Amber Ruffin Shares a Lifetime of Traumatic Run-Ins with Police
Вставка
- Опубліковано 4 чер 2020
- For a week, Seth Meyers turned the start of his show over to Amber Ruffin, who shares some of her encounters with the police.
Subscribe to Late Night: bit.ly/LateNightSeth
Watch Late Night with Seth Meyers Weeknights 12:35/11:35c on NBC.
Get more Late Night with Seth Meyers: www.nbc.com/late-night-with-se...
LATE NIGHT ON SOCIAL
Follow Late Night on Twitter: / latenightseth
Like Late Night on Facebook: / latenightseth
Follow Late Night Instagram: / latenightseth
Late Night on Tumblr: / latenightseth
Late Night with Seth Meyers on UA-cam features A-list celebrity guests, memorable comedy, and topical monologue jokes.
GET MORE NBC
Like NBC: / nbc
Follow NBC: / nbc
NBC Tumblr: / nbctv
UA-cam: / nbc
NBC Instagram: / nbc
Amber Ruffin Shares a Lifetime of Traumatic Run-Ins with Police- Late Night with Seth Meyers
• Amber Ruffin Shares a ...
Late Night with Seth Meyers
/ latenightseth - Комедії
"If you're tired of hearing these stories..." imagine how much more tired black people are of living them. Thanks, Amber. Everyone needs to hear this.
Laundry Faerie I’m not at all tired of hearing these stories. We need to hear more of them! It was hard to watch because it should not be happening. Again- we need to hear more and we need to vote!
I bet if I posted this powerful video from Amber on any of my social media accounts non of my white contacts would watch the whole thing be cause they don’t want to feel uncomfortable 🙄
Vicky S that’s good to hear. The 2 white people I recently told my discrimination stories to (police brutality, workplace prejudice, followed in stores, being treated horribly in school as a child, general racist rhetoric spewed towards me, etc) seemed to be genuinely interested, but I wasn’t sure if they were upset or not by me telling my truth. In the past relating these types of stories always made white people angry or uncomfortable, so we usually don’t tell them. Your comment has encouraged me to speak up more often.
@@hifelisha6299 Not upset. Not angry. Uncomfortable only because it's so wrong and how did I not know? Keep speaking up.
Exactly...I am glad she did this. Want everyone to feel what we/black people feel everyday man.
It's a righteous thing, what Amber has done this week. She owes us nothing, but she's given us everything. Honor her.
Amen to that!✌🏽
Love her ❤️
Yes! Thank you for articulating this.
🧡
Absolutely admire your strength of character.
Having the ability to keep smiling through your unjust and unlawful mistreatment is both humbling and commendable 🧡
I have a story too. I am white. I am male.
One day my roommate and I got into an argument over how to fix a car.
Oh, important point, my roommate is black.
Anyway, this argument begins while we are driving home and continues until we get home.
My roommate and I are like brothers, and we fight like brothers.
Apparently someone had witnessed our argument in the short walk from the car to the front door and called the police.
By now we had done the bro thing and let by gone be by gone, he says he is going to go fix my car and leaves.
By the time I reached my bedroom, saw flashing red lights, and bolted to the front door they had already decided to arrest him for domestic assault.
This, for me, was my first experience with institutional racism. I tired to explain to the police that there must of been a misunderstanding, nothing had happened. begged them to leave him be. He had a wife and child.
It took them a week to set his bail. Because I refused to press charges, they charged him with resisting arrest.
If my roommate was white they would have told us to stop acting up, not arrest him. That is white privilege. I hate it. I hate it with everything I am.
Surreal Nirvana They freaking charged him with resisting arrest? God that stinks. Makes you wonder how many thousands and thousands of cases of “resisting arrest” clog up our court system just to save face for white officers who’ve wrongfully arrested an innocent black person. :(
I'm a black man, and I want to say that there is no reason to "hate everything you are" just because of how you were born. In most cases the White Privilege is simply having the benefit of doubt, a fair chance to succeed, and the opportunity to be judged by WHO you are based off your actions and quality of your character, as opposed to by WHAT you are based on your ethnicity. That Privilege isn't something to be ashamed of, it's actually what everyone should have. The fact that it's a Privilege, and not a Norm is shameful, however. But that shame isn't yours to carry, you didn't make the rules, and pretty sure you don't support them.
Randy Lee Thank you for this very apt description of ‘privilege’. I hate the term because it is so weighted and automatically puts people on the defensive.
@@randylee7888 he didn't say "hate everything he is", he said "he hates IT with everything he is", as in he hates institutional racism with every fibre of his being. I think you read the comment wrong.
Wow resisting arrest how naughty.
I suggested my father watch this video. He was of the "police problems are one bad apple" and "blacks can just work harder" ilk but he's been wanting to educate himself. This is what he emailed me after watching this video.
"I found it very engrossing and it helped me to suspend judgement and just listen. Although I had read/heard about incidents like this, hearing a whole series of them from the same person, who is pretty young yet, was somewhat shocking. I begin to understand what thoughtful black people are trying to say about BLM. It's a plea to move the country toward a decent place in terms of social justice -- courts, cops, education, employment - the kinds of things where equality could be achieved. What's in the hearts and minds of people is another story. I see that at least many blacks are not asking for love - they're asking for what Roosevelt in the depression called a "fair deal". Thanks for the lead."
So... you opened at least one mind. Speak on!
Kara B I am crying uncontrollably by your fathers comments. It’s one of the first times during this whole thing. I have grown up, like Amber, accepting and capitulating to racist police and people my entire life. It is par for the course. I am crying because I realize I NEVER NEVER NEVER thought white people like your Dad could understand the constant inhumanity we face. I have a daughter and she asked me at 6 yrs old “if white ppl are better at black people”. All she could see is how different they live. I want to believe so badly she won’t get hurt, scared or discriminated against for the simple fact her skin is darker. I want her to be treated fairly and equally. For the first time I am allowing myself to believe it could happen. Thank you for sharing. Thank your father for his grace. Be well.
Kara B I love this! What a cool dad you have, he said it all. We want to be treated with basic human dignity, and that’s a human right, regardless of race, class, economic status, educational status or zip code.
Good for your Dad. Better on you for continuing to share with him until you caught him willing to listen.
As trite as radically-honest: Your Dad is an exception, not the rule.
Mᴥāz Kalīm Well, she did say that Amber opened at least one mind, not the whole country.
Also, guys...if Amber, who is irrefutably delightful, gets this treatment, what hope does an angsty young black man have? Or anyone, really?
That's part of her point
Part of her point is, this doesn't happen to just "anyone".
One group has been singled out for centuries.
If less than she talks about had happened to me, I'd be screaming with rage. But it doesn't happen to me.
I’m queer and I’ve sort shaped my whole life around being as irrefutably delightful as Amber.
It’s a way to try and survive.
It is incredibly scary to grow up where you constantly notice that your basic human worth is always conditional.
Where margins are so small, so you can’t do totally normal things or people will treat your horribly.
Amber could not skip down the street to her friends car safely.
For me it’s nowhere near as restricted as that.
I’m am exhausted and scared, I can only imagine how it must be to be black in America.
But I do know it sucked being a teenager that felt forced to get only top grades, because they were afraid their murder wouldn’t have been seen as tragedy otherwise.
A teen
No black person is "angsty" against the police, they don't dare. They're all scared for their lives and get attacked for no reason. THAT is the point. rethink what you said plz.
As a white person who drove like an idiot as a teenager, and got pulled over for speeding plenty of times, I can not imagine being pulled over and thinking, "This is how I die." That blows my mind that any teenager should have to ever think that for any reason. It's utterly incomprehensible, and I can't get the image out of my head.
