Hey Tucson, hey. Adiba here, and I’m coming to you with a heavy, 50lb heart.
Alton Sterling. Philando Castile.
As someone on Twitter said, “another day, another hashtag,” and I can’t wrap my mind around this. For some reason these two deaths have hit me harder and deeper than any of the countless deaths of Black men and women that have come before them. I have watched the video of every death prior to these. I’ve listened to countless audio tapes. I’ve listened to Trayvon Martin beg for someone, ANYONE to help; his screams heard through closed doors, brick frame homes and transmitted clearly over a telephone line into a 911 operator’s ear. I’ve watched Walter Scott get shot in the back by a police officer as he ran for his life. I’ve witnessed via the terrors of YouTube as Laquan MacDonald had 17 bullets pumped into his body—execution by legal firing squad. So, watching my brothers die at the hands of corrupt police officers is not new to me—it has come to be part of the narrative of 2013 – ???.
But what was it about these two men? Is it because this time I witnessed the “what happened before” that people are always talking about? Is it because I saw Alton Sterling standing there, not resisting arrest, before being tackled to the ground like a linebacker? It because I watched the police officer put the gun to his chest more than once, watched him pull the trigger, and then watched life leave this man’s body? Is it because Philando Castile’s girlfriend invited me into her loved ones last moments on this earth, and I watched yet another soul float away? Is it because his 4-year-old daughter was still strapped into her carseat when her daddy was gunned down before her eyes? Or is it because I then listened to this same 4-year-old girl console her mother in the back of a police car, as she mourned the death of her loved one. This baby didn’t even get to mourn. She was placed in the role of protector. At 4-years-old she unearthed the role of “saving grace.” This shouldn’t happen. This should never happen. It hasn’t happened here.
But it can.
Tucson, I am a Black woman. I live here. I walk amongst you every day. It can happen to me. I have a 20-year-old brother who lives here. I have three nephews that live here, ages five, one and two. My three sisters live here. My mother lives here.
We all live here. We don’t look like the majority of you—only about 5 percent of Tucson is Black. But we are here—which means that like you, WE ARE TUCSON. Collectively. What you do to the least of us, you do to all of us. So I must ask, what are we doing collectively to make sure that my brother, YOUR brother, is not the next Philando Castile? What are we going to do collectively to make sure that my nephews, YOUR nephews, do not become the next Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Alton Sterling? What are we going to do COLLECTIVELY to make sure that I, the woman writing this article, am not the next Sandra Bland?
Because if I am the next Sandra Bland, then so are you.
If you would like to be part of the solution, please join the local chapter of Black Lives Matter on Saturday, July 9 at Armory Park. There will be a vigil and healing circle taking place, starting at 6 p.m. For more information please click here.
This article appears in Jul 7-13, 2016.
What to do?
1) Don’t engage in criminal activities.
2) Don’t resist arrest.
Now that almost all of the incidences have been eliminated, prosecute civil liberty violations and otherwise remove the bad elements.
Doesn’t matter if you’re black, brown, white…or as most consider themselves, Americans
Please miss me with that ^^
Those who study behavior tell us that when we feel fear there are two basic instincts wired into our brains — fight or flight, but when you run they chase you down for resisting and when you fight you are resisting.
Beginning in the 1980s, police officers were taught to show no fear as a means of gaining and maintaining control, but to do that they must suppress those basic instincts and in so doing they are suppressing some of what it means to be human and to recognize the humanity in others. Trying to turn off fear, they change it to anger and rage, then they are expected to make life and death decisions in the blink of an eye.
