattle. Based on these family's interviews they have encountered microaggressions from bigots, or own people and colorism, and ignorant people. However, in a White Supremacist system, one never knows who will say and do bigoted stuff and this article missed that fact or just did not care, which makes the article a microaggression.

And the imagery used for this entire article shows exactly why I HATE SEATTLE!

I can't move, I can't live anywhere else without my husband. My husband is doing well here. I have no friends, no life, and huge worries about fools harassing me due to microagressions, like the oxygen thief that pushed me out of the movie line when I was deciding a movie this year...

This article does not speak to what is going on and the consensus of thought behind what happened in Ferguson. What this article does is paint a false picture of our rosiness in Seattle.

1) The multiethic, one black parent theme displayed with biracial children automatically suggests privilege. These people don't live in a racially charged environment, like Ferguson that made it's money off of tickets and fines on Black people who they caught, which suggests a targeting. And individuals who were targeted were ALWAYS on the radar, which suggests an overpolicing much like that in New York with Eric Garner. That does not happen here in Seattle, people from other cities come from over-policing situations and it's like they have PTSD as it relates to cops. I do. When I was a part of forming the Seattle Urban League Young Professionals in 2005, at an event, a young black woman got into an argument over bowling shoes. No one came to her aid. Then she called the police. I questioned what kind of event was SULYP running and I was ostracized. I don't want to be around people who think that it is okay to come to someone's business and act crazy? I was there to have a good time. Apparently, I was the only one. But at that time, no one in this "professional group" understood that escalation of a situation involving people is not a smart thing for African Americans that are in small numbers in Seattle to start off with. Don't get me started of what looks like a "crabs in a barrel mentality" in this city, which makes no sense because there isn't just one of 2 of us and I thought we need to both make it. I was wrong. Another reason why I HATE SEATTLE.

2) If anyone can suffer reading this trash article and gain an understanding of what the interviewees think, you will find that it's superficial. Not the reality of tear gas canisters landing on your front lawn and people being told to go home, when that is your home...

3) Where are the police in this discussion? Were there any? Um... No... The problems in Ferguson are due to piss poor law enforcement training and negative racial undertones. Anyone who has worked in social justice can see that. But the fact is, Seattle Times didn't even speak to the family of the John T. Williams, the Native American woodcarver shot dead by Seattle PD. That is the best example of how Ferguson and Seattle may be similar with police issues. There is also the Latino beaten down. Did the writer DO the necessary background research?

Which makes me wonder, why did Seattle Times write this BS article?

To soothe the souls of White Supremacists that own his dishrag of a news paper and inform the multiethnis/racial children that they do not pass for white enough...

There is a colorism issue in Seattle often swept under the rug. It is condoned to progress in this city if the paradigm is not fit. It's promulgated by the corporate industries that move it forward and the young people protest things that make no difference or are ineffective toward change.

That doesn't mean there are not well-meaning people, but if I refuse to fit in BS circles in this city, then guess what? I'm ostracized. People who hit hard times are ignored and as far as friendships, they are absent with this thing called the "Seattle Freeze" -- the people are polite, but not very inclusive. And it's sad to say that the one thing that could bring the people of Seattle closer might be an earth moving disaster, but given that that has happened, we are no closer to those people. "What's Oso?"

I have never had to second guess and have my words minced before than this passive aggressive place, BUT THAT IS WHY I HATE SEATTLE FOR THIS VERY REASON ALONE.

You decide.