It's amazing how ingrained entrenched the prejudice is especially with these white male police officers and on occasion the white female. Where they got their attitudes and their prejudice is so deep in their soul in their DNA from their tribal norms of their own ancestry. Training of any law enforcement officers needs to do a complete 180 about this generic of attitudes with translate into a reactive behaviors and abuse of power against black people and other minorities. Nothing less and it must happen yesterday. No more grants shelling out for military weapons 2 LEA's. Training money only to eradicate these horrendous practices that end up murdering innocent people.
i'm glad it's incomprehensible to you. This is what people are fighting for, for people to wake up, because anything done to the "victims" will also in the end be done to the "perpetrator." I'm sure you can see that unfolding as well and I hope you are incensed by it.
Whelp it’s the thought I’ve had everytime I’ve ever had a run in with a cop and to this day I still have what’s considered a “spotless record” and still have the fear of death by cop
When you're black, you have to be on your best behavior all the time in so many circumstances. Some of it for survival (run in with cops, a neighbor calling cops, not getting sued), some for opportunities (jobs, college where one has to compete against the rich white boy who's dad has connections), and dealing with the crap we have now; hopefully our kids and mentees don't have to deal for themselves. The hard thing is making a mistake and for that mistake to be suddenly attribute to race over character of person. That's when people use statistics like 'black people are more likely to x" instead of "people of lower income/who use drugs/have one parent/ etc are more likely to x"
@@DiBaozi Extra burdens like police discrimination, skewed welfare rules, and unequal schools, make black people more likely to be people of lower income, who use drugs, have one parent, etc. society has created a self perpetuating problem and discrimination.
I know a black colleague who visited Europe several years ago. There had been a huge terrorist attack in Paris shortly before that. He went to Spain with his wife, drove through France to Italy. One his friends back in the US asked him, aren't you scared of terrorism there? He answered, nothing that's ever happened to me outside the US has been half as terrifying as being pulled over by the police in the US.
That is so true. We are terrorized right here. I travel with confidence. Went to Dominican Republic many times over a 18 month period, not once was I harrassed by the police. Well, one guy tried to find out what hotel I was at so he could come and beat me up or possibly even try to kill me for screwing his girl. But thats a hold other story. 😂 But for real, being retired military and traveling all over the world. This is the only country that I have been terrorized by the police. I have also had a few encounters that I did not feel terrorized. But, I think maybe its because I had grown accustomed to it. 🤔
@@ronl.2913 Maybe U.S. cities need to take a look at the police training in other countries and emulate it.
Sadly, this statement is very true. I spent 12 yrs living in England and Germany before the age of 21 and spent a year in Saudi Arabia at 27 (military). We had bomb threats at our school, our NCO club bombed and I say a car blow up some distance from me while driving. But what i have experienced here in the US, makes Europe feel like Disney World. If I wasn't the only person who can take care of my parents or if I was an awful child, I would move back to Europe.
I live in France, we have issues, but DAMN nothing to that extreme extent !
The realization often hits me that it's a miracle I'm still alive. I was about 17 or 18, sitting at a bus stop one night with a paperback in one hand and a transfer in the other. (Mind you, I was a skinny little kid in glasses. Not anyone's idea of "dangerous") Out of nowhere a grey Chevy Riviera screeched to a stop in front of with two angry looking "skinheads" jumping out. At least that's what I thought was happening. It wasn't until they got out the car that I saw their guns and handcuffs. But no hats. No badges. No name tags. Just two good old boys out to "get them one" before they go home and beat the wife. Lucky for me I'm one of those people who reacts to a crisis with detachment instead of panic. As young as I was I had already dealt with enough "cop rage" to know not to feed it with normal human questions like "What did I do?" So they proceeded to shove me around, frisking me while shouting cop questions at me, telling me I'm not moving fast enough. (See, if I move too slow, they get pissed. And if I move too fast, they'll say I went for a gun and I get shot.) One of them repeatedly squeezed my balls while his partner held his gun and flashlight on me as if daring me to respond. I wanted to. God, I wanted to. But, I didn't. The "frisker" even snatched a bag of mini donuts from my pocket and had the nerve to ask me "What's this?" You have no idea ho hard it was not to give him a smart-ass answer. But again, I controlled my homicidal temper. I swallowed my pride. I surrendered all dignity and foolish thoughts like "my rights" , "the law", and "fairness". And fifty some odd years later, and several other "close encounters", I'm still here. And apparently, so are those "few bad apples".
12fuxu2 Wow! What a sad story! I feel like I should say, “Sorry for your loss?” But people really only say that when a person has died. But then it’s wholly appropriate, because your person, your dignity as a human being, your freedom to be yourself, and express yourself properly, your freedom to defend yourself, your freedom and right to liberty, justice, fairness and the pursuit of happiness, just really died in that moment, and you became “powerless,” just so that your physical body would live to see another day! That’s what you went through, so really, to say, “Sorry for your loss!” Is wholly appropriate. And this is what they do to us in these encounters, they try to dim our lights, to diminish our very existence, to remind us that we are nothing, and our mere existence is because they “allow” it. And that if they were to take our lives in that moment, they would be justified in the eyes of the law. An unspoken law, a systemic law, that has existed, and survived for over 400years. It’s not just a few bad apples, it’s the whole barrel. It’s these biased, discriminatory, unspoken laws, that makes the entire premise of the “system” unjustified, and unjustifiable. It is working exactly how it was designed to work. That’s why the whole structure and framework has to be completely torn down, and rebuilt properly, with compassion and empathy, and with a sense that all men are created equal, and need to be treated with the same level of dignity. We too, belong here. This is America. The land of the free, the home of the brave, where Black Lives Matter too!
I’m sorry that happened to you
None of us were meant to survive!! We are all walking miracles
This story breaks my heart. I live in a small town where just about everybody is lily white, and I drive home late at night after work to take care of my momma. And at least once every few months, I get pulled over for doing not a god damned thing. It's so difficult to resist not telling those hick cops where to stick it, but I need to stay alive for my mother and my daughter. Thank you for sharing your story. For the record: you did not surrender your dignity; you did what you had to do to stay alive. I'm glad you're on this earth. God bless you.
OMG' THE THOUGHT OUR CHILDREN *OR* GRANS JUST MIGHT HAVE THESE BAD COP / GOOD COP STORIES ONE DAY ! THE WORD POLICE HAS BECOME MORE & MORE FILTHY...SEX TRAFFICKING' DRUGS' WHORES THEY CALL THE STREET PEOPLE THE NAME & USE FOR LIES & SET UPS. ALL THE WHILE' BODY COUNTS & STORIES KEEP ADDING UP!
Thank You
THIS IS MIND BLOWING READING THESE POST.
These are just encounters with the police. When you add racist experiences with store clerks, coworkers, doctors, white friends, teachers, Karens, landlords, white neighbors, mortgage lenders, baristas, maintenance, hiring managers...it’s exhausting and it hurts. But you suck it up because who wants to listen to you complain about something that “you should just ignore” or that “you’re seeking out” or “you just imagined” or from a person “I know her, she’s just a little racist buts she’s doesn’t mean any harm, just let it go.” So I try to let it go...and accept it as just a part of life. But it pummels your self-esteem. And then a little part of you believes you deserve it...because if I didn’t deserve it wouldn’t people say something/so something? They don’t. Racism is a spectator sport. People watch, comment, cheer or jeer but they never get on the field. Until now. Thank you for finally entering the game that you started so we can change the rules.
