#CrimingWhileWhite

flantastic · December 2014

Have you guys heard of this hashtag? It's basically people telling stories about their experience with the opposite of police brutality and white privilege in police interaction. I thought of you when I saw this tweet, because it's clear they also hate the excuse "boys will be boys."

There's no #CrimingWhileWhite. They're just acts of youthful indiscretion cuz boys will be boys. pic.twitter.com/Fw53hVkQbE
— Very Serious People™ (@TheXclass) December 4, 2014

novella1186 · December 2014

Omg. I am rolling my eyes so hard at this. I think people are focused far too much on race. Police should be reprimanded/punished/whatever when they fail to do their jobs correctly. The race of the officer and the race of any other person involved should be irrelevant. (I know in some areas there really are discrimination problems, but when the news media and social media get so obsessed and fixated on RACE RACE RACE I think they make things much worse)

I'm white, and I was once pulled over by THREE police cars and had a K9 unit on me, for ROLLERBLADING. I was like 13 at the time. It was ridiculous, and way too much.

chibiyui · December 2014

Enh. A lot of my white friends have "warnings" they were given by cops, but all of my black friends have straight up harassment they experienced by cops.

Id like to think most of it is unconscious, but it's still there.

[Deleted User] · December 2014

RebeccaFlower · December 2014

pinkrevenge said:

show previous quotes

chibiyui said:

Enh. A lot of my white friends have "warnings" they were given by cops, but all of my black friends have straight up harassment they experienced by cops. Id like to think most of it is unconscious, but it's still there.

This. I KNOW I have gotten away with shit because I was a little pretty white girl who could smile sweet and look harmless. There is no way a black teenager could have done what I did and not get arrested.
That's actually how I first got my white privilege thrown in my face. I was dating a latino guy in high school / early college and he was getting passed left and right because he was going to EXACT speed limit on a stretch of road where everyone sped. I told him to go faster and he refused. He said "You know what happens when you speed? You'll get a warning, maybe the cop will give you a hard stare-down. I'm a brown kid in a rich white neighborhood driving a beat up car. If I speed there are going to be cops combing through my car looking for drugs and guns and stolen stereo equipment. "

Yeah, sobering. Hell, he didn't want me going over the speed limit when I was the one driving, because it's all well and good until they see the brown boy in the car with a white girl.

This just made my stomach drop

novella1186 · December 2014

pinkrevenge said:

show previous quotes

chibiyui said:

Enh. A lot of my white friends have "warnings" they were given by cops, but all of my black friends have straight up harassment they experienced by cops. Id like to think most of it is unconscious, but it's still there.

This. I KNOW I have gotten away with shit because I was a little pretty white girl who could smile sweet and look harmless. There is no way a black teenager could have done what I did and not get arrested.
That's actually how I first got my white privilege thrown in my face. I was dating a latino guy in high school / early college and he was getting passed left and right because he was going to EXACT speed limit on a stretch of road where everyone sped. I told him to go faster and he refused. He said "You know what happens when you speed? You'll get a warning, maybe the cop will give you a hard stare-down. I'm a brown kid in a rich white neighborhood driving a beat up car. If I speed there are going to be cops combing through my car looking for drugs and guns and stolen stereo equipment. "

Yeah, sobering. Hell, he didn't want me going over the speed limit when I was the one driving, because it's all well and good until they see the brown boy in the car with a white girl.

I know I've gotten out of speeding tickets just for having boobs. For years I would get pulled over all the time (I used to have issues with speeding) and if I were alone or had other girls with me, I never once got a ticket. Never. If I had a guy with me, I got a ticket every time.

I never associated that with being white (although maybe it is) but I definitely associated it with being a girl.

But yeah, your story about your past boyfriend just hurt my heart a little

larrygaga · December 2014

No, I don't think we should forget about race. Race is still the prominent factor in these cases. White people do get off easier. It's scary to talk about but that doesn't mean we should pretend it isn't happening. Unfortunate, racism is still a huge thing and not really much has changed since black people had to use different bathrooms than us. We would like to thing it has changed, but not really. It's just more of a secret.

pinkrevenge This is seriously FI and I. I can get away with literally anything, he's the one getting pulled over at the airport for extra security checks. We have to go so early to make sure we get on the plane on time.

