BR Shooting - Response worse than the Violence?

As a Broad Ripple resident I was horrified to learn about the violent shooting that took place Friday, July 4th at 2am.  No one wants to live somewhere they fear their safety is in jeopardy.  I viewed multiple media outlets on the news and social media.  For some reason I started to get a little uneasy and wasn't sure why.  As I drove home from a UFC fight (July 5th) with my 15 year old nephew and his buddy at 12:30 AM; I started to reflect on the situation and it hit me like a ton of bricks.  Will the response be worse?  Broad Ripple Avenue was flooded with police cars overlooking the sparse streets and vacant clubs.  Obviously, the heavy police presence was an appropriate response to deter crime after this incident.  But how will the community respond?  What about the neighborhoods and businesses?  What about the people?  How will we respond?  These questions have created a burden within me that is more terrifying than this random shooting.  My nephew is a 15 year old black teenager that lives with my wife, myself, and ten year old son.  He's brilliantly inquisitive and captivated, and loves to ride his bike around his uncle's proclaimed safe neighborhood.  He loves music, video games, dance, video games, art, sports, chatting on his iPhone, and every once in a while is a little rebellious.   Even in moments of obstinance he finds his smile.  He is just a kid trying to find his way.  Race issues are constantly discussed in our home.  It is necessary to understand your culture, what is going on, and why.  It is our job to arm him with the facts.

So when I read about the Broad Ripple Neighborhood Association citing that "outsiders" were the culprits I get a little scared.  What do you consider an outsider?  A black person?  A non-white?  When News Feed responses (of the News Media Posts) generalize certain clothing styles, hairdos, tire/rim sizes, and shades of skin as "thugs", I am petrified at how you would like my nephew to present himself as he rides his bike.  When we as a community (predominantly Caucasian) feed into the fear instead of working towards educational, social, and professional solutions I start to wonder about what to tell my nephew about why.  Why do we get looks in public?  Why can't I wear my hair a certain way?  Why can't I go out past dark?  Why? 

I don't condone this violence.  I won't begin to understand why you need to bring a gun to go dancing or meet girls.  I used to fight with my fists and that served me just fine.  There are reasons.  There are explanations.  The music didn't do it.  Can't blame it on the alcohol.  Maybe it was gang related.  I don't know.  How are we going to respond as a community to ensure our fear doesn't turn into misguided, ignorant, complacent, generalizing, racism?   I said it.  Far be it from me to have an answer today, but hopefully this produces a glimpse of clarity and reduces your fear to sympathetic concern for the community as a whole.  If I'm living in Indianapolis, I'm living in Broad Ripple.  I fear that these types of incidents change our perceptions in drastic ways.  So when you see a young, black teenager blazing down Broad Ripple Avenue on his bike I hope you don't see a thug, or an outsider, or a gangsta.  I hope you see a kid whose uncle just kicked him off Xbox, and needed to feel the air in his face on his way to BRICS to grab a scoop and muster up the courage to launch his beautiful smile at a pretty girl.


S. Cooley