Brenda Sanders added 2 new photos.





Well, I just witnessed blatant racial injustice with my own eyes. I was getting in my car after exiting a store when a young black man stumbled past me and collapsed against the store wall. When I got out to see if he was okay, a group of white people came rushing over, one of whom was a 20-something white woman who declared in distress, "I ran a red light and hit him with my car!" People immediately assured her that SHE would be okay, meanwhile the young man is writhing in pain on the ground, pants leg torn, tears running down his face. When the police arrived and the young woman explained what happened, it was suggested to her that maybe the light had been yellow and that the young man had "darted out into the street into her path." I was floored. I said, "But she just SAID she ran the red light and hit him in the intersection!"

The police officers then led the young woman away and began talking with her privately in low tones. When the paramedics FINALLY got there I was surprised at the hostility they showed towards the young man. One blonde female EMT (shown in the photo) suggested that he couldn't be THAT hurt if he was able to walk from the place where he was struck to the sidewalk where he finally collapsed. White bystanders commented several times about "What that poor girl must be going through." I was the only one who commented on what the young man must be going through, what, with his mangled leg and all. I am absolutely positive that in the end "that poor girl" will be absolved of all wrongdoing and be able to go on her merry way. After all, she just ran a red light and slammed her car into the body of some black kid on a bike, right?

And people wonder why black people are so angry and want to break ****.

After all, she just ran a red light and slammed her car into the body of some black kid on a bike, right?

[h=5]Brenda Sanders
10 hours ago
OPEN LETTER TO FACEBOOK:


To all the hundreds of people who have sent me friend requests because of the post I made about the boy who got his by a car, I would like to apologize to any of you whom I have not responded to. I had absolutely no idea that my post would go viral. Honestly I was just venting to my FB friends about a horrible thing that I witnessed and couldn't have imagined that it would pick up this kind of momentum.


I responded to the first couple dozen friend requests and was absolutely amazed by the negative responses I was getting from people. So many people sent me friend requests so that they could have the opportunity to criticize my actions person-to-person. A lot of people seemed to have issues with the fact that I didn't post pictures of the kid, that I didn't stand up to the cops more, that I didn't figure out a way to get the boy to tell me his information, even though he couldn't talk at the time - at least one person even thought I should have lied and told the cops that I HAD witnessed the accident.


Then there are the racists, neo-Nazis, and just plain ******* white people who have accused me of making the whole thing up to get attention, of trying to stir up controversy and other much more bizarre motives. I've been called a "race baiter" a "reverse racist" (whatever the hell that's supposed to be) and other much more inflammatory things that I won't mention here. I've even been threatened.


I'm sure that many of you who have sent me friend requests are not like this. You're probably good people who were understandably outraged by my story and just wanted to connect with me out of support and solidarity. Because of those initial negative experiences, though, I've decided to stop accepting friend requests at this time. I'm sorry, but if you'd seen some of the things people were saying I'm sure you would understand. I will take a moment to address some of the more frequently asked questions that people have had:


#1 Why didn't I post pictures of the boy on Facebook? First off, the entire incident caught me completely off guard. My main concern before the paramedics arrived was making sure that he was alright. I was down on the ground, holding his hand, telling him that everything would be okay -- unlike the others around us who seemed much more concerned with making sure the girl who hit him with her car was okay. The one thing I was NOT doing, however, was standing over this young man taking pictures of him with my cell phone. Shame on anyone who thinks I should have been.


#2 Why didn't I stand up to the police more in the situation? I tried. But once they realized I wasn't an actual witness to the accident they completely disregarded what I had to say. Could I have gotten in their faces about it? Um, has anybody been paying attention to what's been going on in this country right now? Are you really suggesting that I should have taken an AGGRESSIVE STANCE against law enforcement officers right now? Do you value MY life at all??


#3 Why didn't I get the kid's name, address, phone #, social security #, fingerprints, mother's maiden name, emergency contact person, etc.? THE BOY WAS GASPING AND CRYING IN EXTREME PAIN FROM WHATEVER DAMAGE WAS DONE BY THE SPEEDING VEHICLE THAT SLAMMED INTO HIS BODY. Trust me on this, he was in no condition to tell me his life story.


#4 Why didn't I lie and tell the cops that I had witnessed the accident so that -- what?? What the hell would that have solved? If I didn't ACTUALLY see what happened and other people did, I think the cops would be able to figure out pretty quickly that I was lying. Soooo ... I really don't know what else to say about that one.


I don't know how to feel about the fact that this post went viral. On the one hand, it was a relief to share the experience and have so many people who I haven't even met show their understanding of the absolute frustration that black people are dealing with everyday in this country. It was good to feel supported and, yeah, I guess I'll go ahead and say it - to be validated. At the same time, I'm definitely concerned, especially with people TAGGING the Baltimore City police department in their shares, talking about getting guns and going out and killing people, and some of the other more violent things that folks are proposing be done about the current situation we find ourselves in. I would hate to think that my post would be the cause of somebody going out and doing something that they'll regret.


Thank you to everyone who reached out. Thank you for the kind words, thank you for caring about the well-being of that young man when no one else did, thank you for the prayers that were sent out to him. I hope that we can somehow use experiences like these as a catalyst for positive change and not just fuel to feed the fires of our collective rage. I don't have the answers for how to bring ourselves out of this situation, but one thing that recent events have done is motivate me to get up and do SOMETHING. I sincerely hope that others will do the same.
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