Just another isolated event

Just days ago the Government decided that there was nothing more they could do to pursue justice in the Sean Bell shooting. After 4 years and 50 shots, nothing has been done besides "normal police actions".



Across the country, in an odd coincidence, a Black man was unarmed and shot in the back by police. No I'm not speaking about Robbie Tolan, or Adolph Grimes, or even Oscar Grant. I mean the shooting of Aaron Campbell in Portland.

I know, with all these cases being so similar it's hard to know which police shooting of unarmed Black men I could be talking about. Not that this is an epidemic or a pattern that someone should investigate or report.

Aaron Campbell was a man that had just lost his brother to heart disease. He was understandably upset. As was his family, because they knew he had a gun in his house. But the family made one mistake. They called the police.

Police arrived and text messaged Campbell if he was going to harm himself. He replied
that he had no intention of killing himself. Sgt. Liani Reyna, commander at the scene, believed the situation was over.

She is quoted as saying "I'm ready to walk away from this, we don't need to be here."

At that time Campbell came outside, unarmed, hands on his head. What do you think the police did next?

Obviously they felt that Campbell was still dangerous. Because he is a Black man and he must have the strength of Hercules, and the skin of Superman. The police near simultaneously told him to raise his hands over his head, shot him with non-lethal bean bags, and sicked a police dog on him.

Campbell ran, which is not entirely a strange thing to do as a dog attacks and the confusing reactions of police. As Campbell ran police claim he reached for his waistband. Here is the critical moment.

Just like Amidou Diallo (41 shots), like Sean Bell (50 shots), like Oscar Grant (1 shot while he laid face down on the ground), like Robbie Tolan (1 shot as he was on his knees), like numerous Black men across the nation, police were 100% sure that this meant Campbell had a gun. So they shot him in the back with a AR-15 (the civillian version of the military M-16 rifle) and killed him. They left his body on the ground while the police dog bit it, for half an hour, before they checked it (maybe they thought he was a vampire and would just get back up).

The police were loaded for bear, and bagged an unarmed Black man. What do you think happened to the officers involved in this? Nothing. Just a letter from the Multnomah County grand jury stating

"We feel that his death resulted from flawed police policies, incomplete or inappropriate training, incomplete communication and other issues with the police effort."

Have you heard that before? I have. Too many times. In cities across the nation (L.A., Philadelphia, New York, Oakland, Dallas, do I need to go on?), in "isolated" "justified" police shootings of Black men every year for decades now. But I bet that most people haven't heard a word about 1/5th of them.

But today the Dept. of Justice has decided to look into this case. Just because it's a "routine" thing to do.

I don't think there is anything routine about it. Aaron Campbell did not need to die. Nor did Oscar Grant (a case that won't go before a jury for another year oddly enough). Nor Sean Bell. Or a whole list of men (and Black women too) shot with enough bullets to kill the army of France [ok I'm exaggerating, France and Belgium combined].

At what point to people stop avoiding this "isolated" event that keeps repeating multiple times a year in every corner of the nation? At what point do people stop dreaming and proclaiming America is post-racial, and start noticing the very racial bias of police? Will it take a police officer shooting one of the Obama children 5 or 10 years from now to make someone in the major media notice there is a problem?

I'm not saying that every police shooting is unjustified or unreasonable. But I am saying that there are way to many examples of excessive force and deadly action, focused directly on African American men, without the hint of reason. And I am tired of it.



Stop the game!

A discussion of police, race, America, and what to do - part 2

Concluded from A discussion of police, race, America, and what to do

That brought up a point for my friend. I was being unfair to the police. Because they must be more aware and on guard in high crime areas. Which I agree with. But that does not justify their actions, nor does it excuse them.

My friend brought up a case he felt that was an example of such an understandable use of deadly force. The Amidou Diallo case. Which I lost my mind on. The fact that a man can be shot at his door 41 times, while unarmed, is inexcusable to me. My friend felt that in the heat of the moment, with adrenaline pumping, and the sound of shots going off these officers feared for their lives and thus it was understandable.

Except I noted, that Diallo was unarmed, so the police had no reason to begin shooting in the first place. And the police continued to shoot Diallo after he was laying flat on the ground, since it was found that he was shot through the sole of his foot. And this was a violation of police procedure as they are trained, and to my knowledge is part of written policy (correct me if I am wrong), to shoot in small bursts to protect the populace and prevent such overkill events.

Worse yet, I reminded my friend that in the last decade alone, we have seen dozens of times where police confront an armed individual, that may have already killed innocents, and is an obvious danger to their lives. Yet in those documented, and occasionally video taped, events the suspect is fired upon maybe 6 times by multiple officers. With the same adrenaline, the same fear, though with a real threat and a White antagonist. If police overkill is so understandable, why do police never kill armed White murderers with hails of 30, 40, 50 bullets?

Again we came back to the central thought, how can this be changed or prevented. My friend noted that he felt the Black community must stand up and kick out the criminals, not allowing them to continue. And he noted that the White community must learn to recognize that people of color are not an unequivocal threat.

But again I find fault with that argument. Because often in the most poor areas of major cities, where crime is highest, there is no where else to go. Where can the Black community move its criminals to? There is no where else to go. And it avoids the root of the cause of crime, education.

