There’s a simple reason why white mass shooters get arrested while unarmed Black people are killed by police

By Adam Howard, theGrio

OPINION: It’s the dehumanization, stupid. For centuries, there has been a rich history of people of color being systematically dehumanized—often with the legal, codified right to do so.

Did Jayland Walker deserve to be shot at least 60 times out of a possible 90 rounds fired? Hopefully, any reasonable person would say no. And yet, it happened, on camera while the 25-year-old Akron, Ohio, native was unarmed. If we can all agree that this tragedy shouldn’t have happened, the next logical question is did it have to happen? The officers involved in his death will almost certainly argue that they had no choice because they feared for their lives and/or because they believed Walker to be armed and potentially still dangerous.

But the predominately white and overwhelmingly male perpetrators of mass shootings all over this country are known to be armed and known to still be an active threat when law enforcement arrives on the scene. Sometimes they have barricaded themselves or have body armor and multiple unused rounds of ammunition with which to defend themselves, and yet very often those suspects are apprehended relatively unharmed.

Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with subduing and arresting a criminal suspect without using lethal force, in fact, it’s arguably ideal. It becomes much easier to deduce motive or whether the killer had co-conspirators if they are alive when they’re brought to justice.

But it is curious, to say the least, that so many unarmed people of color are not afforded the same compassion with which law enforcement routinely engages with mass murderers like Dylann Roof, Payton Gendron or Patrick Crusius.

Finish this opinion piece on theGrio.

The same racism is played out in the war on drugs.

Don’t forget to check out more recent news.