Amber Ruffin Shares a Lifetime of Traumatic Run-Ins with Police 

It's amazing how ingrained entrenched the prejudice is especially with these white male police officers and on occasion the white female. Where they got their attitudes and their prejudice is so deep in their soul in their DNA from their tribal norms of their own ancestry. Training of any law enforcement officers needs to do a complete 180 about this generic of attitudes with translate into a reactive behaviors and abuse of power against black people and other minorities. Nothing less and it must happen yesterday. No more grants shelling out for military weapons 2 LEA's. Training money only to eradicate these horrendous practices that end up murdering innocent people.

i'm glad it's incomprehensible to you. This is what people are fighting for, for people to wake up, because anything done to the "victims" will also in the end be done to the "perpetrator." I'm sure you can see that unfolding as well and I hope you are incensed by it.

Whelp it’s the thought I’ve had everytime I’ve ever had a run in with a cop and to this day I still have what’s considered a “spotless record” and still have the fear of death by cop

When you're black, you have to be on your best behavior all the time in so many circumstances. Some of it for survival (run in with cops, a neighbor calling cops, not getting sued), some for opportunities (jobs, college where one has to compete against the rich white boy who's dad has connections), and dealing with the crap we have now; hopefully our kids and mentees don't have to deal for themselves. The hard thing is making a mistake and for that mistake to be suddenly attribute to race over character of person. That's when people use statistics like 'black people are more likely to x" instead of "people of lower income/who use drugs/have one parent/ etc are more likely to x"

@@DiBaozi Extra burdens like police discrimination, skewed welfare rules, and unequal schools, make black people more likely to be people of lower income, who use drugs, have one parent, etc. society has created a self perpetuating problem and discrimination.

12fuxu2 Wow! What a sad story! I feel like I should say, “Sorry for your loss?” But people really only say that when a person has died. But then it’s wholly appropriate, because your person, your dignity as a human being, your freedom to be yourself, and express yourself properly, your freedom to defend yourself, your freedom and right to liberty, justice, fairness and the pursuit of happiness, just really died in that moment, and you became “powerless,” just so that your physical body would live to see another day! That’s what you went through, so really, to say, “Sorry for your loss!” Is wholly appropriate. And this is what they do to us in these encounters, they try to dim our lights, to diminish our very existence, to remind us that we are nothing, and our mere existence is because they “allow” it. And that if they were to take our lives in that moment, they would be justified in the eyes of the law. An unspoken law, a systemic law, that has existed, and survived for over 400years. It’s not just a few bad apples, it’s the whole barrel. It’s these biased, discriminatory, unspoken laws, that makes the entire premise of the “system” unjustified, and unjustifiable. It is working exactly how it was designed to work. That’s why the whole structure and framework has to be completely torn down, and rebuilt properly, with compassion and empathy, and with a sense that all men are created equal, and need to be treated with the same level of dignity. We too, belong here. This is America. The land of the free, the home of the brave, where Black Lives Matter too!

I’m sorry that happened to you

None of us were meant to survive!! We are all walking miracles

This story breaks my heart. I live in a small town where just about everybody is lily white, and I drive home late at night after work to take care of my momma. And at least once every few months, I get pulled over for doing not a god damned thing. It's so difficult to resist not telling those hick cops where to stick it, but I need to stay alive for my mother and my daughter. Thank you for sharing your story. For the record: you did not surrender your dignity; you did what you had to do to stay alive. I'm glad you're on this earth. God bless you.

OMG' THE THOUGHT OUR CHILDREN *OR* GRANS JUST MIGHT HAVE THESE BAD COP / GOOD COP STORIES ONE DAY ! THE WORD POLICE HAS BECOME MORE & MORE FILTHY...SEX TRAFFICKING' DRUGS' WHORES THEY CALL THE STREET PEOPLE THE NAME & USE FOR LIES & SET UPS. ALL THE WHILE' BODY COUNTS & STORIES KEEP ADDING UP! Thank You THIS IS MIND BLOWING READING THESE POST.

Laundry Faerie I’m not at all tired of hearing these stories. We need to hear more of them! It was hard to watch because it should not be happening. Again- we need to hear more and we need to vote!