"white friends" soooo true
"Spectator sport" facts. Just look at old photos of lynchings. They enjoyed that mess.
Angel. Bravo, couldn't have said it better 🍹🍸
I'm surprised Black folks haven't loss there Damn minds by now dealing with this SH*T!
Facts....couldn't have expressed it any better!!!
They always hit you with that “well, don’t do it again” when they’re annoyed that they didn’t catch you doing anything.
EVERY. TIME.
Kinda mirrors the fact that white Americans have never apologised for slavery.
Because they can't stand to not have the upper hand, regardless of reality.
Everything she said is so sad and racist, except the teenager story and the white guy story. I know several people as teenagers that got pulled over just for being teenagers driving. At least she didn't get a ticket.. The fact that cop was respectful might just have been because he was a decent cop. My sister is a truck driver (I know, huh), and she say's there is a lot of prostitution around truck stops. If Amber had seen this particular cop be racist to other individuals her story would be more relevant. As it is, she herself used racist stereotypes on this police officer by assuming he was only polite because she was with a white man... However, because of AAmericans mistreatment by police in general I do understand her perception, and it is disheartening.
n. p. Sounds like you missed the parts where they were being needlessly threatening ...and it’s not a stereotype when it happens to you every. Single. Time. And to every black person you know
That’s right, as a black man I have multiple stories like that. I’m a retired Air Force officer and I accumulated several “being black” stories while on active duty. Racism is real! Police brutality is real! However I must admit, that not all white people are racists. I’ve had some good white friends.
Please recant some of your stories that happened to you while you were in uniform!
It’s disgusting that you have served your country and not even that will get you humane treatment from police. Or regular people for that matter.
@@david2869 I have a friend that was in the Military Police, but he couldn't leave the base near St. Louis because it wasn't safe if you were Black. All the White people could leave and enjoy things off base freely. He said they were informed about that when they first got on base.
Omg, I had a the same thing.
Even on small things, it's real. Like my veterinarian getting a ticket going less than 5 miles an hour over the speed limit. And my 70 year old volunteer instructor in a safe driving class getting a ticket for making a minor mistake in a confusing intersection. Under quota for those days -I doubt that. It's a intimidating bully system and no one should accept it. We need representatives in government who represent all of the people and not just those they think will benefit them and their hidden personal political agendas.
The first time I noticed the difference between how the police interact with me (a white chick) and my black and brown friends was in 1988.
I was in a car, on a date, (the guy I was dating borrowed a car for our date) we did not know the car's tabs were expired.
We got pulled over.
My date was usually relaxed and suddenly he was a statue...held his driver's licence and kept his hands on the wheel, he braced himself.
I had never seen anything like this.
This was unlike any traffic stop I had ever seen. Among other things, the cop said the car was probably stolen...he was acting like no cop I had ever seen...he started calling my date, "Boy".
The car was a little sports car and the cop had not seen me in the passenger seat.
But when I heard him call a grown man "Boy", I leaned over and showed my white face to the cop...I asked, "Is there a problem Officer?"
The cop jumped back about a foot like he saw a snake.
He said, "Oh, I didn't see you there."
He handed my date's license back and said, "I'm going to let you go with a warning, you should tell the owner of the car to get current tabs."
We sat there beside the road and talked about everything that had just happened.
We talked for the rest of the night about how different life is when we are either black or white.
I learned that night what a privilege it is for me to confidently call out a cop who is being a racist.
That night 33 years ago changed my life.
My skin color will never change. The privilege remains mine so I put it to good use for other people.
@ Park Avenue, thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting white privilege to good and well-needed use. The question still remains, why should I have to need you for your whiteness? Living in a world where I as a black woman is enough, should be enough. Absolutely nothing against you, but I am a human being who aspires to claim all human rights based solely on the act of my being.
it's so sad. You shouldn't have to be put in that situation at all. Almost like you have to protect a child...
My story is more of a sexual misconduct of the cops. I was taking my little brother to the health unit to get his asthma medicine while he was in with the doctor they wanted give a ride home. I said "no" They got upset! Then they started asking why my brother was not in schools so I explained then they started saying how a pretty Blk girl should not walk alone in a bad neighborhood!
Privilege created not earned, we should all be fighting for equality
I didn't even need to read more than "we didn't know the tags were expired. I already knew.
I've wondered for 50 years how the black soldiers I had the privilege to serve with could serve with such dedication and honor knowing they would return to a country that treated them like second class citizens, denied them their rights and blocked every opportunity that might open for them. They're better men than me.
Black servicemen & servicewomen knew that by serving our country they were changing it, despite the slow pace it took...
I'm glad you bring this up. I don't have any kids but my uncle is in his 70s and a Vietnam vet, some second cousins are current military. I never bring it up to them because it would be disrespectful to them personally and I don't want to make it seem like I am mocking their life choices. All that said, I am against black ppl joining the US military for this very reason. I never had kids but I always knew that I would have stopped my kids from doing so because I cannot let my kids sacrifice their lives for a country who places zero value on their life. I fundamentally don't believe that we should for the very reason you stated in your comment. I know many ppl will disagree, but I figured I'd share my vantage point.
@Evelyn Brown That was the very first thing I thought of!! And he laid that out - so clear!!! What an incredible being he was!!!
@@2006glg I wish I had thought about this your way when I was younger. But, I served because my grandfather, my father, my uncles had all served. But why? The so called American dream isn't for us. I never advise young blacks to serve in the military. I tell them to get an education and go make some money. America doesn't give a damn about you.
That baffles my mind as well, even back in the slavery era there are those who joined. WHY? (An African living in Canada trying to make sense out of this)
The second one is the one that most gives away the abuse going on here. It's a common thing for abusers in therapy to claim they 'Lost Control', but a good therapist always points out that no they didn't lose control. They will only hit where the bruises won't show, they never 'lose control' in public, and all the things that show they know *exactly* where the line is where they will face consequences for their actions.
And that's what went down on the 'Skipping to Krasny's house' story. That officer knew he could abuse his power over a young woman in an alley... with no witnesses. He knew just as well that if a white male was watching the whole thing, there would be consequences, so suddenly he's professional.
Sadly true. I wonder if he was angry that she was happy.
You have indeed been around abusers and know their methods of operation.
Ding ding ding
🎯
It’s horrifying to think that it’s “normal” for a black person to leave home thinking they’d be murdered by the police.
It’s traumatizing! I am always looking out for them when I drive . I don’t let them follow me I will change my direction quickly.
Normal black people don't fear the police, stop with your nonsense bs.
@@strollic5162 don't speak for me.
@@DearLifeTV That's the problem isn't it? There are people speaking as if it's everyone's experience. There is no "black experience".
@@strollic5162 the fact that you said "normal" black people already makes you problematic af. Amber and I have similar stories. Don't speak for me, the end.
oh my god. while watching the part about the cop going to her house, I was thinking that I would have said "ma'am, do you have a warrent? am I doing anything illegal? get off my property" or something similar and that's when it hit. black people can't say that because they might get shot or arrested. this video really opened my eyes
And that's the key to understanding white privilege - no matter how "unprivileged" our lives are with regard to economics or trauma, NONE of the bad things in our white lives happened to us only because we are white. And that's why all white people need to take responsibility and DO something.
We can say that and I do. It's actually pretty important sometimes and has protected police are sometimes less likely to hurt you if you know your rights. Just keep educating yourself and other's like you. And dont give in to the dread. Please keep educating yourself and others.
@@Joseph-lo8zr [sigh] People in my community educate themselves in regard to the laws all day long. We activists *have* to know them in order to support those more vulnerable than we are yet it does not matter when a psychopathic narcissist is in front of you getting off on his/her power. Don't give into the dread is easy to say when your community is *not* under siege 24/7 by sociopaths.
