#permitpatty and #bbqbecky
#permitpatty is an example of a much wider and deeper problem. This woman, whose real name is Alison Ettel, is the current sacrificial lamb while so many others who justify this behavior and still don’t understand the current and historical impact of her actions are living all around us. This situation happened in San Francisco, while the situation with #bbqbecky (real name Jennifer Schulte) happened in Oakland. Both so close that it is surprising Ms. Ettel hadn’t heard about the other situation and this would have caused her to have caution with her actions. But no, she picked up her phone and called the police (later, she said she just pretended to call) on an 8 year old African American girl who was selling waters to passersby. For context, this little girl and her mom were selling in front of the apartment building they lived in, which is close to AT&T park, and at a time when the Giants were having a home game. Thousands of people come to these games and many people sell things all around the park to the game goers. This young girl was trying to make money to fundraise for a trip to Disneyland. Ms. Ettel was bothered by the noise from the girl and her mom as they were calling out to potential customers letting them know what they were selling. Her discomfort was seemingly the only thing on her mind, with little to no thought about the impact of her actions. Her instincts went straight to using the “authorities” to control the behavior of this 8 year old girl and her mom, in order to regain her sense of comfort.
What I believe to be true is this instinctual action of using the police to control Blackness is deeply rooted in white people’s behavioral reflexes. What I mean by this is, white people have learned this behavior for so long that it is apart of the automatic reactions when faced with Black and Brown bodies who are in the way of their perceived safety and/or comfort. Without thinking about it, white people have learned that their personal safety and need for comfort is primary and that they can and should use the police system to help them when they need help. Also, white people seem to believe strongly in the law (which makes sense, because white people are the ones who have been writing the laws since the beginning of this country) and when it is in their favor (meaning, when it leans towards their own comfort and safety), they staunchly believe they are the people to uphold it and enforce other people to follow it. Both the BBQBecky and the PermitPatty situations involved two white women so set on holding Black people to the law, that they felt the need to call police for a very non-emergency situation and one that could create a potentially very dangerous situation.
The action of calling the police, inflicts trauma on Black people. When a Black person is killed by the police in cold blood, this traumatic impact is rippled out to include people who see themselves in the ones killed. This includes a few well known examples such as Stephon Clark and Tamir Rice, but outside of the well known examples there are many, many more. The continual examples of Black people, whether young or adults, being shot down by police when they aren’t doing ANYTHING wrong is not only an assault to the people being shot and their families, but to Black people everywhere. So the trauma is felt by people who don’t even know the ones who have been killed. They understand that if it could happen to Tamir Rice, a 12 year old boy playing in a park, it could happen to their sons or to them. From the extensive examples of police brutality and death caused overwhelmingly to Black people, we can clearly see that when police are involved with Black people, there is a much higher chance that violence, police brutality or death could be a result of this action. So when you call the police on a Black person, or “fake” like you’re calling them, you are inciting a traumatic reaction in many Black people’s bodies. Most Black people will automatically get worried because they understand that the experience of dealing with police is not the same for them than it is for white people. They understand intimately, or socially, that calling the police could mean several outcomes, and most of them are negative and dangerous.
So, to white people I say, STOP CALLING THE POLICE!! Have a conversation with someone. Listen to other people talking and recognize your own white body privilege in the face of police and understand on the other side of privilege is oppression and Black and Brown bodies have not had the luxury of privilege in the face of police ever in this country. Let that sink in.