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The Gangs of Baltimore

02 Saturday May 2015

Posted by Sherry in African American, An Island in the Storm, Crap I Learned, Essays, poverty, racism, Sociology

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Baltimore, police, racism

8d8e3061980f4fd71b6c0de47eb514da73b40b25_cWatching the events play out in Baltimore is an education to some, to others, it’s a why question. Why didn’t this happen sooner? The fact is whether you like it or not, life in the inner city is purely shit for the average African-American citizen.

Every deck is stacked against the individual trying to survive. Poor schools, no jobs are just the beginning. We see nothing less than a systematic attempt to herd “unwelcomes” into small enclaves and then devote all our money and energies to “other interests.”

We not only condone racism in this country but we grow it.

We demean people even when we give them the pittances we do, by making them take drug tests, and defining what food stamps can be used for, and attaching so many rules and regulation to any sort of assistance that you end up in the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” scenario.

And when people rise up out of anger and frustration and disgust at the injustices they endure, we blame it all back on them and their “fatherless” homes, where unfortunate black youths learn no morals or sense of obedience to authority. Above all that, they have no respect for their betters.

One young man fairly told Geraldo Rivera to take his white ass and get out of town. They recognize Fox for what it is, purveyors of hate upon their heads. Geraldo, the youth said, you are only interested in filming what you call “thugs” rioting. You and Fox haven’t been interested in coming here to report on the daily injustice that we face.

To those of us who have engaged in the criminal justice system in this country in large metropolitan cities, we know all too well of what the young man speaks. As Alan Dershowitz explained in his Rules of the Justice Game, “almost all police officers lie about whether they violated the constitution in order to convict guilty defendants”, (rule IV) and all prosecutors, judges and defense attorneys are aware of rule IV. Worse, they look the other way. Like it or not, it’s true.

The recent public exposure of these cases of police overreach, abuse and lying comes as no surprise to us. I recall a dear friend of mine, a street cop from Detroit, whom I had argued with good-naturedly about whether police could do their job and still tell the truth. He was called to testify on an arrest and to make his point to me, told the truth. The case was dismissed for lack of “probable cause”. He grinned at me, as he walked from the courtroom. “See what you get when you tell the truth?”

We understood it, and we accepted it as a the way life was. We knew that in most cases the officers were at least sure they had the right guy.

But there is a segment of police officers within each department who do not care. They figure one black body is as good as any other, and they have ambitions, and a host of emotionally based reasons for throwing their authority around and not caring who gets caught up in their game.

Therein lies the problem.

And a solution comes from an unlikely source:

The gangs of Baltimore.

The major gangs have declared a truce, and apparently are devoting their time and efforts to helping their community respond in a politically helpful way to the recurrent injustice visited upon them in general and in the Freddie Gray case in particular.

It boggles the mind. Young men hell-bent on killing each other, and unfortunately any innocents that get in the way, have come together and agreed that for now at least, they will stop the violence against each other, and help organize their community to stop police violence against them all.

This is no small thing. Thinking, educated, above middle-class men and women only a few miles away, encased in a glorious white facade of sandstone and marble, are unable to agree upon even the most basic of things because screwing the black guy in the White House seems paramount.

Yet these young men have agreed to set aside their differences and work together for the common good of their community.

And the gang has a good deal to offer should it choose to actually follow through. Long the center of loyalty, and business acumen (albeit illegal) it mirrors many good traits that the young can well adopt. Strong Black men, helping their community? What’s not to like here. They teach loyalty, respect, and how purpose can bring about change. Somehow in their matriarchal upbringing, they have managed to become quite savvy at things they aren’t supposed to understand at all.

They in a real sense complement their environment, reflecting an honest if not legal response to the tremendous burdens and disadvantages heaped upon them since birth. They have the ability to encourage the younger kids coming up at least in the character requirements of making their way in a racist world while still standing firm for dignity.

No one argues that gangs are stellar examples to our youth. They have not been since the days of the Irish gangs, the Puerto Rican ones or any of the others. But all ethnic groups plagued with the criminal element within have always managed to take those good attributes and bettered themselves and their communities. And the Black community is no different. It too learns the right lessons along with the less savory.