A long time ago, in a previous career as a military policeman, I came face-to-face with an armed black woman and had to make a decision. I was in plain clothes, but the woman recognized me for what I was. She told me that I was going to just have to do what I had to do. Two of my fellow military police in uniform arrived on the scene, weapons drawn, as was mine, and I ordered them to take cover and to only fire on my command. I recognized this woman and I knew the personal circumstances that were driving her because this was not the first time she had crossed paths with the law, but more importantly, I saw her for who she was at that particular place and time — a person filled with fear wanting me to take her life to end her pain and it was my own fear that helped me. I kept talking to her calmly, asking her to lay down the shotgun she was holding. She refused and backed away from me, unconsciously ejecting the shells from the gun. I followed her and at the last minute, when she realized I would not take her life as she had asked, she quickly turned away from me, pulled the shotgun up and managed to fire one shot before falling to the ground. I ran to her, expecting the worst, but as I turned her over I could see that the barrel of the shotgun was too long and she had only singed her hair. By this time other military police and first responders had arrived. They took the woman to the hospital for treatment and I returned to the station to begin the paperwork. Many of the other military policeman who were not there talked about how they would have “taken the shot”, but I knew that because of me there was a soldier who still had his wife and children who still had their mother. Perhaps to really SEE the other human is the first step.
Thank you for sharing this, for your service AND your humanity.
Thank you, Adiba. I attend every BLM demonstration I hear about, and I’ll be there on Saturday.
As for you, What, Again, your comments are despicable. Black people are being murdered by police for a broken tail light, walking home, shopping in Walmart, selling loose cigarettes, holding their phone or their wallet in their hand, riding the subway, and other perfectly normal activities. None of these things are worthy of immediate execution on the spot by a frightened, trigger-happy cop.
Philando Castile, for example, was beloved by his community and the school at which he worked. He was also a legal gun owner with a concealed carry permit. He was reaching for his ID, as requested by the police, and was killed in cold blood. He was neither engaging in criminal activity nor resisting arrest. He was simply black in America. Shame on you! and shame on all of us for not screaming to the skies “Not in my name!”
White silence is violence. White silence is complicity. #BlackLivesMatter
For Blaze
Get Whitey! Make him pay!
Is that what you want to hear? Don’t worry. Here in the white guilt capital of the country you’ll find plenty of sympathy for your hate.
The Zimmerman trial never concluded who was screaming for help. It was confirmed that Trayvon was on top of George beating his head against the ground.
But see this is how opinions are moved into the realm of facts. We choose sides and objectivity disappears. Yesterday morning I read the unemployment rate among black teens is 59%. Are there no jobs or have they chosen not to work?
How many more have to die on either side? This is generational hatred. The hope of Obama becoming President has faded into oblivion. What went wrong?
I can read the pain in your writing. But why is it that you failed to mention 12 innocent police officers that were shot and 5 that gave their lives…for what? Is there a reason?
debra i believe this was written before the events in Dallas last night – not sure of that but given the timing of writing, editing and posting of an article I think that’s the case.
There is a lot of faulty training going on in police departments. I know, I have attended some of that training. I think the Tucson Chief of Police has the right view on community outreach and police training god bless him.
That makes sense, thank you. The posting time was 6:01 AM today, but maybe it wasn’t accurate.
probably accurate for when it went up on the site, which indicates it was written well before that.
one of the many tragedies of this is that one murderous person has managed to undermine everything the author is talking about here in many people’s minds. in truth, what happened in Dallas should not be allowed to take the focus off of citizens being killed by police. the demonstrations in Dallas were completely peaceful, and apparently the Dallas Police department has a good record (recently) of working with the community and understanding the issues of all of it’s citizens.
It is entirely reasonable to support both endangered police officers and the cause of Black Lives Matter.
A plea.
We’re all mourning today, regardless of “side.” Something is broken and all of us are dealing with the consequences of the escalating violence. Something needs to be fixed.
We all need to face uncomfortable truths: the American police force does have a long and documented history of discriminatory practices and violence against the black community, not every single police officer is a racist monster, people have every right to be angry at unfair and violent treatment and assemble peaceably, officers do have an incredibly difficult job and are under extreme pressure constantly, we all have racial biases that impact our decisions which are more likely to come out during tense situations. Everybody who has died in the last three days should still be here with us – all seven of them.
Retreating to a corner, becoming defensive, attacking everyone who you deem on the other “side” contributes to the ongoing hatred. It’s going to be extremely difficult to get through this and ignoring the multitude of contributing factors by grossly generalizing is going to make it impossible. So is ignoring the pain and anger being felt by people you don’t identify with.
To quote the title, I am you, you are me. And here we are. Try to just be here for a moment recognizing our flawed humanity before using lost lives as ammunition. You can do that tomorrow maybe.