Michigan cops don't really pull people over, though. In general. They don't give a shit.

VulgarGirl · December 2014

Is criming an actual word? I feel like it's not.

Once when I was about 16 me and some friends were hanging out in a park getting drunk and high. I know...we're so classy! Anyways the cops show up to break up our little party, we've done this enough times to know they'll just show up and go "Ok everyone head on home now" and we'd all go our ways and it was no issue.

Well this night it was me and four friends, of the five of us two were less white then the rest of us. One girl was Mexican, the other one was Italian and just had darker skin. The cops gave me a lift home because I was very very drunk. Of course I gotten taken home by the cops to my mother...so that wasn't exactly fun. But the Mexican girl, she got arrested for being intoxicated in public and underage drinking. She was 16 and wasted. I was 16 and wasted. I was just right the shade.

novella1186 · December 2014

larrygaga said:

No, I don't think we should forget about race. Race is still the prominent factor in these cases. White people do get off easier. It's scary to talk about but that doesn't mean we should pretend it isn't happening. Unfortunate, racism is still a huge thing and not really much has changed since black people had to use different bathrooms than us. We would like to thing it has changed, but not really. It's just more of a secret.

pinkrevenge This is seriously FI and I. I can get away with literally anything, he's the one getting pulled over at the airport for extra security checks. We have to go so early to make sure we get on the plane on time.

Michigan cops don't really pull people over, though. In general. They don't give a shit.

There are people that truly do believe racism is a myth these days.

A group of us grad school students met up to study for an exam. One of them (who was black) had just gotten back from a road trip. She was telling us that she had to stop for gas in a small town in the southern part of a conservative state and she could feel everyone just glaring at her because OMG a black person!

I chimed in that when I moved to the small conservative town I live in right now, I had a terrible experience with a group of church people that kept coming to my door. I told them "Thanks but I'm Jewish" thinking they would understand and just go away, but they were so nasty to me about it. Like how dare a dirty Jew move into this town.

One of the guys in our group was so shocked to hear this and thought we were both exaggerating (a white guy, of course). He said he didn't think "things like that went on nowadays." Well, take it from a black lady and a Jew in a small conservative town. It goes on.

STARMOON44 · December 2014

novella1186 said:
Omg. I am rolling my eyes so hard at this. I think people are focused far too much on race. Police should be reprimanded/punished/whatever when they fail to do their jobs correctly. The race of the officer and the race of any other person involved should be irrelevant. (I know in some areas there really are discrimination problems, but when the news media and social media get so obsessed and fixated on RACE RACE RACE I think they make things much worse)

I'm white, and I was once pulled over by THREE police cars and had a K9 unit on me, for ROLLERBLADING. I was like 13 at the time. It was ridiculous, and way too much.

It's easy to think people are focused too much on race when you're white. Try that when you're black and living in a country that glorified legal racism for generations. Sometimes the best thing to do is realize that you don't know and listen.

[Deleted User] · December 2014

[Deleted User] · December 2014

flantastic · December 2014

I was driving 80 in a 60 (highway by not limited-access) as a senior in high school on my way north to visit my eventual college. Eventually I drove this road many, many, times and so knew the speed limit and the county where the state police were, but this was my first drive so I got caught. It was sleeting. I got pulled over, and the cop asked if I knew the speed limit. I said "honestly, no... I don't remember having seen a sign in a while." He asked where I was going, and I said to visit the college. After checking my license for priors, he gave me a verbal warning and said don't be such a dumbass, it's sleeting, but in nicer words. I wasn't a dumbass for the rest of the drive.

While I appreciate the consideration, 20 over is absolutely points on your license, plus I was basically being reckless with the sleet. If I were not a 17-year-old white girl, this may well have gone down very differently. I'd like to think that he was just a nice guy and would have given the same consideration to any young, stupid HS senior, but who the hell knows. What I do know is I got off super easy.

buttercup1958 · December 2014

Oh trust me I know how you guys feel. My dad has actually said "black people oppress themselves". And my brother thinks that since we have a nonwhite president racism is over and everyone has equal chances in this country. I want to constantly throw a chair at them but they never listen. So I just disagree and ignore sighed.

levioosa · December 2014

My ex used to have a beater car, and it was a type of car that is often associated with a racial slur in the area. The muffler was illegal, the window tint was illegal, it had plastic Walmart spinner rims (which fell off one by one much to my relief, amusement, and horror), and a sound system that he bumped all day long. He should have gotten countless tickets for all of the shit wrong with it. It was so over the top and ridiculous.

