Defenceless

Imagine being arrested and handcuffed in the back of a cop car. What are the feelings that you would have? How safe would you feel? Wouldn't you assume that while defenseless that the police would protect you? 

Now imagine the officer taking the safety off of his gun and aiming it toward you. Imagine hearing a loud ringing before losing all senses of your body. Now go on to imagine this being your brother, your father or cousin that this is happening to. How would you feel to find out that one of your loved ones were shot in the head while in detainment? What if those officers said they did not do it? How would you find justice for your loved one? 

It is unfortunate that a tale similar to this has just recently happened in Minneapolis in the case of Jamar Clark. 

According to The Atlantic Jamar Clark was involved in a domestic violence assault to which the officers responded to. At the crime scene there were witnesses there at the time of Jamar’s arrest and they stated that he did not resist arrest. In fact, he laid there and allowed himself to be taken into custody. Then from the outside looking in on the scene someone reported the officers seemingly making a body shield around Clark’s body before they, the witnesses, heard the ringing sound of a gun shot.

While this is not the exact same circumstance given in the beginning you can see how the two relate. When someone is unarmed and defenseless it is an abomination to take advantage of their weaknesses. In America officers pledge to protect the people and there are incidents such as these that are still on the uprise. The reason that I am speaking of this tale is for those that police brutality only happens to those that rude and ignorant to the ‘people of authority’ or the police as they are most commonly spoken as. It is most unfortunate that even in events such as this that many people would much rather place the blame onto the victim instead of the person that did the horrendous event and make them serve time for the crime that they committed. It is most unfortunate that in this age that there are so many corrupt ‘protectors’ out there.

It pains me that I have actually had to call and make a police report for having been followed 3 counties out of the way of an officer as he followed me home for committing no other crime other than being young, in a suburban town and driving in the color of my skin.

I hope this does not lead you to place hate onto all officers because they aren’t all bad. There are still officers out there that do their job for the good of the order.

However, my lesson in all of this is for you to acknowledge the varying perspectives of people in the world and take into consideration that the focus on these acts of police brutality is in no way a coincidence. It is something for you to learn from and help to remove as we are a united people.

IT'S not A BOMB!

Over the past few post we have been focusing on police brutality against people of the African American race. But now we will take a slight shift. In the next few moments we will covering a story that related more to the discrimination of religion rather that the discrimination of race. However, in order for you to truly have a grasp on the reason why such discrimination is able to exist one must first understand the way in which this idea has blossomed. In the year 2001 there were a series traumatic events that took place in America, we remember this tragic date as 9/11. 9/11/2001 was the day that America began to give a sly eye to most people of the Islamic religion. In fact, I remember being afraid to wear my garbs for fear of being attacked by those who did not follow the same religious path of me.

 Which leads us to today with our friend Ahmed Mohamed, a 14 year old boy that was arrested at school for supposedly having possession of a bomb. Later on it was found out that Ahmed had not made a bomb, but instead he turned his pencil case into a clock.

There have been many discussions on Ahmed's case and the most common of which discusses whether or not he was actually discriminated against. Those that argue for his discrimination makes points about the way in which he was arrested.

Schools are to follow certain protocols when there is a threat that has emerged. The most common of which is a lock down, something that Ahmed's school did not go into when they received word that this child had a "bomb." Also they take into consideration the fact that the school did not call the fire department and also the way that Ahmed was only taken to the principal's desk and not to the police station. The people that argue this side actually claim that the school was only making an example out of Ahmed to strike fear into his heart.

These are the same people that rejoice at the way President Barack Obama made way to come and meet Ahmed to help encourage him to continue with his interest in science. Ahmed has also been seen across many different television shows so that he could tell his story.

However the people that are on the school's side of the argument say that the school has a job to keep all of the students safe and we're just doing what they believed to be the right thing. No matter what side you take in this particular argument, I want you to walk away from this story with a lesson of life. Sure, there may be people out there set to destroy you. But you should never give them that power of satisfaction, at the end life is only what you make of it. So why would you even contemplate allowing someone else to run your life for you?

New Slaves?

For those of you that are unaware, there is a very huge rock in the wall within the African American community, even though I feel as though this is a matter for all to be involved and informed in. Especially considering that most of us have been to high school, and even if you have not been able to experience it personally; you cannot tell me it is not something that you desire for your children. School plays a very important role in the lives of Americans. In fact, from kindergarten to twelfth grade we spend an average of 943 hours in school (Chalbi). So there is no surprise that most parents want to feel secure in knowing that their child is safe in school. But what if I told you that there was an incident that took place in school in which a child was a victim of police brutality? And what if I told you that the entire scene of the officer using excessive force was caught on camera, and that there are large numbers of people that are defending the excessive force of the officer by saying that they are unsure of what she did to "deserve" such treatment. In the next few moments I will be explaining to you the facts that I have noticed being picked up in nearly every story that I have researched and then we will be going on to understand how this has an effect on everyone. Including you.