_________________________________________
Black Karens are rare. We need more of them.
I've had two incidents where I was bold to cops and I was confident in telling them to get off my property. Its is a reality check and wake-up call to me when I imagine my skin being a different shade and my mouth saying the same things I have to the cops...
Anyone else totally adore this woman?
She is just terrific.Such a good communicator.
YES! I see Amber's adorable face and my heart is happy
S1L3NT G4M3R we all do
S1L3NT G4M3R
Only those with a Heart.
"Now, I'm in a head-to-toe velvet outfit because I'm great!" 😂She's amazing!
Being threatened and gas-lighted on your own porch by "protect and serve." Utterly horrible.
It was so heartbreaking to hear that Amber believed no one cared, or saw, or heard. We have to keep striving to do better.
People are quick to first believe, "they must have done something wrong". Current POTUS believed the Central Park Five should have been executed for committing that crime. His and most of his kind's opinion were unchanged after the Five were exonerated with DNA evidence and a confession from the rapist. Kalief Browder was murdered by the system for allegedly stealing someone's backpack. With zero evidence he was charged with being black in public. Guilty unless you can afford to prove you are innocent. Plead guilty, become a slave to the State or plead innocent and we will make you want to take your own life after years of false incarceration and conditioning to turn you into a bad person/criminal. Keep pleading innocent and you will never get out of prison. A prosecutor is interested in wins. They have no interest in justice or your rights.
Police reform is the tip of the iceberg. The entire system is the swamp and it needs an overhaul. Are these bad apple police members of any particular hate group. You do have the freedom to be stupid but being a member of a hate group should disqualify you from being a civil servant. Or are they actually told to center out and harass certain races, religions, genders, and classes from their bosses. Who tells them to start their conversations with their victims by accusing them of carrying a weapon, white bucket and trash grabber, skipping down an ally, your headlight is (not really) out, you were speeding (while keeping up with traffic), I don't have a tint meter on me but these are some dark windows.
That head of the Police Union who paraded around the cameras, defending all police should have acknowledged the actual issue and shunned the bad apples. Instead, his organization is going to shift bad cops around and continue to support their crimes while playing the victim. You had the perfect opportunity to recognize the flaws in the system but you failed us, your employers.
I am white and I have been pulled over three times in my life. Two times for speeding, 10 miles over the limit and a third time for nothing other than the cops wanting to harass me. There were two of them, they started going through my car through my open windows without permission. The one on the passenger side reached in and opened my glove box, in discovering my medications (with labels and pharmacy pill bottles) he started to act like he found something he could go off on. I was 19 and my friend in the passenger seat was native American. After 10 minutes of harassment they were bored and could see we were thoroughly harassed so they let us go. I have hated and have no trust in people with authority. I could not imagine the level of hate I would have from a lifetime of harassment. You are made to feel guilty and belittled.
To just mindlessly use the term "that's the way the system works" and allow the corruption to fester and grow should no longer be tolerated.
I remember seeing this youtube video from this african american dude who moved to Germany. I thought it was going to be him poking fun at our language or silly lighthearted stuff like this, but instead he told this story where he got pulled over by a cop on the motorway and the cop politely told him that his licence plate was crooked & helped him fix it... and the American dude got like... suuper emotional about that & decided to move here permanently. I mean things here in Germany are far from perfect, recent there was a scandal where one policeman was leaking info to far right groups for example. The tabloids print unbelievable stuff about refugees sometimes. So for someone to come here and think it's paradise, all I could think is, wow, it must be really bad overseas. Because it was, like, a super extroverted chill guy. A professional likeable person. I couldn't imagine that anyone would ever treat someone like that with suspicion. But I guess them racists didn't even see his personality.
Here is the video you probably saw: ua-cam.com/video/B_IN4Z1IpOg/v-deo.html
Soldier of Life is such a nice guy.
Watched his video and subscribed. Dude is just lovely overall.
As a black person in Germany who has experienced quite a bit of racism over my 20-something years of life here, I can safely say that even my more negative interactions with the police have never had me literally fear for my life. It just underlines how broken the system is.
In his autobiography, Malcolm X mentioned the same thing - on his way to Mecca, he stopped in Germany, and he remarked that it was the first place he felt was treated like a regular human being by white people.
Yeah! i believe it so many Black people move out of America to other countries and are treated better! Gil Scott-Heron couldn't have said it better Home is where the hatred is
These stories are heart-breaking, infuriating, and disgusting. Things need to change, not just the police, but the entire system.
Love you Amber. Please keep being the joyful, funny, loving person you are.
I know you mean well and on the whole I agree, but a story I heard recently sheds an uncomfortable light on this.
A white person had a black friend who was always extremely happy and jovial. He was 6'4", and would have been very physically imposing except he had a very "teddy bear" sort of vibe. They asked him once how he was always so happy, and he apparently said "I'm not, really, but a smiling black man is less scary, and being scary is dangerous."
So I hope Amber is genuinely happy and funny, but telling black people to be happy suddenly feels a lot less harmless than it used to.
@@CatHasOpinions734 I'm so glad you see that. I've had lots of people use the whole angry black person stereotype for "why [ they] cant stand black people, like why cant they just be happy" I tried to explain how its because of racism and injustice and oppression. This person was Hispanic so they said "well yea, me too" and I said okay but what about angry brown people it's the same stereotype?
She changed the subject
Itsá Asdzání I have similar story . A white colleague female asked me ‘ why are black people so quick to get angry with the police ‘ . ‘ why don’t they just comply ‘ Just like you I calmly explained the reason why. How police treat them during traffic stop vs white people , how they’re asked to identify even if they’re passenger not driving the car. How they get fine for minor things as supposed to just get a warning like majority of white people do. I mentioned many examples and she still didn’t ‘understand ‘. So weeks later she came to work crying and told us how a cop pulled her over the weekend and they brutalised/arrested her husband . Because he refused to identify over a fake broken tailgate light and asked for a supervisor. I again calmly said ‘ well you and your husband should have just COMPLIED and shouldn’t get ANGRY so quickly’. She stopped crying.
"We have been discriminated against, for fun, for years. I did not think anyone cared..." That is terrible. I am sorry, Amber.
Out of curiosity I ask different family members and they got stories.Learned that my cousin was ,a female was harassed by a cop being that she had a nice car
it’s not just “mistreatment” either. we are not fighting against simple interpersonal aggressions. it’s the entire system that makes it IMPOSSIBLE for this to stop. this is a fight against the whole system designed to be this way.
This. These stories. They are heartbreaking, horrible and just so, so wrong. I can’t imagine having to live with that fear. Every day, every week, every month, every year. It’s not right.
I can only sort of imagine it because I'm among the 1 in 6 women in the US who's been stalked.
@leumasdiderot Wtf does that have to do with black people being mistreated by police? Suffering is not a competition
If you live in the USA. Please register to vote, if you haven’t!
Please pass it on!
This TORCH 🔥 needs to remain lit!
Be safe! Take Care! ☮️✝️
BabakoSen ugh 😢
please vote ‘em out!!
@leumasdiderot This is not an opportunity for you to exhibit your own racism. What your anti-Semitism shows is just another side of the same coin. YOU ARE THE WHITE COP IN THIS STORY &, just like the white cops, you don't even see your OWN racism. Before making a comment about racism, take a quick look in a mirror.
We are not tired of your stories. I noticed they are all over Facebook, people are understanding. If I hear a few bad apples one more time I am going to loose it.
