The American Racial Double Standard

By KYLE PRATT
Staff Writer

As we have seen many times in the past couple of years, racism is not a topic that the United States has overcome. Regardless of the different sides of the debate, the argument continues, and that fact in itself suggests that American culture is not racism-free.
Although important, the debate over racism is obviously not the only one creating a buzz. In early January, a group of ranchers and their supporters took over a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon, sparking a debate over the power of the federal government. The armed group argued that they are leading the charge against a tyrannical government that is taking away the rights of the people.
Regardless of the different political arguments, forcibly taking over a government building is by all definitions an illegal act. One they feel is necessary to fight back against what they perceive as an encroaching federal government.
The ongoing situation reached a climax last week when the leader of the group, Ammon Bundy, was pulled over on an Oregon highway with his brother and a few other followers while on their way to a meeting.
According to law enforcement, two of the people traveling in the vehicle, LaVoy Finicum and Ryan Bundy, brother of Ammon, refused to surrender. Shots rang out, and Finicum was killed. While it isn’t yet known who fired first, the group’s followers and their supporters around the country are using the unfortunate situation to push their idea that the federal government is dangerous and tyrannical.
In the months and years prior to this, we have seen multiple instances of unarmed minority people being gunned down by police. These confrontations and the one in Oregon may seem vastly different at first, but when examined closer, the similarities are striking.
On April 4, 2015, Walter Scott was pulled over in North Charleston, South Carolina for having a broken taillight. For some reason, he decided to run. The foot chase led to grassy area, where Scott stopped. A scuffle ensued between Scott and the officer, with Scott allegedly attempting to take the officer’s Taser. Being unsuccessful, Scott took off running again, but he didn’t make it far. The officer, Michael Slager, opened fire, hitting Scott in the back multiple times. Scott later died of his wounds.
In both of these situations, people were pulled over by police, and allegedly resisted arrest. In both of these situations, these people died. We would assume then that the right wing people claiming the government is murderous and tyrannical for killing LeVoy Finicum would have said the same about the killing of Walter Scott.
This somehow wasn’t the case. The argument made by many right wing people last year was that Scott was breaking the law and resisted arrest, somehow suggesting that this was an excuse for him being shot in the back. The argument made today regarding Finicum is remarkably different. To many, Finicum is a hero executed by the government, while Scott is a thug. In reality, Finicum was armed. Scott was not. Finicum was white. Scott was not.
Regardless of the actual killings themselves, the public reactions to them, specifically by members of the right, have been strikingly opposite. Whether or not racism as involved in the killing of Walter Scott, there is a sense that it has been involved in the public reaction.
Scott had a broken tailgate, and may have attempted to take Officer Slager’s Taser. Filicum was part of an armed take-over of a federal building, and may have fired on the officer that killed him.
According to many right-leaning members of the public, Walter Scott resisted arrest, and the officer was acting in self-defense, while LeVoy Finicum was standing up to a tyrannical government and was executed.
The underlying tone here is that when a black person is shot in the back by a police officer who works for the government, it’s part of the job. But when an armed white person is shot by a police officer who works for the government, it’s tyranny.
This is the institutional racism that the United States is trying to overcome, and it is so ingrained in many people’s mind that they are blind to it. There is a racial double standard in this country, regardless of who refuses to see it.
Eric Garner was killed by a police officer using a chokehold on him as he said “Please don’t touch me,” with his hands in the air. His crime was allegedly selling cigarettes on the street. His repeated cries of being unable to breathe were ignored.
Many reacted to his death the way they reacted to that of Walter Scott. They argued that he shouldn’t have been breaking the law. They said he shouldn’t have resisted arrest.
In the deaths of Walter Scott and Eric Garner, people argue that it is their fault they are dead. However, in the death of LeVoy Finicum, the fault lies with the “tyrannical” federal government.
How one can argue that the government is too powerful while simultaneously arguing that running from the police and selling cigarettes is cause for death is beyond baffling. Even more confusing is how some people continue not to see the racial double standard that so clearly exists in the United States.