Posted on 09/04/2014 7:10:13 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
They are not insurgents. They are not enemy combatants. They are not hostile enemy forces. They are not terrorists. They are our Black sons. And I beg you America to stop killing them in their own backyards, in the streets outside of nightclubs, on the phone talking to their girlfriend, and a few blocks from convenience stores from which they may or may not have stolen cigars. They do not deserve to die for such trivial incidents.
America, the young Black men you kill are our future and potential scientists and doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs; they are our future bus drivers, train conductors, teachers, garbage men, mechanics, cable TV guys, the clerk at the neighborhood grocery stores. Whatever their roles in the future, large or small, they do not deserve to die.
It is true. Some of our Black sons are misdirected and misguided, to be sure. But doesnt every society have those disaffected youth who may follow the path to crime and violence? A few of them may deserve to be labelled thugs and hoodlums, but this is not every Black male child born, and our country says they are innocent until proven guilty. Even the bad apples dont deserve to be gunned down and die like animals in the streets.
Do we condemn every White young disaffected 21-year-old male because of Columbine; Aurora, Tucson, Fort Hood, and most recently Newtown? No. In their article, White Men have much to discuss about mass shootings, Charlotte and Harriet Childress point out that White boys and men are often given a pass and attention turned to mental health issues, rather than the fact that disproportionately, White men have been involved in mass shooting sprees. Yet, they are not racially profiled.
You would never know it from the images of Ferguson, but this is not Iraq. We are not living in Afghanistan. This is not the Gaza Strip. This is the United States of America and Ferguson, Mo. So who gave ipso facto permission? In other words, what powers that be authorized todays policemen, living in small town America in the heartland, to function like trained military and to treat our young Black sons as if they were terrorists and the enemy without justification or evidence?
Todays policemen are under tremendous stress complicated by the individual backgrounds of those in uniform. The proliferation of racial profiling, the ongoing killing of young Black men point to an epidemic of violence in which White police officers (and some troubled men of color) use their uniform and their role as police officers not to protect society and its citizens but to mete out discipline to those Black male bodies they have come to associate with violence. Who turned societys peacekeepers into judge, jury and executioners that can shoot the unarmed in the back and use petty crimes to justify their horrendous actions?
America has failed Black men because it has not lived up to its promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all its citizens. America has decided that Black mens lives are disposable, and so it has built a prison industrial complex that privately profits from mass incarceration instead of spending that money on better public schools, on salaries for teachers who believe in their students, on job training and a youth service corps for unemployed urban and rural youth, and on inner city youth programs that encourage success and courage and instill pride, loyalty and respect.
Throughout our history Black men in America have been enslaved, lynched, used as strike breakers, incarcerated for petty crimes, discouraged from having big dreams, unemployed at three times the rate of White men, hired last and laid off first, paid lower wages for the same work as White men, incarcerated longer and receiving harsher sentences for the same crimes as white men, ten times more likely to be stopped by the police for bogus reasons, stopped repeatedly and harassed for minor traffic violations, and now they are routine target practice for police who take out their own white supremacy rage, their racism and sense of vigilante justice under the guise of protecting the public.
Law enforcement or the police have never been viewed by the Black community as a source of protection. In truth, Black communities have felt the need to be protected from the very forces sworn to uphold justice. Police dont respond to violence in Black communities with the same degree of commitment as they do to their own White communities. Too often White policemen have terrorized Black men whom they considered uppity through lynching and other means of regulating Black male bodies.
Lest you forget, not too far in the past it was policemen who upheld and reinforced segregation and sanctioned lynching. Lest you forget, it was policemen who occupied the highest ranks of the Ku Klux Klan and it was policemen who turned fire hoses and unleashed dogs on peaceful Black civil rights demonstrators. Why should Black America trust the police?
Even recently with Black and Latino policemen among their ranks, there is no equal justice for our Black sons. Stepping into the police uniform renders these policemen of color senseless and they adopt the crowd mentality that all Black men are suspect, suspicious, thugs, druggies, anti-authoritarian hip hoppers, and in need of police control translation: they need to be beat down like beasts. And so they kill our Black sons.
