A tough week for our friends down south

[Big Cliff]

 

I was sent this and it is well worth the time reading it.

Thank you Officer Jay Stalien Author of the cut and paste below.

I have come to realize something that is still hard for me to understand to this day. The following may be a shock to some coming from an African American, but the mere fact that it may be shocking to some is prima facie evidence of the sad state of affairs that we are in as Humans.

I used to be so torn inside growing up. Here I am, a young African-American born and raised in Brooklyn, NY wanting to be a cop. I watched and lived through the crime that took place in the hood. My own black people killing others over nothing. Crack heads and heroin addicts lined the lobby of my building as I shuffled around them to make my way to our 1 bedroom apartment with 6 of us living inside. I used to be woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of gun fire, only to look outside and see that it was 2 African Americans shooting at each other.

It never sat right with me. I wanted to help my community and stop watching the blood of African Americans spilled on the street at the hands of a fellow black man. I became a cop because black lives in my community, along with ALL lives, mattered to me, and wanted to help stop the bloodshed.

As time went by in my law enforcement career, I quickly began to realize something. I remember the countless times I stood 2 inches from a young black man, around my age, laying on his back, gasping for air as blood filled his lungs. I remember them bleeding profusely with the unforgettable smell of deoxygenated dark red blood in the air, as it leaked from the bullet holes in his body on to the hot sidewalk on a summer day. I remember the countless family members who attacked me, spit on me, cursed me out, as I put up crime scene tape to cordon off the crime scene, yelling and screaming out of pain and anger at the sight of their loved ones taking their last breath. I never took it personally, I knew they were hurting. I remember the countless times I had to order new uniforms, because the ones I had on, were bloody from the blood of another black victim…of black on black crime. I remember the countless times I got back in my patrol car, distraught after having watched another black male die in front me, having to start my preliminary report something like this:

Suspect- Black/ Male, Victim-Black /Male.

I remember the countless times I canvassed the area afterwards, and asked everyone “did you see who did it”, and the popular response from the very same family members was always, “damn the Police, I ain't no snitch, Im gonna take care of this myself". This happened every single time, every single homicide, black on black, and then my realization became clearer.

I woke up every morning, put my freshly pressed uniform on, shined my badge, functioned checked my weapon, kissed my wife and kid, and waited for my wife to say the same thing she always does before I leave, “Make sure you come back home to us”. I always replied, “I will”, but the truth was I was never sure if I would. I almost lost my life on this job, and every call, every stop, every moment that I had this uniform on, was another possibility for me to almost lose my life again. I was a target in the very community I swore to protect, the very community I wanted to help. As a matter of fact, they hated my very presence. They called me “Uncle Tom”, and “wanna be white boy”, and I couldn’t understand why. My own fellow black men and women attacking me, wishing for my death, wishing for the death of my family. I was so confused, so torn, I couldn’t understand why my own black people would turn against me, when every time they called …I was there. Every time someone died….I was there. Every time they were going through one of the worst moments in their lives…I was there. So why was I the enemy? I dove deep into that question…Why was I the enemy? Then my realization became clearer.

I spoke to members of the community and listened to some of the complaints as to why they hated cops. I then did research on the facts. I also presented facts to these members of the community, and listened to their complaints in response. This is what I learned:

Complaint: Police always targeting us, they always messing with the black man.

Fact: A city where the majority of citizens are black (Baltimore for example) …will ALWAYS have a higher rate of black people getting arrested, it will ALWAYS have a higher rate of blacks getting stopped, and will ALWAYS have a higher rate of blacks getting killed, and the reason why is because a city with those characteristics will ALWAYS have a higher rate of blacks committing crime. The statistics will follow the same trend for Asians if you go to China, for Hispanics if you go to Puerto Rico, for whites if you go to Russia, and the list goes on. It’s called Demographics

Complaint: More black people get arrested than white boys.

Fact: Black People commit a grossly disproportionate amount of crime. Data from the FBI shows that Nationwide, Blacks committed 5,173 homicides in 2014, whites committed 4,367. Chicago’s death toll is almost equal to that of both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, combined. Chicago’s death toll from 2001–November, 26 2015 stands at 7,401. The combined total deaths during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2015: 4,815) and Operation Enduring Freedom/Afghanistan (2001-2015: 3,506), total 8,321.