In any poor community, the one factor that is the same is the fact that the education system is abominable. School books are older in many cases than the students. Teachers are burnt out, or unqualified. The buildings and resources sub-standard. Yet it is expected that students from these schools should be the equal of those with far better resources? That these students will have the means, en masse, to improve their standard of living?

Yet something else came to me as I decided to write about this event. The discussion of what is ailing America and influencing crime, prejudice, and racial disparity is not just one thing. It is a multitude of events and actions. Each plays a part in creating the whole. And in trying to limit the subject to 1 thing we fail to reach a point of reasonable change.

I understand that most police officers are good people. I realize they have a difficult job, and do not question the actions they take to defend themselves and the populace from criminals, in general. But I also realize that these same reasons are not excuses to act in a manner that harms those they are supposed to have been sworn to protect.

I understand that the Black community has its share of fault in this process. But I realize at the same time that it is difficult to wage such a battle when the community is being assaulted by the media (with a message of inevitably), denied a fair education, presumed at large to be wrong and violent, and poisoned by dreams of instant wealth (either through attainment of entertainment's highest circles or by enlisting in the inner circles of hell and selling drugs - both of which are presented as equally available options).

But I am left with a horrible thought in the end. America is ingrained with the residual thought that people of color are not equal or similar, and that means inferior. This thought started with the first slave, no later than 1619, and was reinforced with Jim Crow laws until 1965. And even then it was not until the mid to late 1980's that the nation accepted people of color into positions of familiarity (television and movies) or power (politics, business, ect) with any regularity or trust.

The seeds of our past still continue to grow, though at a far slower pace today than ever before. That is an improvement, but it still hides the causation and thus a remedy.

There is no one answer to the problems that plague America. There is no one cause for the racial divide in the nation. Though it is clear that the longer we do not address the causes we will keep having more incidents of violence and discord among our people and thus law enforcement too.

I know that I do not see these issues objectively. I cannot because I have been their victim, and may be so again in the future. As well as my family and friends of color. It prevents a calm and separate view. At the same time the completely dispassionate view of some Whites is just as wrong. Because it refuses to see the multiple vines of this infestation, refuses to acknowledge that this is all connected since it will never truly affect them in their life.

So again I come to the thought that communication is the key. Angry, calm, loud and quiet. Passionate and dispassionate. An ebb and flow of discussion that will annoy and grate on the nerves of everyone involved at one point or another. Because if we cannot communicate fully, with all that is vested in the conversation, with all the things we are wrong about, we will never resolve this. It will just create another vine and choke off some other aspect of our lives, plaguing yet another generation of Americans.

But what do you think?

Police, murder, African Americans. Never Again. Stop The Game

In 1946, in Georgia, a mob lynched 4 Black men. That event led to the desegregation of the military, and arguably set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1981, in Alabama, Michael McDonald was randomly selected and lynched.

In 1998 James Byrd Jr. was dragged to death in Texas.

These were horrible acts of violence. Thankfully in each case some degree of justice was enacted. But these are not isolated events. And they are reinforced by actions of a group in America that should never be tolerated. Police officers.

There is a pattern in America that has been accepted and hidden by the news media for far too long. In each occurrence it is passed off as an individual act and unrelated. I disagree. I believe we need to bring these connected events to light.



In 1991 Rodney King was beaten by 4 officers with excessive force. This was one of the first times such an action by police was seen by the public, as the event had been videotaped by a bystander. Even with this evidence a jury essentially slapped the wrists of the officers involved. This lead to riots in 1992.

Since that time several other events have been video taped with the media less willing to give it public attention. One of the most recent was the execution-style murder of Oscar Grant, in Oakland California on New Years Day 2009.

The killing of Grant was witnessed by at least a dozen witnesses. Grant was unarmed, on the ground face down, with an officer on his back, and was not resisting arrest. He was shot 1 time in the back at point blank range, killing him. The entire incident, some 4 minutes long, was caught on multiple cameras. It took 14 days for the officer firing the shot to be charged with a crime. The incident reached the national media 2x (an ABC news 30 second video clip and the opening memo on the O’Reilly Factor), both focused on the riots that occurred a week after the event.

On that same day, Robbie Tolan was shot in his driveway, while on the ground, in Texas. Robbie Tolan has been a minor league baseball player, was unarmed, and coming home from getting fast food when he was confronted by police. He currently has a bullet lodged in his liver. The officer in question has not been charged to date, though an investigation appears to still be underway.

Again on that same day, in New Orleans, Adolph Grimes was shot at 48 times, and struck 14, by 9 police officers. 12 of the 14 shots struck Grimes in the back. There is no clear explanation of why Grimes was shot at, or how he was struck so many times in the back. At this time no charges are pending any officer involved, though an investigation is said to be underway.

In 2008, Philadelphia, 19 police officers surround and beat 3 men. The officers believed the men might have been suspects from a shooting earlier that night. The men, not resisting arrest and unarmed, are kicked and beaten while lying on the ground. The result of this unquestionable act of police brutality enacted on African Americans is 4 officers fired, 3 suspended, and 1 demotion. No charges were brought.

Sean Bell, and 2 other passengers in his car, were shot at 51 times in NYC in 2006 by 5 police officers. None of the men were armed. Sean Bell died, the other surviving men were critically wounded at the time. None of the police officers were found guilty of wrong-doing.