I bet if I posted this powerful video from Amber on any of my social media accounts non of my white contacts would watch the whole thing be cause they don’t want to feel uncomfortable 🙄

Vicky S that’s good to hear. The 2 white people I recently told my discrimination stories to (police brutality, workplace prejudice, followed in stores, being treated horribly in school as a child, general racist rhetoric spewed towards me, etc) seemed to be genuinely interested, but I wasn’t sure if they were upset or not by me telling my truth. In the past relating these types of stories always made white people angry or uncomfortable, so we usually don’t tell them. Your comment has encouraged me to speak up more often.

@@hifelisha6299 Not upset. Not angry. Uncomfortable only because it's so wrong and how did I not know? Keep speaking up.

Exactly...I am glad she did this. Want everyone to feel what we/black people feel everyday man.

Sadly true. I wonder if he was angry that she was happy.

You have indeed been around abusers and know their methods of operation.

Ding ding ding

🎯

Yes, it was very moving...the quiet, gentle way you told the truth, hurt!

good stuff Seth

I'm coming upon your comment a year after you posted it. It's still worthy of commendation, what a great post.

Facts!!!!

True that!

She is just terrific.Such a good communicator.

YES! I see Amber's adorable face and my heart is happy

S1L3NT G4M3R we all do

S1L3NT G4M3R Only those with a Heart.

"Now, I'm in a head-to-toe velvet outfit because I'm great!" 😂She's amazing!

Thank you for listing these titles! I'll check them out

Your observation is keen and sharing the list is greatly appreciated. I will include these books in my reading. Thank you.

Period.

that would be a cool thing to say if it weren't so dangerous. And that is so sad.

Share on social media. Everyone has friends that need to see this.

I attribute her getting pulled over because she played Rap music at a loud volume. They hear Rap, they instantly think you're a thug. Plain and simple. That's why I don't listen to that crap. It's part of the problem. Also, people speaking Ebonics, Tattoos, wearing your pants down exposing your underwear. Smelling like weed, coping an attitude when they confront you. Lot of things trigger others.

@@Oneness100 you are disrespectful of individual rights. How would you feel if you were pulled over for enjoying country music (I assume you're a yokle).

@@Oneness100 Yeah - and that's a racist action. If they pull someone over because they hear Rap, what's happening under the surface is: "Rap = thug" and "Rap = black person," so "black person = thug." You don't get pulled over or be expected to be pulled over for blasting ANY kind of music, except that which is attributed directly to black culture. What does that tell you about the racism in our society and police system? I, as a white woman, blasted rap and many other genres of music as a teenager with subwoofers in my car so loud they rattled my rearview mirror off. Never got pulled over once. That's privilege. The fact that you mentioned "Ebonics," which is a racialized language stereotype attributed to black people, is a DIRECT racist correlation between black people and crime is so blatantly oppressive that I can't believe I even have to point it out. You're literally saying that "if someone (black) speaks in a way that society attributes as a black speech stereotype, they're assumed to be a thug." Like. C'mon. Smelling like weed was a thing when weed was a crime. Unless someone has straight up prison tats or tattoos on their face/hands, they're not targeted as much anymore - and coping an attitude, obviously that's a different issue completely separate from racism. The point is, yeah, there are things that trigger cops. RACE and stereotypes attributed to race are high among those triggers. And those triggers should not exist, because they promote the oppression and fear that Amber and so many others are talking about.

@@Oneness100 Plenty of white kids in my snow white & upscale suburban neighborhood do ALL of that. And i can assure you they're not triggering any cops.

MS. Smith I am a black man,65 years of age.YOUR WORDS ARE NOT EMPTY:IF ANYTHING THEY ARE SORELY NEEDED. YOUR WORDS ARE COMING FROM AND RESOUNDING INTO A CORE WHERE IT IS MOSTLY NEEDED. AT THE LEAST YOU ARE LISTENING. IT WASN'T 20 YEARS AGO YOU WOULD HAVE TO EXPLAIN AND UNDERSTAND THESE FACTS FOR THE MAJORITY. YOU ARE A LIVING SIGN OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. ...AND THANK YOU!

RU-vid seems to be making an effort to put stories like this on everyone page , click on some and gain more knowledge about this issue. ...if you want...

it's there. You are just not hearing it until now. Better late than never but now is the time to understand their outrage.