Complaint: Blacks are the only ones getting killed by police, or they are killed more.

Fact: As of July 2016, the breakdown of the number of US Citizens killed by Police this year is, 238 White people killed, 123 Black people killed, 79 Hispanics, 69 other/or unknown race.

Fact: Black people kill more other blacks than Police do, and there are only protest and outrage when a cop kills a black man. University of Toledo criminologist Dr. Richard R. Johnson examined the latest crime data from the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports and Centers for Disease Control and found that an average of 4,472 black men were killed by other black men annually between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2012. Professor Johnson’s research further concluded that 112 black men died from both justified and unjustified police-involved killings annually during this same period.

Complaint: Well we already doing a good job of killing ourselves, we don’t need the Police to do it. Besides they should know better.

The more I listened, the more I realized. The more I researched, the more I realized. I would ask questions, and would only get emotional responses & inferences based on no facts at all. The more killing I saw, the more tragedy, the more savagery, the more violence, the more loss of life of a black man at the hands of another black man….the more I realized.

I haven’t slept well in the past few nights. Heartbreak weighs me down, rage flows through my veins, and tears fills my eyes. I watched my fellow officers assassinated on live television, and the images of them laying on the ground are seared into my brain forever. I couldn’t help but wonder if it had been me, a black man, a black cop, on TV, assassinated, laying on the ground dead,..would my friends and family still think black lives mattered? Would my life have mattered? Would they make t-shirts in remembrance of me? Would they go on tv and protest violence? Would they even make a Facebook post, or share a post in reference to my death?

All of my realizations came to this conclusion. Black Lives do not matter to most black people. Only the lives that make the national news matter to them. Only the lives that are taken at the hands of cops or white people, matter. The other thousands of lives lost, the other black souls that I along with every cop, have seen taken at the hands of other blacks, do not matter. Their deaths are unnoticed, accepted as the “norm”, and swept underneath the rug by the very people who claim and post “black lives matter”. I realized that this country is full of ignorance, where an educated individual will watch the ratings-driven news media, and watch a couple YouTube video clips, and then come to the conclusion that they have all the knowledge they need to have in order to know what it feels like to have a bullet proof vest as part of your office equipment, “Stay Alive” as part of your daily to do list, and having insurance for your health insurance because of the high rate of death in your profession. They watch a couple videos and then they magically know in 2 minutes 35 seconds, how you are supposed to handle a violent encounter, which took you 6 months of Academy training, 2 – 3 months of field training, and countless years of blood, sweat, tears and broken bones experiencing violent encounters and fine tuning your execution of the Use of Force Continuum. I realized that there are even cops, COPS, duly sworn law enforcement officers, who are supposed to be decent investigators, who will publicly go on the media and call other white cops racist and KKK, based on a video clip that they watched thousands of miles away, which was filmed after the fact, based on a case where the details aren’t even known yet and the investigation hasn’t even begun. I realized that most in the African American community refuse to look at solving the bigger problem that I see and deal with every day, which is black on black crime taking hundreds of innocent black lives each year, and instead focus on the 9 questionable deaths of black men, where some were in the act of committing crimes. I realized that they value the life of a Sex Offender and Convicted Felon, [who was in the act of committing multiple felonies: felon in possession of a firearm-FELONY, brandishing and threatening a homeless man with a gun-Aggravated Assault in Florida: FELONY, who resisted officers who first tried to taze him, and WAS NOT RESTRAINED, who can be clearly seen in one of the videos raising his right shoulder, then shooting it down towards the right side of his body exactly where the firearm was located and recovered] more than the lives of the innocent cops who were assassinated in Dallas protecting the very people that hated them the most. I realized that they refuse to believe that most cops acknowledge that there are Bad cops who should have never been given a badge & gun, who are chicken crap and will shoot a cockroach if it crawls at them too fast, who never worked in the hood and may be intimidated. That most cops dread the thought of having to shoot someone, and never see the turmoil and mental anguish that a cop goes through after having to kill someone to save his own life. Instead they believe that we are all blood thirsty killers, because the media says so, even though the numbers prove otherwise. I realize that they truly feel as if the death of cops will help people realize the false narrative that Black Lives Matter, when all it will do is take their movement two steps backwards and label them domestic terrorist. I realized that some of these people, who say Black Lives Matter, are full of hate and racism. Hate for cops, because of the false narrative that more black people are targeted and killed. Racism against white people, for a tragedy that began 100’s of years ago, when most of the white people today weren’t even born yet. I realized that some in the African American community’s idea of “Justice” is the prosecution of ANY and EVERY cop or white man that kills or is believed to have killed a black man, no matter what the circumstances are. I realized the African American community refuses to look within to solve its major issues, and instead makes excuses and looks outside for solutions. I realized that a lot of people in the African American community lead with hate, instead of love. Division instead of Unity. Turmoil and rioting, instead of Peace. I realized that they have become the very entity that they claim they are fighting against.

