“Ultimately, if the issue was really as black and white as the media would like us to believe, this incident would have ended much differently than it did.”
Even in the midst of two natural disasters currently taking a toll on the United States, social justice warriors still found a way to rally their followers. The latest video that has gone viral on social media depicts an angry black man ranting into the camera on his phone during a traffic stop. The video was posted to the Facebook page of a man named Randell Minott.
The video only shows the outraged man yelling into the camera, wanting to know why the police officer had approached his vehicle with his service pistol drawn. The officer appeared to be alone and stood by calmly while Minott berated him. Upon receiving backlash for the video, Minott updated the caption to, “If you have a problem with the way I talk to a cop who ILLEGALLY POINTED A GUN AT MY HEAD then LEAVE THIS COUNTRY (see what I did there #LOL).”
While social media has become a platform that serves useful purposes, it also allows people to tell their own version of the truth and push their own agendas.
I had the pleasure of viewing this disgusting video, and I was in complete shock the entire time. One of the arguments made by activists involved with the Black Lives Matter movement asserts that members of the black community are terrified of police officers for fear of losing their lives. According to the movement, police brutality has gotten so out of hand in the United States that one wrong move can cause a black man to be shot by a fearful police officer and murdered in cold blood.
Let’s explore that for a minute.
Police brutality does exist in America, and it would prove to be a huge disservice to all Americans to refuse to acknowledge it. However, we also need to acknowledge how dangerous the streets are in America and the risks law enforcement officers are exposed to on a daily basis. It would stand to reason that pulling over a vehicle alone at night would present dangers for a police officer, and that’s before any other risk assessments are made. Looking at either of these facts alone does the entire argument a huge disservice.
While social media has become a platform that serves useful purposes, it also allows people to tell their own version of the truth and push their own agendas. I can understand that concerned citizens want to speak out against what they perceive to be wrongdoing, but this incident did more damage than anything. Not only did Randell Minott belligerently attack a police officer, he filmed the altercation and expected people to understand what the reasons behind his actions were.
This reckless behavior does little more than illustrate the animosity police officers across the United States face on a daily basis. Viewers don’t have the full incident on video, as is usually the case with these social media posts that are created in efforts to push a narrative. This particular case was a disgruntled man wanting to spread the anti-police rhetoric far and wide. I have a huge problem with how this man handled being pulled over by a police officer. Someone who fears for his life would not have behaved in this manner. It goes beyond the argument, “Cooperate with the police and everything will be okay.”
Ultimately, if the issue was really as black and white as the media would like us to believe, this incident would have ended much differently than it did. Luckily for Minott, it isn’t.