Larry Wilmore, on his show The Nightly Show, did a most important thing on Thursday. He sat down with gang bangers in a diner and just talked. And they were articulate, and politically aware, and sincere. And that matters and should matter, and should make us hang our heads in shame when we cannot expect better from our paid politicians, and we cannot seem to expect more of ourselves in insisting on our own justice from the tyranny of big money and big K Street influence.

Perhaps it will be the gangs of Baltimore that will lead the way in helping us to see that we are not without recourse in our own struggles to retake command of our government. We need merely to stop focusing on our differences and agree that we are not being heard. None of us, for anything. And it’s time to change that. And if it takes a gang to explain that to us, well, more power to them.

And that’s a compliment in case you didn’t realize it.

We participate in SoCS.

2015-04-24t022326z249929865gf10000070803rtrmadp3usa-police-baltimore

 

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Should You Ever Find Yourself Stopped By the Fuzz

19 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by Sherry in 4th Amendment, Crap I Learned, Humor, Judiciary, racism, Satire

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

crime, criminal law, police, race

stopnfriskWell, see, most of you won’t. Won’t find yourself stopped and “frisked” by the PO-lice. I am pretty sure of that. But some of you will.

And you will wonder why.

And you will know.

You were “walking or driving while black”, or brown. Pretty much stop and frisk laws don’t apply to driving. But the principle is still pretty much the same. Pretty much they don’t apply to white people. Pretty much they are really “stop and frisk that black/brown kid” laws.

And I should know.

I worked with this stuff for twenty years, “back in the day”. Yes, it goes back that far, in fact it goes back way far. To the early 60’s.

When crime was “rampant” and large cities were losing white folks due to “white flight”, and that was due to “crime” or so they thought. And so they thought they would get tough on crime.

Detroit, of which I am intimately familiar, did it with a unit called S.T.R.E.S.S. (Stop the Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets). It was supposed to reduce crime. All it did was make the black community fear and hate the cops, and after a whole lot of black kids were shot to death, it was disbanded by newly elected black mayor Coleman Young.

S.T.R.E.S.S. had been brought to an end before I arrived, freshly washed behind the ears, full of the desire to stick it to the “pigs” and protect “the people” from militarist style policing.

But then there was stop and frisk. Stop and Frisk arose from a case called Terry v. Ohio. Now we can ignore the facts, and just state the rule: “if an officer comes upon a person who he reasonably believes is, has or is about to commit a crime, he may, IF he can point to specific and articulable facts from which it can reasonably be deduced that the person so confronted is armed and dangerous,  he may pat down the outer clothing of said person for the SOLE purpose of determining whether said person is carrying a weapon.” Whew. Got all that?

If he feels a weapon, he may retrieve it. Otherwise he may ask the person questions which may or may not allay his fears and concerns. The point of the frisk is solely for the officer or “bystanders” safety in the moment. The law was extended to an “area” around the individual to which he might “lunge” in an attempt to secure a weapon. (read glove box or sofa or other hiding spot).

Now that’s what the law says is legal.

And being a normal person, you assume that that is how it works.

If you believe that then you believe that doctors and nurses have no dirty little secrets about what goes on in hospitals, labs and operating rooms, and you trust the military to always follow the rules of war.

Some of you may be familiar with the Rules of Justice as enunciated by Alan Dershowitz, well-known professor of law and attorney:

I. ALMOST ALL CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS ARE , IN FACT, GUILTY.

II. ALL CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS, PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES UNDERSTAND AND BELIEVE RULE I.

III. IT IS EASIER TO CONVICT GUILTY DEFENDANTS BY VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION THAN BY COMPLYING WITH IT, AND IN SOME CASES IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO CONVICT GUILTY DEFENDANTS WITHOUT VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION.

IV. ALMOST ALL POLICE LIE ABOUT WHETHER THEY VIOLATED THE CONSTITUTION IN ORDER TO CONVICT GUILTY DEFENDANTS.

V. ALL PROSECUTORS, JUDGES AND DEFENSE ATTORNEYS ARE AWARE OF RULE IV.

VI. MANY PROSECUTORS IMPLICITLY ENCOURAGE POLICE TO LIE ABOUT WHETHER THEY VIOLATED THE CONSTITUTION IN ORDER TO CONVICT GUILTY DEFENDANTS.