Black men are thrown in jail for carrying small amounts of recreational drugs while White men in suburbia are sent to rehab. Police follow Black men around the streets without probable cause because they assume that all Black men are up to no good. Policemen even kill their own (a Black policeman) for firing a weapon when out of uniform because there is no such thing as a Black man with a legitimate reason for having a gun. Police routinely racially profile Black men as a group, yet have not developed a profile of the type of young White men most likely to commit mass murder at their schools.
Doing this kind of profiling might require that they look in the mirror and acknowledge that there are a lot of angry White men wearing badges who resent the legislation and changes in the country that they believe have reduced their White privilege and sense of entitlement. Many of these angry White men wear badges and may have been socialized from childhood to believe that the only good Black man is a dead one. No amount of Police Academy training can erase years of pent-up racism, White supremacy thinking, a sense of entitlement to White privilege and uncontrollable rage that it is a Black man who now holds the highest office in the country.
Today is a day of mourning. Unfortunately, Michael Brown is not the first, and he will not be the last Black son of America who dies. Michael Brown of Ferguson, Mo. has become an iconic symbol for the injustices that Black boys and men face, just as Emmett Till became almost 60 years ago. As the mother of a Black son, I weep not only for the mother of Michael Brown, I also weep for Trayvon Martins mother, and the mothers of all those young Black men who unjustly have fallen at the hands of Americas police. When will it stop? When will America regain its sanity as a society, and stop? Until there are answers, I will let my tears fall and mingle with those of the many Black mothers here and all over the world who have but one request: Stop killing our Black sons. Stop it. Now!
America, the young Black men you kill are our future and potential scientists and doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs...
Yeah, I'm sure Michael Brown (and St Trayvon) were on their way to becoming scientists or doctors.
It is true. Some of our Black sons are misdirected and misguided, to be sure. But doesnt every society have those disaffected youth who may follow the path to crime and violence? A few of them may deserve to be labelled thugs and hoodlums, but this is not every Black male child born, and our country says they are innocent until proven guilty.
EVERY black child born, is not labeled a thug. Just the ones who act like them.
Even the bad apples dont deserve to be gunned down and die like animals in the streets.
(In the words of our illustrious president) Uhhh...
Do we condemn every White young disaffected 21-year-old male because of Columbine; Aurora, Tucson, Fort Hood, and most recently Newtown? No.
Uhhh...Columbine, the dirt balls offed themselves, BEFORE they could have been shot like the dogs they were.
Aurora...Unfortunately nobody capped him.
Tucson...Unfortunately, he is still breathing.
Fort Hood (2009)...Wasn't a white young man. He was a 38 year old muslim terrorist.
Fort Hood 2014...Again not a white young man. Ivan was 34 and committed suicide.
Newtown...Adam Lanza shot himself.
In their article, White Men have much to discuss about mass shootings, Charlotte and Harriet Childress point out that White boys and men are often given a pass and attention turned to mental health issues, rather than the fact that disproportionately, White men have been involved in mass shooting sprees. Yet, they are not racially profiled.
Bullshiite...Every other day there is a drive by shooting, in Chicago alone. The vast majority aren't white guys doing that.
Any other strawmen to knock down???
The fergusion white cop hating strategy is an old but recognizable one.
“If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it...” Joseph Goebbels
Another fine product of affirmative action.
Stop raising your kids to be thugs. Problem solved. I don’t see any other races getting shot at or arrested near the number of times that blacks do. Hmm now I wonder why that might be? I can tell you why. Experienced it and saw it first hand with my own eyes while working the streets as a LEO.
Right. That "ol' skoo'!"
Regards,
Should someone tell her that more white people are killed by cops every year than black people, or does she not know that blacks are only 12% of the population? Maybe she agrees with the politician who says sharks still swim the routes the slave ships take because so many blacks were tossed overboard on the trip over.
Any time you see “activist” on a resume, you can be sure you are dealing with a moron.
Thank you for your refreshingly lucid rebuttal / retort!
Regards,
The authoress again proves there is no money in uniting the races. It’s all about money and how more can be made by keeping the low information voters divided, side-tracked, and agitated.
