I am a 38 year old incarcerated black man. Unfortunately, my current predicament is a common problem in black communities across this nation. Sadly, another common problem that black men in this country are faced with is the loss of life by those that are supposed to serve and protect. Many, justifiably so, say ‘the police aren’t the only ones killing you.’ While it is true that we are killing each other at an alarming rate, our fear of the police is still warranted.
As an avid CNN viewer it’s baffling why people wonder why we don’t trust the police. It’s as if injustices that we suffer from the police only occur in our head. The question seems to be, “How do the police gain trust within the black community?” I can tell you now, the firststep is that parents need to be able to teach their children to respect the police, not be fearful of them. But parents also aren’t going to lie. And the real truth is that the police serve whites and blacks differently. My mistrust of the police is not because of the criminal lifestyle that led to my imprisonment, either. Remember , there are many law abiding citizens that look like me and share my distrust as well.
On visits, my seven year old son always asks me, “What did you do?” I don’t give him the particulars, but I tell him, “I did something that I shouldn’t have done and you have to come in here when you’re bad.” I also have an 18 year old son, and if I were to set my personal bias aside and have a talk with him in hopes that he’d be objective in judging the police, responses to some of his questions may prove to be counter-productive. Using facts that he’s aware of, a conversation between us may sound like this:
“Daddy do you think all police are crooked?”
“No. Like all people, some are good and some are bad.”
“I hate ‘em!”
“Why?”
“Because they always fuck wit’ us for nothing! Plus, look how they did you.”
“When we live a certain lifestyle, and it involves doing things that are illegal you go to jail when you get caught.”
“You didn’t stay in jail when they raided our house that one time. What happened?”
“They lied and said that they bought dope from me and they didn’t. So, my lawyer, Mr. Renn was able to catch the office who filed for theaffidavit in the lie, and I beat the case.”
“So this time they really bought some from you?”
“Naw. This time the officer said that he saw Shawn get out of my car and Shawn had the dope on him.”
“Did he see Shawn get out of the car.”
“Nope.”
“So they lied again?”
“Yeah. Only this time by the time I found out that he’d lied I’d already loss at trial.”
“Was it the same cop?”
“Nope.”
“So, different cop, but the same unethical tatics?” All I can do is shrug myshoulders and nod my head yes. “If Shawn had the drugs, how come you got more time than him? Is your record worse than his?”
Shaking my head no, Irespond , “It’s not even close . My record is nowhere near as bad as Shawn’s. They gave me more time because they were upset that I beat the first case.” Now, in a situation like that how can a parent paint the police in a positive light? Couple that with the fact that young black men constantly see, on the news, that their unarmed peers are being killed by the police. It seems that out only alternative as parents is to teach our children to fear the police, thus negating any form of trust.
One would think that a country that brags about being the world’s leader would at least offer its citizens equal protection. However, that’s laughable! We can only expect more of the same. The Headquarters of the highest level of law enforcement in this country is named after a known racist.
Republicans won’t speak on what’s going on in Ferguson because they don’t care. You know the old adage . . . “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Democrats are reluctant to speak out, and when they do they make politically correct statements, because votes in our community are valuable. I by no means blame anyone but me for me being in prison, but my advice to black men and women in this country is to rely on each other to correct the problems that plague our communities.
CaNon
As an avid CNN viewer it’s baffling why people wonder why we don’t trust the police. It’s as if injustices that we suffer from the police only occur in our head. The question seems to be, “How do the police gain trust within the black community?” I can tell you now, the first
On visits, my seven year old son always asks me, “What did you do?” I don’t give him the particulars, but I tell him, “I did something that I shouldn’t have done and you have to come in here when you’re bad.” I also have an 18 year old son, and if I were to set my personal bias aside and have a talk with him in hopes that he’d be objective in judging the police, responses to some of his questions may prove to be counter-productive. Using facts that he’s aware of, a conversation between us may sound like this:
“Daddy do you think all police are crooked?”
“No. Like all people, some are good and some are bad.”
“I hate ‘em!”
“Why?”
“Because they always fuck wit’ us for nothing! Plus, look how they did you.”
“When we live a certain lifestyle, and it involves doing things that are illegal you go to jail when you get caught.”
“You didn’t stay in jail when they raided our house that one time. What happened?”
“They lied and said that they bought dope from me and they didn’t. So, my lawyer, Mr. Renn was able to catch the office who filed for the
“So this time they really bought some from you?”
“Naw. This time the officer said that he saw Shawn get out of my car and Shawn had the dope on him.”
“Did he see Shawn get out of the car.”
“Nope.”
“So they lied again?”
“Yeah. Only this time by the time I found out that he’d lied I’d already loss at trial.”
“Was it the same cop?”
“Nope.”
“So, different cop, but the same unethical tatics?” All I can do is shrug my
Shaking my head no, I
One would think that a country that brags about being the world’s leader would at least offer its citizens equal protection. However, that’s laughable! We can only expect more of the same. The Headquarters of the highest level of law enforcement in this country is named after a known racist.
Republicans won’t speak on what’s going on in Ferguson because they don’t care. You know the old adage . . . “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Democrats are reluctant to speak out, and when they do they make politically correct statements, because votes in our community are valuable. I by no means blame anyone but me for me being in prison, but my advice to black men and women in this country is to rely on each other to correct the problems that plague our communities.
CaNon
No comments:
Post a Comment