I recently watched an interview with some trumplican, maybe Esper, about the protests and riots. In the space of about 3 minutes, I heard 'a few bad apples' half a dozen times and 'Antifa' another half dozen. I damned near lost my mind!
You seem to have trouble facing reality. If I could put you in my shoes and send you back though my experiences, you would either come back with a nervous breakdown, or be shaking so badly, you'd need therapy for weeks.
Loose is the opposite of tight. Hope you don't lose it over my comment.
Ugh god. Still if you let a rotten apple sit with the others they all rot much more quickly
The orchard is rotten.
The other day, I had to tell my husband (who's white): "If I get killed by a police, know this; I didn't resist orders, I don't posses drugs or even do drugs of any kind, I don't drink and drive, I was completely civil and compliant. I don't associate with drug dealers or gang members. That way if you see anything on the news about me saying there was some ok reason the police killed me know that it is a lie created for a story and believe that I was innocent. Bring me justice and avenge me. Put that cop in prison."
They would not be put in prison, but the rest of what you told him was realistic.
@@addie_is_me
a coffin?
🔥🔥
Thank you for being so brave Amber, it’s so powerful hearing your stories. I hope you continue telling these stories and humanizing these experiences all the way through to the November elections, cause we know you have enough. I have been fortunate to not have many encounters with cops but still remember as a young child when my mom drove by a speed trap a couple miles over the limit and this cop pulled her over. He came up to the window explained what happened, looked in our back seat and saw my friend Jeff, who is white and was about nine at the time (two years older than me), and he asked Jeff whether my mom deserved a ticket. Jeff said no and that cop let us go because he respected a nine year old white boy more than my mother.
Who tf gets mad at someone for freaking skipping? Or even running? What a psychopath.
I've seen more than one video where a black person was screamed at and assaulted by a cop for looking in their direction. The trigger can be ANYTHING.
She looks like she could skip pretty fast...Amber ! How fast are you ?
Um , their defensive worry is a nut job placing a bomb...if your very drunk or very high...think twice about running at the coppers...pretend your strait..be where you are. ,home.
That guy was just looking for an excuse to exert power over someone he's looking down upon.
SETH, EXCELLENT USE OF YOUR PLATFORM. YOU'RE A WISE MAN TO HAVE HIRED AMBER AND AMBER YOU ARE A BRILLIANT COMMUNICATOR. YOU EXPOSE HUMOR IN THE WORST OF THE HUMAN CONDITION. THE WAY YOU CONCLUDED THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT OF YOUR CHRONICLES BROUGHT A TEAR BECAUSE IT WAS SO SIMPLE YET SO SINCERE - PROFOUND AND MOVING BECAUSE IT'S TRUTH.
Yes, it was very moving...the quiet, gentle way you told the truth, hurt!
good stuff Seth
I'm coming upon your comment a year after you posted it. It's still worthy of commendation, what a great post.
Facts!!!!
True that!
I think this is incredible. As a white man, I think stories like this are exactly what is needed. Much love & respect for opening our eyes...
Didn’t see this in the comments. The books on Seth’s table should be required reading:
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Haven’t read it yet)
White Teeth by Zadie Smith (an all-time favorite)
Thank you for listing these titles! I'll check them out
Your observation is keen and sharing the list is greatly appreciated. I will include these books in my reading. Thank you.
"I'm in a head-to-toe velvet outfit, because I'm great"
Period.
that would be a cool thing to say if it weren't so dangerous. And that is so sad.
Me: *actively searches for all of amber's stories to watch all of them*
Seth few hours later: here's a compilation of all of them
Me: my profile picture suits this
Thank you precious. I’ve shared this on my Facebook page this morning and already had to share with someone that doesn’t seem to get that this movement is not simply about George Floyd.
I feel terrible for not being this angry all along. It's not like white people are only now just learning about this, we've all seen what happened to Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor and all the countless others who were murdered before George Floyd. This feels different, but it shouldn't. We should have been in the streets years ago. Maybe it's the pandemic and the economic situation that's keeping the anger from dying down like it usually does, but we all need to keep it going this time. Keep at it until we defund these militarized police departments, implement community policing and start training these cops to behave like actual compassionate humans beings. Nobody should want to live in a country where our brothers and sisters live in fear.
THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS! "We should have been in the streets years ago" IF there was a Love button id click it on the comment.
That is how I feel. I was angry before, but hearing Amber tell her stories has made my blood boil. I also feel remorse that it could make me more upset when people are being killed.
I think part of it is the pandemic. But also, the sheer cruelty that we witnessed. What I've noticed in the protests are the numbers of young people. I go to all the Women's Marches and Anti ICE . . . Mostly women retirees. I've been dismayed by the absence of young people. But the BLM and George Floyd protests. Overwhelmingly young people. For the first time since 2016 I am hopeful that we can get this racist admin out and make real change.
I said 15 years ago, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." I wanted to organize people in the streets in 2008 with the bailout, which benefitted corporations who were guilty and hurt people, especially people of color. How do we change things? I have supported the hiring, promotion and inclusion of black people when in leadership positions. I ran for local political office three times. We continue to learn more and we continue to have to do more. Enough people have died. Let us recite together, "with liberty and justice for ALL."
United States of Embarrassment VERY WELL SAID!!!!
hmmm these stories remind me of the random searches I always get in the airports. 28 years straight I've traveled every single year and gotten selected for "randomized" search. I wish I had that kind of luck in Lotto
Yeah, bro. Now..imagine being black, AND Muslim, with an Arabic name--you get it from ALL sides.
My ex-husband who is half Inca and looks Asian would ALWAYS get stopped, too when we travelled, especially internationally. Questioned. Frisked. Me? I think once.
Please, please don't stop after this week!
My God that is so unacceptable .
We need to hear more of these stories . I can't imagine how frightening this can be .
You should keep this going with other guests. It’s really powerful and eye opening.
The moment she can’t fight back the tears anymore I could feel mine... it’s now or never people just change!!
People won't change, we have gone through a lot of, "now or nevers," for women, for refugees, gays, whatever, this is just one of those, "moments," but someone making Amber cry gets me misty a little as well.
Oh Amber. I don't know how she maintains humor & a smile while telling these stories. Thank you so much for sharing.
When your life depends on it and you know it from birth, you learn how to "keep sweet" pretty damn quickly.
So much of her humor comes from her pain. That's how most comedy comes from. It's a different form of anger.
Sometimes laughing is easier than crying.
Plss subs my UA-cam channel plsss
I'm Canadian (female, caucasian, blonde, blue eyed - and I know I am privileged beyond f&*king belief for nothing I have ever done and I feel sick that 'my life- my experience' isn't everyones, it's bullshit) and listening to Amber has me crying, for all the reasons, but also because I am 100% sure in my bones that ALL Indigenous people in Canada have dozens (hundreds) of stories, just like Amber is sharing, of their experience living Indigenous in Canada. I am sad, I am fed up and I have been and will continue to be an ally because these lived experiences are bullshit and can't continue.
Thank you Amber! This has been so powerfully therapeutic and validating for me as a black woman. Yes, I have my own stories to tell but after hearing yours, I don’t need to in this moment. You spoke my stories out of your mouth. A message to those who watched and listened to you: Amber never talked about the experiences of her parents or other relatives that ultimately compound the trauma of these experiences that have been passed down for generations. No more!
I heard someone speak at a local protest about how his uncle saw his cousin hung from a church steeple, and it shook my soul. Its horrible to think that there are people alive to this day with those memories of awful racist actions. We need to hear stories like this, because it puts our priveledge into perspective. Thank you for sharing these, Amber
I was spellbound. Thank you.
First they came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Trade Unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.
