On May 17, 2015 some bikers, doing no harm, met up at a PG-rated titty bar in North Texas, Waco to be exact. A little after the noon hour the bikers began firing at police. Police returned fire. At the end of the shootout nine bikers were dead. Thankfully no police were killed. One non gang member was killed. Hundreds of weapons were recovered, mostly knives, but also hand guns and automatic assault rifles.
When I was growing up in the inner city, where I was once had a gun fired near me as I rode by in a vehicle, where someone was stabbed at my High school, where the drug houses were and still are across the street, the one rule was to stay out of gangs. Many of the richer and whiter people I knew from middle school did not have were able to do drugs, hang out with anyone, and not worry about being harmed. I was told hanging with the wrong crowd, in the wrong place, or choosing to party instead of study, would lead to bad places like jail, living under a bridge, or dead.
To be clear I don’t want get into an argument about the right to ride motorcycles without helmets. I don’t want to get into a debate about the wisdom of carrying assault rifles while getting drunk, though that is the premise of wonderful satirical series. I don’t want to get into a debate about the developmental issues of a grown man who would go to titty bars and start an altercationover a parking space. I simply want to ask why armed bikers who fire on police are treated with more respect than unarmed young black men who are doing nothing but walking down the street.
Why a man who goes to titty bar where a bunch of armed bikers are congregating is considered to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, while a black teen who is walking home is considered a threat because he is wearing a hoodie.
And, rhetorically, I ask if these were black or Hispanic ‘gangbangers’ who fire upon police would the Times, or anyone, be writing about how unfortunate it was that the police were obligated to defend the innocent people who were not getting drunk in a titty bar.
Would we be reading about the grieving widow of a gang member who associated with other gang members who carried automatic weapons. Would we be told how unfair it was that he was shot by police defending the safety of the city from gang members carrying automatic weapons.
Believe me there are many parents, husband, wives, and children of gang members who wish that police had used less force. These gang are less dangerous that these bikers gangs because they, in general, do not carry automatic weapons, yet these so-called gang members are harassed and shot just for wearing colors. I guess because they are not in predominately white motorcycle gangs their life and the grief of their parents, spouses, and children are not as valuable.