A good friend of mine wrote & posted a piece about how we judge law enforcement and criminality. His kindness and likely his desire to not offend did not conclude what he knows but left as an open question. While I have used the technique at times, sometimes we must let folks know we know that they know but just don’t give a damn. So I concluded his post with a comment.
My friend Cody Pogue posted the following.
There was a black lady who misunderstood the rules of her parole and thought she was allowed to vote. She tried and is now serving a 5 year prison sentence. No mercy. People simply say “shouldnt have broken the law.”
There are around 11 million people who came to this country without the proper papers over the past 40 years and the government is trying to deport them even though they havent committed crimes against our people and have contributed to our economy and tax base. Even their children who were brought here and raised here are in danger. No mercy. People simply say “shouldnt have broken the law.”
The governor of Texas issued a mandate during an emergency temporarily closing down places of business until it’s safe to reopen. A white woman refused and stayed open anyway. She chose to break the law. The governor went out of his way to try and pardon her, the Lt. Governor contributed money to bail her out, people who passionately believe in following the law are throwing money into her GoFundMe, and law and order advocate Ted Cruz went out of his way to get a haircut from her.
Do we not believe in following the law as much as we used to anymore? What changed?
I felt compelled to respond as follows.
I so respect your observations on social issues which are always spot on showing an understanding of the human dynamics that few are able to articulate as well as you do. But it is important that you do not hold back at the end when we are in a time of crisis.
White people of character and conscience are the ones who can be assertive and instructive to those who won’t give POC’s credence or are comfortable in their willful ignorance since there are no repercussions absent your challenge to them.
There are two justice systems. One affords more rights and leniency in the aggregate to whites. The other holds POCs to the letter of the law and in some cases an expanded interpretation to oppress. That is true of this woman and Ahmaud. The arithmetic in the prisons is probative.
Until we stop given people an excuse to justify, we have failed. This is the definition of supremacy. Black men, Asians, and others are in their crosshairs with the prodding of an evil president and those who condone his every move. This is not a time to stand down.
This the time when we must have these discussions. We are at a point where pressures will be taxing our sense of reality, carnality, and much more. If we don’t get ahead of the curb, COVID-19 will be the least of our problems.
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