RES IPSA LOQUITUR: our skin speak for ourselves.
“Our skin is evidence of crime” - Pastor Stephen Darby
I was listening to a message by the late great Pastor Stephen Darby when I heard the above quote. It made me think of a theory of law we learned in school, appropriately titled Res Ipsa Loquitur, which is latin for “the thing speak for it itself”.
It simply means one can infer a party was being negligent simply by a negligent act that occurred without actually proving the party’s negligence.
For example, if a train came off of its tracks and killed a dozen people, it would more than likely be assumed as fact that this type of incident would not have occurred but-for someone’s negligence. In general, trains do not come off of their tracks without some superseding negligent cause. (Source: https://www.zavodnicklaw.com/blog/what-is-res-ipsa-loquitur-and-when-can-it-be-invoked/ )
In America, it is as if this theory of law is being used against the Black community itself. In America, our skin is being used against us making it as though just because we have this darker skin it gives people the right to hurt us in more ways than imaginable.
Our skin is telling people we deserve to murdered, oppressed, shut out of opportunities, economically disabled, and a host of tragedies that can fill an entire book.
Racists isn’t giving black people the right to defend themselves. When they see blacks their mind infers an automatic wrong. Racists are often mislead by circumstantial evidence that leads to the wrong conclusions.
Oh he have a hood over his head and his pants are sagging he must be up to no good? How do you know the black man didn’t feel like showing his head because he doesn’t have his haircut and he mistakingly left his belt at home?
Oh she have her hair big chunky braids and not straight hair? Yeah she must be super ghetto. That black woman with the chunky braids could easily be a lawyer, doctor, or any other profession that is deemed prestigious.
What is it about skin color that make people think they could automatically assume the worst about someone? Even worst than assuming, what make people think they’re justified in taking violent actions against someone just because the color of their skin.
These are indeed turbulent times we are living in but unfortunately it isn’t nothing we haven’t seen before, I’m just the latest voice with an opinion on it. The question is, when will things ever change for the permanent good? Or will this be something we would have to fight for the rest of eternity?
America has a Duty. To protect its citizens and treat them equally no matter race or gender.
America has Breached that duty. Years of systemic oppression has shown this country isn’t on the side of right (at least its people in power isn’t).
America’s actions is indeed the Proximate Cause to black folk’s harm in this country. Years and years of police brutality, economic imbalance, prejudice, and much more makes the current revolt by black people entirely foreseeable by the country.
For my non-legal people what I just presented was the elements of Negligence. America has been negligent for far too long showing a blatant disregard for our race, no matter how much money you make or influence you have.
It shouldn’t be our skin that is “evidence of crime”, it should be the existence of the country itself that shows the greatest crime of all, the centuries of injustice against the people with darker skin.
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