For the most part, there are hardly any public articles on this particular case of brutality. However we do know that the incident took place in South Carolina which is a stat that allows corporal punishment into the schools. That is the reason that many of the people in the audience of this scene do not react. In fact, it looks as if everyone just embraces themselves for what is to come.

The girl is lifted by her throat out of her chair and slammed onto the floor to be arrested. Take not that the use of this force was not for a violent crime. In fact, the crime that she committed was not answering the officer when he commanded her to get up out of her seat. Not to mention he was only there because she was chewing gum in class.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last time I checked chewing gum was something only punishable for detention. Not an extremely aggressive arrest.

Unfortunately for most people in the state of South Carolina this is actually an occurrence that happens often and frequently. There are actually a few studies going on based on the southern states use of corporal punishment in schools and how it has an effect on the prison rates. There is even a theory that there are a few states that are using non-violent crimes as a mean to imprison a large number of African-Americans so as stop their development and to keep them behind in nearly all matters. Some would even go on to say that it's the new Jim Crow.

Watch at your own digression.


Works Cited

Chalabie, Mona. "American Kids Will Spend An Average Of 943 Hours In Elementary School This Year. ESPN Internet Ventures, 04 Sept. 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.

A Not so Happy, Happy Ending

If you have been following my blog you may have come to look at it as a grim page, and that is because life doesn't always have a fairytale ending. As a young girl my mother has always told me that the world was mine to do with it, that I ever so pleased. This is a saying that many parents feed to their young children, however my mother neglected to tell me that I was only allowed to do as much as the world would allow me to. Growing up as an African American female in predominately black neighborhood, I didn't realize how "real" racism was in today's society. I still struggle to understand its power even after being threatened on the account of my skin color as I traveled to Florida for a family vacation at the age of six, but that's a story for another day.
T
his is the reason in which that I personally struggle with the idea of police brutality being stopped only because "white" people used themselves as a body shield to help the African Americans that were protesting.

One of the more recent hashtags that has been seen on my timeline is #FeesMustFall. This is a hashtag that is being spread as a protest to the rise in tuition at colleges in South Africa (I forgot to mention that this isn't just an American thing), and has become popular because it is something that isn't being covered in the news. However, you know my deal, I give you the facts and let you do with them what you will, only hoping that you are spreading these messages to help bring our nation into a true united nation which can hold as an example to the rest of the world.

In recent news, there have been peaceful protest going on in South America to stop the rise of tuition which, in the eyes of the students, are getting out of hand. It is as they are peacefully rallying that the police come to put an end to the protest. To some of the students it seemed that things would very quickly get out of hand. However, large waves of white students came to use themselves as a human body shield to prevent police brutality. Thankfully, because of the white students that were courageous enough to stand up against the police force. Seems to be a happy ending right? No! It has unfortunately brought attention to white privilege as the officers seemed to only back off because the whites had more "value" than that of the blacks. Which goes to show how wrong that my mother was. I am not free to do whatever I want. This world isn't what I make of it, because of incidents such as this that show me that because of the color of my skin that I am of less "value " than that of someone else. Even though we are both human. But, on the bright side with people that stand up against this cruelty I get just a tad bit closer to having my very own fairy tale ending.

Alone Where I'm Meant to Be Protected

Imagine a world where the people that are supposed to protect you are the ones that are bringing about the chaos in the world. Now imagine the person you love most being killed by those very same people that were put forth to protect you. The pain. The misery. The sorrow. Every last negative emotion that you can think of, and imagine knowing that the person who's job it is to prevent these emotions are the soul cause of them. Now let us zone out and see a scene that has managed to play out in one of the most devastating manners.

Four officers to one man, a handicapped man. That very same handicapped man being held at gunpoint for a weapon that he did not have. This is the tale of Jeremy McDole who was also known as Bam by his loved ones.

On Wednesday, September 23, 2015 Jeremy McDole was unjustly shot and killed by four officers in Wilmington, Delaware. The reason that I am speaking out on this specific case is because not only is it recent, but it is also extremely close to my home. Alongside its proximity to my home it is also an area that I have a large group of family members, and it's anyone of my family members that it could have been. So let us first look at the facts.
 

On September 23, 2015 Jeremy was shot by four officers for allegedly having a gun. In the video that is presented you can see that he was shot at by one of the officers in the arm and was left bleeding for not putting his hands up. The the officers continued to shout for him to put his hands up and put his weapon down. It is because the officers repeatedly asked Jeremy to put his weapon down, and he did did not that the rest of the incident occurred. However he did not have a weapon to put down in the first place.

So, when he went to place his hands in his lap he was shot. However, it was not just a bullet or two shot at him, instead his body was sprayed at with bullets so badly that he fell out of his wheelchair, with no weapon in sight.

It may be true that all he had to do was put his hands up and his life may have possibly been spared, it doesn't account for the shock one may feel after being shot at. In the face of fear everyone reacts differently and as we can see from this paralyzed mans attempt to walk away, his main concern was to get out of there. Not hear the shouts of the four men surrounding him.

