by Jacques Slade
Before we get too far into this, I should state that I have written for Sole Collector in the past and I have also written for Complex. I know most of the people that work at both sites and respect what they do. They are good people and this is in no way questioning their personal morals. These views do not represent the opinions of Sole Collector or Complex Media.
***
I pulled off the exit on the freeway like I had for the past year. It was 3 a.m. and I had just finished a session working on music for a TV show and I couldn’t wait to get into the bed. There were only a few blocks to go. Because of the time, my first thought was to do a half-stop at the stop sign and keep it pushing. But when I looked in my rearview, I noticed the sheriff was turning the corner.
Being a young black man, I switched into perfect-driver mode and made sure I stopped, waited three seconds, and looked both ways before I proceeded. For whatever reason, this caught the eye of the law and the sheriff decided to follow behind me.
When the officer approached my window, I felt like being a smart ass. I was tired and I had been singing along to Tupac on the freeway, so I was definitely feeling some type of way about things. However, considering the stories I’d heard about people getting locked up or roughed up for nothing, I decided to play it cool and hope for the best.
1.
by Jacques Slade
Before we get too far into this, I should state that I have written for Sole Collector in the past and I have also written for Complex. I know most of the people that work at both sites and respect what they do. They are good people and this is in no way questioning their personal morals. These views do not represent the opinions of Sole Collector or Complex Media.
***
I pulled off the exit on the freeway like I had for the past year. It was 3 a.m. and I had just finished a session working on music for a TV show and I couldn’t wait to get into the bed. There were only a few blocks to go. Because of the time, my first thought was to do a half-stop at the stop sign and keep it pushing. But when I looked in my rearview, I noticed the sheriff was turning the corner.
Being a young black man, I switched into perfect-driver mode and made sure I stopped, waited three seconds, and looked both ways before I proceeded. For whatever reason, this caught the eye of the law and the sheriff decided to follow behind me.
When the officer approached my window, I felt like being a smart ass. I was tired and I had been singing along to Tupac on the freeway, so I was definitely feeling some type of way about things. However, considering the stories I’d heard about people getting locked up or roughed up for nothing, I decided to play it cool and hope for the best.
2.
After checking my ID and insurance, the sheriff returned to my car and immediately asked to search my trunk. I had listened to “99 Problems” enough times to know that I didn’t have to consent to a search, but I just wanted to get home. I knew I didn’t have anything but a backpack filled with music gear, some basketball shoes, and a basketball. They asked me to get out of the car and to pop the trunk. The sheriff spent the next five minutes emptying the contents of my backpack and checking my trunk for whatever it was they were searching for.
They decided I "was safe” and started to chop it up about my music equipment while putting everything back in the trunk. Tired, angry, and with Tupac playing in my head, I responded with “This is probably one of the most racist things I have ever experienced.” In that instant, it was like the entire world went silent. No wind blowing, no other cars driving, and the background noise of the freeway drifted off. The sheriff stared, caught off guard by my comments. When he could finally put a sentence together, it was full of mumbles and denials.
In a world where you have to handle everything with white gloves and the slightest mishap can lead to public outrage, it would seem that outlets that feed off of the community suffering from police brutality would have a better gauge when it comes what you should and shouldn’t address. I don’t say that to give a pass to the outlets that don’t have a direct connection to the community, however, I do expect more out of outlets that help to shape the culture.
3.
This week, Nike held a discount specifically for members of law enforcement. This sale was created as a way of giving back to those that protect and serve this country and it’s been happening since 9/11. After certain individuals on the web caught wind of the sale, they used it as an avenue to further outrage against police brutality.
While I in no way support or approve of police brutality, I do think it was misguided and disingenuous for publications to amplify those stories and intentionally paint a picture that is untrue.
Over the last 5-10 years, online media have uprooted the magazine industry and now are the primary source of information for the next generation. That shift has granted these outlets a huge amount of power that should be wielded carefully.
The current public sentiment toward law enforcement is at an all-time low due to the behaviors of a small few that have committed some unspeakable acts. This has angered people from across the country and opened up a conversation about how we can make things better. And making things better should be the lead story, not highlighting misplaced anger.
However, this is just what happened when outlets decided to run headlines saying that the “Internet” was angry at Nike because it was holding a special shopping day for law enforcement.
Sites chose to highlight a false outrage for the sake of page views because the name “Nike” was attached. While I understand the need to sensationalize headlines to grab people's attention, there is a certain tact that should be used when the dominant story of the day is about police brutality.
By posting the story, sites are making the story and outrage official, and in the process insinuating that Nike is okay with the horrendous act and is rewarding those involved. I don’t need to say it, but it’s clear from anyone with good sense that this wasn’t Nike’s intention.
***
I drove the rest of the way home that night and went straight to bed. The next morning, I thought back in my head about the experience and how it was the first time I actually said something when I knew the police were acting out of misguided intentions.
Were they being racist? I am not sure to be honest. Maybe I did look suspicious. Maybe someone with a face like mine robbed a gas station in the area and they stopped me cause I fit the description. Either way, by taking the opportunity to speak up, I was able to make the sheriffs take a look at themselves and question what they were doing. To realize that I knew what they were doing.
As a primary source of information for a community, these outlets have a voice. That voice gives them influence and it should be used wisely. Instead of capitalizing on false outrage in a climate where police brutality is at an all-time high, I would expect more people to use their voice to further a dialogue toward a solution and not amplify a topic that speaks opposite of the cause for the sake of a few clicks. It makes it seem like you don’t really care about those that are critically affected by police brutality and that you only serve to exploit the community you are a part of.
Again, I get it. You need page views and the Nike discount happened at a bad time, but that in no way gives you a pass to passively suggest through headlines that Nike, or any other company for that matter, approved of police brutality and was rewarding the offenders.
I was always told that with power come great responsibility. All I suggest is that you use your power wisely.
Jacques Slade is a writer based in Los Angeles. You can follow him on Twitter here.