Sadly theses stories are so commonplace. I've been infuriated whenever I was anxious after an encounter when I arrived at work and a white coworker notices my disheveled state. Infuriated because after I tell of the encounter the white person almost always days most police are good you just had a bad apple. How is it that all of the bad apples just happen to pull me over?

​@@keishapuryear8180 We need your truth to be spoken every day - every single day.

Seriously.

I hung out with some black kids when I was young. Once we got chased out of a restaurant (that wouldn't serve them) with thugs wielding bats and chains. My friends saved my life that day. A little white girl. I began to understand then. 1963.

I was going to say the same thing! I guess Seth can VP....

As european i say: worldpresident!!

Why? She's unqualified. Calm down to Busta Rhymes? OH GOD. Don't blast Rap music. It's no wonder he pulled you over. She didn't watch the Chris Rock Educational video.. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uj0mtxXEGE8.html First mistake: Playing Rap music loud. Rap music is created by and for the musically uneducated. You want to listen to music? Listen to something that actually has musicians playing instruments. I wonder if she would have been pulled if she had been listening jazz instead. THINK about it.

Anything with a functioning brain stem for President

@@Oneness100 - So, everyone has to like the music you approve of? Yeah, ok. I happen to like 80s hair bands. Would a cop be justified in pulling me over, too? I wasn't aware that cops are the music police, too.

sending you love and support from across the internets, you don't have to be strong all the time, we gotchu

I mean, yeah, the US was basically a de jure apartheid state until the 1960s & remains a de facto apartheid state to this day, with a whole subset of trump supporters ("Accelerationists") devoted to the idea of causing another Civil War ("Boogaloo") to bring that de jure apartheid back.

The architects of the apartheid regime studied the Jim Crow laws and perfected it in South Africa.

American Apartheid

A lot of those people in apartheid america are still alive, and raised those same kids that is in the police force, elected officials and even president. It never went away, it was just dormant until the right "leader" inspired the trash to be so bold to do it on camera and feel immunity like it was back then. This literally broke the record on world divide and protest worldwide in one shot.

South Africa's apartheid regime look their behavior from Jim Crow America.

Kara B I am crying uncontrollably by your fathers comments. It’s one of the first times during this whole thing. I have grown up, like Amber, accepting and capitulating to racist police and people my entire life. It is par for the course. I am crying because I realize I NEVER NEVER NEVER thought white people like your Dad could understand the constant inhumanity we face. I have a daughter and she asked me at 6 yrs old “if white ppl are better at black people”. All she could see is how different they live. I want to believe so badly she won’t get hurt, scared or discriminated against for the simple fact her skin is darker. I want her to be treated fairly and equally. For the first time I am allowing myself to believe it could happen. Thank you for sharing. Thank your father for his grace. Be well.

Kara B I love this! What a cool dad you have, he said it all. We want to be treated with basic human dignity, and that’s a human right, regardless of race, class, economic status, educational status or zip code.

Good for your Dad. Better on you for continuing to share with him until you caught him willing to listen.

As trite as radically-honest: Your Dad is an exception, not the rule.

Mᴥāz Kalīm Well, she did say that Amber opened at least one mind, not the whole country.

That's part of her point

Part of her point is, this doesn't happen to just "anyone". One group has been singled out for centuries. If less than she talks about had happened to me, I'd be screaming with rage. But it doesn't happen to me.

I’m queer and I’ve sort shaped my whole life around being as irrefutably delightful as Amber. It’s a way to try and survive. It is incredibly scary to grow up where you constantly notice that your basic human worth is always conditional. Where margins are so small, so you can’t do totally normal things or people will treat your horribly. Amber could not skip down the street to her friends car safely. For me it’s nowhere near as restricted as that. I’m am exhausted and scared, I can only imagine how it must be to be black in America. But I do know it sucked being a teenager that felt forced to get only top grades, because they were afraid their murder wouldn’t have been seen as tragedy otherwise.

A teen

No black person is "angsty" against the police, they don't dare. They're all scared for their lives and get attacked for no reason. THAT is the point. rethink what you said plz.

