To protect and serve huh? Don’t they mean to only protect and serve one kind? This is disgusting and unacceptable! Something has to be done about these trigger-happy policeman and their warped mentalities! This incident should be our breaking point; as a matter of fact, the first incident like this should have been our breaking point. We have to do something about it now! Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge could have easily been someone I knew or worse – someone related to me. I pray so hard for my brother’s, cousins', nephews’, god-son's, and male friends’ lives, but today I feel like my prayers are not enough. Work has to be done in addition to prayer.
Creating t-shirts adorned with police brutality victims’ names on them or posting motivational sayings and hash tags on social media shouldn’t be the only things we do to show our sentiments this time. We should take it back to the days where we walked for hours or did whatever necessary to demand justice. We should make some noise in our communities continuously so that our voices are eventually heard. We should come together as a culture and show just how strong we are collectively, and that enough is enough. I’m ready for a change, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that all black men can live in a society where they are not feared by police but protected by them – just like their Caucasian counterparts. I will be participating in the protest here in Baton Rouge on Sunday, and I hope my blog readers who are located in Baton Rouge will do the same.
A note from the desk of Dr. Saulsberry –
It’s happened again, and it’s coming again! What you ask? Another “questionable police shooting of a black young man and those critics who will inevitably turn the incident/conversation to “black on black crime.” The only commonalities between black on black crime and police brutality are: guns, a quick temper, questionable judgement, and an action resulting in a young black man being dead. The major difference is that the police officer is “supposed to be a trained professional with the skills to determine and take actions that will de-escalate a situation resulting in positive results for all involved. They are not supposed to be a professional acting out of anger, feelings of disrespect, or fearing for one’s life (the classic excuse). The “street thug” acts out of anger because they feel disrespected or fear for their life as well. They, however, have no de-escalation skills or training to turn a hostile situation around. Both reactions end in the death of a young black man. Again, the major difference is that the police officer is supposed to be a mature and skilled professional sworn to uphold the law (not to be the judge, jury, and executioner) and to DE-ESCALATE a situation. They obviously have the skills to do so, because as Jesse Williams stated in his BET Awards Speech, “Police somehow manage to de-escalate, disarm and not kill white people every day.” …
Why is it that they can see the humanity in others but not in us?
The difference apparently is as stated in the Cameo song Skin I’m In (written by Larry Blackmon). “I’m so frustrated and flustered. At what has been riddance to justice? Is it immoral or a sin? If it is, according to the skin you’re in….skin you’re in”
I’m sick and tired of just being sick and tired! I need to do something else, and I am. What about you?
- Dr. Saulsberry
Now back to our regularly scheduled, good-vibes program.....venting has subsided.
Peace and Blessings
- Samjah Iman