I realized that the very reasons I became a cop, are the very reasons my own people hate me, and now in this toxic hateful racially charged political climate, I am now more likely to die,... and it is still hard for me to understand…. to this day.

Art

 

It is not much different here in Canada Art. Almost all of the shootings are non white shooting non white (I'm being polite). I'm not sure why it seems that way, perhaps whites are now the visible minority.

 

As long as we have organizations like BLM claiming discrimination there will be no solutions.

[fishing n autograph]

^^^ it's going to be much worse in Ontario because of the recent changes. The provincial government was told you are only going to harm the community you're trying to help by making the changes because the violence won't be happening in the Bridlepath or Forest Hill. They are going to effect Jane/finch, rexdale and malvern etc.

 

20-4o years ago police were told "get out of your car and interact with the community." They did, they cleaned up some neighbourhoods. Because criminals didn't like that and the social justice warriors said this isn't fair and its racial profiling so they said "get back into your car and leave us alone. We will call you if we need you."

 

So many public figures like Sheriff Clarke in Wisconsin and the officer that posted that quote, the people that Black lives matter to the most are the police because we are the ones keeping them from harming each other. If police weren't in the bad neighbourhoods all the young males and innocent people would be gunned down.

Edited July 11, 2016 by FishnNAutographs

[SirCranksalot]

Now I am going to chime in on your ridiculous comments JoePa.

 

I, for one, don't think JP's comments are ridiculous at all. I know there are good cops, but there are more than a fair share of arrogant dicks who think they are above the law. Keep treating citizens that way and sooner or later someone will pay---maybe not the right cop and maybe totally and violently off the scale.

 

I've seen lots of 'minor' cases of cops thinking they are above the law---tailgating a driver going the speed limit, creating a traffic hazard by sticking the rear end of their parked car when dealing with some issue on the side of the road. I was nearly T-boned by a cop car gunning it thru an amber light. I know these are fairly small things but it shown an attitude, IMO

 

I commend JP and any others for standing up for their rights, be they American, Canadian or whatever. Respect is a 2-way street.

I

[Tom McCutcheon]

Everyone is entitled to their opinions and that is what makes both our countries great, You still can say and print what you want to. The only point I have issue with in the last post was the one about the officer creating a traffic hazard by putting the rear end of his car out into traffic. The reason they are taught to do this is because of all the officers, emergency responders and tow truck operators who have been killed by some idiot who would not move over and sped past the situation clipping the said emergency personnel. They now leave the vehicle back some distance and offset to protect themselves and the people in the vehicle they have pulled over. I personally know of one such case where the responder was hit and flew through the air approx. 200' before coming to rest splattered on the back doors of a parked cube van ......