Also in 2006, in Atlanta, Kathryn Johnston (age 92) was shot by 3 officers and killed. The officers entered the home with a no-knock warrant – prying off burglar alarms and breaking down the door - Johnston fired a shotgun once in the ceiling. No officer was injured by Johnston. Police fired 39 shots and hit Johnston 6 times. A failed cover-up of the incident included false claims of Johnston being a drug dealer. It was later proven that the Atlanta police routinely lied to get warrants All 3 officers that shot Johnston have been found guilty.

In 2005, in New Orleans, Robert Davis was beaten by 4 officers (2 of which were in fact federal agents). This incident was videotaped by the Associated Press, during which one of the newsmen was physically assaulted for videotaping the event. The federal agents were never charged. 2 officers were fired and 1 received a 120 suspension. 1 officer was cleared of all charges by a judge.

In 2004, NYC, Timothy Stansbury Jr. opened a rooftop door and was shot and killed by a police officer. He was unarmed. The shooting violated police procedure. The officer was never charged.

In 2001, in Ohio, Timothy Thomas was shot and killed by a police officer. The initial statement by the officer was that his gun accidentally went off. He then later stated that Thomas, wanted on non-violent charges, had a gun. He later revised the statement that he believed Thomas was reaching for a gun. Thomas in fact was unarmed, and is believed to have been holding up his baggy pants. The officer was not charged.

In 1999, in NYC, Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by 4 police officers outside of his home. He was unarmed. At least one of the shots to Diallo was fired through the bottom of his foot, meaning he was lying on the ground when the shot was fired. None of the police officers involved were found to have committed a crime.

1998, in New Jersey, State police officers fired 11 shots at Danny Reyes and 3 passengers in the van. 3 of the men in the van, including Reyes, were shot. Reyes was hit 4 times, and was unarmed, as were all the men in the vehicle. All the men were on the way to professional basketball tryouts in North Carolina. The State troopers were charged with attempted murder after having initial charges dropped by lower court. I am unaware of any trial date having been set or occurring to date.

In 1997, in New York City, 4 officers arrested Abner Louima on questionable charges at an incident not originally involving him. When Louima was brought to the police station the officers proceeded to beat Louima with fists, nightsticks, police radios, and then sodomized him with a plunger. The entire event was attempted to be covered up by multiple police officers in the police station. 2 officers received time in jail, 3 other officers had convictions overturned and never served time.



I mention all of these events for 1 reason. They are not separate. They are all related. This is a pattern that has been occurring since before the 20th century started. It happens across the nation. And it could happen to your brother, sister, mother, father, children or yourself.

Police officers are routinely given carte blanche to violently act against African Americans without cause. Even when that action results in death, or extreme unjustifiable violence and torture, police are routinely excused.

The media almost invariably ignores these events. Even when presented with evidence from independent sources. Right this second more people in America know of the Florida Caylee Anthony case than all of the above cases (with the exception of perhaps the Rodney King event). While the Anthony case is horrendous, it is an individual act – reported on for a year – whereas we have a pattern of systemic abuse of power allowed by the legal system that remains virtually unseen. And it is anyone’s guess how many other cases of a similar nature occur and are not reported on.

This is unacceptable. This is wrong. We cannot allow this to continue.





The news media must live to its obligation to report on patterns that violate the rights and lives of American citizens. The news media is not an entertainment program, nor does it have the right to ignore facts that affect a huge segment of the nation while trying to garner ad revenue.

The police are employed to protect the rights of all the people. While many do this every day successfully, there are more than enough officers that do not. For every case resulting in the unwarranted death of an unarmed African American how many more cases of lesser violence slip thru the cracks? For every case of violence that catches the local (almost never national) attention how many are unreported, or successfully covered up?

We may never know. Especially if this is allowed to be viewed as individual events that are unrelated. Especially if we cloud our eyes to the fact that officers in these events are routinely placed back on the street, and inevitably train future officers the tactics and mentality they employ.

We need to wake up America. We need to shed light on this subject. We need to make people aware of the danger that exists. Because if 1 Black man can be shot at 51 times without question or repercussion, any man woman or child in the nation could be next.

I present this clothing line, found at www.cafepress.com/nova68, with one thought in mind. Attention to the wrong that is happening right now, in this “post-racial” America. Police cannot murder innocents without concern if they know they will be punished for it. Police departments will not abide criminals wearing a badge if they know that they have the support of the public.

I cannot say that the Never Again, or Stop The Game, clothing lines will prevent another Abner Louima, Kathryn Johnston, or Oscar Grant – but if enough of us have this, wear this in public, open the debate and thus increase awareness it just might. If enough of us can wear this, and it starts people noticing the obvious connected pattern of abuse and death things can be changed. And that change could save the life of a child, a father, a family. This change could save you.

Isn’t that worth it?

Police overkill: not a movie, Philadelphia

On Monday night, WTXF news helicopter took video images of 15 police officers.



Those swarming individuals weren’t gang members, though at a glance you would assume they were.

What happened?

According to police they witnessed the car in question pull up and a man stepped out shooting at an individual. The man with the gun then ran away on foot. The car with 3 Black men seen in the video was followed and the video tells the rest of the story.

We have yet to hear the version of events from the African Americans that were in the car, though they all have been charged with attempted murder.

Facts so far?

Beyond the video there are none yet. There is nothing to back up the police allegation that there was a shooting. There is no information about a 4th man. There is no information about all the police involved chasing after the man that had the gun and was on foot. The 4th man is at large according to all news on the event so far.

