Birmingham teen tells it straight to U.S. Attorney General: 'We're taught young to hate the police'

The Birmingham News / AL.com ^ | Carol Robinson

[Bodleian_Girl]

Photo:Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com

When U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch met with a group of Birmingham youth during her visit to Alabama today and asked them why it's difficult for the general public to empathize with police officers, 16-year-old Ramsay High School student Taylor Sellers gave it to her straight.

"It starts in your household. When you come up, you automatically hate the police, I'm just going to tell you like it is,'' Sellers said. "Most likely somebody in your family went to jail, so they're like, "Man he went to jail for no reason,' so you already have this mindset that they're bad people that always want to shoot you, so you grow up with this mindset, and everybody around you has this same type of thinking. "

"So immediately when you see a police car, you start thinking, 'Oh my gosh I've done something wrong, they're going to arrest me,' then you get all nervous,'' Sellers explained. "That's just the way we were set up to be. It's taught from when we're young to not like or respect the police very much because they're bad people when, in all actuality, they're just people."

Sellers, one of a group of students taking part in the Birmingham Youth Citizens Police Academy through the Community Policing Revitalization program, became so emotional in talking about the change in her perspective that she couldn't even finish her sentence while talking to Lynch.

"They're helping us, and they die for us every day,'' Sellers said before she was unable to go any further.

[Bodleian_Girl]

"They're helping us, and they die for us every day,'' Sellers said before she was unable to go any further.

I'm betting Lynch didn't like to hear this girl's change of heart towards police!

[wideawake]

She has a good point: not only do pretty much all criminals claim to be innocent and feel that they are imprisoned for no good reason, their family members also echo their feelings: "My son is a good boy!"

Therefore, in a community where criminal behavior is valorized, the police are the enemy.

And it goes deeper.

[Parley Baer]

“It’s taught from when we’re young to not like or respect the police very much”

I bet you can add White people to that list.

[Steely Tom]

There are plenty of black cops. I see them all the time.

Don’t they have kids? Are their kids taught to hate the police?

Probably they’re too smart to let their kids attend events like this one.

[vladimir998]

“Man he went to jail for no reason,”

R-I-G-H-T.

[Safetgiver]

“Man he went to jail for no reason,”...I know him. Dindo Nuffins. Aspiring rapper. Arrested hundreds of them.

[Bodleian_Girl]

I think the good thing about this program is that the teens get to know the police in their community and it seems like it changes their outlook towards LE.

“They’re helping us, and they die for us every day,’’ Sellers said before she was unable to go any further.