Nemoeller
So glad I found these clips from Amber! Yes! “Unfriend your racist friend!”
If you have racist friends its too late to defriend them, you have them, you are racist, keep them.
I visited LA, NY, Dallas, and Houston many times over the past seven years, and the people of all races I have met were caring, warm, helpful, and loving human beings. Your police, however, scare me SHITLESS. Absolutely everything about them, their body language, tone of voice, aggressive assumption that they are right, and the fact that they are all always armed to the teeth, makes my bones turn to liquid. And that is how a white British woman feels. I cannot imagine what it must be like for a person of colour. I truly hope some real change is coming.
If you’re tired of listening to these stories, imagine living them, and tell me again how you are tired.
Thanks Amber and thanks Seth for giving her the platform and time!
🎯
i've said it before, we need to hear these stories... we are sending links with your stories to friends that need to hear these stories.
i know it's exhausting to educate someone about obvious things, i know it is hard to smile when you want to scream.. i know that not knowing is not an excuse, it never was.
you are much stronger than i could ever be, you are much nicer that i would be in sharing these stories...
we love you Amber!! :* :*
We have to hear them...because then we ALL know. We are listening.
I listened to Amber's stories and sat here recalling my own "run-ins" with the cops and how the stories are vastly different. I was often terrified because I didn't want to get arrested, but I most certainly was never afraid I might lose my life. I can only imagine living with that kind of fear.
@@mishelle6315 you just pray every time God dont let this person kill me
Well said, as a Jamaican myself, it pains me to see how people treat each other so ignorantly, so lack of empathy, so Dracula like. Evil is in every Race, every Nationality every Religion, some people are just pure hateful!
@@jamrock9925 your comment is freaky :} i in fact come from Dracula's place, about 2 hrs away from his castle in Transilvania...
anyways, back to your comment: there are evil people everywhere but when you feel discouraged it may help to remember mr Rogers: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
Dear Ms. Ruffin, l knew you were a fantastic writer and comedian. But these stories so poignantly told and at this time. Were a huge lesson for this middle aged white man. Thank you
The fact that she's mind blown that people, so many people, would show up for black people is heartbreaking, in addition to the stories she told. Also, go huskers 😜! Didn't know you're from Nebraska Amber.
I couldn't click "like" because these stories are horrifying. I couldn't click "don't like" because I don't want beautiful, brave Amber to think I didn't like her telling her stories. So I'm sharing as a start. And I'm going to take the time to like all the supportive comments below. My granddaughters and great grands are mixed race and I'm sure they haven't told me their stories because they don't want me to worry. I'm going to ask. And I'm going to pray, "What is mine to DO?" Thank you Amber.
The like button is to show support. It doesn't mean you enjoy the stories that are told.
This is beautiful. Empathy is how real change will occur
Thank you. Thank you, Amber.
“We survived to be harassed another day”.
Very revealing. I love you Amber, and YES - I will do something. ☮️
Love Ruffin. In my 20's, I knew the worst I had to fear from cops if I was caught with weed, was a mere inconvenience. That's white privilege.
She’s learned to keep a smile and all that grace while telling these stories
after a while we become immune to being harassed
Not immune. It's just normalized. Not normal, but normalized, and this is why we have anxiety, PTSD, and other stress disorders.
Shanti Abdumumin I ageee
The like I gave is for Amber, not for the stories. Nobody should have such stories.
Agreed - the stories are awful but I enjoyed listening to her tell them. Does that make sense?
Now, when most white people talk about giving their children - THE TALK; it usually means its about sex. For Black People, its about how to interact when you're stopped by the police, cuz it will happen, sooner, or later.
Wow. I get it. Essentially every woman I know has numerous stories of sexual misconduct directed at them - a ridiculous number of stories. So I'm imagining holding a whole set of other stories regarding racial misconduct (with the added bonus of threat of death). These stories need to be told - thanks Amber.
Just watched this again. It still breaks my heart.
This video needs to have 100 times more views.
The final cracking of her voice when she asked people to vote, speak up, and unfriend racists. That touched me more than any group of protesters shouting slogans.
Mrs. Ruffin, thank you for still being so kind despite all of the abuse and injustice you and other people have suffered.
Thank you and greetings from Hamburg, Germany. I am sending my best wishes and prayers for true, peaceful change to all.
Please forgive those who unwittingly ignored your plight and did not speak up. Maybe this time around change may happen.
Here is a good video how it might be: ua-cam.com/video/B_IN4Z1IpOg/v-deo.html
Late to finding this, but thank you for the link.
"black people have been getting discriminated against for *years* ... I didn't think people cared"
same here but it still made me tear up like crazy
and rest in peace to the 11+ black people who have already lost their lives during these protests
And we LIVE to get harrased another day.
A tiny adorable black woman has to say this, its so sad 😢
I had a tall white lady tell me. Lol My ma is white and I'm mixed, she told me when I was little, if I get lost, look for an old lady to ask for help, she never said cops. I don't know why she thinks old ladies are so great, I'm not, on the other hand, we don't carry guns usually, so we are safer.
As heartbreaking as these are, we need to hear these every damn day until we see change 😡👏😡👏
Amber's stories are really, really driving home how privileged so many of us are. It's really struck me that she has all of these stories and yet in 26 years of my life, I've never even spoken to a police officer. And I did a lot of dumb crap as a teenager. Black communities are truly over-policed and it needs to end.
It is not only in the black communities - but everywhere. One of my most thought provoking moments came when I lived in NYC. I used to browse Bergdorf's on my lunch hour - I couldn't afford anything but it was fun to walk around and look. I invited my friend Angela to go with me one day and we were followed the entire time throughout the store by security. We were not allowed to try on hats (which I had done previously) and no one addressed us the entire time. I went back a few days later by myself - all privileges returned. I had seen violence, unfortunately, in the cities against the black communities but it wasn't until that day that I understood it was a 24/7 issue with them EVERYWHERE they went. Thanks for sharing Havana.
OMG! This comment has me shocked. Im the same age, Black female , and have gotten stopped COUNTLESS times for petty traffic citations (not once in a city). Once I got ticketed for being in a car where I was in the passenger seat lol. So although I wouldn't dream of switching lives with you (Im sure its cool), I am curious as what it's like to never have an encounter with a police officer.
It is incumbent upon you to learn how your white privilege has allowed you to live the way you have. Please read Layla Saad's "Me and white supremacy".
@@mao6832 And it is also incumbent on you to realize we choose our race before we ever incarnate on this planet. It was a conscious choice. There are no villains and no victims in this lifetime. We are NOT our race.
Jennifer lawrence lol are u kidding me?
When she said, "just kidding I have more" I BUST OUT laughing because right before she said that, I said"I know you got more, Amber". Lmaooo. Black lives plight.
The point of the “few bad apples” is the fact that it rots the remaining apples.. Like a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough...
My husband was almost home from his second job at 2 am. Yes, he had two jobs to make ends meet. He made a U turn on a side street so he could get the last open spot on our block. The police put on their lights and drew their guns--on a 60 year old black man. I was asleep, woke to the blue lights, and saw the police surrounding his car. I grab a bathrobe and go outside. He's freaked out. I ask the police, as calm as I can, what is going on. He isn't giving us his registration or insurance. I lose it. Well, maybe if you hadn't drawn GUNS on him he might have found them. I go to the passenger side and fish the papers out of the glove compartment. They confirm everything is in order and say a U turn is illegal! No ticket. In 1980, he escaped the Haitian Ton Ton Macoute who almost killed him, got in a rickety boat with other desperate people, made it to Miami (some souls didn't make it), received refugee status, paid taxes his entire life, and then this... He's the kind of person that the present US dictatorship is trying to keep out of our country. Desperate people who come to this country to find a better life; maybe like your ancestors who came to this country for the same reason. Does he love the USA despite its problems, yes. Does he love Haiti despite its problems, yes. Please VOTE in 2020.