The problem I am seeing is that too many people are passively accepting what is happening:
“They have been hunting the black community, killing members of the black community, so it was inevitable that something like this would happen. People are angry and upset because nothing is being done and no one is being held accountable”
This is an example of a typical passive acceptance statement I have seen posted on my FB feed since the shooting and honestly it makes me very sad and quite a bit angry at the same time.
Yes it is VERY wrong that we have a vein of law enforcement officers who are racially profiling, abusing and at times killing innocent members of the black community. Instead of acting outraged and rabble rousing, the communities need to take a hard line stance and start legal steps of removing officials who are not cleaning house of these corrupt law enforcement officers and holding them accountable.
HOWEVER the same morals ethics and standards we are expecting to be upheld for the black community should be reflect within the black community when dealing with the white community regardless of what is going on. The ends DO NOT justify the means. You do not violate someone else’s rights, civil liberties or take away their life in order to make your point or justify your cause. By doing so you have destroyed your moral high ground and created a situation that is going to created targets in your community by more of those corrupt individuals.
This is not the answer. You do not hold the many accountable for the actions of the few. There is no way to justify the actions of the cops who have been attacking the black community and to that end there is no way to justify the violence that some members of the black community are causing.
But it’s NOT equal, it’s NOT equivalent. When black people actually commit crimes, they are arrested, brought to trial, and mostly convicted and incarcerated. (We won’t talk right now about all the black people who are falsely accused and wrongly convicted, let’s just assume that they’re guilty of their crime.)
But when cops kill citizens, they are usually NOT charged, NOT arrested, and therefore NOT convicted. They are not punished for behaving outside the law. They are given paid vacation (administrative leave) and usually reinstated in their jobs. That is why people protest. All these people are being killed by police (more than 500 already this year alone), and no one is held accountable. There is no justice for average people in this country.
If you don’t want the many to be accountable for the few, that should apply to protesters as well as to the police. Just yesterday, everyone was like “we need more information before we decide if the cop who killed Phil Castile should be charged.” But today, after a black military-trained sniper killed people, all black people are being held responsible.
Let’s also note the disparity in how this accused shooter was treated and how white mass murderers like Dylann Roof are treated. This black man was blown up by a robot, with no due process, no chance to have a trial, no way to explain himself. Roof, on the other hand, after murdering 9 black people in a church, was taken alive, given a bullet-proof vest, and fed at Burger King. Clearly, cops are capable of not killing people, even armed people, so why don’t they choose to do that when faced with a black person sitting quietly in their car, handing over their ID?
You are justifying the violence by saying the system is unfair (which I agree it is). But again you are not going to change it by starting a race war (which is what this is becoming).
One of the things that continues to be left out is the fact that cops don’t just abuse/kill black people, they are all about equal opportunity and the data/evidence is there to support it. There is a higher average within the black community but other communities are experiencing the same issues as well, just not getting the media coverage.
The problem needs to be correct by our communities. Instead of yelling, screaming, rioting and perpetuating the violence they need to unite and start removing the public officials that are ineffective and refuse to hold all people to the same letter of the law. You do not do this by breaking the law you do this by working the laws, changing the laws and enforcing what is there.
People seem to have forgotten our government officials work for us. They are not the ones who actually have the power and call the shots, we are. Instead we have a nation of people who would rather bitch and moan about how bad it is instead of taking the proper steps to take back the power that belongs to us.
If they are elected, recall them or vote them out. If they are appointed by an elected official, demand their resignation and if it does not happen then go back to the elected official and start the recall proceedings and get someone in who will take care of business.
Change isn’t going to happen unless we make it happen and it certainly isn’t going to happen by violence.
Let’s get it all out there.
1. Cops killed nearly twice as many whites as blacks in 2015.
2. More whites and Hispanics die from police homicides than blacks.
3. The Post’s data does show that unarmed black men are more likely to die by the gun of a cop than an unarmed white man…but this does not tell the whole story
4. Black and Hispanic police officers are more likely to fire a gun at blacks than white officers.
5. Blacks are more likely to kill cops than be killed by cops.
Now do you still believe everything you thought you knew?
http://www.dailywire.com/news/7264/5-statistics-you-need-know-about-cops-killing-aaron-bandler
About author:
http://www.city-journal.org/contributor/heather-mac-donald_122
blaze_mason you are fanning the flames.
