[Doug T.]

Why does it seem that many hard-working, successful and law-abiding blacks feel compelled to support highly publicized criminal suspects when the only common link is one of race? Also, do you think this outward display of support tends to hurt overall race relations?

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Name : Doug T., Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 35, City : Coronado, State : CA Country : United States, 

[Samuel]

I'm glad you used the word 'suspect.' In the U.S. criminal justice system, a suspect is supposed to be considered innocent until, or unless, proven guilty in a fair trial (the final verdict issued by a jury of his/her peers). For African Americans, these conditions have been historically elusive. Not only have countless innocent black men and women been tried and convicted of crimes by all-white courts and juries, but many others have been summarily executed by lynch mobs without the benefit of any trial, fair or not. On the flip side, blacks have historically been victims of white violence and other illegal behavior, and have found little or no legal recourse. This inequity may have relaxed somewhat with the semi-retirement of Jim Crow, but it has yet to disappear. Law-abiding, intelligent, hard-working blacks are aware that they and their children are prone to being the victims of unprovoked police violence and/or prosecutorial misconduct, regardless of their social status (my home state of Illinois has become notorious for putting innocent men on death row; how many innocents are doing time for lesser crimes?). When you see someone cheering on a suspect who you may feel is guilty, they're not supporting the evil deeds alleged. They're supporting someone, who, by the letter of the law, is innocent.

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Name : Samuel, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 31, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Firefighter, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Lucy-H22646]

It's not just blacks who have to be suspicious of the legal system. Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Philipinos - basically anyone not white or asian - will get harassed by the police. This type of thing just does not happen to white people. I am Mexican, but I have fairly light skin, and when I am with a group of white friends, people assume that I am white also. So I have witnessed first hand the difference in treatment by the police. The police basically ignore a group of white kids hanging out around town, but a group of Mexican kids acting the same way, doing the same thing will undoubtably get questioned. When getting pulled over for a traffic violation, the white kids may not even get a ticket, just told to drive more safely. When pulling Mexican kids over, the cops ussually have their guns already out, make the kids get out of the car, and interogate them individually to make sure their stories all match before letting them go - with a ticket. And this just goes on and on.

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Name : Lucy-H22646, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 25, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Renata G.]

For the same reason Nixon was pardoned.

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Name : Renata G., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Child of God, Age : 40, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Professional, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[GARY]

If you look back at the Rodney King incident through the eyes of black people, particularly black men, you might find the answer. We have been complaining about that sort of treatment from police for years, and been ridiculed for doing so. That sort of thing happens to us far more often than whites realize. Even to 'hard-working, successful and law-abiding blacks.' Cases in point: The black female judge recently stopped in Venice and forced to lie face down in the street for more than an hour, only to be released because she could not be found guilty of even so much as a traffic infraction, or the Los Angeles city councilman who was detained in Beverly Hills simply for driving in the area, and numerous other occurances similar to these.

Blacks are and have been conditioned to be suspect of the legal system, given our history with it. Sometimes, our anger and frustration over past and present events that have affected us clouds our judgment in ascribing fault where it should be ascribed, i.e. O.J. Simpson. Nevertheless, we feel sometimes compelled to lend our support whenever a black man or woman finds himself or herself at the mercy of the American legal system.

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Name : GARY, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Jewish, Age : 38, City : Los angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : professional, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

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