But he was white. We're talking aryan white. Boy could not get any whiter unless he was albino.

We got pulled over one time, and when we rolled down the window, the cop actually took a step back and said, "Oh, you weren't what I was expecting. Um....I thought your car might be illegal. Have a nice day, sir."

We drove away and were like WTF. His car was so obviously illegal it was laughable. And the blatant racism present in the pullover was disgusting.

afox007 · December 2014

I have definitely gotten off easy more times than I can count. The one time I got a ticket it was for not having insurance and that was after I got pulled over for speeding. Sadly I forgot to pay the ticket and my license is suspended.

I got pulled over a few weeks ago and was freaking out because my license is suspended. The cop took one look at this little white step mom and really really white little boy in a fricking station wagon, told me to be more careful about my speed and let me go.

My brother on the other hand is super dark, he gets pulled over almost weekly. Luckily most of the time the cops don't have any actual grounds to ticket him, but he gets harassed for being brown, driving a nice car in a nice rich neighborhood. It makes me sad that he and I are actually the same race, but because he actually got more pigment from our grandma's side of the family he has dealt with shit like this his whole life.

In elementary school we moved and he switched schools. He ended up in the remedial English class. He had been in the advanced class the year before. When my parents asked why the teacher said kids like him can't handle the advanced class....so because he's darker he's dumb? My mom threw a fit and got him put into the advanced class where he got an A.

kat1114 · December 2014

I know a lot of people like to blame the media for making race an issue in our law enforcement and justice systems, and while the media may sensationalize stories, the facts don't lie. Our justice system as a whole has some serious bias against minorities. It may be inherent, but that doesn't make it any better.

Black defendants convicted of murder are more likely to receive the death penalty than white defendants convicted of the same crime. Murderers of white victims are far more likely to get the death penalty than those who kill black victims.

Same with our drug laws. Many jurisdictions punish crack possession/dealing harsher than cocaine because of the perceived notion that crack is a "ghetto" drug (even though it's pretty much the same thing as cocaine). And although the numbers have changed over the last few years, blacks still make up the majority of the drug offender prison population even though whites use drugs at a higher rate.

So while #crimingwhilewhite is kind of a stupid hashtag (seriously, criming is not a word), I think it has a valid message.

ETF spelling.

beethery · December 2014

@afox007 girl... why are you driving around on a suspended license?

afox007 · December 2014

beethery said:

@afox007 girl... why are you driving around on a suspended license?

FI was super sick FSS had school I had work. It was stupid I know. I found out about my license a few months ago and this was the first time I drove. I was dumb and thought I'd be fine since it's just two roads from our house to the school to my work and I have only seen a cop maybe 3 times since we moved here 2 years ago.

l9i · December 2014

I've NEVER gotten out of a ticket and if anything have been harassed and profiled due to age. The police in my town LOVE sticking it to the young ones to 'teach them a lesson'. I'm a white female and have always looked young for my age and when driving past midnight I watch out because I've gotten pulled over many times for BS reasons thinking I was under 18 or young and clearly up to no good at 2am. Sometimes they are nice and 'just checking to make sure I haven't been drinking or anything' other times they are assholes and try to get me for anything they can until they realize they can't.

huskypuppy14 · December 2014

kat1114 said:

I know a lot of people like to blame the media for making race an issue in our law enforcement and justice systems, and while the media may sensationalize stories, the facts don't lie. Our justice system as a whole has some serious bias against minorities. It may be inherent, but that doesn't make it any better.

Black defendants convicted of murder are more likely to receive the death penalty than white defendants convicted of the same crime. Murderers of white victims are far more likely to get the death penalty than those who kill black victims.

Same with our drug laws. Many jurisdictions punish crack possession/dealing harsher than cocaine because of the perceived notion that crack is a "ghetto" drug (even though it's pretty much the same thing as cocaine). And although the numbers have changed over the last few years, blacks still make up the majority of the drug offender prison population even though whites use drugs at a higher rate.