VII. ALL JUDGES ARE AWARE OF RULE VI.

VIII. MOST TRIAL JUDGES PRETEND TO BELIEVE POLICE OFFICERS WHO THEY KNOW ARE LYING

IX. ALL APPELLATE JUDGES ARE AWARE OF RULE VIII, YET MANY PRETEND TO BELIEVE THE TRIAL JUDGES WHO PRETEND TO BELIEVE THE POLICE OFFICERS.

X. MOST JUDGES DISBELIEVE DEFENDANTS ABOUT WHETHER THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED, EVEN IF THEY ARE TELLING THE TRUTH.

XI. MOST JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS WOULD NOT KNOWINGLY CONVICT A DEFENDANT WHO THEY BELIEVE TO BE INNOCENT OF THE CRIME CHARGED (OR A CLOSELY RELATED CRIME).

XII. RULE XI DOES NOT APPLY TO MEMBERS OF ORGANIZED CRIME, DRUG DEALERS, CAREER CRIMINALS, OR POTENTIAL INFORMANTS.

XIII. NOBODY REALLY WANTS JUSTICE.

And that my friends is pretty close to being the utter truth. In big city courts, it’s mostly about moving the mountain of cases through the system in a reasonable order, such that the state supreme court doesn’t start getting on your back for “backlogs”. The entire plea-bargaining system is predicated on it–too many cases, not enough cells. Plead to something you did not do, get out of jail, OR insist on a trial, wait until next year and wait IN jail for it, and God help you if you lose, cuz them I’m gonna throw the damned book and the library it’s attached to at ya, and say hi to not getting out of prison before you’re a very old man.

That’s the system.

So, how is this stop and frisk actually done in practice you ask?

Well, it goes something like this:

  1. Drive to area which is designated as “high crime” usually involving drugs.
  2. Swoop in. Multiple police cars coming from all for directions works best.
  3. Jump out and start chasing all the young black men you see.
  4. Scream a lot, using the “f” word liberally.
  5. Spread-eagle on any wall of any building all those corralled.
  6. Search them all.
  7. Go around the sidewalks picking up any dope you find lying around.
  8. Arrest anyone who was “holding”. Give the “found” dope to anyone who is a big mouth.
  9. At station, write a report that says something like:

“My partner and I, while on routine patrol in the vicinity of John R and Erskine, observed the defendant walking down the sidewalk. As we approached, he looked in our direction, then turned and walked briskly away. As he was walking, I saw a white folded up paper, which through previous experience, I suspected was cocaine, fall from his hand onto the sidewalk. We stopped the scout car, and my partner went toward the paper while I continued to follow the defendant on foot. My partner alerted me that it was suspected cocaine, and I detained the defendant and placed him under arrest.”

And that is what he will testify to in court, or as we now call it, testalie.

And the defendant will most often plead, though he was one of the loudmouths who didn’t have any dope, but was visiting his uncle’s house down the street, and was actually sitting on the porch when the police came in and ordered him off the porch. He told them they were harassing him for no reason and that he would sue. So he got to be “it” –the recipient of any contraband they could not obviously tie to any individual.

He will plead because the judge said he would entertain a motion to release him on personal bond if he copped, but alas if he wanted a trial (which he really does, being innocent and all), he won’t get one for five months and being a drug user presumably, poses such a risk to all, that he will have to remain in the county jail all that time. Oh, and due to the fact that he has no record,he will surely get probation most probably (I’m sure your lawyer already told you that) for a plea,  but if a jury convicts you, well then we will just have to see (the book is headed for your head).

And that is how justice is pretty much meted out in the mean streets of big city USA, and yeah, it’s all racial profiling, and worse, and nobody thinks it can be fixed, because nobody really cares.

All that crap Bloomberg has been spouting about “stop, question, frisk? Pure bull.

Are we clear?