[John]

Everyone deserves their day in court. IF you want that day then make it possible to be arrested. Once you escalate it then the police escalate until you have made the decision to stop. At any time after he started his crime he could have thrown down his weapon and laid face down on the concrete and he wold be alive. Even after taking 5 lives he would still be alive. Once he disobeyed the command of lay down your weapon and as long as he did he did not want justice he wanted to kill. Some say wait him out? Why give him a chance to escape justice, kill more people, make bigger headlines??? Does anyone think that SWAT like killing? Does the sniper have to live with this on his conscious/ soul for the rest of his life? Have any of you ever talked to someone who has killed a person in there job defending innocents? Talk to a veteran about his tour if he did kill someone it will be a story that will be difficult at best and for some impossible to tell you about.

Many of the comments here are made from people who think they know or can imagine what it was like in the violence we have in the world but while they have a logical thought it fails to take in real life factors. "Just get rid of all handguns" ,"Fire all of the bad cops" these are simple logical thoughts that have no path in today's society to accomplish. We might as well say "make all handguns rust into dust" or "make all of the bad people stop being bad". I have found arguing with an armchair wizard is a waste of time. A discussion with a person who has lived or done and has common grounds is a chance to move ahead and improve a situation.

 

Art

 

Absolutely right Art..

[AKRISONER]

a good statement, but what it doesnt touch on is the fact that white people forced black people into "cages" where lack of hope runs deep.

 

You bet that baltimore is full of crime, and you can bet that black people are involved in a dispraportionate amount of crime...why? cause thats where these people are born and raised, their grandparents were forced into the ghetto with no jobs and no opportunities. As biggie smalls says "you either selling crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot"

 

Its easy for us to sit back and say "black people should get their asses up and get jobs" how about if there are no jobs available, how about if your parents are unemployed addicted to crack (funded by Ronald Regan and the contras) Do you honestly stand a great chance? you cant put yourselves in these peoples shoes. The cycle is deep as can be, and I dont personally have the answers on how to solve it.

 

Its hard to say that a kid with a dad in jail and his mom working 4 crappy jobs is gonna work at mcdonalds for minimum wage when there is easier money to be made in the streets. Thats the reality of the urban ghetto.

Edited July 12, 2016 by AKRISONER

[SirCranksalot]

post deleted

 

Edited July 12, 2016 by SirCranksaLot

[Sinker]

a good statement, but what it doesnt touch on is the fact that white people forced black people into "cages" where lack of hope runs deep.

 

You bet that baltimore is full of crime, and you can bet that black people are involved in a dispraportionate amount of crime...why? cause thats where these people are born and raised, their grandparents were forced into the ghetto with no jobs and no opportunities. As biggie smalls says "you either selling crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot"

 

Its easy for us to sit back and say "black people should get their asses up and get jobs" how about if there are no jobs available, how about if your parents are unemployed addicted to crack (funded by Ronald Regan and the contras) Do you honestly stand a great chance? you cant put yourselves in these peoples shoes. The cycle is deep as can be, and I dont personally have the answers on how to solve it.

 

Its hard to say that a kid with a dad in jail and his mom working 4 crappy jobs is gonna work at mcdonalds for minimum wage when there is easier money to be made in the streets. Thats the reality of the urban ghetto.

Everyone has choices, no matter where they are from or what their past is.

 

Its not always easy, but there are choices.

 

S.

[JoePa]

There is a solution but you can't talk about it because you will be called a racist - the problem in the big cities is that the black culture does not provide the support of a strong family - the basic foundation of a society - when you read that 73% of black children are born to single mothers you feel sorry for the kids as they grow up without the support of a good father - the kids end up in the streets with other kids in a similar situation and join gangs for support - until this situation is resolved things will never get any better -

 

How is a kid who grows up in such an environment going to compete with kids who have a mother and father who take good care of them and make such their kids do well in school and get a good education or trade - so what happens - they end up in welfare the rest of their lives and past this situation on to their children - an never ending cycle -

 

I was born in a coal mining town in northeast Pa. - most of my neighbors were coal miners - one thing we had in common - we were all poor - but you know something - we had good families for support and faith to count on - I had 2 uncles who were killed in the mines in 2 separate accidents - both left several young children and a widow to fend for themselves - everyone of those kids grew up to be good citizens

 

 

 

[AKRISONER]

 

 