As far as social engineering is concerned. She needs to tell her black sons to get off their a$$es, get some education or a needed skill, find a real job or start their own business (to compete with whitey), and then go to work everyday like the rest of us that have to support ourselves and our families. Then maybe we’ll all be equal and too busy or tired to kill each other.
Finally, I never hear these authors telling black people to start at the bottom and work their way up the ladder to the top. Instead, they try to convince them that it can’t be done and look for ways to discourage them. Yet, whites, browns, yellows, and a even few blacks continue take the tough road to success by their hard work. The rest are happy to rely on big brother and blame whitey for their failure.
The writer is a racist and an idiot. That she teaches anyone anything shocks me. She is an affirmative-action degenerate of the first order...and should be fired.
She lasted less than four years as president of Shaw U (formerly Raleigh Institute).
When one goes so far as to imply that “bad apples” deserve to be handled with kid gloves, that destroys one’s credibility right then and there.
Black people, stop killing black people. And then stop blaming everyone else for all your problems.
“The writer is a racist and an idiot”.
—
I think blacks are more racist than whites. The constant whining and negativity of the black leaders and the liberal media is starting to turn many whites into racists.
She is definitely, an idiot. The low IQ kind, not the medically handicapped kind.
—
“That she teaches anyone anything shocks me”
She is as much a teacher as Jessie and Al claim to be bonafide reverends. When’s the last time you heard either one pastor a church or preach a real sermon.
—
“She is an affirmative-action degenerate of the first order...and should be fired”
Affirmative action was a policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, especially in relation to employment or education. I think what that really means is another more qualified person had to go to the back of the bus for them to get a job and an education. Once hired, AA people are difficult to fire because firing them would be an act of discrimination.
Degenerate depends on how liberal she is. She sounds fairly liberal.
Vast majority of black youth death is a result of other black youth, not the police.
Much of the fault lies with our welfare rules which reward single family mothers while throwing away fathers.
bkmk
They refuse to clean thier own house.
That this is supposedly the cream of their crop. It’s all pretty much downhill from her, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Barack Obama and Eric Holder. Think about that.
Following a life immersed in the Thug Culture, none of those “young men” have such a rosy future ahead of them as the “Author” suggests.
Fix the Culture, and this ends.
Until then, no. We will continue to kill those who commit crimes against others...
Do they have roller skating? I’m way too fat and weak for ice skating. LOL
Dr. Irma McClaurin,
You are correct. We arent fighting insurgents, enemy combatants, enemy forces or terrorists. You could have summed all of those under enemy combatants, but thats okay as we understand you are trying to make an emotional argument. Backyards, streets, nightclubs, and convenience stores after committing a robbery...We noticed the one place you did not mention: their places of employment. Perhaps, if they were at work, helping out the community in some way, or even looking for a job instead of being in these other places we wouldnt have this problem.
These are not our future scientists, doctors or entrepreneurs. They are dead. They were not killed in the process of trying to better themselves. They were killed at all the places you mentioned. They werent killed doing volunteer work around their neighborhood. They werent killed in a college classroom or learning a trade. They werent killed running a small business out of their garage while waiting for their big break. They have no role in the future, Doctor, big or small. And whether or not they deserved it, they are dead.
The truth is, Doctor, we all make decisions that impact our future. We all come from different backgrounds, and it is a fact that some have to work harder than others to be successful. In the end, we are stronger for it. For some of us, its being born into a poor family. Abusive relationships, poor early education, and in some cases genetics only make up a few of many reasons that can be claimed as excuses for refusing to try at life. We could delve into black culture and talk about the non-existent family unit, the negative impact of gangster rap music and government interference. The only problem is we arent writing a book, but only responding to your letter.
Doctor, as this letter is being written from Afghanistan, we must disagree with you. It is very easy to distinguish between Ferguson and here. Anyone with the tiniest amount of intelligence can easily point out the differences. One of the most glaring differences is that Afghans would never destroy their own village in response to a disagreement with local officials, much less use it as an opportunity to loot. Another interesting fact that points to how spoiled and pampered our entitled class is that they obviously had the time to protest. In Afghanistan you do not get paid for not working. If you dont work, you dont eat. That is a principle lost to our overweight, unemployed and so-called mistreated black sons and daughters. Just watch the news coverage. Based on the national average, at least twenty percent of those protesting are unemployed. I didnt see any malnutrition on the streets of Ferguson. Again, I understand loosely using comparisons and completely unrelated similes to garner an emotional response.
