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Editorials/Columns
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
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Arrest The Arresting Policeman
am against crime. It makes no difference who commits the crime. I want them arrested and punished in
accordance with the law.
If they are Black, White, Latino or some other race, if they commit a crime I want
them jailed.
It looks like I am on the
side of the police against the crooks, and I am. You see, crime continues to rise every night. Criminals are getting bolder and bolder. They are now committing wholesale crime during the day and they don’t care who sees them. To make matters worse, they are preying on senior citizens and they are beginning to influence our children into a life of crime.
They dress like hoodlums and their criminal activities make our communities both dangerous and undesirable.
As much as I favor the po- lice arresting criminals, some- thing happened to me. When I listen to the news, read the
newspaper or watch TV pro- grams like Cops Reloaded, I changed.
When I see how the police are screaming and hollering at the suspects I changed. They shout, ‘get out of the car,’ or they snatch them out.
I watch them or read where they slam the crook to the sur- face face down while they are still screaming. I don’t take sides with the criminals, it is just that I don’t care to see anybody treated that way, and especially Black folks.
Anytime I begin to see this kind of conduct, I want to shout out to arrest the arrest- ing policeman.
I am fully aware of the problems that exist between the police and the Black Com- munity. We need to realize in the ’hood that the majority of police are good officers.
They live by their sworn duty to protect, defend, and to serve. Likewise, an officer must understand that all peo- ple from the ’hood are not bad people. Know that and treat us
with respect. I can see why the problems exist with the Black community.
I can’t speak for all Black people, but I would suspect that their hang up is the same as mine. That is, damn it make the arrest and stop the abuse. That would be the thinking of those of us who are law abid- ing citizens. Believe me there are millions of us who live by the law.
We keep talking about good policemen and good Blacks, but there is no current way to tell the good from the bad.
We can refine our commu- nity programs to have police- men work the same neighborhoods over and over. A lot of the policing should be spent on the ground meeting the occupants. That way we will be able to identify the good cops from the bad. By the same token, the police will be able to do the same with Blacks.
Once this is accomplished, the abusive police arrests will subside, and Blacks won’t be so angry when an arrest is made.
Blacks would lose their de- sire to have the arresting po- liceman arrested for being abusive.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
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President Obama: History’s Native Son
t is said that Alexander the Great wept when he had no
more kingdoms to conquer. If true, might the same be said about another leader 3,000 years later, who in his final years as head of the mightiest nation in the history of the world begin to weep because of the surprising string of his successes – one-after another – especially during his lame- duck years?
For a while, Barack Hussein Obama, 43rd President of the United States, might have been eclipsed only by Abraham Lincoln as the most undermined president in the history of our nation... until something inexplicable happened.
Some say the change was ushered in as he sang and wept in the pulpit of Mother Emanuel Church. Others insist the turnabout began at his State of the Union address where in so many words he told both the House and Senate he would not go out like a lamb.
Then he went to Africa... to Kenya, and Ethiopia, and would later speak as a brother with the President of Nigeria. Subtly, but suddenly, America’s first Presidential Nobel Lau- reate showed the gleam that sent him to the White House. And after more than 50 accomplishments, he now looks for- ward to bringing a halt to the out-of-control American cli- mate dilemma as he stares down the possibility of bringing sanity to a gun-drunk society.
All this he has done months before he bids his post farewell.
Could it be that just before he steps down, President Barack Obama, as did Alexander the Great, considers his na- tion’s victories and weeps? For, thanks to his courage, wis- dom, and tenacity, it may well be that by 2016; he shall have no more kingdoms to conquer.
And history will no doubt applaud this man who restored a sense of dignity to our democracy. So, Native Son, we say, let history be done.
Warped Badges
have a question. Is being an insufferable jerk a job requirement for police offi-
cers?
I have to ask because, after
watching the video of a school resource officer in Keaton, Kentucky handcuffing an 8- year-old student diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) and seeing the child squirm with pain as the officer, conde- scendingly tells the kid, "You candowhatweaskyoutodo or suffer the consequences," I couldn't help but wonder how this kind of heartless creep slipped through the cracks?
But,- after hearing a state- ment from the officer's boss, who supported the officer's ac- tions, it occurred to me that engaging in this kind of prick- ish behavior is either taught at the police academy or part of a character trait looked for in the recruitment process.
How else could you explain cops all over the country ex- hibiting the same kind of gross abuse of authority? From Darren Wilson, the officer who shot Michael Brown, in Ferguson, to the out of control pool party cop in Texas, to the
state trooper who pulled over Sandra Bland, all of these individuals seem to have been cut from the same bully fabric.
You could literally inter- change these officers from case to case and the end result would be the same. An inno- cent person would wind up dead, abused or, like that hy- peractive 8-year-old, severely mistreated.
Of course, this doesn't apply to all members of law enforce- ment. Over the years, I've en- countered some genuinely golden human beings who've worked behind the shield.
Unfortunately, though, they're usually grossly out- numbered by a host of their co-workers who shouldn't be allowed to hold up crossing signs at elementary school bus stops.
Right now, whether they want to admit it or not, law en- forcement agencies every- where are suffering a serious public relations crisis. The trust factor people once had in their local "Officer Friend- lies" is slowly eroding. And, each time one of these contro- versial incidents arises involv- ing an out-of-control badge, it
makes their job of serving and protecting their communities that much harder.
Part of the problem, I be- lieve, stems from these depart- ments hiring too many Barney Fifes; officers who view their positions as ham- mers and all conflicts as nails.
Instead of issuing a gun to anyone with a spotless record and a college degree, going forward, they may be better served focusing more on indi- viduals with superb people skills and an abundance of common sense. Individuals who would be, at least, aware that if they're dealing with a child so small that handcuffs are too big for his wrists, plac- ing the restraints on the child's biceps probably isn't the next best solution.
For the average cop, I would imagine, all of this is a non- issue since facing their own wrongdoing is typically not as- sociated with their job de- scription. But, when the day comes when "Joe Public" becomes completely fed up with over aggressive policing and decides to fight back, I'm willing to wager that the offi- cers, who may be smirking now in arrogance, will be the first ones begging for a peace- ful resolution.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: realityon- ice@yahoo.com.
HIV/AIDS Increasing Among Black Children
ou reach your own conclusions. But according to the
Center for Disease Control, “Black (Americans) face the most severe burden of HIV,” even though HIV/AIDS preven- tion and awareness education efforts appear to have sub- sided as if HIV/AIDS were no longer an epidemic. Don’t be misled by the lull, however.
Of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV, one in eight continues not to know that he or she is infected. Of that num- ber, Black Americans account for 44 percent of those newly infected with HIV and 41 percent of all people living with HIV.
The worst news is yet to come: Sadly, teens and young adults (ages 13 to 24) accounted for 26 percent of all newly infected even though they make up only 17 percent our na- tion’s population.
The most sobering is the fact that young Black gay and bi- sexual men account for 57 percent of all new HIV patients, a sorry statistic that reflects a 22 percent increase between 2008 and 2010. Overall, gay and bisexual youth account for 72 percent of all newly infected among youth, and half of them have no idea they have the dreaded disease.
Consequently, continued HIV prevention outreach,
media blitzes, and “tell-it-like-it-is” education must remain a priority in Black communities. Our churches, youth serving agencies and educational institutions must make HIV education a priority.
After all, their lives depend upon our willingness to tell the truth about a topic that tells no lies.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-A
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