Will someone please help me to escape this space continuum I seem to be trapped in? Just like the film, Groundhog Day, the same set of circumstances are repeating themselves. White cop murders Black youth, grand jury convenes, grand jury fails to indict, cop faces no penalty. Darren Wilson murdered Michael Brown and besides not being charged, he received six figures from a group which holds fund-raisers for “mistreated” law enforcement personnel. In addition, he earned a huge payday from his television interview. Now, in a case as plain as an open book, the policeman who murdered Eric Garner was not indicted. This is amazing since the entire murder is caught on video tape. While asking police not to touch him, an officer crept up behind Mr. Garner and placed him in a chokehold. Mind you, choke holds are illegal in New York and all officers are trained “not to use this tactic”. At least 4 more officers grab Mr. Garner and take him to the ground. They all pile on him, as the officer continues to employ the choke hold. On tape, Mr. Garner is clearly heard, “11 times” saying “I can’t breathe”. Then, Mr. Garner dies! The coroner’s office determines that his death was a result of the illegal chokehold and massive pressure on his chest cavity (from the group of police laying atop him and pressing him to the ground), and determines that this is a homicide. This report, along with the video tape is then given to the prosecutor. The prosecutor decides to give immunity to all the police, except the one employing the chokehold. This decision was made even though the coroner concluded that their actions contributed to Mr. Garner’s death. Then, the prosecutor presented the evidence and explained the officer’s actions in a manner which would have prevented the grand jury from indicting John Wilkes Booth in the murder of Abraham Lincoln. Think about the effort made in Michael Brown’s case and then imagine the prosecutor sleepwalking. There was no doubt that the grand jury would fail to indict. There will be demonstrations and calls for non-violence. People are asking “What will President Obama do? What will he say? How about Attorney General Eric Holder?” People, well meaning people are seeking answers, but they are seeking them from the wrong people. This isn’t the President or the AG’s problem. This is our problem. How long will we allow them to murder us, and then walk the streets? We are protesting, but the Brown and Garner families are without a father, a son, a brother, and a husband. The time might be right to “shut this country down”. It might entail taking people beyond their comfort levels for this situation to receive the attention it deserves. It might take more than just boycotting Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It might take a continuous boycott. It might take limiting our spending to essentials and making corporate America (Amerikkka) feel our anger. I don’t know the answer, but I know that so far, what we have been doing ain’t it. We need to do something, and I don’t mean tearing down our community. Somehow we have to make America “feel our pain”.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 00:25:00 +0000
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