So while #crimingwhilewhite is kind of a stupid hashtag (seriously, criming is not a word), I think it has a valid message.

ETF spelling.

Yup to the bolded. This is one of the reasons I'm very against the death penalty. It's disgusting the discrepancy is based on race.

I did a report (persuasive argument) on the death penalty in high school, and this was one of my main points.

novella1186 · December 2014

STARMOON44 said:

show previous quotes
Omg. I am rolling my eyes so hard at this. I think people are focused far too much on race. Police should be reprimanded/punished/whatever when they fail to do their jobs correctly. The race of the officer and the race of any other person involved should be irrelevant. (I know in some areas there really are discrimination problems, but when the news media and social media get so obsessed and fixated on RACE RACE RACE I think they make things much worse)

I'm white, and I was once pulled over by THREE police cars and had a K9 unit on me, for ROLLERBLADING. I was like 13 at the time. It was ridiculous, and way too much.
It's easy to think people are focused too much on race when you're white. Try that when you're black and living in a country that glorified legal racism for generations. Sometimes the best thing to do is realize that you don't know and listen.

You're right. I've been able to relate to some discrimination issues because I've faced them at times in a different way (being Jewish) but I've never known what it's like to be discriminated against based on my skin (since I'm white). I wasn't trying to downplay at all that there are race issues, and that certain races in the US have had to face a lot of shit and continue to face a lot of shit (I realize my post gives the impression that I was downplaying the issue. That was my own bad wording, sorry).

I just don't like the way the media is with it sometimes. But for that matter, I don't like the way the media is with a lot of things, because it's usually over-sensationalized or misrepresented for the sake of ratings, and then it gives audiences false impressions or whatever. I think there's usually a more honest, logical way to approach problems, but that often gets over-shadowed by whatever will get the most attention, ya know?

Like someone posting on Facebook that "all the black people in Ferguson are acting like thugs." Um no. SOME people in Ferguson are inciting violence. Some of them are black. Some of them are white. Many people are doing nothing wrong. Let's keep the facts straight here. But that Facebook post got tons of attention so I guess it was the right thing to say? THAT'S what makes me roll my eyes.

wandajune6 · December 2014

I didn't believe that race was truly an issue until I started dating a black guy in college. It was a midwestern college town and we got lots of looks. Fast forward 5 years and I dated another black guy. This time, we lived together for several years and traveled together a lot. I was traveling regularly for work and had vastly different experiences when alone.

An example: we decide to drive Route 66 in reverse as a vacation. We flew to CA then rented an SUV (CA plate) to drive back. Somewhere in podunk IL we get pulled over. I'm driving 4 miles over the speed limit (per my GPS) and get pulled over. I'm asked to step out of the car, they ask to check my trunk, etc. The cop asks me if I'm ok, if I'm safe- then tells me that he smells drugs on my boyfriend. I don't get a ticket but we're followed out of town.

Today, I'm married to a fairly dark-skinned Mexican guy. I went to Nordstrom by myself over the weekend and gawked at purses. DH was in another store and I made him return to the section with me an hour later. Alone, I had lots of salespeople offering me help and talking to be me about the bags. An hour later and with DH, there were tons of salespeople milling around yet no one acknowledged us. A stupid move on their part given that they're commissioned and I had a huge gift card in my wallet (thank you, bridal shower!).

In the "old neighborhood"- the inner city Mexican neighborhood DH grew up in, we also get different reactions. No street vendor tries to sell us anything, cops don't bat an eyelash at us, and even chatty servers won't speak when we're together. People step back with us.

At home, it makes a difference. When DH makes Mexican jokes, no one feels comfortable laughing. DH is incredibly handy and can fix anything but my parents feel uncomfortable asking him for help because they're afraid he'll be offended (they never ask BIL because he's useless with house issues). It's funny because DH wants to offer to help with lots of things but is afraid my dad will be offended too!

Long story short, race matters and is seen by everyone.

[Deleted User] · December 2014

stefuhknee · December 2014

In some ways it's a relief to read these stories and see that there are people out there that acknowledge that we are not living in a post racial society. I've gotten into more disagreements on social media recently than ever before because people have told me that minorities need to stop playing the "race card" and black people need to get over the fact that slavery and segregation happened in this country.