Here is the caption under photo from Dylan Roof arrest
Detained: Roof, 21, surrendered without contest. He is pictured here being extradited back to South Carolina
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3130827/Heroine-florist-spotted-suspected-gunman-Dylann-Roof-way-work-chased-35-miles-police-caught-him.html#ixzz4DqyxBM50
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
———————————————————————————————————–Compare that to last nights killer in Dallas.
Officers cornered Johnson and negotiated with him for hours before talks broke down, police said.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Johnson told officers he was upset about recent shootings involving police and “wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.”
After an exchange of gunfire, officers attached an explosive device to a bomb robot and detonated it near Johnson, killing him, Brown said.
This had nothing to do with race. Why did you make it look that way?
I understand that it’s difficult to acknowledge that we have a system that is biased against black people and other people of color, but if we keep denying it, we can’t fix it. I thought that the promise of this country was justice for all.
If we look at the data per 100,000 people, ProPublica’s research shows that young black men are 21 times more likely to be shot dead by police than young white men, all other factors being equal (including being armed, being involved in a crime, etc). https://www.propublica.org/article/deadly-…
For unarmed people, the Washington Post found that black men were twice as likely to be killed by police than white men, and “Black individuals shot and killed by police were less likely to have been attacking police officers than the white individuals fatally shot by police.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/st…
I still don’t understand why Phil Castile and Alton Sterling are dead, and none of you have come up with a reasonable explanation. They were not threatening anyone. But here’s an article that shows eight examples of white people threatening police with weapons — and not one of them was killed. http://www.rawstory.com/2016/07/here-are-8…
blaze_mason you are still taking a position that the violence against the police/white community is justified. You are advocating an escalation of tension, racism and violence since you feel that the black community is not getting a fair shake and won’t get one. You are a broken record who is dead set against social change unless it is done at the cost of the rights and civil liberties all in the name of “well they did it first”
Sad sad day and sad example to be set.
I won’t come up with a reasonable explanation because I wasn’t there. I didn’t see it. I didn’t hear it.
But at least now you know your note on disparity was completely and utterly without fact. One surrendered. One opened fire again on police officers. Let’s be honest.
Dave he doesn’t care. His focus is on the final result and that is one died the other did not. It does not matter that they were able to talk one down and the other refused and reignited the situation creating an environment that could have caused more injury and/or death..
So then he blames racism? How blind to reality have some become?
After some research this is what I found:
Sterling was a registered sex offender, after a 2000 conviction for carnal knowledge of a juvenile, records show. The circumstances of the case were not immediately clear. Records say he was released for his offense in October 2004.
He was previously arrested for aggravated battery, criminal damage to property, unauthorized entry and domestic abuse battery, records show. In 2009, he was sentenced to five years in prison for marijuana possession and for carrying an illegal weapon with a controlled dangerous substance.
Family members said he was on probation when he died and would not have been allowed to carry a gun.
Could it be the police were very well aware of who he was?
Why don’t we wait for more facts?
Last night the media convinced me that there were four shooters in Dallas that triangulated the officers.
Today there is only one.
‘Fed’ you said: “You are advocating an escalation of tension, racism and violence since you feel that the black community is not getting a fair shake and won’t get one.”
I’ve read blaze’s comments, where exactly is blaze advocating violence? I want the direct quote that backs up your claim here because it’s problematic to assign meaning that is not there. Blaze is not advocating racism, blaze is explaining (in a calm manner, I might add) that there IS racism within society, thus policing. Can you illustrate where the Black community IS getting a “fair shake”?
‘Dave’ you said: “How blind to reality have some become?”
I would ask you the same question. Where are you living that you can honestly say that white people are subjected to the same treatment that people of color are during routine stops? Where are the reports/data of white folks being gunned down by law enforcement for asking why they are being detained or pulled over for a broken tail light or walking through a neighborhood after buying candy and tea, and the list (unfortunately) can go on and on? Because if that were truly happening to white individuals, especially men, we would most likely being having a very different conversation as a nation.
