a little black girl and two policemen

[braces_for_impact]

I saw something today that made me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

There were two policemen checking out some stuff at a grocery store. This little black girl maybe ten years old and her mother come up behind them.

The little girl asks the policemen that if slavery was made legal again would they come to her house and put her family in chains.

The policemen looked ashamed and just walked off.

Anymore backstory to this at all? It just seems so, well...contrived maybe? To show some charity with regards to the story, because sometimes strange things can happen...

This little girl is 10 or so, and by now she's noticed that things are different for black and white people around her. Now, I don't know about the mother in this anecdote, and what she may have told her daughter about the world she lives in. Nevertheless, this is a plausible question from a child to ask a police officer. She knows inequality exists by this age, and I'm sure by age 10, she's been told a few contradictory things about white people and the police as well. She's had peer discussions about what she's noticed, and had input from her family as well. If I were to guess, she's probably been told to trust and not trust the police by various people in her life, and I have to admit, both may be good advice for a girl of color to follow. I can imagine her situation to a degree, but I'm white and only have my own experience to fall back on. I'm not a police officer either, and to be fair, I distrust them also. In any case, this is how I would answer such a question.

The little girl asks the policemen that if slavery was made legal again would they come to her house and put her family in chains.

What's your name honey? Dominique? Nice to meet you Dominique. Seems like you've been thinking about this, and it was brave of you to ask me.

I would never, ever come to get your family in order to make you slaves, no matter who told me to do so. Period. Dominique, I won't lie to you. There are people out there that would do such a thing, but they aren't many - and the rest of us, black, white, red and brown would never allow such a thing to happen again. Now, there are more people out there, sometimes on purpose and sometimes not, that think that certain colors of people are better than others. This is not true, and we all have to work hard to either show them how they're wrong, or make sure they cannot hurt anybody; and we always try to do it without violence, because to change minds, WORDS are the best weapon to use. We are all good or bad because of how we ACT, not how we LOOK.

There, was that so hard?

 

[JonA]

To such a question the best response is none.

 

[Trausti]

To such a question the best response is none.

+1

 

[RavenSky]

To such a question the best response is none.

Why?

Part of community policing is to engage with the community, and this would have been a perfect opportunity to do so in a positive way. I think Braces' response was a bit too wordy, but at least this much would have been good:

What's your name honey? Dominique? Nice to meet you Dominique. Seems like you've been thinking about this, and it was brave of you to ask me. I would never, ever come to get your family in order to make you slaves, no matter who told me to do so.

With just that much, the police officer would have likely left a positive impression on the little girl.

 

[JonA]

To such a question the best response is none.

Why?

It's a ridiculous, semi-accusatory, question.

Maybe in a setting where the question is sincere; but I'm not thinking it was in this case.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

I saw something today that made me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

There were two policemen checking out some stuff at a grocery store. This little black girl maybe ten years old and her mother come up behind them.

The little girl asks the policemen that if slavery was made legal again would they come to her house and put her family in chains.

The policemen looked ashamed and just walked off.

Cool story, bro.

But it doesn't make any sense. Why would anyone make slavery legal again? Why would slavery being legal require police officers to arrest random black people who weren't slaves before? And why would a police officer become ashamed of being asked a purely hypothetical question from a random stranger in a public place?

And what the fuck kind of ten year old asks that kind of question of a stranger -- let alone a police officer -- completely at random???

 

[Crazy Eddie]

To such a question the best response is none.

Actually to such a question the best response is sarcasm.

"Would you come to our house and put my family in chains?"

"Of course not, that would be cruel and barbaric. I think we'd probably use duct tape or crazy glue or some kind of waxy construction paper."

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram. They measured the willingness of study participants, men from a diverse range of occupations with varying levels of education, to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience; the experiment found, unexpectedly, that a very high proportion of people were prepared to obey, albeit unwillingly, even if apparently causing serious injury and distress. Milgram first described his research in 1963 in an article published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology[1] and later discussed his findings in greater depth in his 1974 book, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View.[2]

The experiments began in July 1961, in the basement of Linsly-Chittenden Hall at Yale University,[3] three months after the start of the trial of German Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. Milgram devised his psychological study to answer the popular question at that particular time: "Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?"[4] The experiments have been repeated many times in the following years with consistent results within differing societies, although not with the same percentages around the globe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

 

[RavenSky]

Why?

It's a ridiculous, semi-accusatory, question.

Maybe in a setting where the question is sincere; but I'm not thinking it was in this case.

BH did not indicate that it was insincere or semi-accusatory, and she was there.

But let's say it was... that doesn't change my opinion (and agreement with Braces) on how the police officer could have responded to turn the situation into a positive reflection on police officers.

- - - Updated - - -

To such a question the best response is none.

Actually to such a question the best response is sarcasm.

"Would you come to our house and put my family in chains?"

"Of course not, that would be cruel and barbaric. I think we'd probably use duct tape or crazy glue or some kind of waxy construction paper."

with an adult that would work. With a 10-year-old it would possibly traumatize her for life

 

[JonA]

It's a ridiculous, semi-accusatory, question.

Maybe in a setting where the question is sincere; but I'm not thinking it was in this case.

BH did not indicate that it was insincere or semi-accusatory, and she was there.

