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No laughing matter
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Almost all of us would agree that life without humor would be catastrophic, but we also have to understand that there are some things that are just not humorous.
Case and point: two White males are arrested in Carroll, Iowa for attempted burglary - probably not the worst crime in the world to commit but a crime nonetheless. Unfortunately, what was troublesome about this crime was the disguise the men chose to use. Their disguise involved the use of hooded sweatshirts and a black felt-tip marker.
The black marker was used to paint their faces.
The two men were arrested only blocks away from the victim's home, and when it was discovered that the men had tried to conceal their identities by coloring their faces with a black marking pen, someone (including the Chief of Police) found the stunt to be funny.
Now I will admit - on the surface, the actions of these two men may have been funny, and the pair may qualify for the "World's Dumbest Criminals" award, but that is only on the surface.
Beneath the surface lies the issue of race.
Imagine if these two men had not been apprehended for the attempted burglary; the police may have found themselves on patrol the following day looking for two Black men with hooded sweatshirts instead of two White men with painted faces.
Not only is the thought of two men being arrested for a crime they did not commit not humorous, but our two "not so smart" criminals suddenly look as though they are incredibly clever.
It is bad enough today that we still have to deal with the ghost of racisms' past through the mocking of the infamous "Minstrel Show" - now we have police officers who tell us that they got a good laugh out of arresting two White men who colored their faces black for the purpose of burglarizing a home.
The police chief in Carroll, Iowa, (in lieu of laughing) should have been angry with the two men - seizing the opportunity to explain the problem they could have created for themselves, the police department, and for the community through their irresponsible actions.
It is not a laughing matter; the track record of law enforcement is "less than impressive" when it comes to their efforts to improve the climate of race relations in our nation. For an organization that has contact with people of all races on a daily basis, it would seem logical that next to enforcing the law, police officers would be empowered and encouraged to seize opportunities to help people get along across racial lines.
That includes recognizing and publicly acknowledging their awareness of how race factors in during arrest situations where two men have colored their faces black for the purpose of committing a crime.
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