Surreal Nirvana They freaking charged him with resisting arrest? God that stinks. Makes you wonder how many thousands and thousands of cases of “resisting arrest” clog up our court system just to save face for white officers who’ve wrongfully arrested an innocent black person. :(

I'm a black man, and I want to say that there is no reason to "hate everything you are" just because of how you were born. In most cases the White Privilege is simply having the benefit of doubt, a fair chance to succeed, and the opportunity to be judged by WHO you are based off your actions and quality of your character, as opposed to by WHAT you are based on your ethnicity. That Privilege isn't something to be ashamed of, it's actually what everyone should have. The fact that it's a Privilege, and not a Norm is shameful, however. But that shame isn't yours to carry, you didn't make the rules, and pretty sure you don't support them.

Randy Lee Thank you for this very apt description of ‘privilege’. I hate the term because it is so weighted and automatically puts people on the defensive.

@@randylee7888 he didn't say "hate everything he is", he said "he hates IT with everything he is", as in he hates institutional racism with every fibre of his being. I think you read the comment wrong.

Wow resisting arrest how naughty.

@ Park Avenue, thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting white privilege to good and well-needed use. The question still remains, why should I have to need you for your whiteness? Living in a world where I as a black woman is enough, should be enough. Absolutely nothing against you, but I am a human being who aspires to claim all human rights based solely on the act of my being.

it's so sad. You shouldn't have to be put in that situation at all. Almost like you have to protect a child...

My story is more of a sexual misconduct of the cops. I was taking my little brother to the health unit to get his asthma medicine while he was in with the doctor they wanted give a ride home. I said "no" They got upset! Then they started asking why my brother was not in schools so I explained then they started saying how a pretty Blk girl should not walk alone in a bad neighborhood!

Privilege created not earned, we should all be fighting for equality

I didn't even need to read more than "we didn't know the tags were expired. I already knew.

Amen to that!✌🏽

Love her ❤️

Yes! Thank you for articulating this.

🧡

Absolutely admire your strength of character. Having the ability to keep smiling through your unjust and unlawful mistreatment is both humbling and commendable 🧡

"white friends" soooo true

"Spectator sport" facts. Just look at old photos of lynchings. They enjoyed that mess.

Angel. Bravo, couldn't have said it better 🍹🍸

I'm surprised Black folks haven't loss there Damn minds by now dealing with this SH*T!

Facts....couldn't have expressed it any better!!!

EVERY. TIME.

Kinda mirrors the fact that white Americans have never apologised for slavery.

Because they can't stand to not have the upper hand, regardless of reality.

Everything she said is so sad and racist, except the teenager story and the white guy story. I know several people as teenagers that got pulled over just for being teenagers driving. At least she didn't get a ticket.. The fact that cop was respectful might just have been because he was a decent cop. My sister is a truck driver (I know, huh), and she say's there is a lot of prostitution around truck stops. If Amber had seen this particular cop be racist to other individuals her story would be more relevant. As it is, she herself used racist stereotypes on this police officer by assuming he was only polite because she was with a white man... However, because of AAmericans mistreatment by police in general I do understand her perception, and it is disheartening.

n. p. Sounds like you missed the parts where they were being needlessly threatening ...and it’s not a stereotype when it happens to you every. Single. Time. And to every black person you know

Black servicemen & servicewomen knew that by serving our country they were changing it, despite the slow pace it took...

I'm glad you bring this up. I don't have any kids but my uncle is in his 70s and a Vietnam vet, some second cousins are current military. I never bring it up to them because it would be disrespectful to them personally and I don't want to make it seem like I am mocking their life choices. All that said, I am against black ppl joining the US military for this very reason. I never had kids but I always knew that I would have stopped my kids from doing so because I cannot let my kids sacrifice their lives for a country who places zero value on their life. I fundamentally don't believe that we should for the very reason you stated in your comment. I know many ppl will disagree, but I figured I'd share my vantage point.

@Evelyn Brown That was the very first thing I thought of!! And he laid that out - so clear!!! What an incredible being he was!!!

@@2006glg I wish I had thought about this your way when I was younger. But, I served because my grandfather, my father, my uncles had all served. But why? The so called American dream isn't for us. I never advise young blacks to serve in the military. I tell them to get an education and go make some money. America doesn't give a damn about you.