But let's say it was... that doesn't change my opinion (and agreement with Braces) on how the police officer could have responded to turn the situation into a positive reflection on police officers.

And since BH hasn't made any clarifying posts since the OP, I guess we'll just have to settle with our personal speculations.

 

[BH]

I am sorry I made so many people mad posting this and I have no proof other than my word. I don't know why the woman was out so early shopping with a girl that young. Maybe the woman had to take someone to the hospital and after the person was admitted ran to get something for the kid who had to go with them so as to not be alone. I don't know why. As for the two cops they didn't look offended. One just looked at the ground and the other just started wanting to go out of the store. The mother was in front of me so I didn't see her reaction or her face.

 

[dismal]

Why?

It's a ridiculous, semi-accusatory, question.

Maybe in a setting where the question is sincere; but I'm not thinking it was in this case.

Yep. It's odd that people can't see that.

 

[dismal]

To such a question the best response is none.

Actually to such a question the best response is sarcasm.

"Would you come to our house and put my family in chains?"

"Of course not, that would be cruel and barbaric. I think we'd probably use duct tape or crazy glue or some kind of waxy construction paper."

The first thought might be "where's the camera" and then, boom, you're on youtube telling a 10 year old girl you're going to duct tape her.

When in doubt: shut up and extricate from the crazy.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram. They measured the willingness of study participants, men from a diverse range of occupations with varying levels of education, to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience; the experiment found, unexpectedly, that a very high proportion of people were prepared to obey, albeit unwillingly, even if apparently causing serious injury and distress. Milgram first described his research in 1963 in an article published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology[1] and later discussed his findings in greater depth in his 1974 book, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View.[2]

The experiments began in July 1961, in the basement of Linsly-Chittenden Hall at Yale University,[3] three months after the start of the trial of German Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. Milgram devised his psychological study to answer the popular question at that particular time: "Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?"[4] The experiments have been repeated many times in the following years with consistent results within differing societies, although not with the same percentages around the globe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

Police are people, too, and so also fall in line with the real societal problem described above in Milgram's and other scientists' experiments. I find it interesting that the usual suspects are being so dismal about the young girl instead of accepting the basic scientific conclusions about people.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Actually to such a question the best response is sarcasm.

"Would you come to our house and put my family in chains?"

"Of course not, that would be cruel and barbaric. I think we'd probably use duct tape or crazy glue or some kind of waxy construction paper."

The first thought might be "where's the camera" and then, boom, you're on youtube telling a 10 year old girl you're going to duct tape her.

I fail to see the problem here.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

I blame the mother for filling the little girl's head with racist propaganda. Slavery ended over 150 years ago. Deal with it and stop using it as a crutch everywhere you go.

How about this story of a child and police:
Ohio boy tried to sell toy for food, police say

Slavery did not end 150 years ago since there were Jim Crow laws afterward.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

It was; there is still fall out from it by different reactions.

This comment is about the return of slavery, not its fall out.

More generally, the comment was about the govt and its persons supporting a system of laws that are harmful to people. As per the Milgram experiment we see that people have a tendency to support authority [figures] regardless. So, while a 10 year old African American may personally be interested in the question of slavery, any point about an immoral system (like more recent segregation and Jim Crow laws) are relevant.

 

[Malintent]

For the mother allowing this, I might have asked the little girl if the Crusades started up again, would she go around burning people to death because they didn't go to the same Church? and then based upon the reaction, pretty much leave it answered at that.

Or ask if she would help 'round up the Jews.... or if we went to war with the Japanese again, if she would help put them in camps... or how she felt about returning to a True (TM) reading of the bible, and stone women for trying to be teachers.

But the American police are still killing people for being 'black', just as if they were a militia armed to serve the plantation-owners, whereas the other behaviours are in abeyance.

American police have to handle violent people all the time. If more black people are violent than white people, one must ask why black people are more violent, not why are black people being targeted unfairly for doing nothing at all, except being black. It's called being rational.

If I described various behaviors that have gotten people shot by an American cop, I wonder what 'face' you would place on that behavior, based on experience with varieties of cultures.

You have varieties of cultures in Wales, don't you?

 

[Arctish]

American police have to handle violent people all the time. If more black people are violent than white people, one must ask why black people are more violent, not why are black people being targeted unfairly for doing nothing at all, except being black. It's called being rational.

If I described various behaviors that have gotten people shot by an American cop, I wonder what 'face' you would place on that behavior, based on experience with varieties of cultures.

I wonder what 'face' people would place on that behavior based on personal experiences.

I grew up in almost entirely white towns and neighborhoods. That didn't mean there was little or no criminal behavior. It just meant all the criminals were white.

The guys who crashed my sister's party and stole things from our house were white.

The guys who stole my Dad's car were white.

The guys caught breaking into a neighbor's house, the ones who conducted drive-by shootings, the two who got into a knife fight at a bar, the one who murdered his wife, the one who murdered his parents, the one who raped and murdered a 10 year old girl, the ones who sold drugs in the alley downtown, the three who robbed an armored car, the ones selling cocaine, etc. were all white.

When I think of criminals, two 'faces' come to mind: the one I saw with my own eyes and the one my culture tells me to see.

Does anyone else see two 'faces'?

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

There was a guy on my street who got in trouble for white collar crimes. I think most of those guys don't get caught.