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Editorials/Columns
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
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Put Boots On The Ground
don’t know who ISIS is and I don’t know much about them. From what I have read about them they are a bunch of cold-blooded thirsty killers. They are sadistic mur- derers who don’t care what kind of terrorist act they com-
mit.
I have read that ISIS is
composed of several national- ities of people, including some Americans. They demonstrate their sadistic tendency by openly beheading a living human. That should be enough to go to war against them, but if that isn’t a plenty, then look at all the things they do or what they have turned into battlefields.
Countries are debating the issue of how to take on ISSI. That really is no debate. Other countries are just waiting to see what the United States is going to do. The United States has gone to air strikes, but to tell the truth the air strikes are almost useless. There is a loud cry from so many for Presi-
dent Obama to ‘Put Boots on the Ground.’ In case you missed something, they are taking about sending soldiers to do all out war.
The President is reluctant to do that because he led a war-weary nation and he does- n’t want any more troops in harm’s way. Usually I agree with the president. I hate so many legislators race-hate on whatever he tries to do. It doesn’t matter if what he wants to is for the good of the country.
The longer we wait the more dangerous and the more they expand in numbers. ISIS is running wild, killing, loot- ing, taking land, taking prison- ers and ransoming of captives. You can imagine what this freedom to do as they please has done to their confidence. I would bet it’s out among the stars.
All while ISSI is commit- ting its satanic deeds the rest of the world is just sitting in a very small pot just stewing.
What is so mind-boggling is there are some masterminds out there whose thing is war. There has been no word from them. It’s a big wonder when America will know what it’s going to do. The United States Congress has gotten involved. That means paper sack war commanders John McClain and Lindsey Graham are calling shots.
You know the United States really doesn’t need to do anything but watch and main- tain good intelligence. The ISSI is not fighting in or close to America. The countries where ISSI is fighting in or around don’t want to fight. In- stead, they are on the USA to do the fighting for them. To this I say no way. While I am sure what America should do, I know I don’t want one soldier on the battlefield or one air- plane in the air as long as other countries don’t want to fight. I can imagine that there are mil- lions of troopers and their families who are tired of serv- ing in harm’s way.
The President will have to wait too. You know how long it takes Congress to move on anything. In the meantime, watch for ISSI to continue to do what it has been doing.
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Talks On Race And Policing Needed
e applaud FBI Director’s James Comey’s coura-
geous, correct and timely remarks on race and law enforcement. Indeed, after a rash of police shootings of Black men by white police officers throughout America, Comey felt compelled to speak. For, no doubt, the issue of RACE sits like a huge elephant in the center of America’s conscience. Well, it won’t.
Race-based police shootings are not a fluke. They are symptomatic of career suitability, racial bias, fear and stereotyping, as well as incorrect citizen responses. The big- ger elephant in the room is why few Black law enforcement officers are involved in police shootings. The lack of reliable data referred to by Comey may very well point to answers to that taboo question.
Meanwhile, America runs the risk of outright total es- trangement between Black communities and law enforce- ment because we won’t talk about the issue.
However, to the Tampa Police Department’s credit, Chief Jane Castor was proactive in seeking opportunities for dia- logue with Black people in our city. Therefore, we hope she shares her model with her upcoming replacement and with her colleagues across America. We cannot afford to wait for more burning and looting. The time is NOW.
Tired Negroes
onday night the
B.E.T. network began airing a 3 part mini-series en- titled “The Book Of Ne- groes,” a fictional account of a woman named Aminata Diallo who was kidnapped from her African homeland as a child and sold into slavery in North America during the
1700s.
Before the show premiered,
one of my friends expressed to me his lack of interest, to put it mildly, in watching yet another movie detailing the brutality of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. To him, “The Book of Negroes” could have easily been called “Roots: Reloaded,” a re- imagined version of the clas- sic made-for-television film from the 1970s.