Thank you for your story.
Everyone should be telling their stories like this.
They do. They have for centuries.
I disagree. We should believe that enough is enough without having every single black person testify and verify their humiliating and dehumanizing experiences at the hands of police officers and other white people.
I get what you’re saying however there are still too many people who cannot relate to the experience from a PoC perspective but would instantly understand, support and ally once they’re clued in. From Amber’s videos I have personally witnessed enlightenment of dozens of people whose own experiences weren’t anything like hers.
these stories need to some how be heard by a larger audience - I wish this was on the regular show when it comes back.
Share on social media. Everyone has friends that need to see this.
I attribute her getting pulled over because she played Rap music at a loud volume. They hear Rap, they instantly think you're a thug. Plain and simple. That's why I don't listen to that crap. It's part of the problem.
Also, people speaking Ebonics, Tattoos, wearing your pants down exposing your underwear. Smelling like weed, coping an attitude when they confront you. Lot of things trigger others.
@@Oneness100 you are disrespectful of individual rights. How would you feel if you were pulled over for enjoying country music (I assume you're a yokle).
@@Oneness100 Yeah - and that's a racist action. If they pull someone over because they hear Rap, what's happening under the surface is: "Rap = thug" and "Rap = black person," so "black person = thug." You don't get pulled over or be expected to be pulled over for blasting ANY kind of music, except that which is attributed directly to black culture. What does that tell you about the racism in our society and police system?
I, as a white woman, blasted rap and many other genres of music as a teenager with subwoofers in my car so loud they rattled my rearview mirror off. Never got pulled over once. That's privilege.
The fact that you mentioned "Ebonics," which is a racialized language stereotype attributed to black people, is a DIRECT racist correlation between black people and crime is so blatantly oppressive that I can't believe I even have to point it out. You're literally saying that "if someone (black) speaks in a way that society attributes as a black speech stereotype, they're assumed to be a thug." Like. C'mon.
Smelling like weed was a thing when weed was a crime. Unless someone has straight up prison tats or tattoos on their face/hands, they're not targeted as much anymore - and coping an attitude, obviously that's a different issue completely separate from racism.
The point is, yeah, there are things that trigger cops. RACE and stereotypes attributed to race are high among those triggers. And those triggers should not exist, because they promote the oppression and fear that Amber and so many others are talking about.
@@Oneness100
Plenty of white kids in my snow white & upscale suburban neighborhood do ALL of that. And i can assure you they're not triggering any cops.
This is so important to tell these stories... sounds crazy but we didn’t know. Thank you for sharing ❤️
We really didn't.
I need to hear this as a white person. I've never in my life had an encounter with a police officer that wasn't friendly. These stories are appalling. It just blows my mind to hear this stuff. There needs to be a place dedicated to publishing all the stories like these - videos preferably so it's done in the original voice. Reading wouldn't be as effective as seeing people tell their stories. I wish there was something I could say to express my respect and support. But as long as this stuff is happening, any and all words that a white woman like me could say feel empty. Thank you for telling me what I can do!
MS. Smith
I am a black man,65 years of age.YOUR WORDS ARE NOT EMPTY:IF ANYTHING THEY ARE SORELY NEEDED. YOUR WORDS ARE COMING FROM AND RESOUNDING INTO A CORE WHERE IT IS MOSTLY NEEDED. AT THE LEAST YOU ARE LISTENING.
IT WASN'T 20 YEARS AGO YOU WOULD HAVE TO EXPLAIN AND UNDERSTAND THESE FACTS FOR THE MAJORITY.
YOU ARE A LIVING SIGN OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
...AND THANK YOU!
UA-cam seems to be making an effort to put stories like this on everyone page , click on some and gain more knowledge about this issue. ...if you want...
it's there. You are just not hearing it until now. Better late than never but now is the time to understand their outrage.
Sadly theses stories are so commonplace. I've been infuriated whenever I was anxious after an encounter when I arrived at work and a white coworker notices my disheveled state. Infuriated because after I tell of the encounter the white person almost always days most police are good you just had a bad apple. How is it that all of the bad apples just happen to pull me over?
@@keishapuryear8180 We need your truth to be spoken every day - every single day.
I'm as white as they come and haven't ever experienced racism for myself. I live in Norway's capital Oslo, and I've honestly not thought much racism was going on. Lately I've discovered just how mistaken I've been, and I'm going out of my way to read stories that makes me deeply uncomfortable with my preconceived notions about racism in my city and my country. It's not much, but it's what I'm doing right now to educate myself.
And, once you've educated yourself, educate others, and don't ever stop.
Thank you so much for saying this. People in other countries act shocked and superior about racism in the US, not realizing their own country is often even more racist because it is hidden and accepted. More people are complaining about it in the US but it is a worldwide problem.
It's very common that white people, in many countries, don't think racism is a problem because they don't encounter it.
Ingeborg Anne Rakvåg read, watch movies about the epidemic of racism and make sure you educate others.
These stories need to be heard.
Some of y’all need black friends... especially if you never heard a story similar to Amber’s
Seriously.
I hung out with some black kids when I was young. Once we got chased out of a restaurant (that wouldn't serve them) with thugs wielding bats and chains. My friends saved my life that day. A little white girl. I began to understand then. 1963.
Just got home from a march for James in Omaha. We're proud of you here and we love what you are doing. Please keep speaking up for everyone that doesnt have a voice!
Listening to this and hearing about Drew Brees and his tone deafness is a whole new level. Imagine hundreds of thousands of black soldiers coming back from every war America has ever fought starting with the American Revolution and being treated like second rate citizens. If anything, they were treated even worse because they had been trained to fight and they scared people. If anyone has a right to kneel during the national anthem it is black citizens.
Let's all kneel...out of respect for the flag and respect for each other.
One main impetus for the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were the soldiers who returned home after fighting in World War II and Korea only to find they did not have the same rights that white Americans who never raised a finger to protect the United States enjoyed all the time.
I think Amber is not trying to get us to think about HER, but every person of colour who is terrorised every day like she was, many much WORSE!!!
that's right... i can't imagine how difficult is trying to make the stories sound funny when they are so traumatizing.. it's an effort to shine a light on the problem not on herself
400 years of terror. Not bad for a " democracy".
S Miller,
She literally said that.
@Marisca Koekemoer I'm sure that you don't speak for all of Africa. Also, using the phrase "everyone knows" means that you are spouting nonsense about something. I can imagine that living in some parts of Africa, some parts of the Middle East, some parts of South America, and more are extremely difficult. No one is negating that. The USA is trying to address ONE of the many issues plaguing the country. Try not to belittle a people who are struggling to change their condition.
@@smiller2114 This comment, right here, is the reason that the USA, isn't trying hard enough to change. I don't know you, S, but I would ask you to please, please try not to antagonize those of us who are trying to change the narrative of the nation, it is this rhetoric that has made change so difficutl. I don't want to discredit your intentions, but...."Try not to belittle a people who are struggling to change their condition...." is exactly is what your words are doing to us in America. Amber's stories, and so many others, are what the world needs.
I remember getting pulled over by a cop. My husband was driving. He started to argue with the cop about whether or not he ran a yellow light, and I instinctively told him to cool it. It didn't matter if he was right or wrong. All the mattered was the cop had all the power in that situation. You take the humiliation but you live to see another day.
