Washington transplant carries gun permit around neck to ‘keep me safe’

KIRO Radio’s Don O’Neill and Tom Tangney had heard from all the police and city officials about the tense race relations following the fatal shootings in Dallas, Baton Rouge and Minnesota. But they also wanted to hear from people of color in the area to know about their experiences and thoughts about moving forward.

Rachel, a former Seattle Sea Gal and mother of two boys, said her reaction is disgust.

“What has been going on with white police officers and black men — nobody likes to see that happen. I just think it’s just disgusting that somebody decided to speak on the behalf of all black people and shoot a bunch of Dallas police officers. It’s not the stance that I come from.”

Rachel said race relations have been an issue since slavery but that social media and the 24-hour media coverage has exacerbated the problems.

“It wasn’t even that long ago – 10 or 15 years ago – that I had white friends who were convinced that racism was gone. Like, ‘Oh, we don’t know anybody who is racist. That’s all in the past.’ I’m black, I’ve been experiencing it my entire life. It is still alive and well and it takes the stream of social media and the stream of the 24-hour media for people to look and open their eyes to what is actually happening. So I think the wave is just people who actually really thought racism was dying suddenly realizing that no, it’s alive and well. And they’re just running in circles trying to figure out what to do to fix it.”

Related: Brother of man killed by Seattle police says change requires more than marching

Rachel said the race discussions have made her more aware of her surroundings.

“I went into a minimart in Sequim … and for the first time in a very long time I noticed that I was the only minority in there and the place was packed. I wasn’t fearful, I wasn’t scared, I went about my business the way I normally do. But it’s starting to make me just notice things I just kind of brushed off before. Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe that’s a bad thing. But things are coming to light more often.”

Garrett, a 27-year-old biracial man who lives in south Everett, says he has had run-ins with police in the past but is interested in applying to join the police force.

“If given the opportunity and was able to, I would definitely look forward to applying and joining the police force to stand out, to make a change. Especially in my own neighborhood.”

Antonio, who was born and raised near Fort Worth, said he was beaten and called racial epithets by police as a teenager. He and his family moved to Washington to escape racism they encountered in the south.

“It has been different up here and we’ve had more opportunities here than we’ve had in Texas. It’s bad there.”

Antonio said his run-in with the law changed his perspective.

“I looked differently at them for a while and then it changed. Because they do have a rough job. It is real hectic and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them do have PTSD, or something like that, where they are just jumpy. They want to go home, too.”

Antonio says he carries his concealed-carry permit around his neck.

“Just to keep me safe so I don’t have to reach for anything so they know I’m armed, and whatever you want to do after that we can deal with it. But at the same time, I want to keep me safe and want to come home to my family just as much as they do.”

If pulled over, Antonio says he would turn his radio off, roll his windows down, put hands on the steering wheel and put his license in an easily accessible spot.

“I don’t want to be one of those guys who ends up hurt because I had to reach for my wallet — or for any reason.”

Antonio says racism is different – more hidden — in Washington than Texas. Antonio said he recently asked someone he thought was being friendly about dinner plans and the response was watermelon, fried chicken, and cornbread.

“I said, ‘Oh’ and just walked off. Because you don’t have to be that way toward me. I’m not that guy. I‘m easy going and I’m not racist toward anybody. I love everybody. It just takes me longer to realize people don’t love me the same.”

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