STARMOON44 · December 2014

Right,

novella1186 said:
show previous quotes

STARMOON44 said:

novella1186 said:
Omg. I am rolling my eyes so hard at this. I think people are focused far too much on race. Police should be reprimanded/punished/whatever when they fail to do their jobs correctly. The race of the officer and the race of any other person involved should be irrelevant. (I know in some areas there really are discrimination problems, but when the news media and social media get so obsessed and fixated on RACE RACE RACE I think they make things much worse)

I'm white, and I was once pulled over by THREE police cars and had a K9 unit on me, for ROLLERBLADING. I was like 13 at the time. It was ridiculous, and way too much.
It's easy to think people are focused too much on race when you're white. Try that when you're black and living in a country that glorified legal racism for generations. Sometimes the best thing to do is realize that you don't know and listen.

You're right. I've been able to relate to some discrimination issues because I've faced them at times in a different way (being Jewish) but I've never known what it's like to be discriminated against based on my skin (since I'm white). I wasn't trying to downplay at all that there are race issues, and that certain races in the US have had to face a lot of shit and continue to face a lot of shit (I realize my post gives the impression that I was downplaying the issue. That was my own bad wording, sorry).

I just don't like the way the media is with it sometimes. But for that matter, I don't like the way the media is with a lot of things, because it's usually over-sensationalized or misrepresented for the sake of ratings, and then it gives audiences false impressions or whatever. I think there's usually a more honest, logical way to approach problems, but that often gets over-shadowed by whatever will get the most attention, ya know?

Like someone posting on Facebook that "all the black people in Ferguson are acting like thugs." Um no. SOME people in Ferguson are inciting violence. Some of them are black. Some of them are white. Many people are doing nothing wrong. Let's keep the facts straight here. But that Facebook post got tons of attention so I guess it was the right thing to say? THAT'S what makes me roll my eyes.

I'm honestly not sure what you're talking about. There is no way to report on white cops killing black men without talking about racism. Because that is what's happening. There is no more honest or logical way to put it. Black men get killed by the police because of racism.

Your complaint about that Facebook post seemingly has nothing to do with the rest of your comment. Sure. Some people post dumb crap on Facebook. That doesn't mean there exists an honest colorblind way to report this story.

lyndausvi · December 2014

I use to live in the US Virgin Islands. The USVI was about 9-10% white. There was only 2 white cops on the force when I lived there. The cops absolutely targeted white people when driving. They didn't even hid the fact that they would pull you over just because you were white. Especially if you were new or a tourist. They never roughed anyone up, that would be bad for tourism, but they would give you tickets and not local west indians. It was well known they would take brides to get out of tickets and stuff. Burglaries and break-ins on white houses were rarely were solved. Almost laughed that you even reported anything.

That police force was pretty corrupt in general. I mean when you only have 40,000 people on island and most people have multiple children from multiple partners, well everyone is pretty much related to a police officer, whether directly or indirectly. I eventually became friends with some police officers and had my own connections.

Anyway, I never thought of it was racism just some of them are prejudice of whites. Unlike their family in the mainland, they do have the power and like to show the whites who is in control.

wandajune6 · December 2014

pinkrevenge said:

@Wandajune6, I'm very curious if you remember the name of said shitty little IL town, because a few came to mind. Also I nearly choked on my lunch.

I actually don't remember. We were about 3 hours from Chicago, I think but my memory is fuzzy on that part. It was the first time I'd ever been pulled over and I was so scared that all I could think about was getting home!

[Deleted User] · December 2014

wandajune6 · December 2014

stefuhknee said:

In some ways it's a relief to read these stories and see that there are people out there that acknowledge that we are not living in a post racial society. I've gotten into more disagreements on social media recently than ever before because people have told me that minorities need to stop playing the "race card" and black people need to get over the fact that slavery and segregation happened in this country.

Did you read the Ta-Nehisi Coates article in The Atlantic that came out this summer(clicky<-)? I thought I knew a decent amount about the long-term impact of slavery but this article hit me hard. While the article hasn't been left undisputed, I think it does a great job of overviewing the topic.

stefuhknee · December 2014

@wandajune6 No, I hadn't read it. Thanks for sharing though, I will definitely take a look.

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