Community Label Case Study

Community Labels
Due to the closed minded society we live in, the community a person comes from is a big part on how police officers and humans see each other and label one another. A majority of police officers tend to judge the person based on where they come from. A clear example of this would be the case concerning Freddie Gray. Gray came from a neighborhood typically inhabited by inmates and criminals in Baltimore. Freddie Gray was a person whom was treated harshly due to the community he came from and how he looked, he got arrested for making eye contact with the officers, running away, and carrying a switchblade in his pocket. Later on he got put into a police van , the police officer did not buckled him in and all six police …show more content…
He ended up being paralyzed and unable to talk, a week later he died from a spinal cord injury. The neighborhood Freddie Gray came from was known to be, “home to more inmates in the Maryland correctional system than any other.” (Baltimore Sun) Due to his background and socioeconomic status, he was already labeled as an inmate and it was obvious that the police were going to treat Gray differently. According to the Baltimore Health Department, “ It had the worse domestic violence rate of any of the neighborhoods the health department analyzed and among the worst rates for non-fatal shootings and homicides.” His death was a few years ago, till this day people are treated as if they were carrying a label in their forehead that said rough community. Does a community really label the kind of person someone is? Is this really what our society has come to? Protest took place for the death of Freddie Gray as well as others. These protests have sought to bring an end to the community label we all have. Due to the rough and violent community Freddie Gray, and others who come from the same background, he is treated as an animal who can not afford to live in a higher rated community with fewer …show more content…
Like the mayor, he referred to a collection of citizens from Baltimore Maryland as “Criminals and thugs” Due to the the labeling the community and has, they have received negative and racially charged comments and it is not okay. Just because someone doesn 't come from a white collar and upper-class gated community, doesn 't mean they should be called”thugs” or be arrested for looking like one or in this case making eye contact with the police officer. The Baltimore police department violates the first and fourth Amendments of the constitution.(NBC news) they not only do that but they also make stops, searches and arrests without the required justification.(NBC news) While community members need to be cautious in a neighborhood filled with former inmates, it does not justify for the death of Freddie Gray and the mistreatment the citizens of the neighborhood receive. They are all human,with human rights and need to be treated the way they are supposed to be, with no nicknames , no harsh treatments and of course with no community, color or any kinds of labels that do not have anything to do with the person they are. Not just them but all of us, we need to start to make a change and be that little spark that changes lives and soon changes this closed minded society that doesn 't put community or any labeling in the way of how we all get treated. We all have the same rights, we all have feelings and we all need to be