The Feline Warrior

To Mr. Terry White, King County Metro General Manager:

This is a response to your letter titled “We must choose to be actively antiracist to create meaningful change,” dated November 23, 2021.

In the letter, you incorrectly stated that Mr. Jacob Blake was an “unarmed” Black man. Not only is this blatantly false (Mr. Blake, even by his own admission, was armed at the time of the shooting), but also irresponsibly inflammatory for implying as if the non-fatal shooting of Mr. Blake was anything but lawful. Quite to the contrary, an investigation conducted by Mr. Noble Wray, a Black expert with over 30 years of experience in the field, has concluded that the shooting was indeed lawful and proper.

I also struggle to understand how you reached the conclusion that Mr. Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal “illustrates racism is fundamental to […] our country.” Perhaps you would like a reminder that all parties involved in the incident — Mr. Rittenhouse, as well as all three men he shot — are White, and none are Black; nor would it be reasonable to presume as if those men shot were actually protesting for the sake of Black lives or in support of racial justice (especially not in the case of Mr. Joseph Rosenbaum, the first White man shot, who was repeatedly yelling the n-word prior to his ultimate demise).

Alternatively, perhaps you were suggesting that Mr. Rittenhouse was acquitted not due to the facts of this case of lawful self-defense, but solely because of his race (in other words, because of his so-called “White privilege”).

If that is indeed so, I wonder if the same explanation would also apply to the case of Mr. Andrew Coffee IV (a Black man), who was acquitted of assault and murder charges on the same day as Mr. Rittenhouse after shooting at White police officers in — as he stated in court — “self-defense”; …or that of Mr. Jaleel Stallings (a Black man), who was found not guilty a few months ago for doing the same; …or the fact that Mr. Maurice Timothy Jones (a Black man) successfully claimed “self-defense” for fatally shooting a man in his back; …or the not-guilty verdict of Mr. Michael Hancock (a Black man) was found not guilty for shooting his Uber passenger (an Asian man) to death, also claiming “self-defense” against the unarmed, seated, motionless man.

Is this because of their “Black privilege,” if such a thing exists?