Does all this sound familiar? The name you may be recalling is Sean Bell.

Like in the Sean Bell case we have police keeping surveillance of a crime area. Again an alleged 4th individual is supposed to have had a gun. Yet again the person with the gun is gone like mist in the sunlight. And again police officers (in this case a multitude of them) are incapable of capturing the most dangerous of the alleged criminals.

Like Rodney King, the men once pulled out of the car, are assaulted with extreme prejudice. Not one man in this video is shown resisting. As if they could considering the numbers involved.

Like Sean Bell the officers involved are in the process of being removed from duty on the street. Note that they are not being suspended, or fired, or not working. They just are being reassigned (which could mean that they are still on the streets, just in a different area).

Also, if this had not been caught on tape by a news helicopter, would any of this made the news? Would anyone have believed the men if there was no tape of the events? What is more believable, police officers or alleged murderers, without video?

How many students in San Diego were beaten by multiple officers when they were arrested? 0 out of 100. How many police abused the 2 blonde bank robbers in Atlanta? None, especially since they found the girls while they were casually getting their hair done and discussing the robbery. [The women got 1 yr probation; the Black men got 10 years in jail.] How many officers assaulted, en masse, a White alleged criminal – not putting up a fight – in numbers approaching 5-1, in the past year? 5 years? 10?

When I hear people say that this is not a Black and White issue I have to ask, How is it not? When I hear people say that law enforcement is fair, I have to ask Where are the Whites being treated in the same manner? When I hear people say this is not systemic I have to ask, What part of the nation has not had a similar type of event in the past year or 2?

I spoke about the problem that exists in America I said

“Black men assaulted by the police, with extreme and unjustifiable force, with officers that walked away from the incidents (crimes) without penalty. Nothing like the even hand of justice in America.”

And then I asked in another post

“What did we do after the Rodney King trial and riots? What did we do after Amidou Diallo was murdered. What have we done after the media circus that was the coverage of Wesley Snipes vs the IRS (which he basically won – though you probably never heard the major news media mention that part)? What has happened after the rape torture and kidnapping of Megan Williams? What have we done about Congress (Democrat and Republican led) and the Presidency’s inaction in Darfur?”

I still have the same insights, and the same questions. What will it take to change either thought I have?

After the Sean Bell trial - now what?

So now that so many have heard about the verdict of the NY police officers involved in the Sean Bell killing (or shooting as some would prefer) the question that comes up next is what shall we do.

What did we do after the Rodney King trial and riots? What did we do after Amidou Diallo was murdered. What have we done after the media circus that was the coverage of Wesley Snipes vs the IRS (which he basically won – though you probably never heard the major news media mention that part)? What has happened after the rape torture and kidnapping of Megan Williams? What have we done about Congress (Democrat and Republican led) and the Presidency’s inaction in Darfur?

I have tried to promote information for you my readers to make comment on all these issues. I have hoped to spark intelligent debate. I ultimately hope to inspire those with more resources, time, and ability to do something. And I have donated and acted as well.

But perhaps I am too small a voice, or to little known for some people – no matter that I am read in over 100 countries every month with visitors that number better than many newspapers across the nation. So I offer the thoughts and comments of Dr. Marc Lamont Hill and Marq Claxton.

Sean Bell murder - Police absolved of guilt, African Americans endangered

Rodney King, Amidou Diallo, Sean Bell. What do these events all have in common. Black men assaulted by the police, with extreme and unjustifiable force, with officers that walked away from the incidents (crimes) without penalty. Nothing like the even hand of justice in America.

Now you may have caught some of the relatively brief news that came out today on the Sean Bell case. I have been following it since the murder was committed. The news today may well have been obscured by the shark attack or other vital news. What has happened is that the trial (which you may not have heard was underway since early this year) concluded with no charges against the police officers guilty of firing 51 shots into a car holding 3 Black men that were all unarmed.

If you never heard about this case (which you might have missed considering the short shrift the major news media gave it) it goes like this. 3 African American men are in a strip club celebrating a bachelor party for one of them, Sean Bell. They leave the club and go to their car. They are followed by a police officer. At this points all the facts end and conjecture begins.

According to the officer, who was in the club for surveillance in a matter unrelated to these men, he believed them to be acting suspiciously. He followed them to the car where he thought they were going to get at least one gun. He approached the car, identified himself, and as the men started the car feared for his life. He then fired into the car, as did several other officers involved in the original surveillance. During the shooting of the surrounded car it was believed that a 4th man exited the car – while under fire - with a gun. In total 51 shots were fired, killing Sean Bell, and severely wounding both of the surviving men in the car. No gun was found, no drugs. No witness identified or corroborated a 4th man, nor anyone exiting the car with or without a gun.

According to the men in the car, the officer has words with their group while in the club. They left and entered their car, at which point they became aware that they were being followed. The man from the club pulled out a gun, and they – in fear of their lives from this unknown assailant – tried to drive away. The man proceeded to fire into their car, followed by several others as they surrounded the car on all sides. There was no 4th person in their group, no gun, no drugs. The man with a gun, and his companions, never identified themselves as police officers.

That is the reports of both sides from the initial day of the incident. And that begins my problems. As I stated before:

“Mr. Sean Bell and his friends were fired at 51 times. One officer fired 31 times another 11 times. The tires of the car were not shot out. Deadly force was used, though it was against official policy…As Mr. Bell continued to attempt to get away the officer seems to have become fearful for his life and the results were one dead another shot 23 times and the third shot 16 times.

