Guest Column: We have more in common than believed

Published 12:30 am Thursday, September 17, 2020

As sheriff it is my responsibility to be the conservator of the peace.

This requires maintaining situational awareness of the events occurring within our communities, accurate assessment of such and timely response. We all face many influences at the local, state and national level which impact the well-being and attitudes of our citizens.

Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish fact from fiction and reality from fantasy. Today, though, it cannot be denied that there is considerable tension in regard to race relations and that one of the most visible forms of government is law enforcement.

I wish to share my perspective and, hopefully, leadership on this critical challenge facing us today.

While I can’t support all the political positions of Black Lives Matter as an organization, I do agree that “Black Lives Matter” as a true and acceptable statement. “Black Lives Matter” doesn’t ask or suggest that the lives of Black people are more important than anyone else’s. It doesn’t suggest or support that any other life is less important. It is a simple and direct statement from African Americans who feel they haven’t mattered equally.

Be careful not to assume how someone should feel, having not walked in their shoes.

Seeking the perspective of people different from yourself can change your paradigm. When a man sits across from you and describes growing up attending segregated schools, drinking from “colored” water fountains and not being able to try on or return clothes to a department store because he is Black, the reality of history sets in. You cannot deny a person with these experiences from asking that his and the lives of Black people matter, just like everyone else.

Bias exists naturally. Explicit bias in the form of prejudice and discrimination are unacceptable and don’t belong in our community or anywhere else. Implicit bias is a result of our brains identifying patterns to recall and apply to new situations to make the world easier to understand. Implicit bias can be managed, but you must test your assumptions.

Recently, a doctor recounted to me an experience she had while moving into a condo in Florida during her residency. She met a couple on the elevator who asked her about room cleaning. The doctor identified that the cleaning staff were mostly Black Haitian women. The couple didn’t challenge the patterns they had seen and made the assumption the doctor was only in the building as a cleaner because she is Black.

It is wrong to assume all who protest for rights or freedoms are engaged in rioting, looting and violence. The reality is that a relatively small but persistent group of people, some with no intention but to destroy things, are responsible for what we have seen in Portland for more than 90 days.

It is wrong to assume that every supporter of the president is a racist. It is also wrong to assume that African Americans, Latinx and other people of color aren’t patriotic and fundamentally believe in this great nation. It is wrong to assume the police are uniformly biased against minorities.

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The time is always right to do what is right.” A good first step is to be aware of our implicit biases. If everyone took responsibility for testing their assumptions, we would find we have more in common than believed.