I
think that police brutality is a big issue for everyone. Actually, I think that
police brutality is mostly confined to minorities. I think that for many white
upper upper class snobs, they feel that police are just as hard on them. What a
crock! These people see a cop look at them the wrong way and they feel it’s
police brutality, and they now also feel that they share the same experiences
as minorities. Now I’m not saying that they don’t have their share of problems,
but for the most part they don’t even come close to comparing. These people
have no idea what it’s like to walk down the street and have cops slow down to
look you over as they drive by. They just don't realize how easy they have it.
In reading your essays the rest of my class found
the personal incidences that you discussed shocking. I am the only
African-American Female in this class and your tales did not take me nearly as
off guard. As a result of this observation, I was made aware of the necessity
for (this kind of interaction). I am not saying that people in my class/school
need to have some hands-on experience with police brutality, but their ignorance
of events that people in their own borough experience on too regular a basis is
what I found most shocking. There are major slogans and campaigns in the media
for world peace but how can we be in search for peace when we are not even
aware of the violence occurring regularly less than five miles from our homes?
“World peace can be achieved when the power of love overrides the
love of power.” This sounds very cliche but the first step towards a resolution
is education. More people need to hear the horror stories that many of you have
experienced.
Additional
Horace Mann Responses After Reading Partner
School's Essays:
• After reading several of the compositions on police
brutality, the goal of this project became more clear to me. I believe the
overall goal of what we are participating in is to be able to work together,
discuss together, and argue together... When we truly think about it, we are
all people, but with different backgrounds. We have let this fact work to our
disadvantage instead of using it to our advantage. Different experiences offer
people a new perspective on how to look at issues such as police
brutality...The life that I lead is very different from that of the lives
written about in the letters we read.
This should not be the case. Our society can
not survive so fractured, and with such blatant double standards. But that
doesn’t mean that I can’t help to solve the problem. The goal is to be able to
work together and learn from each other. It can happen if we respect each other
and listen intently. ES
• My first emotion when I read the police brutality essays was
surprise. I couldn’t believe that some people were beaten when they weren’t
even doing anything... Every time I read an essay I found myself whispering
Jesus Christ. I used to believe that racism didn’t exist anymore, but now I
realize it does. AS
• I have never felt so ignorant in my life. I was enraged to hear of the occurrences inflicted by the police force. It is absolutely ridiculous that adults, who have made a commitment to maintaining peace in our society, would cause pain or harass ANYONE! Such racist practices and even attitudes are unacceptable and need to be expelled from our lives. I think this would be a topic for us to talk about and attempt to propose solutions. I look forward to reading any responses and hopefully meeting sometime soon. RF
• When I read the letters from other schools, I didn’t believe a lot of them. How could such atrocities exist outside of my television? NN
• Some of the things I read in the essays were really shocking...It’s really unfair that police can do those things without punishment, but other people go to jail for them. Nn
• After reading your stories, I find that the problem of police brutality is a major problem. I find it hard to believe that it happens so much, but after reading your papers I now think it does. One of the things that did disturb me was that in a lot of cases, you guys/ girls were in possession or doing something illegal. This fact cripples your complaints. How can you complain about brutality if you are doing something illegal? Yes, it is not right for them to do that, but if you were not doing something illegal, it may not have happened. TA
• In reading your essays I found myself both surprised and appalled. Though I was not so naive to think that police brutality was not a pressing issue, I had no idea that its scope was so wide that it was a relatively common occurrence... When Mr. Dennis told us some of the reactions aroused by reading our essays I was disturbed. He said that there was a sense of anger among some of you that we even write on a topic we surely know nothing about. For the most part I think that it’s true we know very little in comparison to you about police brutality. But it’s not a good practice to assume before becoming at least a bit more informed. The most important point I have to make, however, is that in order to fix a problem affecting a community, all different types of people must get involved. In fact it is essential that people with different backgrounds and lives come together to find a solution. LY
• I find it terrible that people my own age could be
brutalized by the police. I also find it upsetting that a police officer would
come up to you for no reason and accuse you of stealing something. I have never
experienced anything like this...Hopefully, I will never have to deal with the
kind of police brutality that has affected your life. BC
• As I was reading the experiences from other schools, I realized that police brutality affected people of all ages, all sexes, and all races in different ways and to different extents. F-YF
• I have read most of your letters, and I am shocked at the
horrible things that have happened to some of you. I truly never knew that
things are that bad... Even if I am not necessarily beaten by the police, I feel
that the system must be changed, so that no one is beaten. PC
* One mission, left unstated, was that we should teach each other.
These back and forth letters should not result in irrational accusations or
stubborn defense - rather they should be forums to help each other further
understand ourselves and our environment ... I am asking, then, that subjects
as touchy as these continue to be the basis of this stage of the program, in
the hope that they will strengthen understanding and communication. I have seen
where I lack experience, and hope in the future there are subjects we (at HM)
are familiar with, and can help you understand. JF
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