The officer who killed Antwon Rose will face a judge for his crime. Here's why it matters.
Antwon Rose Jr. knew that as a black male teenager, he was marked in a way others were not.
In fact, when he was 15, he wrote a heartfelt poem about how he feared society perceived him.
"I see mothers bury their sons / I want my mom to never feel that pain," Rose wrote.
Unfortunately, his fears came true.
On June 17, 2018, the unarmed 17-year-old was shot and killed by East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld.
After running from Rosfeld — who was inspecting a car Rose had been in — Rose was shot three times, with reports indicating that the bullets hit his face, right arm, and the middle of his back.
Photo by Justin Merriman/Getty Images.
According to The Washington Post, Rose was the first person killed by the East Pittsburgh Police Department since at least 2015. In that same period, 23% of those killed by police officers and 36% of all unarmed people who had been killed were black.
Unsurprisingly, the world was outraged — and tired of having to be outraged.
"He murdered my son in cold blood," Michelle Kenney told ABC News. "If he has a son, I pray his heart never has to hurt the way mine does. But I think he should pay for taking my son's life. I really do."
Well, now it looks like he might.
On June 27, Rosfeld was charged with criminal homicide, a charge rarely brought when officers kill civilians.
Pennsylvania state code defines criminal homicide as when a person "intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or negligently causes the death of another human being." According to court reports, Rosfeld was arraigned on June 27 for the charge, and his bail was set at $250,000. A preliminary hearing is set for July 6.
"This is a small stride toward justice but we have a very long road ahead," Rose family attorney Lee Merritt tweeted after the announcement.
According to The Washington Post, 491 people have been shot and killed by police so far in 2018.
In 2017, the total was 987. In 1 out of 5 police shootings, officers' names aren't disclosed, and actually being charged with a criminal charge is even rarer.
According to a report from Dr. Philip Stinson at Ohio's Bowling Green State University, between 2005 and 2017, 80 officers were arrested on manslaughter or murder charges for on-duty shootings. During that same 12-year span, just 35% were convicted, while the rest either were not convicted or still had pending cases.
Rosfeld being convicted is statistically unlikely, but it's definitely possible.
And it sends an important signal: Black children will no longer be shot and killed without retribution or public outcry.
After numerous high-profile police shootings such as Trayvon Martin, Laquan McDonald, and Tamir Rice, activists, scholars, and politicians alike have been calling out our nation's pervasive history of police brutality and calling for massive structural change.
Photo by Justin Merriman/Getty Images.
Black teens — who continue to face an insurmountable amount of gun violence in comparison to their white peers — should not have to fear for their lives when going through the everyday experiences of being a kid.
Black kids are smart, talented, and thoughtful. They also make mistakes, and sometimes get involved in things they shouldn't.
All kids should be able to experience their childhood and teenage years without fearing for their lives.
We owe it to black children not only to hold gun-wielding officers accountable, but also to reduce bias in society so black children aren't automatically seen as a threat in the first place.
Let's hope this charge is an important step in the right direction.
Photo by Justin Merriman/Getty Images.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."