That baffles my mind as well, even back in the slavery era there are those who joined. WHY? (An African living in Canada trying to make sense out of this)

Please recant some of your stories that happened to you while you were in uniform!

It’s disgusting that you have served your country and not even that will get you humane treatment from police. Or regular people for that matter.

@@david2869 I have a friend that was in the Military Police, but he couldn't leave the base near St. Louis because it wasn't safe if you were Black. All the White people could leave and enjoy things off base freely. He said they were informed about that when they first got on base.

Omg, I had a the same thing.

Even on small things, it's real. Like my veterinarian getting a ticket going less than 5 miles an hour over the speed limit. And my 70 year old volunteer instructor in a safe driving class getting a ticket for making a minor mistake in a confusing intersection. Under quota for those days -I doubt that. It's a intimidating bully system and no one should accept it. We need representatives in government who represent all of the people and not just those they think will benefit them and their hidden personal political agendas.

That is so true. We are terrorized right here. I travel with confidence. Went to Dominican Republic many times over a 18 month period, not once was I harrassed by the police. Well, one guy tried to find out what hotel I was at so he could come and beat me up or possibly even try to kill me for screwing his girl. But thats a hold other story. 😂 But for real, being retired military and traveling all over the world. This is the only country that I have been terrorized by the police. I have also had a few encounters that I did not feel terrorized. But, I think maybe its because I had grown accustomed to it. 🤔

@@ronl.2913 Maybe U.S. cities need to take a look at the police training in other countries and emulate it.

Sadly, this statement is very true. I spent 12 yrs living in England and Germany before the age of 21 and spent a year in Saudi Arabia at 27 (military). We had bomb threats at our school, our NCO club bombed and I say a car blow up some distance from me while driving. But what i have experienced here in the US, makes Europe feel like Disney World. If I wasn't the only person who can take care of my parents or if I was an awful child, I would move back to Europe.

I live in France, we have issues, but DAMN nothing to that extreme extent !

Here is the video you probably saw: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B_IN4Z1IpOg.html Soldier of Life is such a nice guy.

Watched his video and subscribed. Dude is just lovely overall.

As a black person in Germany who has experienced quite a bit of racism over my 20-something years of life here, I can safely say that even my more negative interactions with the police have never had me literally fear for my life. It just underlines how broken the system is.

In his autobiography, Malcolm X mentioned the same thing - on his way to Mecca, he stopped in Germany, and he remarked that it was the first place he felt was treated like a regular human being by white people.

Yeah! i believe it so many Black people move out of America to other countries and are treated better! Gil Scott-Heron couldn't have said it better Home is where the hatred is

THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS! "We should have been in the streets years ago" IF there was a Love button id click it on the comment.

That is how I feel. I was angry before, but hearing Amber tell her stories has made my blood boil. I also feel remorse that it could make me more upset when people are being killed.

I think part of it is the pandemic. But also, the sheer cruelty that we witnessed. What I've noticed in the protests are the numbers of young people. I go to all the Women's Marches and Anti ICE . . . Mostly women retirees. I've been dismayed by the absence of young people. But the BLM and George Floyd protests. Overwhelmingly young people. For the first time since 2016 I am hopeful that we can get this racist admin out and make real change.

I said 15 years ago, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." I wanted to organize people in the streets in 2008 with the bailout, which benefitted corporations who were guilty and hurt people, especially people of color. How do we change things? I have supported the hiring, promotion and inclusion of black people when in leadership positions. I ran for local political office three times. We continue to learn more and we continue to have to do more. Enough people have died. Let us recite together, "with liberty and justice for ALL."

United States of Embarrassment VERY WELL SAID!!!!

It’s traumatizing! I am always looking out for them when I drive . I don’t let them follow me I will change my direction quickly.

Normal black people don't fear the police, stop with your nonsense bs.

@@strollic5162 don't speak for me.

@@DearLifeTV That's the problem isn't it? There are people speaking as if it's everyone's experience. There is no "black experience".

@@strollic5162 the fact that you said "normal" black people already makes you problematic af. Amber and I have similar stories. Don't speak for me, the end.

I can only sort of imagine it because I'm among the 1 in 6 women in the US who's been stalked.