Society sees blackness as a weapon and acts accordingly. Police are not immune to that. Don’t believe me? Below are some studies with actual data so you can educate yourselves.
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2016/07/07/chart-of-the-week-63-of-white-people-are-wrong-about-ferguson/
https://thesocietypages.org/toolbox/police-killing-of-blacks/
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2013/07/25/wearing-privilege/
http://spq.sagepub.com/content/73/1/79.short
On white privilege: https://www.deanza.edu/faculty/lewisjulie/White%20Priviledge%20Unpacking%20the%20Invisible%20Knapsack.pdf
I get that you may have nothing to lose if another person of color is murdered, but that nonchalant attitude is NOT a luxury people of color have in our country, currently, as they go about their lives day in and day out. The author of this article said as much.
“After some research this is what I found:
Sterling was a registered sex offender, after a 2000 conviction for carnal knowledge of a juvenile, records show. The circumstances of the case were not immediately clear. Records say he was released for his offense in October 2004.
He was previously arrested for aggravated battery, criminal damage to property, unauthorized entry and domestic abuse battery, records show. In 2009, he was sentenced to five years in prison for marijuana possession and for carrying an illegal weapon with a controlled dangerous substance.
Family members said he was on probation when he died and would not have been allowed to carry a gun.
Could it be the police were very well aware of who he was?
Why don’t we wait for more facts?
Last night the media convinced me that there were four shooters in Dallas that triangulated the officers.
Today there is only one.”
So, what is the purpose of this post, Dave?
To say that officers were justified in killing Alton Sterling?
Well gee could the point of the post be that instead of being a innocent law abiding citizen legally carrying a concealed weapon he was a criminal carrying a concealed weapon illegally and the video only shows the tail end of the incident so we do not know what transpired up to him being shot?
The information given in the video is being provide by someone who is biased and had knowledge that he was breaking the law, therefore has motive to start spinning the situation to try and get ahead of the negativity that it might generate?
There are usually three sides to every story. The victim(s) side, ;aw enforcement’s side and the unadulterated truth
Then there is the fiction that the media usually sells to the public that is sensationalized in order to boost ratings, inflame passions and get the best reaction from the masses. They usually not interested in anything close to the truth anymore since it is boring and does not sell.
Take this comment for whatever you wish, I still stand behind my perception that blaze would rather see more hostilities than a peaceful resolution and thinks that anyone who doesn’t agree with him is a racist.
Thank you Abida
We also need to ask what is the Tucson Police Department doing to ensure that this does not happen here.
If police officers bother you, make it a point to go see them. They have outreach programs-attend. Get to know your neighbors and neighborhood. “Next Door”is an app that connects neighbors AND we have coffee with the police once a month. Get rid of the unknowns and quit letting people talk you into burning down innocent people’s businesses and homes. Its eye opening how much people see in the neighborhood. Bad apples as well as good citizens are easier to differentiate, even with cops, if you can talk with them socially.
This was a hate crime Mr President. You are MIA again. Eight years of racial bias has been squandered. At least you didn’t call them “stupid cops” again.
And of course there is always someone who has to bring the president into it, because of course it is always his fault. I suppose Trump is going to come and make America great by building a wall making someone pay for it and banning every other person from entering the country except for every other Thursday and the fourth Friday of the month? Because he heard from a lot of people that it was a really good idea and he was really smart for doing it….
No wonder this country is going to hell in a hand basket and we continue to have racial issues….
I brought the President into it because he is the leader of our nation. He chose once again to blame this tragedy on gun control. His home town of Chicago has total gun control accelerated beyond most US cities. They are slaughtering blacks at an alarming rate and there is no,mention of it. What should he do to stop it?
You are the one that brought up Trump. He has not held public office but you spew your hate at him.
Ask yourself why?
Black lives Don’t matter in Chcago-to other blacks or the liberals that have enslaved them for generations. Just yesterday;
2 dead, 17 wounded in Chicago shootings
In this country the police don’t get to go around executing people on the spot as they see fit. Really, really not. In fact, police aren’t supposed to punish you at all– not even a little bit, and not even of you really have done something. If they have probable cause, they are supposed to arrest you and bring you to justice. To be punished, you must be found guilty and sentenced in a court of law, with due process and all that. And even then, being gunned down in the street, or beaten up or manhandled, are not among the punishments on the books.