Imagine that this was a car full of white males. If that would be excessive then this must be. The bigger question I have always had is why such force needs to be used solely against African American men. Mr. Rodney King had 5 or 6 officers beating him; Mr. Diallo had 41 shots from 4 officers [at least one shot was through his foot after he was laying on the ground dead]. In each case the officers walked away without a single charge. Mr. Louima was violated in a police station with a plunger. Given these facts, my own experiences and those of friends, if I had a chance to get away from a police officer in a touchy situation I’d try to run as well. It’s not about guilt, it’s about survival.”

Now what does the media say? Well Yahoo titles this : 3 NYPD detectives acquitted in 50-shot killing. They go on to mention that the murder occurred in a “seedy strip club in Queens” – inferring that this was a bad place and that bad people go there. The tone is meant to imply that the officers were in the right and the men wrong, justifying the trial outcome.

But what about the case that few ever heard about? There was no jury, only Justice Arthur Cooperman.

“Cooperman indicated that the police officers' version of events was more credible than the victims' version. "The people have not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that each defendant was not justified" in firing, he said.”

He said this without 1 officer taking the stand. He said this with both survivors taking the stand. He said this even though initial reports had a mysterious 4th person running from the car, without pursuit and allegedly armed, as per the police report and news media coverage that has since been dropped as if it were haze in the sunlight.

So I ask again

“But what is it that makes it alright to go to such extremes. And it must be alright on some level because across the nation Black American men are assaulted like this often. I don’t recall a single white male that was attacked in a similar manner once in my entire life. I’m not talking about a shootout with officers, or hostage taking. I mean beatings by half a dozen officers, being fired at enough times to necessitate reloading firearms, and abuses that even the prisoners at Abu Ghraib have not received.”

And what about the news media? Well I just wrote about Wesley Snipes and the media dealing with him. And this case?

“Black American men shot to death, in a style of overkill usually only found in action movies, minor news. Black man with contribution to the arts for decades, unburied for 2+ months, not important. African American wins a trial by using high priced lawyers and reasonable doubt, bad charges, and evidence planted by the police is unforgettable. Cute (dead) blonde gets daily coverage. An argument between celebrities, daily coverage. Offensive, demeaning comments by a celebrity against a religious or ethnic group, minor coverage. Defensive coverage of accused rapists, prior to a trial or Grand Jury, prior to any actual facts being found – daily coverage. As facts are found, huge recaps of the case, furthering the defense especially if anything leads to defending the accused. Coverage of a bank robbery by ‘cute teens’ huge coverage, the fact that the charges were lessened from federal offenses? 2 minutes.” [In fact there was a follow-up on the blonde bank robbers – they got probation and 1 year, the men of color involved in this non-violent crime got 10 years each. Coverage? About double the 2 minutes mentioned above.]

What about the legal system?

“There is no question that African Americans have long felt that the legal system in America is a failure when it comes to any person of color. We have long complained of higher conviction rates, less access to bails, and harsher penalties once convicted. That says nothing of the stigma attached to those paroled, falsely accused, or who win the judicial action.

There is the examples from the past of numerous lynchings, the eradication of Rosewood, and Jim Crow laws including segregation as recent as the mid- to late-70’s. But on more recent notes there are the examples of Rodney King, Sean Bell, OJ Simpson, Genarlow Wilson, and the Jena 6." [Add to that Wesley Snipes and his unfair and uncommon sentencing for misdemeanors.]

And yet when the facts are observed we find that

“So we get this realization, Whites committed 4,297,146 acts of violent crime against a single person, and 759,079 acts against multiple victims that were White. Including the 40,249 multiple Black victims we get a total of 5,096,474. Thus once we move away from percentages and look at real numbers we learn that Whites are far more likely to commit a crime of violence against anyone, especially other Whites.”

Yet given the preponderance of facts that Whites commit more violent crimes, against everyone, there has never been a White that has been murdered in a manner and/or without punisment as African American men face on a regular basis.

The media is negaitve, the legal system unbalanced, and the facts ignored. Is anyone surprised that the officers got off without a charge? Or that the judge in this case wouldn’t believe them? Or that, looking more broadly, a couple of 10 second clips of video is being accepted as Bible truth in an attempt to assault Senator Obama’s Presidential aspirations?

When you look at the larger picture the painting isn’t very good. If you’ve read this far I have to believe you can see the point and share my anger. You can see why African Americans laugh coldly when the concept of “fair and equal under the law” is brought up.

40+ years after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and so many others fighting for Civil Rights there is still the absensce of equality in the law and law enforcement. And some want to tell me ‘It’s in your head’ or that I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Looking at all this I think we can all understand when an American military veteran religious leader says “Godd**** America” or wonders if AIDS was another version of the Tuskegee Experiments.

There are a lot of problems in America, and many can be seen in how the media reports or fails to report (like the Megan Williamns case) the facts.

But now that you see what I have seen and followed what will you do? For those White Americans that read my posts I ask you, now that another layer of the wool that covered your eyes has been removed, how do you feel? What is your response? How will you help get things to change, even if this reality makes you uncomfortable?

