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LETTER: In response to Stout op-ed

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In response to Stout op-ed

Racism dehumanizes; therefore, the racist dehumanizes self while dehumanizing others. This is the basic tenet from which I taught social sciences to graduate students 29 years at a leading university in Ohio.

While visiting a friend in Washington, I was introduced to Gary Stout’s June 29 op-ed, “Why we should support Black Lives Matter.” I was dismayed by his claim that “white privilege minimizes police killings of African-Americans and ignores the broader issue of institutional racism in the criminal justice system.”

President Donald Trump initiated the Justice Reform Act of 2019. As of May, no such legislation has been proposed by Congress. This is a major presidential step to address the institutional racism in the justice system. No such presidential initiative has been taken by any previous American president within recent history. It is also of significance to note that upon George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer, all media outlets of different political emphases called the death a murder. A noted New York judge, Janine Pirro, immediately called for a first degree murder charge for Derek Chauvin, the white policeman who killed Floyd.

American society has come a long, long way to combat systemic racism. Unlike Gary Stout, I would like to address this current social justice issue in a somewhat broader context. It is a reality that we are much more sensitive to the deaths of Black people by police than the white people who have experienced the same fate. Also, there are a few media voices starting to address sensitively and more responsibly the Black on Black crime. These ever increasing number of victims are also Black lives that matter.

Stout fails to offer a broader context in which to support the Black Lives Matter movement. He describes said movement as “a strong and vibrant movement that can make a difference in this year’s elections and beyond.” It is dangerous to associate politics with any social movement whose primary goal is to ultimately serve all people in a thriving democracy which is the United States.

Ilga B. Svechs, Ph.D.

Cleveland, Ohio

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