( CNN ) -- If you 're white , you may be able to shoplift , drive drunk , even shove a police officer -- and not suffer the same consequences a black person might , according to trending stories being shared on social media . # CrimingWhileWhite became Twitter 's highest trending topic in the United States and a trending topic worldwide as protests continued Thursday morning over a New York grand jury 's decision not to indict a white police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner , a black man suspected of illegally selling cigarettes on the sidewalk . Garner 's case also catapulted other hashtags into prominence in the Twitterverse , including # ICantBreathe , a reference to Garner 's last words . An attempt by the New York Police Department to acknowledge the anger also generated a storm online . The department said on Twitter that it wanted to rebuild public trust , in a post that included # wehearyou . That backfired . Meanwhile , many people identifying themselves as white posted tweets confessing to crimes they said they committed without getting punished . Each specific account could not be verified independently and immediately . Taken as a whole , however , they paint a portrait that suggests a racial double standard by American law enforcement . `` I shoplifted when I was 14 and they let me go because my parents came down and we 'looked like a nice family , ' '' wrote Joel Watson , a cartoonist . Allison Brown , an editor , tweeted `` Tonight , black protester & I both ignore barricade & walk in street . 4 cops pounce on him ; I 'm told to get in the pen . '' Artist Jeremy Scheuch confessed , `` I 'm not proud of it , but when I was 22 I pushed a cop when I was drunk at a bar . I was told to go home and 'sleep it off . ' '' `` When I see police , I feel safe , served , and protected , '' commented writer Kyran Pittman . `` That should n't be a privilege , but # CrimingWhileWhite shows that it is . '' On Twitter , black users had mixed reactions . `` Are white ppl openly acknowledging white privilege on police interactions or am I dreaming ? '' asked blogger and researcher Maya Reid . `` Some of you have pointed out that # CrimingWhileWhite helps other White folks realize policing is n't fair . My heart still hurts , '' said writer Elon James White . `` I just hope people contributing to # CrimingWhileWhite are vocal about these disparities offline . Great , you 're trending but we need action , '' tweeted Franchesca Ramsey , a curator at Upworthy . Unequal treatment . The anecdotes are backed by evidence that suggests racial disparities in American law enforcement are very real . Studies show that for an identical crime , black teenagers are more likely to be arrested or jailed than white teenagers . Black people are around four times as likely to get arrested for marijuana possession , despite surveys showing black people use marijuana less than white people , according to the American Civil Liberties Union . In Ferguson , where protests have continued over the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown , official reports show black people being pulled over , searched , and arrested at disproportionately high rates compared to their share of the population . An ACLU study found a similar imbalance in Boston , where two-thirds of police stops involved black residents -- despite black people making up just one-quarter of the city 's population . Even after being convicted of a crime , being white may still hold advantages . A Princeton University study examined hundreds of American employers ' hiring and found that white people with felony convictions were preferred as much as black people with clean backgrounds .
White internet users are using the hashtag # CrimingWhileWhite to confess to crimes . # CrimingWhileWhite became Twitter 's highest trending topic . `` Pushed a cop when I was drunk at a bar ... told to go home and 'sleep it off , ' '' one says . Evidence shows racial disparity in American law enforcement is real .