Thinking against the grain can be an arduous, unpopular but at the least necessary endeavor. It is essentially what a Black contrarian does-go left when everyone else chooses to go right. To be more accurate, in my case going right(center) when the group goes left(the above picture can be misleading). Do yourself a favor, scroll down to my previous Queens police shooting entry and click on the "trackback" link. It will lead you to the latest posting by Dr. Lester Spence who is at the helm of a blog, entitled Blacksmythe. It appears that he has taken me to task on my view of the Queens case or more specifically, the subject of policing in minority communities. For the record, I encourage reasoned debate, therefore I will attempt to briefly answer his charges.
To paraphrase Spence, it was his contention that my policing stance may have some validity, if one were to ignore the overall protective purpose of the police. Spence also proposed that I failed to address the history of the police as it relates to communities of color. In addition, he posited that hip hop culture, because of it being a recent phenomenon(relative to historical relevance)would be an atypical ingredient in the police brutality cauldron. I am fully aware of the general history of the police. Thinking back to my Hampton U criminal justice courses, the subject of the police (before Sting and Andy Summers) remains forever emblazoned in my mind.
The modern concept of the police in the US, started out invariably as private, independent security forces at the dawn of the Industrial Age with the intent to protect property and wealth. This is a far cry from the paramilitary organizations that we see today (although one could argue about their mantra for protecting the assets of the elite). I have never intimated that police misconduct and brutality do not exist, nor am I naive regarding their racist history (mob lynching with police collusion, Bull Connor's water hoses and police dogs, etc). But what if you take away the victimization standard that many left wing pundits use when discussing these issues? A standard that seems to absolve the proposed subordinate group of any personal responsibility for their condition.
In addition, Hip Hop at a minimum, is a 30-year-old phenomenon-the last decade(and a half) dedicated to a propagandized Black thuggish aesthetic. Commercial hip hop in my estimation, has engrained in White America's consciousness (the police, notwithstanding) that Black youth, hip hop culture and crime are endemic and intertwined. Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller, Blink comes to mind (I'll expound on that another day). Ultimately, I'm not a fan of wiggle room. Wiggle room is the gray area that street culture has created when attempting to substantiate cases that should be of obvious racial injustice. The recent Howard Beach attack was an example of the wiggle.
In a nutshell, a White hip hop youth attacks his Black counterpart with a bat while calling his victim a nigger (or nigga, you know the routine). The attacker actually had a defense because of hip hop’s alleged transcendent use of the n-word. As alluded to in my prior entry, too many Black youth, thanks to this present day propaganda are embracing stereotypical dress and behavior. Many are not criminals but wearing the costume of the criminal caste should not be considered desirable.
Take a look at the excerpt (below) from an infamous Dave Chappelle stand-up routine. He talks about how women protest being objectified based on what they're wearing(excuse the expletives):
"The girl says, 'Wait a minute! Just because I'm dressed this way does not make me a whore!' Which is true. Gentlemen, that is true. Just because they dress a certain way doesn't mean they are a certain way. Don't ever forget it. But ladies, you must understand that is fucking confusing! It just is. Now that would be like me, Dave Chappelle the comedian, walking down the street in a cop uniform. Somebody might run up on me, saying, 'Oh, thank God. Officer, help us! Come on. They're over here. Help us!' 'OHH!! Just because I'm dressed this way does not make me a police officer!' All right, ladies, fine. You are not a whore. But you are wearing a whore's uniform."
In homage to Mr. Chappelle's act-"All right, young brothers, fine. You are not a thug. But you are wearing a thug's uniform."
For more salt on the wound check out a fellow blogger's (The Thoughts of an Educated Young African American Male) up close and personal take on the police profiling issue:
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