Series: When They See Us

As someone who is white, I find it hard to say something about racism. I don’t experience it, so who am I to speak up about it? However, shutting up is too easy for me. I have a part in it, everyone has. I hope my part is to educate, like I do on other subjects on this blog too. And so, I want to share all the knowledge I have about the subject on this blog. So that people who don’t experience or see racism, will eventually. Today I want to share a Netflix series with you: When They See Us.

It’s about the system

When you watch this, I hope you get really mad. And sad too. But mostly mad. Mad so you see the urgency of the problem. I have spoken to way too many (most of them white) persons who don’t see the urgency. They aren’t mad, as we should be. But make sure, that when you get mad, you get mad at the system. It’s really easy to identify the bad cops and persons in this story here. Of course, we should be mad at them too, furious. Yet, it’s not all about them. It’s about the system. The racist system in which we live.

So, don’t think that when the bad people get their punishment after all, there is no more racism. People don’t call theirselves racists, they genuinely don’t think they are. Well, except for some outspoken crazy people. Most people don’t see themselves as racists, even though they act racist. We need system change in order to change that. And also recognition, recognition of the problem and recognition of privilege. Only then things can change. I hope the series I am about to share with you can help with that recognition, it was one of my first step to seeing racism.

When They See Us

When They See Us is a series on Netflix. It contains four episodes of each about an hour or an hour and a half. It appeared on Netflix in 2019 (and so yes, I am a little late here). When They See Us is based upon a true story. A story in 1989 with 5 men called The Central Park Five. One night, a woman is attacked and raped in Central Park. A horrendous attack. The woman lives, but she can’t remember anything from the event. The police starts an ‘investigation’ to find out who did this to her and that’s where the story gets really messed up.

I don’t want to spoil much of the story, but this is where racism comes in. Lives are destroyed. It is such a sick story. I cried my eyes out every episode and will never forget this. It’s so heartbreaking, so brutal, so destructive and so unfair. You should really watch this and so how multiple systems are broken. The justice system, the power system, the believe system. The story shows racism is the most obvious form, where people say and think as racists. But is also shows the underlying mechanisms of racism which destroy and complicate lives. I can never understand what these people have gone through.

I am no expert

With that being said, I also want to say I am not expert on this subject. I try to share what I know about racism. Yet, I can never understand it the way people who experience it do. I don’t want to claim I am all woke, because I share these posts. It’s a never ending process of me learning. And I hope you can learn along side with me. I share, and I hope we all learn. If there’s anything I can learn from you, please let me know too! For now, I hope you’ll watch the series When They See Us on Netflix and we will all do better.

Yours sincerely,
Romee