We need to Talk

To be honest, it’s a conversation I know nothing about… how could I? I am a white man. I don’t know what it’s like, nor will I ever. I’ve never feared Law Enforcement Officers… well, only when I knew I was in the wrong. But even then I never feared for my life. I was taught to follow the Law and respect those who enforce it. It’s their job to ‘Protect and Serve’ us… The People.

That’s not the same story for every American.

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https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/06/white-parents-the-talk-racism-police-brutality.html

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Here in Kansas City, KS… I’m in the MINORITY.

It’s not quite as stark as if I were living in The Bahamas, but it is quite obvious. And it becomes even more pronounced when I drive to one of the outlying suburbs, where there are no POC at the shopping centers… where there’s not a pawn shop on every other corner… where there are fresh veggies and sidewalks.

https://www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america

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https://www.usinsourcing.com/kc-food-deserts-a-sign-of-economic-decline/

If you’ve ever lived in a part of town where the National Pizza Chains won’t deliver to your neighborhood… you’ve been the victim of racism.

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About a month into the quarantine for COVID-19, our refrigerator stopped keeping things cold. It might have been something as simple as cleaning the coils or replacing an internal component, but I’ll never know. No service repair shop would send a technician into Wyandotte County. If I had lived somewhere else though, they were more than happy to help. But here… not so much.

Instead of a $300 repair bill, we had to buy a brand new refrigerator… all because of a preconceived notion of the community in which I live.

And where on the map was this ‘line’ drawn, between “Technicians are standing by” and “Sorry you’re outta luck”? I know from experience, the dividing line for a delivery area can end abruptly on ONE SIDE of the street, while the OTHER SIDE is deemed just too far away.

Back in my day… we were told we should lock our doors when driving down a particular street or driving in a particular neighborhood. But turn a corner, and hook a left at the light… you’re suddenly in a neighborhood filled with fully restored 100 year old mansions. Literally, no less than THREE BLOCKS down the road.

Who draws these lines? Who decides THIS neighborhood is ‘acceptable’ and THIS neighborhood is NOT…

And what DATA are they basing those conclusions upon?

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https://www.axios.com/army-officer-lawsuit-police-afro-latino-virginia-f5aceedf-6efe-4a8f-b4ca-8d8b9c297ea1.html

There are no clear lines drawn within our communities. What effects ONE will effect us ALL… because we live SIDE-BY-SIDE. In our schools. In our grocery stores. At work and at home. If the numbers are SKEWED… if the DATA we’re basing our conclusions upon is WRONG… it effects our Laws, our priorities… our very perception of what is “right” and what is “wrong”.

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Would it surprise anyone if we found a connecting thread that tied all these deadly encounters together? On the surface… sometimes these officers are white, sometimes they are black. There is no discrimination it seems, when it comes to the origin of the Use of Force… so what is it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2017/02/14/a-day-with-killology-police-trainer-dave-grossman/

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Black men are taught from an early age to fear encounters with the police… as I would if I were the father of a black child. Therefore, they are fearful and paranoid when these encounters eventually happen.

It’s a natural, rational, completely understandable… and PREDICTABLE human response to a potentially life-threatening situation.

Law Enforcement Officers are TRAINED to interpret those actions as a threat. ‘The subject is acting paranoid… they’re hiding something. They’re acting GUILTY.’

What FACTS would then flash through an officer’s head in that split-second decision making process… ALL SKEWED, by laws that are tainted with Racial Profiling and a Criminal Justice System that’s based on CASH.

Did you know police can just take your stuff if they suspect it’s involved in a crime? They can! It’s a shady process called “civil asset forfeiture,” and it would make for a weird episode of Law and Order.

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“The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota said it had ‘deep concerns that police here appear to have used dangling air fresheners as an excuse for making a pretextual stop, something police do all too often to target Black people.’”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/daunte-wright-was-stopped-expired-plates-driving-while-black-may-n1263878

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https://www.aclu.org/report/driving-while-black-racial-profiling-our-nations-highways

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I’ve tried to teach my kids that they are privileged, and that it’s wrong… and it’s on us to do the work to make things right. We cannot simply STAND SILENT. Use your little white boy shield and SPEAK OUT… someone’s LIFE may depend on it!