Related articles
  • Stop & Frisk (skyestats.wordpress.com)
  • Judge Rules NYC Stop-and-Frisk Policy Unconstitutional (newsy.com)
  • Stop And Frisk Is Criminal (dish.andrewsullivan.com)

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Chasing a Thought or Two

27 Monday Jul 2009

Posted by Sherry in Congress, Health care, Media, racism

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Charles Grassley, citizenship, Health care, James Inhofe, Lou Dobbs, Obama, police, Professor Gates, racial profiling, racism, Sarah Palin

Birth_Certificate1I do pay attention to the news. I read a few dozen posts a day dealing with various issues before the country. I watch news. So, I’m not uninformed.

Yet I found myself stymied the other day coming upon the term “Birthers.” What the (bleep) did that mean? The Contrarian helped me out. “It’s the nut cases that are continuing to ask for “proof” that Obama is a US citizen.”

Oh, that. I’ve been seeing some of that. Lou Dobbs continues to claim it’s newsworthy all the while saying he personally doesn’t see any efficacy to the allegations. Uhuh. Well, then why are you wasting people’s time dude?

I’ve seen the video of the crazy lady grilling a congressperson all to the applause of the audience of crazy people, finally crying out in anguish, “I want my country back!” Awww, such sore losers, I lament.

Perennial nut case Senator James Inhofe, (R-OK) says, the birthers, “have a point.” What point is that exactly? He of course does not say, because of course there is none.

Along with DeMitt who urges Republicans to thwart the health care bill because it will be Obama’s “Waterloo” and set the stage for Republicans to recapture control of Congress in 2010, Inhofe and others of that ilk continue down the path of obstructionism for party gain.

This causes semi intelligent Republicans to lament, “If the health care bill is completely put down, voters will blame the Republican party.” At least so says Chuck Grassley, (R-IA).

So far, my attitude is let’em go. Nothing is better for Democrats that what is happening now. Keep the Rethugs tied up in knots over “birthers” and saying No for no’s sake for hoped for political gain. That will be seen for what it is and will ensure further gains for the Democrats come 2010.

That is, if the idiots in the Democratic party can get their heads out of said dark space and realize the obvious. Passing  health care will help all Democrats period. Even the red dog Democrats can’t hope to benefit from failure, their only hope is in success. If and only if the working and lower middle class sense some relief from their financial burdens will they credit the Democratic party and thus vote for Democrats in vulnerable districts and states.

So as long as Republicans seem hell bent on pandering to the extremely stupid and nutty brained, then Democrats look good by comparison. So bring on the birthers and all that. While you’re at it, spend oodles of time talking and wondering about the political future of Sarah, “The Quitter” non sequitur, Palin. Someone who’s support continues to coalesce around a smaller and smaller base is just where the Rethugs need to spend their time. 

More and more Republicans seem like rats, drawn by the silent music of the flute, knowing they are jumping to their death but being unable to break the spell of doom. I say: MORE FLUTES!

GatescartoonIt goes without saying that I am SOOOO tired of this Gates affair. The media just drives me nuts with it’s glomming onto “news” that is easy and doesn’t take any effort to run.

This ceased to be an issue about the day after it happened, but they babble about it incessantly under the guise that “this is a conversation America needs to have.” Uhuh, yeah, we been a havin’ it since the early 60’s.

The truth of the matter is, without more, I suspect both men were not acting like adults that night. The type of person drawn to law enforcement is psychologically one who feels powerless. Thus getting a shootin’ iron and “authoritay” are powerful aphrodisiacs to them. They like being obeyed. African American men are tired of being victimized by said swaggerers, and might have a tad of a tendency to react before there is any evidence of slight.

Put the two together, and well, they react like naughty boys, each saying “he said.” The cops always win, since they got the above stated weaponry and restraints and the power of arrest.

And let me set one record straight. When the media claims that said Sargent was a trainer on the issue of “avoiding racial profiling,” that needs to be explained. What it means is he was teaching others how to mask their behavior so that it couldn’t legally be defined as racial profiling, and thus be thrown out of  court. That’s what “avoiding 4th amendment complaints” means as well.

So can we move on to matters of some actual important?

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