More on the Sean Bell Case ...
Happy Leap Day.
Are you happy, or sad, to have an extra day? They say that time is the one thing they're not making any more of (so is land, actually), but I, for one, like Leap Day because it makes me feel like I am getting an extra 24 hours for free. It's not as fabulous as the Daylight Savings Time. (Fall back? Love it. Spring ahead? Not so much. ... That sleep thing again).
I want to flag a couple of things about today's program and get your feedback ...
The Sean Bell case. I think that perceptions of law enforcement and interactions with police are among the issues where blacks (and to a lesser extent browns) and whites disagree most.
Why do I say that?
Consistently, polls show that African Americans are likely to view interactions with law enforcement as negative, and the police as biased. Whites tend to take a different view (check out the recent Pew poll (pdf), done in association with NPR, on racial attitudes).
Not to make assumptions, but I bet the degree to which you've followed the Sean Bell case depends very much on who you are. Bell, as you may recall, was leaving his bachelor party in New York in November 2006 when he and two friends were shot by undercover police. A total of 50 early morning shots were fired by city police officers, three of whom are now under indictment. Bell, who is African American (as were his friends), was to have been married later that day to his longtime girlfriend and mother of his two daughters.
The interesting wrinkle: the three officers are white, black, and Latino. Although the white officer fired the most shots (30), needless to say, there are very different views of what happened that night.
The prosecution says the officers were reckless to the point of incompetence, causing a needless loss of life. The defense say the officers were in fear of their safety, had reason to believe Bell and his cohorts had a gun (although they didn't) and that Bell was drunk and tried to run them down with his vehicle.
The trial is expected to last for several more weeks, and we thank NPR member station WNYC's Brian Lehrer -- expert on all things New York -- for a rundown.
The question? When something is very important to some people, and not to others, how do you balance it? Are you willing to listen if something very much affects someone else, even if it's something you don't care much about?
Why, or why not? ... And how do you decide?
The second issue we discussed today: our Faith Matters conversation about religion in America. Another Pew poll (they're busy over there, aren't they?) described how fluid Americans are about religious identity. I find this subject fascinating and want to know if you do, too. (I'm not asking you to do my job, just gauging your interest on whether to go deeper on this topic).
Let us know, as Lee Hill says, and blog it out.
Have a great weekend.
Tags: Sean Bell
5:28 PM ET | 02-29-2008 | permalink