The most dangerous people in America Part 2 - 4.9.2008.1

This is a reply to a specific and series of comments found at Black & White Blog and The most dangerous people in America - 11.4.2007.1


Soldie,

First, my name is Michael Vass not dude. Please use that as after 40 years of life I think I am at least deserving of that if not the more polite and respectful Mr. Vass.

But to answer your comment, I did not isolate my initial post or comment above to only Columbine. As I stated and is a clear fact virtually every mass murder occurring in a school or college to date has been committed by a White young male. None have ever happened, or even been planned as is known, by African Americans or Hispanic/Latino Americans. And that is throughout the decade of time you wish to isolate my comments to, which I do not.

Thus while same race crimes may be more likely to cause harm or death to a Black male, which is a problem on a one-on-one basis, young White males are vastly more dangerous to groups of individuals. That is to say nothing of those older White males that are predominant in committing “gone postal” shootings, serial murders, and murder sprees.

You go on to mention how homicides are the leading cause of deaths to Black males under 30. You fail to mention that 66.2 percent of hate crimes are enacted against Blacks (according to D.O.J. 2006 reports). Further looking at the data from 1994 through 2004 we see that crimes by more than one offender against a victim work out as follows:

http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/abstract/cvus/race.htm

White victim - 1,555,490 Percentage committed by White - 48.8% Black - 22.2% Other - 11.8% Mixed race - 12.2% Unknown - 5.1%

Black victim - 372,680 Percentage committed by White - 10.8 Black - 67.1 Other - 6.7 Mixed - 13.9 Unknown - 1.5

In addition violent crimes committed by 1 offender are as follows:

Crimes of violence 6,930,880 Percentage committed by White - 62.1% Black - 26.2% Other - 9.3% Unknown - 2.4%

So we get this realization, Whites committed 4,297,146 acts of violent crime against a single person, and 759,079 acts against multiple victims that were White. Including the 40,249 multiple Black victims we get a total of 5,096,474. Thus once we move away from percentages and look at real numbers we learn that Whites are far more likely to commit a crime of violence against anyone, especially other Whites. Again I never isolated my comments to murder; I was speaking of violence and general danger.

Now add in the age component of multiple victims:

Crimes of violence 2,010,170 Under age 12 - 0.3% Ages 12-20 - 46.9% Ages 21-29 - 13.9% All over 30 - 5.7% Mixed ages - 25.9% Unknown - 7.2%

Thus 61.1% of all violent multiple crimes are committed by those at or under age 29. [Single crime age data not found, all data via the Department of Justice records] That is considered young.

So again I say what the numbers prove true, and seemingly leaves some readers feeling uncomfortable, young White males are dangerous.

It is not hateful or mean to state facts. You may not like the facts, you may feel embarrassed by them, but they are facts. There is no dispute of the numbers. And by not hiding behind percentages that sound impressive, we see the reality that was expressed to me on that Sunday.

The truth is that I have never in 40 years heard of a White male shot by police 50 times, or 40, or even a dozen – though multiple Blacks have been (Sean Bell and too mant others). The truth is I have never heard of a Black kid shooting a school or college. The truth is that nooses are used by Whites to intimidate and threaten Blacks (Jena 6). [By the way, as a friend of mine mentioned, what other purpose would anyone – especially kids – have to know how to make a noose?] The fact is that 6 Whites (most of whom were young) raped, tortured and kidnapped a Black woman (Megan Williams) that was avoided by the media. For all your protest otherwise you avoided speaking about any of these events. And for each one we can find multiple events of an exactly similar nature over the last 40 years. These are facts and they are not filled with hate or mean. They are just the truth.

You might like to be told the facts of what happens in America in a manner that makes you feel good, but that’s just sugar-coating. You might be upset that some Whites act in a manner that is despicable. But you have yet to deny or prove me incorrect.

And why is any of this important?

Because America is filled with anger and penalties of law that are motivated by the inaccurate and tunnel-visioned lie of who is committing crimes of violence. Because these prejudices and stereotypes influence our entertainment, politics, and daily lives. Because instead of saying that there is a problem and dealing with it we look to address the symptoms.

If you find me a pain because I’m presenting you the reality that actual numbers back up, and not the prejudiced image that percentages present, I can’t help you.

So now the question is before you, since the factual and accurate numbers state that young White males are the most dangerous group in America what will you do about it? Feel embarrassed and upset with me for telling you the truth, or do something to change the facts?

We have different laws down here

**This post and others can be found at All American Blog, where I am a contributing author.**

As I post various thoughts over the last several years I’ve come to a couple of understandings. One of the most prominent is the fact that there is a huge disparity between what African Americans and Whites think of the legal system. While both respect the police, there is also an obvious distrust of them among Blacks. And few Whites truly understand the reason why, in my experience.

Don’t get me wrong. I think the police are in general good people, doing a difficult job, with the best intentions. But as the quote goes

The path to hell is pave with good intentions.

I say that because I’ve lived through too many situations were officers have approached me, with little or no cause, with guns drawn. I have watched as officers have allowed crack houses to exist without interruption. I have seen the use of violence in response to legitimate questions of what officers are doing. And I am not nearly alone in this.

But perhaps the difference in how officers react when they are not dealing with a White person is the experience that Mr. Solomon Moore recently had. His article was reported in the New York Times on Sep 30, 2007. The experience came to him in a small town Salisbury, N.C.

