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Hands in the Air? … I Don’t Care!
By Lafe Tolliver, Esq
Guest Column
The gripping, civil unrest scenes in Ferguson, Missouri
is making for prime-time television since we are seeing a
somnolent community that is waking up out of their
self-imposed political apathy to the horrors of witnessing a
new gang taking over their streets and deciding who lives
and who dies.
With the untimely and sudden death of the black teen
Michael Brown, the community of Ferguson is caught in the
cross hairs of a practically all-white police department
that is blundering its way through a public relations
nightmare.
It is not enough that the unarmed college-bound teen
was purportedly murdered in cold blood in broad daylight
with both of his hands raised up.
It is not enough that one eyewitness who was in
spitting distance of the murder scene has consistently given
statements that all jibe together.
It is not enough that the bewildered police department
is acting as if it is under siege and which siege mentality
was caused directly by their own incompetence and arrogance.
But to now withhold information regarding the murder is
beyond comprehension. Of course, if the shooter was a black
officer (there are only three black officers on the police
force of 53!) his name and information about the murder
would have been released so the police chief could have the
trump card of saying it was not a white cop/black man shoot.
Depending on what network you are listening to, the
befuddled police chief is trying to spin the news by
planting the information that there was a prior brief
altercation in the police car with the shooter and the
shootee.
However, evidence is clearly showing that after that
purported tussle, the dead teen was far and apart from the
shooter and the teen had both hands up in the air and he was
shot once in the back and then turned around with his hands
up and then again, shot several times.
Clearly, the teen not a danger to anyone and with no
evidence of any weapon or physical threat to the outraged
officer, there was no need for the kid to be blasted with a
multiplicity of gunshots.
The multiplicity of the gunshots to the head and chest
bespeaks of an howling inner rage that this white cop had
towards the kid whom he thought may have gotten the best of
him in the earlier altercation, if any, and the cop had to
show everyone and his buds in blue that he was no punk and
what better way to establish your street cred than to knock
off the punk that dissed you.
Even if there was a prior altercation in which the
now-dead teen got the best of the officer; and got in a blow
or two, that does not mandate his summary execution.
You arrest him on charges of assault and resisting
arrest and case closed.
But no. Not this officer. He wanted the penultimate revenge
and that was to show the teen that when all else fails and
your manhood is on the line, you shoot and you shoot to
kill.
And. If there are any historical anecdotes to this type
of murder being condoned by the city, the cop thought it was
worth a chance, because, after all, what is the rate of a
murder conviction for a white cop killing a black person in
Missouri?
So you play the race card and the odds which are in
your favor which states that a cop can do no wrong; and you
blow away the perp and run for cover.
Is this the beginning of a new street gang known as
COPS?
Does this mean that if you are a member of COPS that
you can hype up a minor tussle and use it to justify murder
in broad daylight and expect the black community to not
protest and howl at such barbaric treatment coming from
those who are to protect and serve?
Was this a hate crime? Absolutely! This cop hated this
kid so much for whom he was, whom he represented and for
embarrassing him in front of his bud and for that, for this
cop, murder was this kid’s just desserts.
Will a grand jury, either state or federal, indict this
street gang member on charges of murder and intimidation and
violation of his civil rights? We will wait and see.
However in the meantime, I want to severely reprimand
and chastise the black folks of Ferguson for their sloth and
fear of putting up with this mess for so long.
With the black citizens being in the majority in that
city, why in the dickens did they not organize years and
years ago and run for city council and other municipal
political slots that would have changed the color and tenor
of their local government?
Was there a local or regional NAACP or Urban League or
other civic organization that was not doing the grunt work
of registering voters to vote out the scoundrels who could
have created this culture in which murder in broad daylight
could have even been contemplated?
If the minority community would have banded together
years ago, they could have influenced the election of the
mayor, city council and the election or appointment of the
police chief and other civic officials.
To see a community of cowards who were not willing to
register to vote and organize for demonstrable changes, one
can only think of how things would have fared for the dead
teen if his community had the gumption to take control of
the reins of power and not devolve into a community of
slackers.
A response to this murder by looting Wal-Mart and
trashing your own neighborhoods and burning cars is sheer
buffoonery and only demonstrates the utterly low level of
sophisticated political and economic intelligence of the
Ferguson residents.
In the end, I hope two things happen in Ferguson: (1)
the shooter is brought to trial and is convicted of murder
and (2) the black residents of Ferguson wake up out of their
decades of a long self-imposed slumber and organize
themselves for real political power.
Moral of the story: Don’t complain (rioting) about what
you can change!
Note: Pay careful attention to how the right wing media will
excoriate and traduce both the dead teen and the witnesses
to the murder. The “ throw the mud” party is next.
Contact Lafe Tolliver at
Tolliver@Juno.com |
