Yesterday, I came across the following news article, "Atlanta police shooting of unarmed black man leads to rare murder charge".
Some people have commented that "after police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge were killed, police are now being charged with murder." This is what should have been happening even before the protests or violence occurred.
However, there is another glaring issue that many people have overlooked. White prosecutors almost never bring charges against white police officers who kill African-Americans. In Baltimore where six officers were charged and in Atlanta where this officer was charged, the decision was made by a black prosecutor. This is why we need more black prosecutors. See the Washington Post article, "Thousands dead, few prosecuted" and the Daily Beast article, "95% of Prosecutors Are White and They Treat Blacks Worse".
White supremacist wearing blue
White supremacist groups know police are rarely charged criminally for on-duty shootings. According to the FBI, some of the same guys who used to wear white robes and hoods now wear blue and carry a badge. Police effectively enjoy immunity and we pay their salaries. Murder shouldn't be rewarded with an extended paid vacation.
As a black female police officer, Nakia Jones recently stated, “If you are that officer that knows good and well you’ve got a god complex; you are afraid of people who don’t look like you — you have no business in that uniform. Take it off,” “Because there’s many of us who would give our life for anybody. And we took this oath and we meant it. If you are that officer that’s prejudice, take that uniform off and put a KKK hoodie on because I will not stand for that.”
Additionally, many of this country's police officers are soldiers returning from the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and some may not have been properly screened for mental illnesses. Soldiers during war are often conditioned to treat people like animals with little respect for human life or basic human rights. Everyone on the ground is a potential enemy.
Police brutality has always been an issue in black communities. "Power tends to corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Factor in white supremacy and mental illness and the tensions build up until it explodes into a national protest movement where some see no other choice but to resort to violent retaliation.
It doesn't take a grand jury to determine if charges should be brought. Bringing charges against a police officer in questionable deaths should be common sense. Like everyone else, this police officer will be considered innocent until proven guilty and will have an opportunity to discredit evidence against him, present evidence and testify if he so chooses.
Hands Up, Don't Shot, Laying on the Ground
The video that surfaced a few days ago of an unarmed black man, Charles Kinsey, laying in the street with his hands up in the air, demonstrates . Mr. Kinsey explained to police that he was a behavioral therapist at a group home trying to calm down an autistic patient who had wandered away from the facility. As Kinsey explained that neither he nor the mentally ill patient was armed and posed no threat, he was shot.
“When I went to the ground, I went to the ground with my hands up,” he said. “And I am laying there just like this, telling them again there is no need for firearms.”
What more could this man have done?
It's already unreasonable that any innocent person should feel they must lay on the ground and hold their hands up to ensure the police won't shoot you. I can't think of anything more Mr. Kinsey could have done.
There is a false narrative or propaganda campaign to convince people that the "Black Lives Matter" Movement and Blacks, in general, are over reacting. What more could Mr. Kinsey have done to convince the cop that shot him that he wasn't a threat? The irony is that the white looking autistic patient who actually had something in his hands and was agitated, because of his mental condition, wasn't the one who was shot.
Even Charle Kinsey mentioned how he feared more for his patient than himself, because he was on his back with his hands up, a position no one could possibly interpret as threatening, but he was still shot.
I have begun two personal boycotts, one against soft drink beverage manufacturers and the other against the WNBA. We need to inflict economic pressure, a sort of consumer violence to get the companies we support to start supporting us back.
The NBA announce a boycott against North Caroline where it is moving it's All-Star game from Charlotte, NC in protest of HB2, a law that requires people to use bathrooms and changing facilities, such as locker rooms which are designated for people based on their "biological sex" stated on their birth certificate. Under that law, transgender people can use the bathrooms and changing facilities that correspond to their gender identity if they get the biological sex on their birth certificate changed.
The NBA said, "While we recognize that the NBA cannot choose the law in every city, state, and country in which we do business, we do not believe we can successfully host our All-Star festivities in Charlotte in the climate created by HB2." Hopefully, the NBA will not choose a location that moves too slowly or refuses to hold police accountable when they violate the rights of black citizens.
The NBA has a clear majority of black players, certainly, the causes that affect the majority of players and their families should be receiving equal attention and protection. Police brutality is of major concern to most African-Americans. All athletes should remember the example set by the Mizzou football players and recognize your combined power. United we stand, divided we fall. See related, "WNBA, If you want our support, you need to support us!"
I'm not recommending physical violence, however, protest minus disruption or violence equals failure. Violence, through revolution, created this country, violence ended slavery, violence stopped Hitler, and violence is the technique being used against terrorism.
The shooters in both the Dallas and Baton Rouge ambushes are dead. Other people who have shot and kill police officers met similar fates or ended up in jail. When cops are kill, there is almost always justice or at least vengeance.
The police officers who used excessive force and murdered an untold number of people remain free and many are still police officers. Law enforcement officers are the only category of people where criminals are expected to get away with their crimes. This is why people protest and this is why some have and others will resort to violence if things don't change quickly.