Mr. Moore is a reporter for the NY Times, 37, drives a Volvo station wagon, and has 2 children in soccer leagues. Perhaps the one element that makes Mr. Moore appear like a gang member is the fact that he is Black. That is, looking like a gang member to police officers. The actual gang members thought he was a cop.

What happened is directly connected to the fact that a gang member might wear a T-shirt and jeans, but it is just as likely a Black guy in a shirt that is blue, is not because he’s a member of the Crips, but because he’s a Dodgers fan.

Mr. Moore was investigating anti-gang measures being taken in the nation. As a reporter he went to speak with actual gang members in North Carolina since it had instituted strong anti-gang laws. He met the gang members at night, when they are out in the open, and where they were actively selling drugs. He observed the drug sales prior to speaking with them. It was that obvious.

The next thing that happens is not what you might expect. The police arrived as this reporter was trying to convince the youths he was not a cop. In his own words

“Without so much as a question, the officer shoved my face down on the sheet metal and cuffed me so tightly that my fingertips tingled.

“They’re on too tight!” I protested.

“They’re not meant for comfort,” he replied.“

This minor experience is nothing new. I’ve had similar experiences as have my brother, friends, and often most African Americans I’ve spoken to since I was a teenager. But when I speak to my White friends, regardless of age, they stand amazed. Even worse are the one or 2 times that I was treated in a similar manner in front of my White friends, because I was deemed a threat to them by police officers of their own volition. They were stupefied to imagine that people can be treated in such a manner. And I honestly was annoyed at their naïveté.

Of course cases like Rodney King, or Amidou Diallo, or Sean Bell garner some news. But many feel those are extreme situations. Unique things that sometimes happen in big cities. Mr. Moore, who was released without an apology or explanation, was in a town of 30,000. No one was arrested. The police just went away. And the gang members stated

“Man, you know what would have happened to one of us if we talked to them that way?” said one disbelieving man as he walked away from me and my blank notebook. “We’d be in jail right now.”

We need to realize that this is not unique. It happens often, daily. It happens in big communities and small ones. It happens near your front door as much as it happens in Los Angeles and Chicago. And it adds to the problem, not resolves it.

As long as the following kind of conversation can occur there will be inequality in America.

“This is America,” I said angrily, in that moment supremely unconcerned about whether this was standard police procedure or a useful law enforcement tool or whatever anybody else wanted to call it. “I have a right to talk to anyone I like, wherever I like.”

The female officer trumped my naïve soliloquy, though: “Sir, this is the South. We have different laws down here.”

That benefits no one. But now that you know, what will you do?

The most dangerous people in America - 11.4.2007.1

**This can be found at Black & White Blog, where I am co-author. You can comment here or at the above site which deals with racial issues from various viewpoints.**

So I was walking to my house on a Sunday at 6:15pm, and I was reminded of something that causes me pause. Young White males. Seriously, they make me nervous. In this case it was because as they drove past me they decided to just scream at me as they drove past relatively slowly. I suppose they expected me to jump or shout or something. I did flinch for a moment as my thoughts were elsewhere.

But when you think about it, many claim young Black males are dangerous. How silly. While many African Americans may posture and dress like the ready-for-prison crowd, they in fact are just regular kids. Few actually commit crimes, especially violent ones though the major media likes to play it as if they do nothing but felonies.

But young White males are dangerous. High school shootings? White males. Most petty crimes, the same. Nooses hung from trees and various other places? White males. ‘Redneck row’ and other whites’ only places enforced by White males. Bensonhurst, and so on and so on.

Why? Because a White male can bring a shotgun to a school and have no penalty. A White male can instigate fights and be seen as the victim. A West Virginia – the men had half a dozen or more arrests, one being for murder, not counting the women) which the media buried and refuse to discuss.

So when you face the fact that the media, law enforcement, and far too many people have an absolute fear of me, while I am less likely to do anything, you see things differently. I’m fearful and cautious because if I confront young White males acting badly, I stand a better than average chance of being the one that goes to jail. I get nervous because the real possibility of me being harmed is high. Because I am a Black Puerto Rican I stand a great chance of being killed, by the police, young White males, or the lack of timely medical attention.

In fact, even at 40, my chances of being killed are higher than Whites of virtually any age or background. So can you imagine why on a Sunday afternoon I was startled and nervous when 3 young White men decided to antagonize me for no reason?

So yes, what I fear are young White males. Due to sheer numbers, and sheer number of acts of violence and suffering. Not that any of this is conveyed by the major news media. Not that anyone will notice a start of police shooting down White kids 50 times, even with cause. Not like my fear, or my above average chance of death, will have a reason to diminish as I get older.

Do you share my fear and caution? Why?

Surprise, OJ is arrested - 9.17.2007.1

So, as many expected OJ Simpson has been arrested. The shock that this was going to happen is underwhelming. The excitement among the various news commentators and news media (if not much of the American populace) is hard to miss. Of course this is again a leading news story.

8 charges are being placed on him. 7 felonies and a misdemeanor. That works out to 100 or so years. And if anyone thinks he won’t go to jail is either very drugged or in need of psychiatric help. The nation, or segments of it, has been waiting for this opportunity for a decade.

I have talked to several friends over the weekend and the fact is that every single person I spoke with expects OJ to get convicted and receive the full penalty of the law. This has nothing to do with his actual guilt or innocence of this alleged crime, but the continued desire to punish him for his prior trial. This is the retribution for his innocent verdict. As one friend mentioned

No matter what the article is about him, they say the same thing, "A jury found Simpson not guilty of the crimes" not that "he was innocent".