Ron T, the president should personally stop all shootings that every corrupt police officer is doing and he has the power to reach into every law enforcement organization across the country and make them stop.
Then on the flip side he has the power to make criminals stop shooting innocent people since we all know that even when we pass laws outlawing guns the criminals are going to follow those laws to the letter right?
I mean it isn’t like there are not two other legislative branches of government that have to work with the president in order to get things done, it is all on him PERSONALLY so it must be ALL HIS FAULT.
Your thought process and your ilk is moronic and asinine.
Well that was real informative. You made my case and you don’t even recognize any problem except my thought process and my ilk? Really?
By the way, has anybody noticed that black Ethiopian Americans have no problems with police? Why is that?
My_Name_is_Drumph is today’s winner for the comment above. Congratulations!
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfe…
I do have one small complaint though. The commenter you were showing up is actually Rat T…or rat t, Rat t or rat T or…whatever mood Rat is in to display her ignorance.
Personally, I prefer to call her Ratt. I was always partial to the self titled EP.
This is coming from the most hated right-winger who comments regularly around here. ALL LIVES MATTER. PERIOD. Very shortly the dislikes will start to pile up for no other reason than they know my picture and my name. How about doing me a small favor. After you hit dislike, at least explain what it is you don’t like about what I said. I hate to get him in trouble, but AZ/DC might tell you that I aint all that bad a person.
the idea behind black lives matter is not to imply that some lives matter more than others, but just that certain attention should be given to the fact that blacks are killed at a greater rate than other ethnic groups.
for the record even though i agree that something should be done about the disproportionately higher rate of deaths among african americans, i don’t agree with the direction the movement has taken. especially not having any centralized leadership and focusing almost entirely on police killings while not addressing black-on-black murder.
btw i didnt dislike your comment
I didn’t think you did. You’re obviously an intelligent person.
Crazy W isn’t a bad person, we can actually be civil in our interactions. Plus, a person who has the good taste he has in entertainment can’t be all bad. If you want to hate on someone because they come across as pure negativity, focus your efforts on What, Again.
I actually agree with Mr. 13 when he points out that ALL lives matter. The black lives matter statement does come across as if some lives are more important than others. I don’t believe that was ever the intention, but if we truly want to break down racial barriers maybe we can start doing that by not including those differences in our mission statements.
And the flood of dislikes roll in…
Thank you, Sir. Don’t fret over the dislikes. They’re painless. I must thank you. Because of what we wrote about last week, I spent the better part of the 4th of July over dosing on George Carlin skits on YouTube. Beats the Hell out of burnt hot dogs and warm potato salad !
As far as BLM goes, I don’t know what their intentions are. However I feel it hurts more than it helps.
I was raised to believe that ALL people are equal. I stand by that to this day.
I am here for you. I hear you. I am trying my hardest to use the privilege I have as a disabled white female veteran as a lever to overturn the bigotry and horror. You are Tucson, you belong here and you are loved. With the Gods as my witnesses, if I saw or heard anything like the horror that has been visited on so many people of color, I would intervene. I would do so even if it meant I was hurt or jailed myself. I served my country for all Americans, not just the ones I resemble. It’s so ugly and sad and difficult… I want you to know I see it, too. I have cried so often these last few days and I am crying right now. But I’ll take the pain… I would rather feel it than close my eyes and fail to see what’s happening.
BLACK LIVES MATTER.
I would like to take back the comment I made last night. What I should have said was thanks bitches for making my point for me.
Hey 13.
I don’t fret over the dislikes. I fret over the double standards.
If anyone dared to start a WHITE lives matter movement, it would be considered racist. Idiots like Al Sharpton would be having a field day. Yet, I make the simple mention of leaving race out of it completely and the dislikes pile up.
I really don’t get why there are two sets of rules.
I remember when I was a kid there was something called the United Negro College Fund. I often wondered what would people say if there was a United White Kids College Fund. I can’t explain the double standard, but I know it’s been around a while.