Silent Minority Make Big Noise！

---

By Yu-Long Ling

For the last several years, a pattern has been established in this country. In many cases where white police officers have killed a black person, we have seen mass protests and rallies in major cities across the country demanding justice and change. Unfortunately, in most of these high profile cases, there has been a cover up or the police officers involved have not been charged or found not guilty, creating the perception that the police protect their own. As a result, more protests and rallies occur. This cycle has become commonplace.

Recently, there has been a new twist. In New York, we have a similar incident where the police have killed a black person; however, in this case, the police officer is not white but a Chinese American. Officer Peter Liang and his partner, Shaun Landau was conducting a vertical patrol from the eighth floor of the building. During the patrol, Officer Liang heard a loud noise from the dark stairwell and fired a single shot. The bullet bounced off a wall and struck Akai Gurley who happened to be a black male. Officer Liang claimed that he was startled by the loud noise and accidentally fired his gun. He did not see Mr. Gurley when his gun discharged. Unfortunately, rather than immediately call for help, Officers Liang and Landau argued about who should call their supervisor, thus, contributing to the death of Mr. Gurley.

This incident occurred on November 20, 2014. Officer Liang was indicted, and convicted of manslaughter on February 11, 2016. In New York, manslaughter carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. He was also fired by the New York Police Department.

After the trial, there were protests and rallies, but not from the black communities. Rather, on February 20, 2016, thousands of protesters gathered around the country to show support for Peter Liang. The majority of protesters were Chinese Americans. In addition to the February 20th protest, more protests are also planned for Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016 in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C, Chicago, Boston and Indianapolis and many more.

Why are these protests occurring, that is the question?

First, unlike other incidents (the deaths of Eric Gardner and Michael Brown at the hands of white police officers), this shooting was accidental. Officer Liang unintentionally shot Mr. Gurley.

Second, in the mass protests of the deaths of Mr. Gardner and Mr. Brown and others, the protesters were angry with the systematic killing of black men by white police officers and the general distrust of the police force. In Officer Liang’s case, many are questioning why he is the only one to be convicted. Has he been singled out because he isn’t white and hung out to dry as an offering to show the world that the police are in fact accountable for their actions? Because of this, many Chinese Americans called the conviction unfair and thinking that Peter Liang was a scapegoat, are upset and much like our black communities, are losing faith in the system.

Third, Chinese Americans (much like other Asian American groups) have been labeled the model minority and are viewed as passive, indifferent and quiet. They are the silent minority. As we have seen, if you don’t make any noise, no one will notice or listen to you. Many minority or historically disadvantaged groups have institutional support groups to make noise, but there is nothing for Chinese Americans. After this event, the Chinese Community is rallying together to make some noise. A legal expense fund has been started and a professional legal team has been formed. Thousands have signed a petition to US Supreme Court on Mr. Liang’s behalf and more than a 100,000 people have signed the online petition demanding Liang’s conviction be vacated.

First, through all of this, we have to keep in mind that two families have been greatly affected by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers should be extended to both Mr. Gurley’s and Officer Liang’s families. Second, why has Office Liang been the only police officer that has been convicted? If he were white, would that have changed anything? Third, while the Chinese Community should be more active and have a voice, it shouldn’t take an unfortunate incident like this to wake up Chinese Americans to the fact that silence does not work in a democracy. Last, racism still exists, but it is not just black and white. It affects everyone.