In a time where athletes are coming together to fight against the killings of innocent Black people at the hands of police, evidence has surfaced that prove exactly why the fight is important.
Over the past few days, videos of white men resisting arrest and being aggressive toward officers have made its way around the internet. Despite their treatment of the cops, however, all have seemed to get away without getting shot.
In one tweet, footage shows a brawl between a cop and a white man. When the man becomes too difficult for the officer to restrain, a second cop comes to his aid, using a taser gun to get the man down and in handcuffs. Neither of the officers shot at the white man.
A second video shows another white guy who refused to comply with an officer and resisted arrest at the time of the encounter. As the officer ordered him to get on the ground, he went toward his car and forcefully opened the door. He is eventually seen chasing the officer before getting into the cop car, driving around aimlessly and nearly knocking him down. Still, the cop refrained from shooting the white guy.
In a similar instance, as a police officer tries to arrest another white man, he resists arrest and takes the cops’ baton to beat them up. He then goes on to steal the police car, but no real attempt was made to restrain him. The white man got away without being shot or even tased despite his noncompliant behavior.
The treatment of the white men in these videos is strikingly different than what Black people often experience in this world. When fatally shot by officers, the common justification is that they felt threatened, even if there was no actual threat.
After the videos circulated the web, former football player Shannon Sharpe shared footage of a Black man with both hands on his head, awaiting further instruction from the officers. Instead, they shot him, kicked him and knocked him to the ground, while another cop tries to stop the recording.
George Floyd was compliant when cops arrested him, yet he was strangled for nearly 9 minutes, pleading for the chance to breathe up until he no longer couldn’t.
Rekia Boyd was hanging out with friends when an off-duty officer approached them, allegedly attempting to buy drugs. When he was met with his rejection, he fired shots, striking Boyd in the head.
Philando Castile was pulled over at a traffic stop and asked for his license and registration. He informed cops that he had a licensed firearm and ensured them he was not reaching for it, but he was killed.
Then, there’s the recent shooting of Jacob Blake, who survived, but was shot seven times in the back after breaking up a fight between two women.
Unfortunately, the list goes on, but so does the fight to prove that Black lives matter.