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Cop gets 20 years for fatally shooting woman who called 911 for help (www.independent.co.uk)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/news@lemmy.world
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A former Illinois deputy has been sentenced to 20 years for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 for help.

Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October of second-degree murder. Grayson, who is white, received the maximum possible sentence and has been in police custody since being charged in the killing.

Massey’s family members, who were sitting in the court, celebrated his sentence with a loud cheer: “Yes!” The judge admonished them.

Grayson apologized during the sentencing, saying he wished he could bring Massey back and spare her family the pain he caused.

“I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” he said. “I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”

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[–] 15 points 6 months ago (3 children)

It's really weird that they capitalize "black" in these stories. I get that it's relevant to mention because these things happen to black people a lot more often, but that doesn't make it a proper noun. They didn't capitalize "white". It seems like pandering and it's kind of gross and racist in its own way.

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  • [+] -6 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    It’s almost a proper noun thing. It’s not a race thing. It’s a language thing.

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  • [+] -7 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Someone said in a separate post, where the same question was brought up, that it's because Black refers to a specific cultural group while white doesn't (that'd be Irish-American or whatever)

    You don't have to always assume it's malice.

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  • [–] 17 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Black people aren't a monolith either though. They come from all over the world, just like white people. That explanation is offensive in a totally different way.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    Honestly I prefer people are identified by their tribes or families. It is more specific than using vague colours. I have never seen a white human being yet we have been programmed to all ourselves white. You mean white like salt? That's what I mean when I say white. Use tribes or families to identify people. Much better than vague colours

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  • [–] 0 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Actually all monorities are a monolith, which is why you can refer to them using using the singular noun ('The Jew') and everybody will know you're talking about all of them. Hitler wrote a entire book about this.

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  • [+] -7 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    I tend to avoid stories like that because its obvious the author is trying to push in a racial divide amongst its readers.

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  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I feel its relevant to mention the race of the victim because racism in law enforcement seems like a potential cause in a lot of these incidents. Statistically black people are much more likely to be the victim, we can't fix that unless we acknowledge it. Mentioning the race of the cop, not so much. It's more of systemic issue. Black cops seem to carry a lot of the same biases.

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