Colors and clothes

I was following the story of a 17-year-old African-American kid, okay a black kid, who was shot and killed by a self-appointed neighborhood watch in Florida. According to the shooter, he acted in self-defense as he was allegedly attacked by the boy. But upon investigation, the boy was unarmed and only had a pack of candies and a beverage on him. The shooter claims he had a broken nose and lacerations on his nape caused by the struggle. He was not charged with any offense by the responding police. Incidentally, the shooter is Caucasian. Okay, white.

As the days went on, it was revealed that what caught the attention of the neighborhood watch was that he saw a black kid with a hoodie, or those shirts with a hood that they could pull over their head. For those not in the know, the hoodie has become synonymous to “gangstas.” So to cut it short, the neighborhood watch automatically became suspicious of the kid, because of the color of his skin, and his clothing. Up to now, no charges have been leveled against the shooter, who has gone into hiding because of the backlash of the incident. Protests across the nation have erupted, bringing up all too familiar cries of racial bigotry and profiling, of which America is still trying to shake off. We still have to wait as to how this whole thing will eventually play out.

Honestly, we are all guilty of some form of bigotry or profiling here in the Philippines. Let’s take tattoos. Decades ago, people stayed clear of people with drawings and symbols permanently etched in their skin. Images of gangs from notorious places like Tondo, Manila or Cavite, or even prison emerge upon seeing these tattoos. Businesses dare not hire anyone with any kind of illustrations or vocabulary on their skin. But today, it has become art. It has become clothing. It has become expression. In other words, it has become accepted, even symbolic of one’s stature and lifestyle.

Security guards are also often guilty of judging or sizing up people. How many times have I seen people entering a mall, where the guards are selective as to who they frisk! If it’s a well-dressed office-type yuppie, or even a beautiful woman, they let them through without batting an eyelash. But bring in someone who looks and dresses like the average Juan, and he is frisked and scanned like anything! Even looks can be a factor! The beautiful people have no problems going anywhere, while those who look like everyone else, well you get the picture. Gate guards of subdivisions also have the same discriminating traits. An expensive car wants to go enter, by all means. But bring in a jalopy or even a car that isn’t over two million pesos, and it is stopped, the driver questioned for destination and purpose, called in for verification, asked to wait before finally being allowed to enter, but not without leaving your license! I sincerely doubt if cars in Iraq and Afghanistan go through such a security check! If there are policies regarding security, then it should apply to everyone, not just the unfortunate selected few.

People are often judged by their looks, what they have, what they drive, what they wear. In the case of the black kid who was shot, he had to pay the ultimate price of such bigotry, his own life. In the eyes of the shooter, he wore the wrong clothes and had the wrong skin color. That was enough to pass judgment, and apparently become executioner all at once. It is time to see people as people. Criminals will always reveal themselves eventually, no matter what they wear, or what color their skins are.