Of course in the defense of the officers they were following protocol. When faced in dangerous situations such as these they are to put their own lives first and remove the problem being presented, right? Wrong. The job of a police officer is to protect and serve the citizens of this grand Nation that we call America, and that includes the lives of those that are in trouble as well. There are ways to ensure ones own safety without the death of another. It is even more grim to say that this entire situation is being investigated by the same police force that killed this innocent man.

The Photo of Death

It all began with a photo. A photo that very quickly went viral. This is the tale of Sandra Bland an African American women who unfortunately, had her mugshot taken after death had already swallowed her last breath. However, before I introduce you to her death, I will paint a portrait of the wonderful life that she lived first.

Sandra Bland was originally from Naperville, Illinois until she went on to school in Texas at Prairie View A&M University. Ms. Bland often contributed to the community through helping senior citizens as well as being a counselor to the youth. For more information on her background you can look at Wikapedia.

"However, starting in 2015 Sandra Bland began to use social media as a means of protest against the injustice that was happening in today's America. Her main topic was "Black Lives Matter." She had no issues speaking out on the police brutality  nor did she have an issue disclosing the information on topics that would not have been spread without the help of social media. and she made sure that her views on such matters were clear as day. She did not approve of the deeds happening in America and she wanted them to stop (Sanchez.)"
It is unfortunate to admit that the death of miss Sandra Bland is looked at more as a conspiracy than as an actual murder or suicide which is a hard concept to come to terms with. According to CNN  "On July 13 Ms. Bland was "found" hanging in her cell at the Wallar county jail in Texas."

The hanging is the place where the conspiracy sets into place and these are the things that I have gathered simply from the hasgtags #SandraBland, #JusticeforSandra, and #SandraBlandChallenge. All three hashtags are found on varying forms of social media, from instagram to twitter and everything in between has disclosed the image of Sandra Bland's mugshot. I apologize in advance for not being able to show you the photo of her because the are almost all privately pwned and I encourage you to just look up the name and see he face. Both the before and the after.

Her mugshot completely pulls her face in and she looks sunken in. Her beautiful face has the sad marks of a beat down. Red and purple bruising, and her shoulders (which is how the Sandra Bland Challenge erupted) are for too low in position for anyone that is standing up. At least to those who believe that miss Bland was assassinated.

The Sandra Bland Challenge was initiated to help prove the way that gravity pulls on a person when they are standing tall versus laying down. Which is why many people made comparison photos of them standing as well as laying down as a sense of evidence against the Wallar county police department to basically say "Hey, we aren't buying your shenanigans, and we know what you did!" It is said that there is no good deed that goes unanswered, as is the case for Miss Sandra Bland. It is true that she may have lost her life for her cause, it is also fair to point out that her work was continued even after her death. It is continued by people like me, and you that make an effort to help inform the world of what's going on and not just stand there and allow it to happen. It is the people that help spread the facts and leave out the fabrications that help make her death worth while, even if it were suicide.

Tamir Rice

At twelve year gunned down to his death for playing with a toy gun. The Cleveland police blames the boy. They say that his death, was his fault. It is because Officer Loehmann mistook Tamir's fake gun for a real one. Nevertheless,  the recording from the witness to the dispatcher made sure to note that the call that he was making was a gun that was "probably" fake. A message that, according to CNN, was lost in the mayhem.  It was just moments after the officer stepped out of the car that our Tamir Rice was shot. The officers at the scene did nothing to help. It was not until a FBI agent arrived that he received any form of medical attention. Never mind the fact that this is an agent that had absolutely nothing to do with the incident, he was only there because of a robbery that had taken place only moments before. For more information on CNN's version of the case please click the link.

It wasn't until the next day that poor Tamir died of injuries to a major vessel, intestines and pelvis. His family acknowledges the fact that they lost their little boy to the unnecessary violence of the Cleveland police. Even the judge that prosecuted the officer agreed that the violence was unnecessary.  He went on to say that officer's gave the child no chance to react to any of the commands given and therefore was rendered defenseless. The situation esculated too quickly for anyone to have been able to riotously defend themselves in such scenario and deemed it completely unfair. Yet, because of "tradition" the judge's opinion meant little to nothing as they swore to the need of a grand jury. To which the Officer was then put to face his punishment, and yet there are those that say that he was only prosecuted to ease the American people. That it was not really an act of justice, but that of appeasement. For more information about the legal stand point of it all please click here.

The reason I present this case to you is because I ask you to look at this case and find the issues with what has happened and just spread knowledge. Information is no more than facts. However, our future gravely depends on your ability to listen to facts and do something with them. It takes a lot more than just one act of justice. While this case has been able to open the doors for others that are similar, you also have to remember that there are so many just like this case that hasn't been brought to the light and therefore hasn't faced true justice. Let's help to remove the blueprint of structured injustice, and the only way to do that is to make sure that information gets out.

The case of Tamir Rice is not one of complete accident. There is no big coincidence that the criminal justice system is set up the way it is, and there are so many good people within the institution that it makes us wonder where it all went wrong. But again, it is our job to go back and just look at the facts so that we can fix it for future reference.