Monday, May 14, 2018

Benefit of Doubt? No, Not For Some.

If your neighbor George says "Hey, there was a rat big-as-a-cat on your front step last night," you would no doubt believe him. Same thing with your co-worker Nancy who says "I went for a three-mile jog last night and was within to 15 seconds of the American record". There is no reason not to believe them in these common-place incidents. Same with being at college and you decide to take a nap in the common room, no issue right? Everyone would just believe you belong there. As well, you are picking up trash around you home and it should not be an issue. Having a barbecue with your family in a park should not cause any room for doubt, right? Your children go on a college tour along with a full group of other youth; there is no reason to believe they shouldn't be there, right? We have no reason to not give people the benefit of doubt in everyday situations. 

Even with the not so common situations or stories you might believe others.  Like if Tom Hanks said, he "saw an unidentified flying object, a UFO", he might be believed. Most likely he would be believed because he is Tom Hanks. Maybe even a fellow like Denzel Washington could be believed if he said he was kidnapped by a group of Scientologists, who wanted him to join their group. Denzel would be believed by most people. There are some we believe and there are some we immediately doubt, don't believe. Annabellas Sciorra says she was raped by Harvey Weinstein. Would anyone believe her?   What about if your neighbor said "The Dingo ate the baby?" Why are we quick to believe some and not others? Is it from experience or from perception? The benefit of doubt is very important. In today's society the benefit of doubt could actually save your life. The benefit of doubt is not awarded to everyone. Black people, People of Color and Women are generally not the first to be believed. It is a reality which has harsh consequences. 

Can you imagine how difficult it must be for a Woman to come forward when she has been assaulted?  With the benefit of doubt is hardly ever given to them? Or how about an Indigenous person filing a complaint about the police officer who has kicked them in the stomach? The Black person who has been punched by a police officer? Even when the evidence for a Person of Color, a Black person, an Indigenous person, a Woman, is right clear, the benefit of doubt is still lacking. Belief is not accorded to folks of a certain mold, a certain segment of the population, a certain color, a certain gender, a certain age, a certain sexual orientation. However, benefit of doubt is given almost automatically to one specific segment of society. The saddest example with deadly consequences was police officer Joseph T. Gabrish, didn't believe a 14 year old boy, "Konerak Sinthasmphone, who was killed later that night. Incidentally, Jerry (Dahmer) had drilled a hole into his head and poured hydrochloric acid inside,..." The police had let a serial killer take a young boy because they believed him, a white male. 

These things are happening all the time where the benefit of doubt is not given. Just the other day an off-duty police officer pulled out his gun, loaded it, and pointed at a Hispanic man who had just paid for candy. Even when the store clerk told the off-duty cop the candy was paid for, he still didn't believe, he asked "are you sure?" The default position is not to believe the Person of Color, the Black person or the Woman. These lack of benefit of doubt is seen in every step of the justice system: from the initial police contact to the judgment by the courts. 
In Saskatchewan an Indigenous boy was shot in the head and the man who shot him was not guilty of anything. The story was the bullet didn't fire until way after the trigger was pulled and the gun was accidentally pointed in the boy's direction. They called it a "hanging bullet." The benefit of doubt went to the man who shot the youth directly in the head. The man, Gerald Stanley was released free and clear. Even more upsetting was when the police went to notify the family (Cree people) of the boy's death, the police treated the Mother as having been guilty of a crime. 

Society has a default position of believing the police. When people challenge the police they are not believed. The police get the benefit of doubt. That benefit of doubt is causing great harm in society. To challenge police benefit of doubt can also be dangerous. The Black person, marginalized person and the Woman is often seen as an aggressor, trouble-maker, or a liar. 
To give someone the benefit of the doubt is to default to the belief that their intentions are honest, and not assume malice when there is uncertainty or doubt surrounding the circumstances. Urban Dictionary.  How can society give benefit of doubt to others?  What should the default position be? Society's default position is to believe White people. Shocking I know. Many instances in life should be mundane, common-place and not an incident of drama or hostility. It is ugly how something as mundane as having a nap, having a seat, walking or even reading a book is seen as trouble; so much trouble where you feel the need to call the police. It really is perplexing. What kind of world do you live in where you need to call the police over someone just being you? 

Of course we can't believe everything and everyone, there are times when judgements are made at a situation.  Still, what is it which makes us discount certain segments of society so quickly or not even consider them at all? Lately you can't even sit in a Starbucks, ask for a plastic fork in Waffle House, have a nap in your College/University, touring a potential College, having your car cleaned, shopping or even go out for a walk with not having benefit of doubt. In society a specific segment of society (white people) decided to use the 911 telephone as their default in any situation.  The benefit of doubt is supposed to be given in everyday situations but it is not. Benefit of doubt in not given for Black people, Woman, Indigenous people and People of Color. There are shit-loads of examples with people being harassed for just going about their day. This is the major reason, the biggest spark to the fire of conflict. People just don't see People of Color, Indians, Blacks, Women, LGBTQ as part of the community; viewed as outsiders.  Meaning they don't see them as belonging in the situation, in the community. What makes matters worse is the fact the system and the systems actors follow the norm of not giving benefit of doubt to the "outsiders." The system and the actors in the system will believe a cold-hearted killers, the Gerald Stanley's, the Raymond Cormier's of the country. While innocent people like Maxwell Johnson, his 12 year-old granddaughter Torie Ann are arrested, hand-cuffed and taken to jail for trying to open a bank account. The police will fight against consequences of their actions in almost all cases. In the end if there are consequences, it is usually the police making statements of "doing better, having sensitive training, etc." 

“Police are not private security for any white person that’s offended by the presence of black folks in our public spaces.”  Huffington Post


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