encounter

{ (set: $choice to 0) } This is a story about the violence that black people experience at the hands of the police. It contains triggering content about police brutality and death. This is also a story about choices. The [[choices]] we don't get to make.

You are 17 and walking home from the convenience store. Someone is following you. You [[...keep walking.]] [[...run.]]

Someone tells you to stop. You haven't done everything wrong. Why are they following you? You [[...run.]] [[...stop.]]

You don't turn to see who is behind you. There's nobody there who has the right to stop you. You're running when you hear a voice shout //drop it!// You have nothing to drop. You [[are still.]]

You turn and see a person behind you with a gun out. They tell you to //drop what you have, now.// Your hands are in your hoodie sweatshirt, but you know they have nothing. You try to slowly remove them. Then you [[are still.]]

Still because the world is sideways and you are on the ground and there is blood. Your hands are empty. A pack of Skittles is crushed under your body. Your shooter will say "there's a real suspicious guy... looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining, and he's just walking around looking about." (text-colour:red)[The encounter takes 4 minutes. ] We have to [[try again.]]

This time, you are in the park. You are 12. You are playing with a [[toy gun.]]

When they come, they will say it was your fault. They will say you looked threatening, that the gun looked real. They call you "black male, maybe 20, black revolver, black handgun by him." (text-colour:red)[The encounter takes 2 seconds.] Where was your permit? [[We have to try again.]]

This time, you have a permit. So when the officer pulls you over, you [[...tell him you have a weapon.]] [[...say nothing.]]

He tells you not to reach for it so you don't reach for it. You reach for your wallet, for your ID, and then your girlfriend and baby girl have to watch you bleed in the front seat. The officer will say "I thought … if he has … the guts and the audacity to smoke marijuana in front of the 5-year-old girl and risk her lungs and risk her life by giving her secondhand smoke and the front seat passenger doing the same thing then what, what care does he give about me.” (text-colour:red)[The encounter takes 40 seconds.] And so we [[try once more.]]

The officer asks for your license and registration. He looks at them and then asks you to step out of the car. You are carrying a gun in your shorts pocket. So you [[...tell him you have a weapon.]]

There are repercussions for every action. This action is buying a pack of cigarettes. You [[...struggle.]] [[...are on the ground.]]

You are scared. You resist being handcuffed. And you can already feel it. Shortness of breath. The police drag you from the police car. You [[...are on the ground.]]

(text-colour:red)[The encounter takes 8 minutes and 46 seconds.] Must we [[try again?]]

The officer will put his knee in your neck. [[You will not be able to breathe.]]

You can play this game as many times as you want, but there is no "winning." These scenarios were all taken from reporting on the murders of four unarmed black men. In order: Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, and George Floyd. [[May they rest in power.]]

When the nation exploded in protests over the murder of George Floyd, an adult very dear to me said that this was the first time they realized how bad racism was in this country. This was a person who was a young adult during the Rodney King riots. [[How many times must we try again?]]

In the 2020 miniseries //Little Fires Everywhere//, Kerry Washington tells the white antagonist of the series that (text-colour:red)[''"You didn't make good choices, you //had// good choices."''] That quote was the impetus for making this [[game.]]

Black people make up 13% of the population and account for 31% of people killed by police. Police rarely are held accountable for these killings. The problem is not that black people are more violent, or that they don't listen to officers. The problem is structural and cyclical: there are two Americas. One where you are criminalized for the color of your skin. And one where you are not. [[This is centuries of oppression at work.]]

You can't win. (set: $choice to it +1) {(if: $choice is 3)[ [[This is a game you cannot win.]]] (else-if: $choice is 2)[ [[This is centuries of oppression at work.]]] (else-if: $choice is 1)[ [[This is centuries of oppression at work.]]]}

You won't win. (set: $choice to it +1) {(if: $choice is 3)[ [[This is a game you cannot win.]]] (else-if: $choice is 2)[ [[This is centuries of oppression at work.]]] (else-if: $choice is 1)[ [[This is centuries of oppression at work.]]]}

They won't let you win. (set: $choice to it +1) {(if: $choice is 3)[ [[This is a game you cannot win.]]] (else-if: $choice is 2)[ [[This is centuries of oppression at work.]]] (else-if: $choice is 1)[ [[This is centuries of oppression at work.]]]}

How many times do we as a country have to try this again? (text-colour:red)[[How long will it take?]]

Police have an outsized presence in black neighborhoods, and are more likely to pull over, search, and arrest black motorists. 1 in 3 black men born in 2003 can expect to be incarcerated in their lifetime. Once entangled in the justice system, few people get out. Convicted felons can lose their right to vote, to have federal aid for higher education, and to get many jobs. With odds like that, what choice will you make? Will you [[run? ]] Will you [[fight?]] Will you [[comply?]]

''Sources:'' Andre Munro, "The Shooting of Trayvon Martin" (Britannica, 2020). Miami Herald, "A look at what happened the night Trayvon Martin died" (Tampa Bay Times, 2012). Shaila Dewan and Richard A. Oppel Jr, "In Tamir Rice Case, Many Errors by Cleveland Police, Then a Fatal One" (The New York Times, 2015). Laura Westbrook, "Tamir Rice shot 'within two seconds' of police arrival" (BBC News, 2014). Jay Croft, "Philando Castile shooting: Dashcam video shows rapid event" (CNN, 2017). Lou Raguse, "Jurors in Philando Castile case may not hear he had gun permit" (USA Today, 2017). Evan Hill, Ainara Tiefenthäler, Christiaan Triebert, Drew Jordan, Haley Willis and Robin Stein, "How George Floyd Was Killed In Police Custody" (The New York Times, 2020). "George Floyd: What happened in the final moments of his life" (BBC, 2020). The Sentencing Project, "State-by-State Data" (2019). NAACP, "Criminal Justice Fact Sheet" (2020). =><= ###Game Over. =><= (link: "Restart")[(reload:)]