Thread by @TheValuesVoter

The shooting of #RalphYarl, the young black kid who was shot twice by an old man simply for ringing a doorbell, reminds me of a painful realization I learned growing up.

I grew up in a very diverse environment. Lots of white friends as well as friends of every other hue. Listened to all kinds of music, including rock. My parents raised me to be impeccably polite. Eloquent. Never got into any trouble. Great manners.

But it didn't matter.

To a subset of society, it doesn't matter what other attributes you have. When you are a young black man, to them, you are considered to be a threat. No matter WHAT you do. No matter what you don't do.

To some, I could see the look of fear in their eyes when they saw me.

It's a pretty stressful way to live, either being the person constantly suspected of being a danger just for existing or being the parent of one.

Go to the store, don't linger. Don't have your hands in your pocket because they think you're going to steal something.

Don't frown - somebody will think you're about to go off or something.

Don't hang out in groups. Where two or more of us are gathered together, somebody's going to be tempted to call 911.

And now, one more thing to fear, both for kids like Ralph Yarl as well as for their parents, who have yet one more thing keeping them up at night. Don't accidentally ring the wrong doorbell.

The point is that, to some, it doesn't even get to the point where your personal character, your demeanor and your behavior are factors in determining whether or not you're a threat.

It's just as simple as being black, male and young. And then you're an existential danger.

And here's the thing: the things that make a human a young black male are their date of birth, their ancestry and their gender.

Which are three things that none of us even control.

These are the things that, to some, see everyone who holds these attributes as an instant danger.