I was born in a coal mining town in northeast Pa. - most of my neighbors were coal miners - one thing we had in common - we were all poor - but you know something - we had good families for support and faith to count on - I had 2 uncles who were killed in the mines in 2 separate accidents - both left several young children and a widow to fend for themselves - everyone of those kids grew up to be good citizens

 

 

 

 

its not about being racist, its about the fact that this cycle that you are describing exists because white people started it. The problem is that now they are stuck in this very same struggle. The gang culture and a drug trade that was funded by the United States government holds things in place. Its not easy to come up with solutions, but it is easy to point the finger and say "you should do better"

Edited July 12, 2016 by AKRISONER

[aplumma]

 

its not about being racist, its about the fact that this cycle that you are describing exists because white people started it. The problem is that now they are stuck in this very same struggle. The gang culture and a drug trade that was funded by the United States government holds things in place. Its not easy to come up with solutions, but it is easy to point the finger and say "you should do better"

I am sorry but this is the based on misinformation. The government is not funding gangs and drugs they are funding programs to end gangs and drugs. You are what you make of yourself. If you take the easy path of drugs or gangs it is your decision. Working at Mcdonalds is a job that pays less but it is a path to being a productive citizen. Your logic is racist in itself. Saying that black people can't do better I know many black people who overcame poverty and tough lives and became very well to do people. It is said if you stripped a millionaire of his money he has a 90 % chance of becoming a millionaire again. It is because of hard work and morality that has made me financially secure by the age of 50. It was not given to me and I made huge sacrifices to get here. You got to want it bad to make it in this world and you have to kick and fight to get there. I know of quite a few members on OFC who have taken the risk and gotten the rewards both US and Canadians so to say the black man is trapped is feeding into stereotyping that needs to end. I started out digging ditches for $4.00 and hour but I knew one day I would own a Plumbing company and I didn't stop till I did.

 

Art

[AKRISONER]

I am sorry but this is the based on misinformation. The government is not funding gangs and drugs they are funding programs to end gangs and drugs. You are what you make of yourself. If you take the easy path of drugs or gangs it is your decision. Working at Mcdonalds is a job that pays less but it is a path to being a productive citizen. Your logic is racist in itself. Saying that black people can't do better I know many black people who overcame poverty and tough lives and became very well to do people. It is said if you stripped a millionaire of his money he has a 90 % chance of becoming a millionaire again. It is because of hard work and morality that has made me financially secure by the age of 50. It was not given to me and I made huge sacrifices to get here. You got to want it bad to make it in this world and you have to kick and fight to get there. I know of quite a few members on OFC who have taken the risk and gotten the rewards both US and Canadians so to say the black man is trapped is feeding into stereotyping that needs to end. I started out digging ditches for $4.00 and hour but I knew one day I would own a Plumbing company and I didn't stop till I did.

 

Art

 

 

hate to break it to you...but have you ever heard of watergate?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_involvement_in_Contra_cocaine_trafficking

 

crack cocaine was an epidemic in the American Ghetto. good for you, you were raised with a solid morality. Cant say the same for the huge number of children growing up in poverty with lack of guidance. Kids turn to gangs out of neccesity. Read the book "monster" by sanyika shakur, he describes the reason for turning to a gang was that he never wanted to be the victim of crime again.

 

Once again, white people put the african american people in cages and now this is the ugly reality that we face. I never once said that they cannot overcome...but pointing the finger and expecting easy solutions is not a great answer either. The issue is far far more complex than laziness or being "inherently bad"

[aplumma]

 

 

 

hate to break it to you...but have you ever heard of watergate?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_involvement_in_Contra_cocaine_trafficking

 

crack cocaine was an epidemic in the American Ghetto. good for you, you were raised with a solid morality. Cant say the same for the huge number of children growing up in poverty with lack of guidance. Kids turn to gangs out of neccesity. Read the book "monster" by sanyika shakur, he describes the reason for turning to a gang was that he never wanted to be the victim of crime again.

 

Once again, white people put the african american people in cages and now this is the ugly reality that we face. I never once said that they cannot overcome...but pointing the finger and expecting easy solutions is not a great answer either. The issue is far far more complex than laziness or being "inherently bad"

 

Sorry you hit a nerve I will stop now but you need to listen less to the news and talk and spend time with the black people you are championing for. I have seen and spent time with both law enforcement and the people who live in the projects.

