What do non-protesters across Charlotte think?
Updated 1525 GMT (2325 HKT) September 25, 2016
Story highlights
- Jacobs: The state requires more training to become a barber than to become a police officer
- "It was a black officer. It's not a race thing," a native Charlotte resident says
Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN)For days, the loudest voices emerging from Charlotte have been the hundreds of protesters filling downtown every night.
But locals across Charlotte have a wide array of opinions about Keith Lamont Scott's death. Here's what they have to say about the protests and what should happen next:
Derrick Jacobs: 'This is not a black/white thing. This is a blue/black thing.'
Derrick Jacobs, a barber at the Mar'Cutz barber shop, says he'd rather speak out on social media than join the protests at night because "I don't think it's safe."
Jacobs, a 43-year-old barber, has lived in Charlotte his entire life.
He said the fact that the officer who shot Scott and the police chief are both black doesn't negate the racial profiling faced by African-Americans in Charlotte -- or the whole country.
"This is not a black/white thing. This is a blue/black thing," Jacobs said. "We're afraid of the badge."
Jacobs said he wants more training for police officers. He said it's appalling that the state requires more hours of training to become a licensed barber than a police officer.
It takes 1,528 hours to become a licensed barber; Charlotte-Mecklenburg police require about 900 hours of training. (The state's minimum police training requirement is 620 hours.)
"We have to go through more training to hold a pair of clippers than to hold a gun?' he said.
With the recent controversial shootings of black men by police, Jacobs says he has to lecture his four sons, ages 10 to 23, to not argue with police.
"We can figure out the particulars of who's right and who's wrong later," he tells his sons. "At the end of the day, we need you to come home alive."
Andrew Deese: 'They always want to make it a race thing'
Andrew Deese, a 24-year-old bartender, has lived in Charlotte his entire life.
Deese, who is white, said people are jumping to conclusions that the shooting was racially motivated.
"I'm not racist, but they always want to make it a race thing," he said. "It was a black officer. It's not a race thing."
Deese said the protests have had a negative impact on workers like himself. "A lot of businesses have to close early," he said.
His bar has had to shut down at 11:30 p.m. to adhere to the city's curfew.
Chris Blowers: The situation is 'blown out of the water'
Chris Blowers, at a sports pub in Charlotte, said he thinks the "Black Lives Matter" movement is misguided.
Blowers, a 53-year-old who works in the communications field, has lived in Charlotte for 20 years.
He said the situation in Charlotte is "blown out of the water."
"It's going to cause economic damage, but it's going to be forgotten soon," he said.
Case in point: Blowers said he doesn't recall the 2013 controversial police shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell, which also led to protests in Charlotte.
He said he believes many Black Lives Matter protesters are "worried about a few possible racists," which he said is "ridiculous."
Instead, Blowers said, he thinks Black Lives Matter movement would be better focused on overall deaths resulting from black-on-black crime.
Maurice Jones: 'From a white standpoint, you're intimidating'
Maurice Jones, right, says his heart starts pounding when he gets pulled over.
Jones, a 50-year-old truck driver, has lived in Charlotte his entire life.
He said he's often perceived as a criminal for no reason.
"From a white standpoint, you're intimidating," he said.
He said officers sometimes ask "irrelevant" questions when he gets pulled over, such as what he does for a living.
And sometimes, when in an elevator with a white woman, "the white lady will put her purse on the other shoulder."
Jones said he wants inherent racial profiling to stop. But how?
"That's the question of the day," he said.
