Skip to main content

Response to Dallas police officer killing Botham Jean

    In class, there were multiple stories people had heard to as to how a white police officer allegedly accidentally walked into an apartment not her own, saw a black man and shot him dead. The first story was that Amber Guyger, 4 year member of the Dallas police force, simply parked on the wrong floor after her shift, walked into the wrong apartment thinking it was hers, suspected Mr. Jean was a burglar, and shot him. This is the story most people know, the story that news organizations are telling. Another scenario being that Guyer and Jean were formerly in a relationship and the police officer was looking for revenge. This story is the less popular and most unlikely one. Before it was said in class, I hadn't heard anything about the two knowing each other prior to the shooting. Additionally, what is the likelihood that you and your ex live in the same building, you cant recognize their living space, and their family knew nothing of you? Somebody also heard that the police officer had her hands full of grocery's so she couldn't see that she was entering an apartment with a doormat not her own. But when she walked in, couldn't she see that all of the furniture and items in the apartment weren't hers? How would she be carrying groceries, open the door and be able to shoot somebody all at once? All of the scenarios have flaws that leave many questioning.
     In my opinion, the killing of Botham Jean was due to unfair bias by Amber Guygen. There was no logical reason for the police officer to pull her gun out in the first place. If she did enter the apartment thinking it was her own, most would immediately realize by the surroundings that it isn't theirs, apologize for the intrusion, and leave. Instead, she, the intruder, pulled a gun out on the alarmed and unarmed Botham Jean. Imagine how scary that would be, to have done nothing wrong yet randomly have a police officer walk into your home with no warning and pull out a gun. It is true, the different floors of the apartment complex may have looked very similar so that after a long day, going to the wrong floor is not an absurd concept. The police officer may have been so alarmed that there was somebody in "her" apartment she didn't even pay attention to the apartment interior to realize the furnishings weren't hers, but there is absolutely no excuse for pulling out a gun. Not even the fact that she was a police officer. Especially the fact that she was a police officer because that means she is trained to expect the unexpected. It seems like we never hear of stories like this with whites as the victims. It seems as if Amber Guyger assumed Botham Jean was doing something wrong for no reason other than that he was black and she couldn't pause in the moment to question the ingrained filter that because he was black, he must be doing something wrong. Regardless of how you choose to picture it, Botham Jean, a black man, was murdered while doing nothing but simply living his life, and that happens all too often.
   



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Response to the 10 Elements of Good Journalism

     To say the least, I loved listening to this lecture. To open the year talking about something so basic yet so important oriented me to the class. Hearing what such highly trained, long standing journalists think are the most important elements of journalism was so interesting because my love for writing urges me to want to know these standards so I can both use them as guidelines for myself as well as be a good critic of others. During our class discussion, the element of making the important interesting felt the most familiar. I believe this is because when writing, I always strive to capture interest and I know what it feels like to read a book or article you never want to put down. The common goal through my writing in to educate, however, reading something that just spits facts at you can be boring and feel like a burden rather than a thought provoking lesson. Personally, writing poetry particularly has taught me how to articulate my words in a way that is grabbi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Non-newsworthy Story on WHAS

On October 23rd, WHAS posted a story explaining different ways to get involved in pumpkin carving in Louisville. The article opens by explaining how to carve and what materials are needed to do so. The article goes on to show different designs both just regular Halloween themes and designs specific to Louisville, like the skyline. While this article is truthful, entertaining, and helpful, it is not newsworthy and definitely shouldn't have been on the leading page of their website. While Halloween is a holiday most people in America enjoy and celebrate, many do not; and it only applies to the month of October. It was also not something that people had to know, it was just something they thought people might want to know. The front page of a news website should be reserved for things that matter more. Although, because it was on a website and not on the news show, it's not completely unacceptable that there be entertainment stories however, there should be a separate section for ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Non-newsworthy Story on WHAS

Today, WHAS posted on their website a story about a body being found in a duffle bag in Indiana, which authorities are now investigating. While this article tells citizens what's going on around them and it tells the truth, it is not newsworthy for numerous reasons. There is not a clear goal of telling people of the crime, it does not impact a lot of people for a long time, and the article only has quotes from the police, no witnesses, family members, or anybody else, making it one sided. While the death of the man found will most likely have a tremendous impact on his family, it does not impact the whole city. Furthermore, while there is freedom of speech, what if the family of the man, or the man, did not want his death publicly announced; especially considering the circumstances? Small crimes like these get reported all the time but are rarely remembered by people. They momentarily remind people of the daily dangers our world presents and for many people, crime is entertainment...
Post a Comment
Read more