Actually Watergate was in 1972 and had nothing to do with the Contra scandal in 1986. The US was funding a revolution and it hardly caused the black people to be oppressed or long term drug trafficking that exists 30 years later. Your views of how black people are existing in the US is very distorted and the verbiage of Cages is a way to paint a picture that is just silly. Last time I checked taking drugs was voluntary every one has a choice if you decide to choose the wrong path then you reap what you have sown. Choosing a path to join a gang to be safe might work for a short time however how often is gang on gang killing the result. I have a friend who arrived in the US with 10 dollars in his pocket from Israel and the cloths on his back. He now runs a remodeling company. We are talking about a man who had a price on his head for helping a US soldier and to boot he spoke no english. He over came his obstacles in life and so can MOST people. There is no easy solution and to many people think there is. Here is a revelation drum roll ................you got to work for it.......... Why does your buddy have a bigger boat than you? he earned it. Why does he have more money because he saved and earned it(excluding old money). Talk to anyone who has made a million the hard way and they will tell you work hard sacrifice and save. Once you got money working for you instead of working for money then you can relax not when your 20 or 30 or even older. This crap about we need to redistribute wealth and support the poor holds no water with me. If I want to give my money to charity I want to pick it not my government handing it out in an abusive manner.

 

Art

[AKRISONER]

ya and president obama is an african american...of course there are people who overcome, but not everyone is going to be a super star, nor have the intelligence to start a succesful business etc.

 

My father grew up on a farm with no money, joined the military to put himself through school and is now a very successful businessman. So i know exactly what it means to do "it the hard way" but expecting everyone to have that kind of drive, intelligence, and work ethic is a bit far fetched. God I know i dont have the same drive that he has, nor will i ever make a 10th of what he does.

 

The crack epidemic was inadvertently funded by the US government.This shouldnt come as a surprise as they more recently funded the taliban as well. Theres definitive proof that the CIA was funding the contras and then cut funding which caused them to turn even more heavily to the production and distribution of cocaine for funding. You can then move onto all sorts of theories about CIA operatives assisting with the distribution of the stuff...which in some regards is a bit crazy, but in another point to say that the police, DEA and government in miami in the 80's was a group of straight shooters is a total stretch.

 

Perhaps its difficult for you to understand the term "cages" but anyone who has an affiliation for hip-hop culture and music understands the reference. The cages refer to the projects in every major metropolis in the United States that are full of African American's whos grandparents were forced to live in such areas.

 

In some ways it seems like you think the issue with African American's, crime, the incarceration rate and every other social issue facing them is due to laziness?

 

The nice thing is that at least in todays society, for the most part there are more avenues available to african americans, however to deny white priviledge is wrong.

 

This is all happening in a country where its totally socially acceptable to proudly fly the confederate flag...

Edited July 12, 2016 by AKRISONER

[aplumma]

akrisoner No disrespect meant.

 

I think I need to let you believe what you do. I can not find common ground or feel it is important to change your mind with facts that have not been slanted. I live here and I get news and information that differs from what you get. I am from the South and have older family members that have lived and worked alongside black people in the mid to early 1900's. I was raised in the 60's alongside military and civilian people of all nations what I saw and learned is vastly different that what you are saying. Perhaps I have been lied too or shielded from the truth but that is more unlikely than what you believe what is going on on this side of the Border. At no point did I say laziness nor inferred it. I said taking the easy road or path of least resistance. Percentage wise you will find white,black green or blue all have an equal chance to hold a job. In fact minorities have a better chance due to quotas and HR policies but yes 20 white people apply to be CEO while fewer black people even percentage wise will apply for the same position. I can state that we have almost 90% non blacks as plumbers. Not because we won't hire them but few want to put in the time and hard work to become a master plumber. Finally the Confederate flag was nothing more than a civil war battle flag. What it symbolizes after the civil war was created by the people not the government or any political sanctioned authority.

 

 

Regards

Art