I know it’s a lot to put on the shoulders of a 15 year old boy… but right now? Until we take the necessary steps toward ensuring Law Enforcement Officers protect the rights of every citizen in every State, EQUALLY… that’s all we’ve GOT.

That needs to change.

For Those Without a Voice

Could you imagine? Questioning yourself, your actions… every decision that you’ve made. And at the end of the day, the only question that’s left…

Was there something MORE I could have done?

Was there something I could have said. Was there something I did that made that situation worse? Would this outcome have even happened if I hadn’t been involved.

What more could have been done, that wouldn’t have raised the temperature of an already inflamed situation… why am I so damn tired, but still can’t fall asleep.

How much of ourselves are we willing to put on the line for the sake of others… for our family… for a complete stranger? Ms. Frazier’s got it figured out. She may not know it yet, but she’s on the right path. It’s not about anything she did in that situation… it’s about what he did. It’s about what he didn’t do.

Darnella did the only thing that could have been done to calm that situation, and not everyone would have been as STRONG… to hold UP that mirror, so he could SEE exactly what he was doing. She gave him every opportunity to change his ways.

She chose to STAND UP and SPEAK OUT on George Floyd’s behalf before anyone else… may we ALL find the strength and courage to follow her lead.

-JC

The Words of Dissent

As we stand at the beginning of Women’s History Month and at the end of Black History Month, we find ourselves facing yet another subject that cannot be put off until tomorrow. Another example of just how high the stakes are, in this situation we find ourselves in.

Another embodiment of one of the fundamental principles, of what it is to be an American… cast aside and dismissed. Determined to be de minimis when weighed against the needs of someone else, with a blatant disregard for the rights and opinions of the MAJORITY.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/08/trump-let-saudi-arabia-get-away-with-murder-could-biden-hold-mbs-accountable/

Everyday, LIVES are risked to bring us the TRUTH… even if that truth is being delivered with a Partisan Edge. Right now someone is asking questions, about something someone else doesn’t want you to know anything about, and everyday the TRUTH is closer to being revealed.

Without that truth, we don’t have accurate facts upon which to base our decisions, leaving us vulnerable in times of crisis; or leading us to make rash decisions, when all that’s necessary is patient thoughtful contemplation.

There is no thoughtful contemplation necessary when it comes to defending the Free Press.

There is no diplomatic strategy we can employ to rationalize or justify the SILENCING of dissent. There is no storied PAST celebrated in our history, of ignoring the murder of a United States journalist. That’s a story filled with outrage and disgust, UNITED in demands for Justice… not diplomacy.

Show me a country who supports the SILENCING of dissent, and I’ll show you a People who are confused, oppressed, and ISOLATED… cut off and hidden from the TRUTH.

How many corners can we BEND? How many coffee stains will we allow…

The WORDS may still exist, but everyday that document is filled with MORE HOLES. An add-on, a new policy, a justification for someone else’s inactions. Becoming more of a tedious To-do list, than it is anything one would reasonably associate with something defined as a “constitution”.

The only stories I know, of nations who rise to power by SILENCING dissent, end in terror. They end in horrors seen only in times of WAR. Appeasement is never acceptable. We’ve seen this show before… just go watch the historical NEWS REELS from WWII.

“Pity the thought! … that any American Citizen should have to pay ONE CENT MORE for a gallon of GAS, simply because we held someone accountable for their actions!”

Or is it that the United States might somehow lose credibility because we stood firm in our support for the Rule of Law…? I don’t understand. I must be missing something here. We lead by example. What precedent will this create?

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What are we trying to create? What are the ends to the daily means we live as a society? Does this decision bring us any closer to our goals? Racial Inequality. Gender Inequality. Economic Inequality… what example does this set.

These are the faces of dissent…

… to silence one is to silence them ALL. How many more voices will be silenced because of our inaction? The United States defends the rights of others to STAND UP and SPEAK OUT because it’s in our best interest to do so. It’s in the best interest of everyone to be fully informed. No matter the risk involved.