@leumasdiderot Wtf does that have to do with black people being mistreated by police? Suffering is not a competition

If you live in the USA. Please register to vote, if you haven’t! Please pass it on! This TORCH 🔥 needs to remain lit! Be safe! Take Care! ☮️✝️

BabakoSen ugh 😢 please vote ‘em out!!

@leumasdiderot This is not an opportunity for you to exhibit your own racism. What your anti-Semitism shows is just another side of the same coin. YOU ARE THE WHITE COP IN THIS STORY &, just like the white cops, you don't even see your OWN racism. Before making a comment about racism, take a quick look in a mirror.

13% of the population doesn't have to imagine it

This is why I always feel *extra* cautious while driving.

Too many white people can't imagine it.

i had to pause the video after when she said jeff was angry about the cop pulling the gun on her, but she wasn't because she made it out alive. that is so. effing. freaking. terrifying.

You're totally wrong. Your own Supreme Court has ruled that the Police are under absolutely no obligation to 'protect' you. That's why the majority of cop cars have removed the word 'protect' where it used to say 'protect and serve'.

Out of curiosity I ask different family members and they got stories.Learned that my cousin was ,a female was harassed by a cop being that she had a nice car

They would not be put in prison, but the rest of what you told him was realistic.

@@addie_is_me a coffin? 🔥🔥

I recently watched an interview with some trumplican, maybe Esper, about the protests and riots. In the space of about 3 minutes, I heard 'a few bad apples' half a dozen times and 'Antifa' another half dozen. I damned near lost my mind!

You seem to have trouble facing reality. If I could put you in my shoes and send you back though my experiences, you would either come back with a nervous breakdown, or be shaking so badly, you'd need therapy for weeks.

Loose is the opposite of tight. Hope you don't lose it over my comment.

Ugh god. Still if you let a rotten apple sit with the others they all rot much more quickly

The orchard is rotten.

We have to hear them...because then we ALL know. We are listening.

I listened to Amber's stories and sat here recalling my own "run-ins" with the cops and how the stories are vastly different. I was often terrified because I didn't want to get arrested, but I most certainly was never afraid I might lose my life. I can only imagine living with that kind of fear.

@@mishelle6315 you just pray every time God dont let this person kill me

Well said, as a Jamaican myself, it pains me to see how people treat each other so ignorantly, so lack of empathy, so Dracula like. Evil is in every Race, every Nationality every Religion, some people are just pure hateful!

@@jamrock9925 your comment is freaky :} i in fact come from Dracula's place, about 2 hrs away from his castle in Transilvania... anyways, back to your comment: there are evil people everywhere but when you feel discouraged it may help to remember mr Rogers: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

And that's the key to understanding white privilege - no matter how "unprivileged" our lives are with regard to economics or trauma, NONE of the bad things in our white lives happened to us only because we are white. And that's why all white people need to take responsibility and DO something.

We can say that and I do. It's actually pretty important sometimes and has protected police are sometimes less likely to hurt you if you know your rights. Just keep educating yourself and other's like you. And dont give in to the dread. Please keep educating yourself and others.

@@Joseph-lo8zr [sigh] People in my community educate themselves in regard to the laws all day long. We activists *have* to know them in order to support those more vulnerable than we are yet it does not matter when a psychopathic narcissist is in front of you getting off on his/her power. Don't give into the dread is easy to say when your community is *not* under siege 24/7 by sociopaths. _________________________________________

Black Karens are rare. We need more of them.

I've had two incidents where I was bold to cops and I was confident in telling them to get off my property. Its is a reality check and wake-up call to me when I imagine my skin being a different shade and my mouth saying the same things I have to the cops...

I love this comment!

Okay Karen...

😂👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Glad you are using your super complaining skills for a good cause.

Karen Boyer Lol! You’re not a “Karen!” You’re angry for the right reasons. Thank you, have a seat at the table.

I know you mean well and on the whole I agree, but a story I heard recently sheds an uncomfortable light on this. A white person had a black friend who was always extremely happy and jovial. He was 6'4", and would have been very physically imposing except he had a very "teddy bear" sort of vibe. They asked him once how he was always so happy, and he apparently said "I'm not, really, but a smiling black man is less scary, and being scary is dangerous." So I hope Amber is genuinely happy and funny, but telling black people to be happy suddenly feels a lot less harmless than it used to.