I am a 62 year old white woman who has volunteered at DC Jail and worked with Reentry populations and consider myself pretty aware of racism. Your testimony is so real, so raw, and so relatable that I cried (along with you at one point). This opened my eyes so much more and please, please, please keep sharing these stories. They bring it home to people, even those who are active and working on legislation. It just doesn't compare the lived experience. CONTINUE!!!
Amber should write a book or adapt her to any media--comics, movie, tv shows. Her life experiences alone can inspire more! Future National Treasure!
Her book would be a National Treasure? Because Amber already is...
Amber, thank you for telling these really heartbreaking stories that are so prolifiic. Seth, thank you.
Thank you Amber for telling your stories. I’m so sorry you had to go through those awful experiences. I am originally from Los Angeles and although my bad ‘run-ins’ with the police were not life threatening (probably because I’m white), I was also terrified and felt completely let down by the LAPD. I know there are good police too but I also believe many of them are, as my mother used to call them, “legal criminals with guns”. There needs to be a complete overhaul of who gets hired to be someone who is meant to enforce the law and how they behave towards the people they are meant to “Serve and Protect.” A change MUST come.
Amber's stories are breathtaking, eye-opening, and very real coming from her. Sad most of all that this is the way it is. Everyone has to keep telling these types of stories.
Thank you Amber Ruffin for making us all uncomfortable because, unfortunately, the truth about police encounters with black people and the violence that comes with it need to be heard.
"every black person I know..." Damn, that is so sad and I am so sorry.
It is good to know that she survived those incidents. It is so weird to hear her normal (non-comedic) voice but it is a testament to what an amazing performer she is!
I hope EVERYONE sees this. Change has to happen. It has to happen!
Amber for next Late Night Host, we love you Amber
Oh my god yes
when amber said "if youre tired of hearing these stories...do something!". it reminded me of a clip from the daily show when Jon Stewart was hosting it. I believe it was from a segment called 'Brotherhood of the Traveling Chants' (available from comedy central on youtube btw,) and he said something sorta to that effect when he said, in response to a collection of fox news ghouls complaining about race being an element in the epidemic of murders of unarmed black men, 'youre tired of talking about it? imagine how fucking exhausting it is living it.'
You are correct but the show was called Race/Off
I am totally impressed by Amber's professionalism and eloquence. These stories are a wake up call for us all. Thank you for educating us.
Sad but true. Literally at the corner where I lived in Florida. Driving and getting stopped. It is exhausting.
Until recently, I had absolutely no idea this was a regular occurrence. So much so, that black mothers and fathers coach their children on rules to live through the day regarding law enforcement. My mind is locked on injustice-awareness mode now. I promise to vote correctly.
cierrablue Glad to hear it! But I am am surprised about the not knowing it was regular thing. May I ask the racial demographic of where you live? I am a middle aged white woman in Texas and can’t remember a time not knowing/seeing black folk treated like this by police.
You speak as though the Democrats were not complicit in this. Before you start, I'm not a Trump supporter.
@@captlanc she didn't say Democrat, she said CORRECTLY, which means the candidates, at ALL levels, who have platforms that don't exacerbate the problem.
Here's a true story: I was in line at a Target store in Dearborn, MI one afternoon. I'm not sure why but the store wasn't really busy. I'm an extremely patient person and i didn't mind waiting in line. I also love people and was interested in the conversation the cashier (a black man) was having with a customer he was helping check out. The customer was a black woman. She had said something to him about being stopped on her way to the store by a white Dearborn cop. She wasn't angry just really frustrated and soon both the cashier, the woman, and three other people in line in front of me were sharing similar stories. They talked about "driving while black" in Dearborn. Each had a similar story ... being stopped without any particular reason.
The conversation brought the check out process to a halt, but each person commiserated with the others and there was a sharing that seemed to help each of them deal with their experiences. Even the person behind me joined in with his own story. Now, while it wasn't angry, it was loud. I was really interested in what they had to say and each story they shared.
Then, at one point, the cashier looked over at me. HAHA! (I'm an older white woman) I grinned broadly at the situation. They just hadn't noticed me before and suddenly they did ... all at the same time. Silence. I guess they thought I was going to say something. Then, all at once everyone started laughing. HAHA! I realized then that I was the only white person in the store at the time.
lifecloud2 and then everyone clapped and made you the queen of the neighborhood?
Glad you you learned something through your encounter at the store. Its always good once in a while to look at life through other people's lens
I would love the protests to showcase stories on end for the media to have something else to run than sensationalist looters do clueless suburbanites to chew on. Thank you Amber for your emotional labor in sharing these with us ❤️.
I just broke down in tears hearing this. I'm white but I have been with my African American friends and have had them spoken to like this and they have told me stories like this and it is horrific and I worry about my best friends two boys who grew up with my daughter and we are family and I am always worried about their safety. We should not have to live in a society like this. People should feel safe in their communities. ALL OF US.
Make that a thing. Get stories from others too. Call it, A Run-In With a Cop.
Brilliant!
@Richard Johnson l'd watch. Make everyone get sick and outraged at the stories, disgusted at the sheer number of them. Make it a top-rated show, then a top-grossing movie, sell TV/movie merch, make a hit soundtrack, earn tons of money. Use the money to hire top-notch lawyers to sue police departments, individual cops, police unions and cities. Use the money to put politicians in office who will make real changes and use the money to feed the poor, create jobs, help small and female owned businesses, get off of drugs, educate everyone and pull blacks out of poverty. That's just a start.
@Allison Bauch Yea, and they have a placement slot for it too, since now COPS is off the air!:) Good riddance…When this is not as poignant/timely as it is now, maybe we could have an uprising about the amount of mental junk food available. My thought is that if people weren't so dazed on mental and physical junk food, they/we could've/would've moved on this full on a long time ago.
As a Black person, Its just too real life to watch such a thing. I'd be traumatized not entertained.
"Maybe its time to get uncomfortable"... hell yes.
Heartbreaking. Specially those last moments. Thanks for that!
Let me talk about my run ins with the police. They never happened. I'm white.
So I was walking down the street heading to my apartment building! Just left Starbucks, I was hanging with friends drinking coffee on laptop looking up things normal stuff! I decided to walk home because I lived 10 minutes away. It was 9pm but I’m 25 I can walk down the street so I thought! As I’m crossing the street 2 cop cars with lights blazing pulled up on me with guns out screaming at me! Now I’m completely freaked out and confused but they told me to lay down on the ground so I comply! Some cop put handcuffs on me while I’m Still laying on the ground they empty my book bag out not caring what’s in my bag laptop wallet and cord falls out! They looked at my I.D. And said you looked like someone who robbed a store.... 9 blocks the other way! They help me up take the cuffs off was like sorry wrong person and took off! Now cars are driving pass I’m embarrassed and shaking scared ,my book bag and belongings are on the ground in the parking lot. I gather my things rush home to realize the screen on my laptop is broken! Never walked home late again! Now my friends drive me home whenever I go to Starbucks. And that was my third run in with Police! No record never been to jail never arrested but I’ve been in cuffs twice! America’s Police problem has always been out of control I’m happy everyone is realizing it!
Damn them...I’m so sorry that you’ve had to go through this bullshit!!
Please please stay safe! Wishing you the best of luck with your studies and your future career💜
I get so angry and frustrated just reading this
What happened to innocent until proven guilty?
This is so wrong. As a German I never really understood the impact of systematic racism in the USA and I am so sorry you had to go through this
U left out 1 thing....u forgot that all black ppl look alike to racists!
Decruzyserao thank you
joana 1996 thank you! I’m strong!