Time for a game change in America

Jul 26, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Law enforcement continues the inordinate use of lethal force against people of color. A cure is urgently needed, not a diagnosis. History has proven to be the most astute educator. It is now absolutely clear that the American justice system will give blacks as much justice as a wolf would give to a flock of sheep.
Like the wolf, the system has completely devoured Blacks. Then again, what do Blacks expect now if they were not even considered by the initial designers of America’s system of jurisprudence?
There is something about the rampant gun culture in America, wherein we are witnesses to the reaction following mass shootings, the total sum of homicides in this country and notwithstanding a really contumacious insistence upon a reactionary fundamentalist version of the Second Amendment.
On top of everything Philandro Castile was guilty of nothing more than taking at face value the same Second Amendment and identifying himself to Officer Jeronimo Yanez as a registered weapon holder. Instead it resulted in him being killed, fatally shot.
The message is clear; these principles in the U.S are not made for nor do they apply to us. America may be the home of the free but free to be, not for blacks you see.
And so I think it sends a message here that these principles really are not made with us (Blacks) in mind. How much longer will we protest and march, waiting for oranges to fall from an apple tree?
The back to back exonerations of police officers responsible for the deaths of black men serve as exclamation points. The more we protest, the more we march, the more we scream Black Lives matter, the more we witness black lives being lost with no justice gained. Marching for justice will never produce enough justice nor will writing about justice.
Decades later and American society has failed to agree that a particular form of evil is wrong, not to mention any displayed effort working towards rectification or remediation. Again, as prior stated, what is necessary now is a cure and not a diagnosis.
The shooting of Philandro Castile caught the nation’s attention last summer, at a time when it was already trying to come to grips with heightened emotions over police shootings. A jury reached the known verdict, adding the name of another black to the stack.
While better police training, improved de-escalation techniques and body cameras may limit the number of people being shot, what cannot be picked are fair-minded juries and the assurance that the prosecutors will put the best case forward.
The nub of the matter lies in the fact that even in the face of widespread concern all over the U.S.A regarding the disproportionate shootings of unarmed black men, convictions of the boys in blue or whatever hue have been rare- even in high profile deaths that inspired country wide protests. Even the launching of the Black Lives Matter Movement three years ago have not been effective in bringing about any change or semblance of change.
Yes, at stake is sanity of Black America or more aptly put Back America. In 2017 America every black individual especially males are just one run-in with the wrong police officer away from receiving the same treatment as a runaway slave.
Documented evidence reveals that the American justice system and the media always treat black people with the most suspicion and the harshest brutality, from traffic stop to death row, from the cradle to the grave.
The fact that cannot be factored out is that police unions rally around their own. So in order to prevent the ongoing police onslaught, and work towards a cure for the known diagnosis we must move differently— change gears.
We must reclaim our power. If the police can stick together and win even in the face of blatant sin, then we must unite and get in the fight. We must now become the helpers and protectors at all costs to prevent further lives being lost.
Let us then without fail tell especially our males how their lives could be saved if they learn how they should behave when encountering the law. No need to act bold only move when told, for the police officer is in full control and try as they might they would never be right.
And as for the garments they wear, avoid the ones that produce fear, remember Trayvon Martin and his hoodie. Dress to look your best but not to put cultural sensitivity to the test.
Each time the police encounters a Black male the same story emerges, he fears for his life, for the Black man may have a gun or a knife. The Black man never lives to tell his side of the story, for even if he was standing his ground, he would still dead be found.
A game change and mentality alteration is a must if Blacks are to avoid biting the dust at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve.
Yvonne Sam

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