@@CatHasOpinions734 I'm so glad you see that. I've had lots of people use the whole angry black person stereotype for "why [ they] cant stand black people, like why cant they just be happy" I tried to explain how its because of racism and injustice and oppression. This person was Hispanic so they said "well yea, me too" and I said okay but what about angry brown people it's the same stereotype? She changed the subject

Itsá Asdzání I have similar story . A white colleague female asked me ‘ why are black people so quick to get angry with the police ‘ . ‘ why don’t they just comply ‘ Just like you I calmly explained the reason why. How police treat them during traffic stop vs white people , how they’re asked to identify even if they’re passenger not driving the car. How they get fine for minor things as supposed to just get a warning like majority of white people do. I mentioned many examples and she still didn’t ‘understand ‘. So weeks later she came to work crying and told us how a cop pulled her over the weekend and they brutalised/arrested her husband . Because he refused to identify over a fake broken tailgate light and asked for a supervisor. I again calmly said ‘ well you and your husband should have just COMPLIED and shouldn’t get ANGRY so quickly’. She stopped crying.

I've seen more than one video where a black person was screamed at and assaulted by a cop for looking in their direction. The trigger can be ANYTHING.

She looks like she could skip pretty fast...Amber ! How fast are you ?

Um , their defensive worry is a nut job placing a bomb...if your very drunk or very high...think twice about running at the coppers...pretend your strait..be where you are. ,home.

That guy was just looking for an excuse to exert power over someone he's looking down upon.

If you have racist friends its too late to defriend them, you have them, you are racist, keep them.

People are quick to first believe, "they must have done something wrong". Current POTUS believed the Central Park Five should have been executed for committing that crime. His and most of his kind's opinion were unchanged after the Five were exonerated with DNA evidence and a confession from the rapist. Kalief Browder was murdered by the system for allegedly stealing someone's backpack. With zero evidence he was charged with being black in public. Guilty unless you can afford to prove you are innocent. Plead guilty, become a slave to the State or plead innocent and we will make you want to take your own life after years of false incarceration and conditioning to turn you into a bad person/criminal. Keep pleading innocent and you will never get out of prison. A prosecutor is interested in wins. They have no interest in justice or your rights. Police reform is the tip of the iceberg. The entire system is the swamp and it needs an overhaul. Are these bad apple police members of any particular hate group. You do have the freedom to be stupid but being a member of a hate group should disqualify you from being a civil servant. Or are they actually told to center out and harass certain races, religions, genders, and classes from their bosses. Who tells them to start their conversations with their victims by accusing them of carrying a weapon, white bucket and trash grabber, skipping down an ally, your headlight is (not really) out, you were speeding (while keeping up with traffic), I don't have a tint meter on me but these are some dark windows. That head of the Police Union who paraded around the cameras, defending all police should have acknowledged the actual issue and shunned the bad apples. Instead, his organization is going to shift bad cops around and continue to support their crimes while playing the victim. You had the perfect opportunity to recognize the flaws in the system but you failed us, your employers. I am white and I have been pulled over three times in my life. Two times for speeding, 10 miles over the limit and a third time for nothing other than the cops wanting to harass me. There were two of them, they started going through my car through my open windows without permission. The one on the passenger side reached in and opened my glove box, in discovering my medications (with labels and pharmacy pill bottles) he started to act like he found something he could go off on. I was 19 and my friend in the passenger seat was native American. After 10 minutes of harassment they were bored and could see we were thoroughly harassed so they let us go. I have hated and have no trust in people with authority. I could not imagine the level of hate I would have from a lifetime of harassment. You are made to feel guilty and belittled. To just mindlessly use the term "that's the way the system works" and allow the corruption to fester and grow should no longer be tolerated.

The like button is to show support. It doesn't mean you enjoy the stories that are told.

This is beautiful. Empathy is how real change will occur

that's right... i can't imagine how difficult is trying to make the stories sound funny when they are so traumatizing.. it's an effort to shine a light on the problem not on herself

400 years of terror. Not bad for a " democracy".

