Police Officer Kills One of Us vs One of Us Kills One of Us, Are You Confused? I Damn Sure Ain’t Because Cash Is Right On!

Note: I stole this off of Cash Michaels Facebook page. It was not written as an editorial just a comment. I am posting it as is so read the damn message and get the damn point. I responded to such a statement a couple of days ago on the radio and on a tv station. Now Cash gets it. “You don’t understand!” Bernie Mac But the moment you do the better off you will be and you will not make further ignant statements.

There seems to be some confusion about why we get massively upset when a police officer kills one of us, versus when one of us kills one of us. The answer is really simple – WE’RE ALREADY massively upset about black-on-black crime. WE’RE ALREADY massively upset when young, innocent children in our community are killed in senseless, needless acts of violence. And we’re certainly massively tired and upset that everyday in our community, we have to bury another one of our young people because of wanton violence. Indeed, it SICKENS US. AND YES, we’ve marched our streets, started youth programs, advocated for more youth opportunities, gotten the churches that want to be involved involved. We have worked hard against the grain and the tide of despair which comes with illegal drugs and guns THAT COME FROM THE OUTSIDE INTO OUR COMMUNITIES. We have tried to develop partnerships with government and law enforcement to rid our community of the very things that tear families apart, and make our streets killing fields. We do promote education as the key towards giving our young people better choices. We even work with the formally incarcerated, helping them to turn their backs on crime, and forge ahead towards productive lives. To be clear, we, as a community, are so, so exhausted from the constant struggle of just trying to achieve and maintain what is considered to be a drug-and-violence-free normalcy, that we’ve admittedly become numb to the constant loss of young life, the ever present sadness compounded to such an extent that, as if we’re working in an emergency room, we hear and see AND feel the tragedy, but yet our collective survival mechanism won’t allow us to repeatedly grieve at each and every instance. The wanton slaughter of ourselves has unfortunately, and regretfully become the norm. Changing that norm of our youth killing each other, is the mission we’re so desperately trying to solve. And yet, we’re keen enough to understand the difference between some stupid fool of a kid thinking that the power of life and death is his, and when someone we depend on for the ultimate safety of our community hides behind the color of law to take our lives at will. The badge still means something to our community. We still respect good, honest, committed law enforcement, and we’re proud when some of our own join the force for the purpose of protecting their community. AND THAT’S why, when someone with the badge decides to violate that trust society insists we invest in him, it shakes our foundation.If an agent of the state can kill any of us at will without sanction, then as we struggle to save our community from within, who can we trust to maintain order and justice from outside? Who is really there to protect our rights as American citizens if the government itself is violating our constitutional rights? What meaning is the law, when the law is targeting you, and those like you, with injustice, terror and death? When there is clear evidence that those who represent the law are targeting you, then YES, you need LEADERSHIP to stand up and speak out to challenge that injustice. Getting on CNN or FOX to stop black-on-black crimes is fruitless because they are outside of the community. They have no investment in your community. The violence that occurs IN our community must be resolved BY our community IN our community, or else it isn’t our community anymore. So if one gangbanger kills another on my block, I shouldn’t expect to see Rev. Al or Jesse on the corner the next day. I need to be out there, with my neighbors and area churches and businesses, talking about what we can do to make sure it doesn’t happen again.Jesse and Al have led “Stop the Violence” marches and movements many times before in an effort to spark local efforts, so this business of saying they’ve done nothing is false. They make it a point of only getting involved in situations they’ve been invited to get involved in. That’s one of the reasons you rarely see either one of them in North Carolina. Rev. Barber has this territory covered, and told them so. So blaming them as ambulance chasers – that dog don’t hunt! But when there is a question of whether the law is targeting us, that has to be played out on a much larger canvas, and the only way to draw attention to it, and ultimately build pressure for change, is to go visible, meaning you use every weapon at your disposal, including them if you decide to. So let’s be clear – stopping black-on-black violence is a community effort we have to solve in concert with our local governments and law enforcement. We have to fight for more opportunities for our young people, and quite frankly for our entire community. People with good jobs don’t have time to create havoc because they’re building families and communities. Better educational opportunities for our children IN our communities further creates hope. Leaving the four walls of the church, and going to our young people with a strong message of hope is very important. Getting the flow of illegal drugs and guns off our streets is key. Getting our businesses involved in training and creating opportunities is essential. Getting our media to become more constructive and supportive of the community in the transmission of their messages is vital. Voting in the right representation at election time is essential. None of the above is Jesse or Al’s job. ALL of it is OUR job collectively! And instead questioning what they’re doing and why, why aren’t their critics showing us what THEY’RE doing, because if they’re doing something better, everyone would know about it by now! I’m looking for the courage in our community to face our demons and win, while leadership gives voice to our broader concerns in the most effective ways they know how. CAN AND WILL WE DO IT? That’s the REAL question at hand!