Black people are paranoid.
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They are susceptible to conspiracy theories and unfounded suspicions. There are some black people who believe that the U.S. government would spray black neighborhoods with toxic chemicals; that doctors would use us as guinea pigs by giving us fake medicine; that there are cops who belong to the Ku Klux Klan; orโand I know this sounds crazyโthat Russian bots targeted black voters so white people could elect a racist president.
Black people should be paranoid.
This is probably why the family of a deceased Louisiana teenager is calling for the FBI to investigate his death as a possible hate crime after the teen, who some family members have reported as gay, was shot to death under mysterious circumstances.
On Sunday, Jan. 12, Tawasha Bonner says she woke up to discover that her son, JaQuarius Taylor wasnโt home, according to WWLTV. Bonner immediately called the Washington Parish, La. Sheriffโs Department and reported the 17-year-old missing. Less than an hour later, an unidentified person going to check water levels at a nearby lake discovered JaQuariusโ body.
According to an autopsy commissioned by the family, the teen was shot three times with guns of two different calibers, the Advocate reports. Investigators said they recovered a โkey piece of evidenceโ after divers searched the lake but, so far, no one has been arrested for the crime. For now, family members are holding onto the memories of the high school senior who played drums in the marching band. JaQuariusโ mother says he would have been the first in his family to attend college, and desperately wants to know who killed her son and why.
Because of โperceived conflicts of interests and family relations,โ JaQuariusโ family doesnโt trust the local sheriffโs department to complete a thorough and impartial investigation and have asked for the FBI to get involved.
โWe would like for the federal government to come in and take over the investigation because weโre not very comfortable with the local police and the way theyโve done the investigation already,โ Pastor Ken Owens told WWLTV. โWeโre looking at this as a hate crime based on the race and sexual orientation of JaQuarius Taylor.โ
โWe are aware of the incident in Washington Parish and are presently assessing the circumstances surrounding this event,โ the FBI said in a statement. โIf information comes to light of a potential federal civil rights violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate.โ
Meanwhile, the Sheriffโs department says the FBI is already involved along with other local and state agencies, noting that they will treat the teenโs death as a hate crime if the evidence supports that.
โEverything points to the fact that he was homosexualโpeople who knew him and who knew his lifestyle,โ said Washington Parrish Chief Deputy Mike Haley. โDo we know that for a fact? No.โ
The area is known for Klan activity, including the still-unsolved death of the parishโs first black deputy and the 2008 murder of a woman after a KKK initiation ceremony. But authorities also refute that there is a conflict of interest or that the murder may be related to racism or homophobia, saying there is โno evidence at allโ that hate had anything to do with Taylorโs death
That might be the craziest thing Iโve ever heard.
Then again, Iโm paranoid black.
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