S Miller, She literally said that.

@Marisca Koekemoer I'm sure that you don't speak for all of Africa. Also, using the phrase "everyone knows" means that you are spouting nonsense about something. I can imagine that living in some parts of Africa, some parts of the Middle East, some parts of South America, and more are extremely difficult. No one is negating that. The USA is trying to address ONE of the many issues plaguing the country. Try not to belittle a people who are struggling to change their condition.

@@smiller2114 This comment, right here, is the reason that the USA, isn't trying hard enough to change. I don't know you, S, but I would ask you to please, please try not to antagonize those of us who are trying to change the narrative of the nation, it is this rhetoric that has made change so difficutl. I don't want to discredit your intentions, but...."Try not to belittle a people who are struggling to change their condition...." is exactly is what your words are doing to us in America. Amber's stories, and so many others, are what the world needs.

It is not only in the black communities - but everywhere. One of my most thought provoking moments came when I lived in NYC. I used to browse Bergdorf's on my lunch hour - I couldn't afford anything but it was fun to walk around and look. I invited my friend Angela to go with me one day and we were followed the entire time throughout the store by security. We were not allowed to try on hats (which I had done previously) and no one addressed us the entire time. I went back a few days later by myself - all privileges returned. I had seen violence, unfortunately, in the cities against the black communities but it wasn't until that day that I understood it was a 24/7 issue with them EVERYWHERE they went. Thanks for sharing Havana.

OMG! This comment has me shocked. Im the same age, Black female , and have gotten stopped COUNTLESS times for petty traffic citations (not once in a city). Once I got ticketed for being in a car where I was in the passenger seat lol. So although I wouldn't dream of switching lives with you (Im sure its cool), I am curious as what it's like to never have an encounter with a police officer.

It is incumbent upon you to learn how your white privilege has allowed you to live the way you have. Please read Layla Saad's "Me and white supremacy".

@@mao6832 And it is also incumbent on you to realize we choose our race before we ever incarnate on this planet. It was a conscious choice. There are no villains and no victims in this lifetime. We are NOT our race.

Jennifer lawrence lol are u kidding me?

Agreed - the stories are awful but I enjoyed listening to her tell them. Does that make sense?

Now, when most white people talk about giving their children - THE TALK; it usually means its about sex. For Black People, its about how to interact when you're stopped by the police, cuz it will happen, sooner, or later.

exactly.

I had a tall white lady tell me. Lol My ma is white and I'm mixed, she told me when I was little, if I get lost, look for an old lady to ask for help, she never said cops. I don't know why she thinks old ladies are so great, I'm not, on the other hand, we don't carry guns usually, so we are safer.

Oh my god yes

🎯

Carl Thomas-Thomsen That is truly shocking. But allow me to explain something - self defence is a common law defence (which the US inherited as its legal system). Unless the defence has been removed by legislation it can always be used as a defence.That doesn’t mean the shooter has the facts to back up using it as a the defence.

@@brontewcat the self defense laws were removed at the same time we got mandatory minimums and a zero tolerance drug policy. We never rolled back the legislation to get those rights back. Also Nebraska is a unicameral. So what ever the legislation says in other parts of the country doesn't matter.

@Starla Lester they absolutely put the videos out on the internet. The security footage shows it clearly and is on our local news RU-vid channels. I believe the audio has been removed. Self defense; in regards to protection of property should not apply because the incident occurred in the middle of the street. He clearly left his property.

Please send me the links.

@@leoscheibelhut940 sorry bro... in omaha, we have the local/ tri-state FBI. Those videos have been gone for over a month. They let a murderer completely of the hook. Search; James Gardner. Omaha, Nebraska. I don't want to disrespect the dead by misspelling their last name. Search; Omaha, Nebraska. Channel 3. Its the Republican channel. They had the balls to post the security footage.

Late to finding this, but thank you for the link.

Moe Wei Europe is a CONTINENT. There is no „we“!!

NO WE DON’T. YOU’RE BRAINWASHED TO BELIEVE YOU’RE A VICTIM.

@@joshuajackson4742 this has been another white basic comment...

@@Celisar1 I travel all over Europe for my work. Moe Wei is absolutely correct in every particular.

@@joshuajackson4742 what?