It’s that pervading anger, as expressed best by Sheppard Smith on Friday (which I wrote about), that will convict OJ. He could have been J-walking and the result would be the same. Yet is this justice?

What about the Kennedy cousin that fled prosecution of a rape? What about Ted Kennedy getting away with murder? There are many cases of rich Whites getting away with murder, and multiple murders, without persecution after their trials simply because they could afford the defense or could buy their way out of it. The anger of the nation has not followed them for years afterward, waiting to pounce on them. It just doesn’t happen.

There is no analog I can think of that matches this. There is no jury I can imagine that won’t convict him. And it has nothing to do with any charge against him. America, most of it, just wants to see him die in jail. This is just a means to get this to happen. So much for a fair legal system.

Yes OJ has not been very helpful with his own actions. The book and several minor incidents, all well documented and followed by the media, have kept him in the eye of the news. Still that has nothing to do with the constant reference to OJ Simpson in virtually every murder cases since he was proven innocent in a court of law. It is not the reason why such glee fills the major news media and cable television networks. It is not why people are shouting to OJ,

“There’s no Johnny this time! You are going to jail, there’s no Johnny this time!”

Already there are questions being brought up on this case as well. A co-conspirator has come forward with an audio tape of the incident. Its legal validity is questionable, not unlike the Monica Lewinsky tapes, as their was no permission given or knowledge of the taping known. I must ask, why would anyone tape such an event? Who walks around with an audio recording device in their pocket? Have you ever seen someone go to a wedding, and just tape the audio? Seems odd to me.

But the real issue behind all this is the anger that an African American was not punished by the law in regard to an alleged crime against Whites. The fact that he was found innocent does not matter. A Black man can’t be accused of a crime against Whites and not be punished, that is the persistent and obvious facts of this. But Whites don’t get this same treatment.

I’ve written about the whisper of news given to Jonathan Riches. This White man killed 2 Black men, over 40 years ago; people including the local police knew it and he just was convicted at the end of his life. The major news media couldn’t honor the slain men with coverage of this news of delayed justice.

I wrote about Megan Williams, atrociously abused mentally, sexually, and physically for days by 6 Whites in West Virginia. If you have heard about the case, which most any person I have spoken to has not, you are in the minority. Thankfully I am aware of several blogs that have covered this. Yet the major news media, with far more resources than any individual blogger, and the ability to discuss this on a national level, seem incapable of following the story. And the federal government seems unwilling to use the hate crime laws instituted just for cases like this.

But OJ is the story. Not that a man who can’t eat in a restaurant a decade after his innocence was found by a jury, that included Whites, probably can’t get a fair trial anywhere in the nation. Not that this has become a matter of money for most involved. The major news media and the families of Goldman and Brown. That “despicable” book that both families initially claimed should ‘never be published’ is now the #1 on Amazon (as I understand). Not that an inadmissible audio tape, that has not been confirmed as OJ’s voice, is being played to the nation and prejudicing any potential jury pool. Not that this is again the most covered news story, beyond ANYTHING else happening in the world today.

Imagine for a moment that you are an African American (if you are not). Imagine what this says to you. If you are accused of a crime against a White you are screwed. Especially if it is as serious as murder. You will be considered guilty, regardless of the circumstances from day one. The media will delve into every aspect of your life and publicize every negative you’ve ever done or been accused of. If you lose your trial, you will face the harshest of penalties. If you win, you are still guilty and will be pursued until something else can be found to convict you on. Any time you spend free will be filled with suspicion and anger. You will be a greater target than ever before.

Does that feeling fill you with a love of the legal system? Do you feel that Justice is equal in this nation? Do you get the impression that you can be tried fairly?

Add to that feeling that some Whites in this nation have gotten away with murder. Not just the famous ones, but just regular people. As long as they killed African Americans. Free without question or attention for 4 decades or more. And those that are caught doing the most heinous of crimes, against Blacks, are barely mentioned. Whether they are cops in shootings that make no sense (Sean Bell and Amidou Diallo), or inflicting violent attacks (Rodney King among many others), or a group of Whites in West Virginia and other places (Abner Louima).

As you, the person of color in America, go through a mall and followed by security, or are shunned in an elevator, or questioned at the pharmacy, or have state troopers pull you over – guns drawn – for speeding 5 miles over the limit in the middle of the day as cars were passing you 10 miles an hour or more faster, you have to wonder how safe you really are.

American has an issue with color. Justice is hardly colorblind. The truth of this is disturbing. Maybe not to Average Joe, in the Middle of America where there are 2% population of Blacks, and spending 3% of your income trying to get a darker (temporary) color to your skin. Average Joe doesn’t worry about being shot by police while going home or in your car. Officers don’t pull their guns as a normal course of their duties, to White Average Joe. But have some color that doesn’t fade in a couple of days. Then you realize you can never be Average Joe, and that you aren’t safe, the legal system is broken, and the media is definitely not fair or your friend.

Imagine having to live with all that on your back. And this is the good life. This is after decades of struggles for equality. This is after centuries of persecution. And this is as good as it gets. How do you feel, hearing that OJ is arrested, and knowing that his trial will inevitably lead to a life imprisonment. Would you be happy?

This is what I think, what do you think?