The Police Are Being Brats

I hadn't really thought about what conversation I would start today.  There are so many thoughts that have been running through my brain over these last weeks that I knew I could come up with something easy.  So I started my morning routine which includes reading through my news alerts and Facebook feed.  My conversation became clear.

If you had not heard, several officers with the Atlanta PD called out sick in protest to the charges against the two cops in the Rayshard Brooks case.  There are so many things wrong with that statement that I'm not sure I want to pick it apart in its entirety.  Seriously???? Grown people are not going to work because their buddies are being held responsible for their crimes? I really want to talk with the rocket scientist who came up with that idea and ask him/her what is the end game?  What exactly did you expect to gain?  Do you not think your actions are a little bit childish? I cannot talk to this person so we'll just start the conversation without him/her.

I posted on Facebook a few days back that the black community has a love-hate relationship with the police.  We have family members who have or are currently serving and we appreciate the men and women who help bring them home safely every shift.  We also know that the majority of police will protect us and do not mean us any harm.  These are not the ones we are protesting.  

We are protesting the cops who look at our skin and see an aggressor, thug, or whatever justifies them "fearing for their life."  They are the ne'er-do-wells who think the badge they wear justifies their existence and gives them power.  They forget that our tax dollars pay their salaries so they essentially work for us. Would you do to your boss the things cops have done to many citizens?  No?  Yeah well, explain it to them so they understand it because obviously, they don't get it.  

Cops have walked for so many murders that it is incomprehensible to me how anyone could not have seen this coming.  They are spoiled by something called qualified immunity.  This doctrine states that government officials, especially the police, are immune from civil lawsuits unless a direct link can be made to a previously established statutory or constitutional right.  This doctrine has bled over into the criminal law arena and allows cops to claim they "saw a gun" or "feared for their lives" in cases where their actions are clearly the opposite.  The police unions have fostered this in their efforts to defend cops against being charged.  So it warmed my heart the other day when the Atlanta DA said his office should not be an extension of the police force and it was his duty to charge as necessary.  You could hear the literal gasp from the whole country.  In effect, he was throwing down the gauntlet to his fellow DAs.  You either do what's right and hold them accountable or you let the people decide if you will keep your job.

So now cops are whining and crying that everybody hates them and their supporters are all in.  My question to them is, if you're not doing anything wrong, what are you crying about?  My mother used to say a kicked dog will holler.  This is the other part of the love-hate relationship we have with cops.  Those who are doing wrong know the ones who are and yet they are silent.  You know how they are. You know the things they do because they brag about them.  Yet you do absolutely nothing.  Why?  Afraid of losing your job?  Afraid of being called a snitch?  Worried about losing your pension?  Dude get real.  These are all things that can be fixed.  If you get fired, find a sheriff's office or another department that will respect your integrity or find a different field.  If you become known as a snitch, reach down, grab a pair, and walk proud.  Eventually, you will inspire someone else who has been struggling with what to do, and change will happen.  There are so many ways for you to build your retirement and lots of people out there willing to help you do it.  So what's the problem?  Integrity is doing the right thing whether or not people are watching.  You know the right thing.  Do it or shut up and take your lumps.

To all the Atlanta officers who called out sick, I hope you are happy that you put your personal issue above the oath you took to serve and protect.  If you are unable to see the reason your friends were charged, you might need to quit.  You and I both know Rayshard was not a threat.  We also know there are several other ways that could have been handled.  We know that when your buddy woke Rayshard up and told him to move his car, he was setting him up.  You know this would have all turned out differently if they had allowed him to walk home or better yet, take him home.  It's time for you all to have a come to Jesus talk with yourselves.  it is time to decide.  

Where do we go from here?

I must reintroduce myself.  I'm a 40 something female who lives in Georgia.  I work and have worked for the majority of my life.  I have two children and two grandchildren.  Everything I have ever done and will do it for them.  I spent some time in the military.  I've been on public assistance.  I've had A+ credit.  I've worked three jobs.  I've been married.  The only thing I have not done drugs for recreational purposes and that includes weed.  Life has beaten me up, spit me out and I still get up to say, "Come at me, bro."  Why?  Because I don't know anything else to do.  

The past month has been rough on me.  Actually the last five or so years have been rough.  I've watched a culture of idiocy grow into a live version of the movie Idiocracy.  People regurgitate lies as if they are facts and refuse to admit it when you show them the real facts.  A whole bunch of people support a person who lies with impunity and has a vocabulary consisting of 10 to 20 words and that's a benevolent estimate.  I've reached a point where I can no longer play nice.  I swore to myself I would not call them names.  That's no longer on the table

The thing really driving me is the murder of Ahmad Arbrey, Breona Taylor, and George Floyd.  Ahmad shattered me.  I read the retelling of what happened and it took me back to stories I heard of how black men where hunted down during Jim Crow.  Breona destroyed me.  I'm still wondering how cops who they know went into the wrong house, obtained a warrant illegally, and subsequently killed a woman who is still walking the streets.  How is this possible?  Then I watched George Floyd and I died with him.  While most people focus on him gasping for breath and calling out for his mother, my mind returns consistently to the nonchalant demeanor of the cop.  At that moment as I am watching the video,, my mind transposed black and white pictures of the klan standing over dead bodies as if they are trophy kills.  The only thing missing from that cop's face is the cheesy grin of triumph.

I truly don't think a lot of white people get it.  I am only one generation removed from the generation that held lunch counter sit-ins.  I have brothers, sisters, and cousins who grew up at that time.  My mother didn't trust white people and really didn't like them in her home.  Imagine the hell I went through when the one date I had in high school was with a white boy.  He's a story for another time. So I know if these things came to me, I can only imagine how my older family and friends felt.  I'm pretty sure they thought they would never see something like that again.  Yet here we are.

Once my anger and grief subsided, I made some decisions.  I no longer have the patience or time for people who make up ridiculous arguments when these things happen.  These people will definitely receive a sharp reaction.  I'm done trying to teach people.  If I have had the conversation with you more than once and you're still trotting out some of the same defenses, we're done.  If you are in the streets protesting but you cannot be bothered to vote, shut up.  Most importantly, do not question my dedication to this cause.  You might need stitches when I am done.

These decisions are the reason for restarting to blog.  I see the winds of change blowing.  I hear the cries.  What I don't hear or see is leadership.  I don't see a plan to get from here to there.  I don't see someone coming to the front to provide cohesive messaging to give the movement one voice.  All I hear is noise.  So I'm hoping by putting my thoughts into a blog and publishing, someone will read this.  They will share it and maybe I can bring together the strongest voices to devise a plan, to lay out a road map, and to make us ONE voice.

Here's an open invitation to join me to discuss things.  Ask questions converse with one another so that we can really affect the change this moment is giving birth to.