His assessment was one that I couldn’t bring myself to dispute. Even though I under- stand the very real need for films of this nature to remind Black youth that our journey in America has been far from a cake walk, I have to admit, I'm also ready for a new his- torical narrative to be pre- sented.
I mean, seriously, how many times are we going to be forced to endure the tighten- ing of our jaws while viewing example after example of Black people being grossly
mistreated and having their asses kicked (literally and fig- uratively) throughout his- tory?
That part of our back- story is not only well docu- mented in the multitude of movies like “Roots,” and “Negroes,” but it has been shown in the numerous Civil Rights Era flicks that have been produced over the last 40 years.
They even seem to use the same actors and actresses in each rendition. People like Louis Gossett, Jr., and Oprah Winfrey, have prac- tically made their acting ca- reers calling white people “suh” and “missus.” I just wonder if it’s too much to ask for someone to make a movie where we’re the ones placing a foot in someone else’s back- side?
It isn’t like those kinds of events didn’t take place. If Black directors and producers want to continue making pe- riod pieces, that’s fine. I only suggest, for once, going into a different direction.
What would be wrong with bringing Nat Turner’s mur- derous slave rebellion to life? They could even tell the story about the Black Panther George Jackson (author of the book “Soledad Brother”) and how his
teenage brother, Jonathan, attempted to free him from prison by storming a Califor- nia courtroom in broad day- light and taking a judge hostage. Both of them, ironi- cally, killed by police a year apart in the month of August.
If those stories are too con- troversial there’s always the legend of Queen Nzinga, the South African woman nicknamed “The Black Ter- ror,” by Dutch and Por- tuguese military leaders after she gave them all of the hell they could stand when they continued to invade her coun- try.
Right now, I'm so tired of seeing Black people playing the roles of butlers, nannies, maids and slaves, that I would even go for a remake of the movie Shaka Zulu, any- thing that shows Black people striking fear into others for a change. Even if their victories were short lived, stories like that prove we have it in us to fight and die for what we be- lieve.
Of course I know that I’m asking for a lot, considering how reluctant the power bro- kers over Black Hollywood are of ruffling a few feathers. But if any of them ever be- came brave enough to tackle one of my suggestions, I be- lieve we'd all be surprised at how much higher pride would allow us to hold our heads.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: Cbreal- ity1@yahoo.com.
What Happened To Happy New Year?
yfe Coleman, shot and killed, January 5th; James Brad-
ford, shot and killed, January 14th; Christopher Red- dick, shot and killed, January 18th; Letterrance Goggins, shot and killed, January 19th; Micaela Carter, wounded by gun- fire, January 20th; Melvin Hamilton, Joshua Ricks, and Romello Wells, wounded in a drive-by shooting, February 2nd; Adrian Powell, found shot to death, February 5th; Regi- nald Hightower, shot and killed, four days shy of the Valen- tine’S holiday. Authorities insist they are bolstering their presence, but to little avail. The communities where mur- ders have begun to happen like raindrops on a cloudy day are overcast with residents who believe in “Don’t snitch!”
So, the terror continues during the early days of 2015. Happy New Year, somebody.
Urban mayhem is nothing new. Those of us who know, recite for those of us who are unaware of the horrors in places like North Philadelphia, or Bedford Stuyvesant dur- ing the gang-war years of the 1960’s and 70’s. Gangs were so brazen they walked streets with shotguns stuffed down a trouser leg, hence, the origin of the ditty-bop/Hip-hop walk. Hundreds died and thousands were wounded. Jails filled up with boys too young to shave. The remainder of them were shipped off to Vietnam.
Maybe, that’s the answer. With upcoming war clouds, perhaps the possibility of ending up in Iraq, Syria, or Afghanistan might cause young hot-heads to think like human beings, instead of fools.
But here, in Tampa, not one child killed was shot by a cop. No protest rallies, or demonstrations occurred to de- mand something be done about self-imposed genocide.
Therefore, not two months into 2015, we once again ask, “Where is the New Year?” The answer is chilling: “It lies on review in a Tampa funeral home.
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PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015