One question. How can we expect other races to respect black women if some black men don’t even respect black women? Case in point, Charles Barkley, retired NBA player turned Inside the NBA analyst, said that he doesn’t agree with lumping in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers with the killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. His reasoning is that Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot at the police upon their forceful entry into the apartment in which Taylor slept.
“Just bad the young lady lost her life, but, you know, we do have to take in account that her boyfriend did shoot at the cops and shot a cop,” Barkley said. “So, like I say, even though I’m really sorry she lost her life, I don’t think that we can — put this in the same situation with George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. I just don’t believe that.”
Barkley’s implication that Walker was somehow in the wrong and acted criminally is an interesting opinion, but is not based in fact. Kentucky is a Castle Doctrine and “Stand Your Ground” state. In other words, if people are attacked in any place where they have a right to be, such as a home dwelling, they have the right to not retreat and to use a gun in self-defense without being criminally accountable.
With that said, Walker was at his home and possessed a legally registered gun. Walker did not proactively search for a cop to shoot, hence why he’s not in jail today. Another indication on where blame should be placed is the $12 million settlement the family received because of Taylor’s wrongful death.
Taylor dying at the hands of police is not a debatable topic that can be tossed around for casual conversation as a form of entertainment. Once again, a human being lost her life in a senseless act and the reason why it’s so polarizing is because the people who killed her are protected by the badge. That’s the problem. There are serial killers camouflaging themselves as protectors and servers of the community, but are manifesting their own hate through various ways, including racial profiling, brutality and murder.
What is debatable, however, is the whole conversation regarding defunding police. Barkley thinks its foolish to even consider the idea.
“You know, I hear these fools on TV talking about ‘defund the police’ and things like that. We need police reform and prison reform and things like that. Because you know, who ain’t gonna defund the cops? White neighborhoods and rich neighborhoods. So that notion they keep saying that — I’m like, wait a minute. Who are black people supposed to call, Ghostbusters when we have crime in our neighborhoods? We need police reform. Like I say, white people, especially rich white people, they’re always gonna have cops, so we need to stop that ‘defund’ or ‘abolish the cops’ crap,” Barkley said.