The lengths one would go to in order to call black criminals being killed by police an epidemic is baffling. In this Ferguson incident, you have a white police officer who, during the execution of his duties, was assaulted by a black man. It ended with the unfortunate death of the young man. It was a result of the young man disregarding authority and refusing to get out of the street when asked to do so by the police officer. If the young man had been a respectable citizen, he simply would have moved to the sidewalk instead of assaulting the officer. Nobody wants to hear this, however. At the same time, while claiming the rights of the young man were violated, you want to sentence the officer without a fair trial. No? If the officer is found innocent, what has the black community already promised to do? Youve already sentenced the officer. Furthermore, youve sentenced the business owners of Ferguson and likely those around St. Louis to looting and the burning of their businesses.
What is America? Who is America? Youre blaming an abstraction and not anyone or anything in particular. This type of blame is the type one tries to throw to divert attention from where the blame truly lies. The fact is the black man has failed the black man. How do you justify blaming America in general based on police killing black men while at the same time completely ignoring black on black murders which exponentially exceed those committed by police officers? The only explanation is it doesnt fit into your blame-everything-else-but-the-problem mold.
The never ending complaints of better schools, salaries, teachers, training, youth programs, etc. are falling on deaf ears. Alternatives have been offered to you. You refuse them. Instead you continue to vote for the same people who make you the same promises and have the same good intentions, but never deliver. The promises they have made you for the last fifty years since President Johnson have not produced, have they? Who is to blame for that? Who keeps supporting the very same people every year with no change? America?
Another old crutch that you cant seem to drop is the slavery, lynching, discouragement, mistreatment and everything else thats been overused the last fifty years. This is also beginning to fall on deaf ears. People have witnessed the last two presidential elections go to a black man. This would indicate the majority of Americans are not racist. Even with over ninety percent of blacks voting for Obama, he could not have won without the majority of whites. More white men died fighting over slavery than any American conflict in history, so considered dues paid and get over it. The only slave owner in our nation today is the Democratic Party.
Vigilante justice? What do you consider the demanding of a police officers conviction under threat of riots? Dont throw stones, Doctor.
Lest you forget, Doctor, it was the Democratic Party that was pro-slavery. Lest you forget, Doctor, it was the Democratic Partys Ku Klux Klan that was lynching blacks and infiltrating police departments in order to cover their crimes. Lest you forget, Doctor, it was the Democratic Party who worked against the black community until they realized they could give up their aspirations of returning you to a cotton plantation by convincing you join their political plantation. You do the hard work keeping them in power and in return they take care of you, and promise you protection. Try going rogue, Doctor, and make some principled statements against the Party. See if they dont figuratively lynch you.
The fact of the matter is the vast majority of police officers are honorable people. To automatically label black police officers as turncoats and automatically senseless shows you are just as much the bigot as you are claiming police officers are. Doctor, these are the same people that will be responding to you residence if or when a criminal decides to do you or your property harm.
We would never respond to your complaints, Doctor, without offering some form of solution. You didnt seem to have any solution, but chose to only attack an honorable institution. Our law enforcement organizations do need work, but they nor America are to blame for the black communitys problems.
The black community needs to look into a mirror. Black men need to step up and be men. Marry your babys momma. Bring back the family. Tell the government to stop holding you back. Dont listen to the Democratic Party when they tell you that without them you cannot succeed. Think for yourself. Get rid of these so-called leaders such as Sharpton and Jackson. They only bring you down.
Lift up true leaders such as Ben Carson, Alan Keyes, James Golden, Amy Holmes, Clarence Thomas, Mia Love, and Alan West. These are only a few off the top of our head.
These people are worth pointing out to your children and saying, If you work hard, one day you could be successful like him/her.
Can you say that about Sharpton and Jackson, your current leaders
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