As black men in America, how can we place any trust in the police?
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It’s been over a year since police shot Michael Brown to death, and since then, over a thousand more shootings involving police and unarmed blacks have been reported. Is this becoming the norm? Really?
Is it okay for the police to shoot and kill us when all they do is apologize and move on?
Was it okay for the police to shoot and kill my cousin in Boston? Then to slander his name to cover up their hatred for blacks? Really?
It wasn’t okay in Boston. It wasn’t okay in Phoenix. It wasn’t okay in Cleveland. It wasn’t even okay in California. Yet, these incidents still went to court and the police walked away with no justice. Officer not charged or officer not guilty. Or, simply, officer acquitted. Where’s the justice, when it comes to ‘just us’?
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This country is ass backwards to say the least. The US government did everything within their power to dismantle the Black Panther Party in the sixties. Only smaller, splinter groups still exist. The government was successful in its endeavors.
I was a teenager and I had to sit helplessly while two Boston Police officers beat my father before shoving him into a paddy wagon.
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Yet, the KKK still exists in this country as it did in the sixties. The US government has not made one move against the Klan. Really? The Klan still holds rallies and burns crosses. Even churches, at times. But, they did everything they could to stop the Black Panther Party from growing. They were an organization built for the safety of blacks by blacks.
- Could it be because The Black Panther Party organized itself to help blacks against the Klan?
- Could it be because The Black Panther Party was about empowerment and not degradation?
- Could it even be because The Black Panther Party was pro black and anti establishment?
Or is the answer as simple as this?
The Black Panther Party planted fear into the hearts of the powers that be. The Black Panther Party threatened the very existence of the so called ‘Man’. They threatened the very existence of the establishment we all know and understand to be the US government.
The US government is a system that was never designed for us blacks. Way back when the constitution was written, we were still considered as less than equal. Only three fifths of an actual person represented us.
So, why would you really expect any equality here?
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Early on in my childhood, I started to not trust the police. Long before NWA said f@%& the police! Long before the Michael Browns and the Eric Garners. Long before any of these sick, twisted stories of police brutality turned fatality. I started my distrust in the law many, many years ago.
I was a teenager, and I had to sit helplessly while two Boston Police officers beat my father before shoving him into a paddy wagon. They must have spent an entire ten minutes of beating him. I was a young teen, probably about thirteen or so. I was traumatized, to say the least.
I don’t want my sons living in the same fear I did. So I always remind them to make good choices.
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I made a vow to never, ever trust any police officers. To never, ever need a police officer. And, finally, to never, ever do anything which would leave me defenseless and helpless against a police officer. Stay clear of them and they’ll stay clear of me.
Not a cool way to live your life as a young teen. Constantly looking over my shoulder every time I heard a siren. I even stayed clear of the security guards at school. Any sucker in a blue uniform was the enemy to me. I hate flying because of TSA. You never know with those chumps these days. They are always trying to get a rep. Not off of me! I do the speed limit. I stop when I see the light change yellow. I am so cautious. It’s pathetic! No way will these coppers ever have a chance to kill me. I’m not having it.
Neither are my two sons. I had that talk with them a long time ago. I constantly have to revisit it like clockwork. Almost, every six months. Someone, somewhere is dying at the hands of another officer of the g*d damned law!
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I don’t want my sons living in the same fear I did. So, I always remind them to make good choices. You see some bad energy in the air. Get away from it. Get out the way. Because, just as the first law of thermodynamics says, “Energy can be transferred from place to place.” Don’t bring that mess in my house!
I been there, I done that. So you guys don’t have to.
If folks would read more, they may get some answers to the question, “Why are police killing our youth and getting away with the murder?” I read a lot about History, about Science, about Religion, even. I remember a verse in the Bible that helps prove to me, ‘It is written’. That verse is in the book of Leviticus, verse 26:17. It shows and proves that we are a cursed people and we have to realize this. These killings won’t stop as long as we remain uneducated to the facts and circumstances. No amount of training will lift the curse. Police won’t just one day up and respect you as an individual. You must learn.
‘And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.”—Leviticus 26-17.
Go see for yourself, straight like that, in black and white, and widely overlooked for quite some time. Pick up a book. Know who your enemy is. Furthermore, know who your friend is. Our enemies are not our brothers. And our friends are not always who we think they are.
Do this now, and we can start to end this nonsense violence.
Not okay at all, Tom. My sentiments exactly!
“Is it okay for the police to shoot and kill us when all they do is apologize and move on? As evidences by Rom Emanuel, the Mayor of Chicago who skated through his election without mention of a police shooting.