Here We Are....AGAIN...SMH





A makeshift memorial for Alton Sterling, 24 hours after losing his life in an altercation with Law Enforcement

SMH





It's been almost 2 years since I've dusted off this blog. I figured that after spilling my guts out about a summer of death in Chi-town, I'd know how to internalize and 'cope' with the B.S. that we've seen (as black folks) when we see our rights (or rather, lack thereof) and the marginalization of our humanity as citizens of this country, on display on the evening news.

Like any rational dude that DOESN'T want to be a cynic, I took a break from discussing OUR ills for a while.






Welp, Here we are again...smh. It's 2016 and American Law Enforcement STILL doesn't get it. Again, we as black folks got a chance to sit back and witness two flat-out EXECUTIONS of AMERICAN CITIZENS (not just black folks, but black folks and AMERICAN CITIZENS, because we ARE citizens of this country, too) within the span of 24 to 48 hours, by Law Enforcement officers that had absolutely NO REASON to employ the amount of force used in these interactions with civilians...Add Alton Sterling and Philando Castille to the most tragic, unfair and cruel fraternity of folks that have died either IN police custody, or as a result of EFFED UP execution of Law Enforcement in performing the duties we pay them to perform.

Do I really have to revisit the 'list'? Do I REALLY need to recite the number - no...they're NOT numbers; The NAMES of black folk that have had THEIR lives snuffed out in the last decade by the INABILITY of law makers and, more importantly, Law Enforcement, of being able to DO the job of serving the public trust the RIGHT and EQUITABLE way? IJS, exactly how many times will we have to SEE our loved ones (whether they're the best, or the most needy of our communities) literally liquidated before our very eyes in the name of feigned 'non-compliance', or their deaths rationalized by how an arresting officer's 'discomfort' with citizens questioning HOW they DO the job we pay our tax money for them to do?

Well, I'm tired...I'm tired of BEING a hard-working citizen of this country that happens to be an African-American, and having to WORRY about whether that next random traffic stop for a tail light will turn into a fight for my life, or the next socially traumatic experience for black folks here in THIS country to endure. It's tiring to see the inevitable avalanche of excuses, justifications, and low-key, back-handed "Well, he had it coming" commentary that always comes in the aftermath of a tragedy like this. I'm tired of the ills of OUR community (which, BTW, are a LOT more complex than the 'Bootstrap Dogma' that a LOT of white folks, and some black folks, engage in) becoming some sort of backwards ass rationalization as to WHY officers that are supposed to be trained to SERVE the public trust, fail to DO so.

"Well, it's only a couple of bad apples...All police ain't bad, so why are you complaining?"

I'm tired of the 'good cop' rationalization BS, too...Are there GREAT officers out there that do the uniform and the shield that they wear justice? Absolutely. That good cop being a 'good' cop, doesn't seem to translate into GOOD POLICING, or to the weeding out of 'Bad' Cops...smh.

'Good' Cops ain't worried about towing that thin blue line to protect their homies after THEY'VE fucked up and violated the public trust; The 'good' cop SERVES THE PUBLIC TRUST...period. The 'good' cop IS that whistle-blower that's got the courage to SAY that things aren't right, because that's what THAT oath means. I'm just saying, how many 'good cops' did we see or hear from in places like Ferguson, or Dothan (oh...My Bad, the Law Enforcement Arm of the Dothan KKK), or the Danzinger Bridge in New Orleans. Maybe that 'good cop' was on a burger run for Dylan Roof after he shot up a bible study full of innocent black folks. I'm tired of seeing the legal system cowtail to folks like the FOH (The Fraternal Order of Police), and other entities when it's time to hold officers and/or policies accountable for the families ruined and lives lost.

Even the brightest and the BEST of us are GETTING TIRED of the bullshit being doled out here. When that happens America, you had better PRAY that the outcome of getting to the end of that rope results in a renewed sense of collaboration and self-reliance for black communities, as opposed to retaliation against THOSE folks that wear the shield and the badge.

You'd better PRAY that the 15 year old son (and those like him)  that had to watch his father executed before his very eyes, shows more compassion than America has afforded him and HIS family. Otherwise, you might see THIS again on American Soil before long:

#AltonSterling
#PhilandoCastille
#Justice