![Ferguson protester: “Hands Up. Don’t Shoot.” COURTESY PHOTO]()
Fire gets results
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![Ferguson protester: “Hands Up. Don’t Shoot.” COURTESY PHOTO]()
Ferguson protester: “Hands Up. Don’t Shoot.” COURTESY PHOTO[/caption]
A meeting at the White House to discuss racist, unequal law enforcement practices did not happen because the federal government or this president decided to do the right thing after six years in office. That meeting and an examination of the militarization of domestic police forces went down because the Ferguson fires of hopelessness spread sparks worldwide.
Be clear. Violence is an American tradition. Without the fire, there is no resolution to a damn thing. America was conceived in violence. Poverty is an act of violence. Schools that don’t work are acts of violence. Parents who don’t parent commit domestic violence. I will not say “cherry pie.”
You were upset when the Rams’ gladiators raised their hands as they entered the St. Louis colloseum, just as you flipped out at the raised fists of John Carlos and Tommie Smith during the Olympics of 1968. Nothing upsets you more than gladiators who won’t stay in their place for entertainment value only. Too bad; you don’t like reality TV.
We can turn the whole damn thing around once we place an equal value on all human life (#BlackLivesMatter). Why did it require the fires of police cars burning to light up the hypocrisy of valuing property more than a Black life?
Now you know that is a feat that has eluded America since her inception when the founding fathers computed the worth of Black humans as three-fifths the worth of white folk. That issue remains, as does the Dred Scott decision (never overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court) wherein, ironically, in a small St. Louis Courthouse, it was determined that a Black man has no rights that a white man is bound to respect. Ahhh, the legitimization of white privilege. KMA.
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![John Carlos and Tommie Smith St. Louis Rams 5 COURTESY PHOTOS]()
John Carlos and Tommie Smith St. Louis Rams 5 COURTESY PHOTOS[/caption]
Enablersof institutionalizedwhite privilege like the great apologist Hollywood Craig enjoyed a national CNN stage, spreadingmisinformation because Detroit is on simmer and not boiling. But, Chief Craig is dead wrong. There is Detroit distrust of uneven law enforcement, and Black folks do care when Black cops wrongfully kill or beat down citizens. We still remember Officer Eugene Brown, the well decorated Detroit policeman who killed over and over, costing Detroit millions in lawsuits.
Detroit cop watchdog Ron Scott is right when he asserts the reality that the abuse of police power transcends race, when badges and guns gone wild misuse power to instill fear not trust in a city where the Big Four and STRESS once roamed with impunity until Coleman Young changed the rules of the Detroit game.
Chief Craig’s insensitivities coupled with the Ferguson journey demonstrate more than anything the need for a fully empowered, already mandated by Detroit City Charter, Detroit Police Commission as a citizen balancing oversight body against overzealous police practices. We must not allow the Duggan administration to eliminate thatPoliceCommission already emasculated by the union-busting, democracy-destroying Negro proxy EM of Governor Snyder.
We must never let haters cause us to lose hope or dislike ourselves and never let haters make you weak in your faith. Keep the faith. Stay on the battlefield.
Sam Riddle, J.D. is political director for the National Action NetworkMichiganChapter. FollowhimonFacebook atwww.facebook.com/sam.riddleorTwitterat twitter.com/samriddle.
Ferguson protester: “Hands Up. Don’t Shoot.” COURTESY PHOTO[/caption]
A meeting at the White House to discuss racist, unequal law enforcement practices did not happen because the federal government or this president decided to do the right thing after six years in office. That meeting and an examination of the militarization of domestic police forces went down because the Ferguson fires of hopelessness spread sparks worldwide.
Be clear. Violence is an American tradition. Without the fire, there is no resolution to a damn thing. America was conceived in violence. Poverty is an act of violence. Schools that don’t work are acts of violence. Parents who don’t parent commit domestic violence. I will not say “cherry pie.”
You were upset when the Rams’ gladiators raised their hands as they entered the St. Louis colloseum, just as you flipped out at the raised fists of John Carlos and Tommie Smith during the Olympics of 1968. Nothing upsets you more than gladiators who won’t stay in their place for entertainment value only. Too bad; you don’t like reality TV.
We can turn the whole damn thing around once we place an equal value on all human life (#BlackLivesMatter). Why did it require the fires of police cars burning to light up the hypocrisy of valuing property more than a Black life?
Now you know that is a feat that has eluded America since her inception when the founding fathers computed the worth of Black humans as three-fifths the worth of white folk. That issue remains, as does the Dred Scott decision (never overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court) wherein, ironically, in a small St. Louis Courthouse, it was determined that a Black man has no rights that a white man is bound to respect. Ahhh, the legitimization of white privilege. KMA.
[caption id="attachment_15576" align="alignleft" width="300" class=" "]
John Carlos and Tommie Smith St. Louis Rams 5 COURTESY PHOTOS[/caption]
Enablersof institutionalizedwhite privilege like the great apologist Hollywood Craig enjoyed a national CNN stage, spreadingmisinformation because Detroit is on simmer and not boiling. But, Chief Craig is dead wrong. There is Detroit distrust of uneven law enforcement, and Black folks do care when Black cops wrongfully kill or beat down citizens. We still remember Officer Eugene Brown, the well decorated Detroit policeman who killed over and over, costing Detroit millions in lawsuits.
Detroit cop watchdog Ron Scott is right when he asserts the reality that the abuse of police power transcends race, when badges and guns gone wild misuse power to instill fear not trust in a city where the Big Four and STRESS once roamed with impunity until Coleman Young changed the rules of the Detroit game.
Chief Craig’s insensitivities coupled with the Ferguson journey demonstrate more than anything the need for a fully empowered, already mandated by Detroit City Charter, Detroit Police Commission as a citizen balancing oversight body against overzealous police practices. We must not allow the Duggan administration to eliminate thatPoliceCommission already emasculated by the union-busting, democracy-destroying Negro proxy EM of Governor Snyder.
We must never let haters cause us to lose hope or dislike ourselves and never let haters make you weak in your faith. Keep the faith. Stay on the battlefield.
Sam Riddle, J.D. is political director for the National Action NetworkMichiganChapter. FollowhimonFacebook atwww.facebook.com/sam.riddleorTwitterat twitter.com/samriddle.