A lot of the "racist police brutality" reports I've seen focus on "White police on Black victims" incidents. People tagging it with racism/white supremacy and/or police brutality sometimes deliberately describe the events to make it seem like the police were very violent and the victim very innocent.
But when a Black officer is involved, like in the case of Hakim Littleton, it's labeled as "police brutality". In contrast, if the "victim" is white, little to nothing is said, the term "racist" doesn't come up, and "police brutality" is rarely mentioned. Certainly, it doesn't become a momentary cause for the media and politicians, who are all too eager to pump up their popularity, support and funding, sometimes at any expense.
Oftentimes, the highly charged comments can be directly connected to riots starting. Sometimes, the local business where the event occurred, despite having nothing to do with the event, is often targeted for protests, looting and arson, such as in the case of the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was killed after resisting arrest, assaulting the arresting officers and attempting to taser one of them. In fact, through chain-of-events analysis, the people writing and saying highly provocative things about shootings and killings can be proven to have led to riots, looting, arson, injury, loss of property, loss of employment, imprisonment and even death.
I used to subscribe to both the organizations Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Color of Change (CoC) because I have always supported equal rights and I've been very concerned about the apparent inequalities faced by People of Color (PoC). This concern dates from childhood, when I was taught by my parents and teachers about race and gender equality despite the fact that my dad's grandparents were racist, and the fact that my children are PoC is a minor consideration. Unfortunately, I had to stop because I found both organizations guilty of rabble-rousing, race-baiting, inciting to riot, the promotion of violence and more by making misleading and even false statements in their emails and public statements via other media. While some statements were not by members of the BLM or CoC staff, they were tagged #BLM, but I focused only on communication from the organizations via their websites and emails.
For example, CoC sent out an email that deliberately mischaracterized the killing of Hakim Littleton and called for justice. The email painted a clear, strong picture that incensed people. What CoC wrote was very harmful and misleading. The 5 seconds from the time that Hakim pulled his weapon until he was dead were described in a way that made it sound like he had been tackled, disarmed and THEN executed. They completely ignored all the facts that would have shown just how different the truth was. The truth was readily evident in police footage, however, and that was the last straw for me with CoC. Hakim's friend was being arrested for an outstanding gang-related warrant and was not resisting arrest. Suddently, Hakim pulled a pistol and tried to shoot the head of an approaching BLACK officer (hence no charge of racism, despite that Black-on-Black racism because skin-color difference has existed for well over 100 years according to several Blacks I've spoken to, speeches, books and movies) before being shot by other officers before the targeted officer could tackle him. Hakim was by the being held down by the officer he tried to murder but still managed to turn his body so that he could persist in firing at the oncoming officers until he was shot dead. Again, from the time he pulled his pistol until he was not moving took FIVE seconds. There was no take-down, disarming and vicious execution. He went to his grave the way he wanted - as a foolish criminal who thought he could outgun 7 or more officers.
Disturbing Trends
This disturbs me greatly because their behavior, ironically, mirrors in certain ways, the behavior of the Nazi party before WWII and the Neo-Nazi, Identitarian and other organizations worldwide now. What I mean is that these extreme groups are very vocal, use bias and lies to trigger people emotionally so that they stop using their logic and just react emotionally to problems that may not even exist as presented by the group, and either subtly or patently advocate the use of violence to purge their nation of what they feel is the problem. There are a sufficient number of people out there who are just waiting to here the call to violence from a "leader," and they take those statements as a call to service.
There are many such groups in the US, although mostly they are considered fringe lunatics, crackpots, rednecks, inbred hillbillies, cultists and other terms by those who know better. Most commonly, as in Germany back then and again now, it is their goal to get rid of everyone they feel is not from their ethnic, cultural and/or religious group. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) for example, wants to get rid of non-Caucasians and non-Christians, so Blacks, Asians, Latinos and Jews are their targets. These groups may or may not believe in ethnic supremacy or may want to protect their traditional way of life. In that way, they mirror the sentiments of many orthodox religious groups that try to maintain the status quo both religiously and culturally (although culture has more influence than religion). The Neo-Nazis and Identitarians of Germany do not embrace the refugees from other countries who've moved there; instead, they want them all out. They protest and some engage in attacks on anyone they consider to not be a true German. To them, it doesn't matter if you are a German citizen or your family has lived in Germany for 3 generations - if you're not of "original" German descent, they want you out of Germany. Similar movements in other countries have formed and some of these organizations support each other even though their focus is ethnic purity in their own area or nation, such as in Germany, Austria and other European Union countries. The truth is that a single ethnic group with a unified vision of their culture is probably not possible except after indoctrination, removal of dissidents and constant surveillance and reporting such as in the former USSR, China and North Korea. Although some of these movements sprung up in response to the refugees, other groups predate the arrival of refugees and were agitated further by their arrival, becoming even more vocal, visible and popular. While they are a minority of people in many places, Nazi Germany demonstrates through history that all it takes is bad enough conditions for a majority to switch to these ideologically extreme parties. In Nazi Germany, when the economy collapsed under the Weimar Republic before WWII, for example, the Nazis went from being a minority to grabbing a majority of support from the populace. After that, it was an easy matter to change laws to put Hitler in charge permanently, start indoctrination of citizens from early childhood via youth organizations that promoted the Nazi party beliefs, and start targeting specific groups, especially the Jews. Now, as with then, the rhetoric of Neo-Nazi and Identitarian leaders in Germany is almost the same, and the statements they are making and the actions they are taking to try and force a change also hauntingly mirror the Nazi's, to the point that Jews feel compelled - not just because they are on the list of undesirables once again - to produce plays, movies and more to remind the German populace of the shame and horror perpetrated by their ancestors less than 90 years ago. Some of plays are even cast with both German and immigrant performers who all agree that those movements are wrong. But the Jews are not the only group with targets on their backs - Muslims are also a major target for these isolationists, and anyone who is visibly unlike what they consider to be German, such as Blacks, Latinos and Asians, are also "on their list." The old ideas of racial purity - eugenics - that helped create the move to get rid of Jews that arose in the US (see MK Ultra), Europe and various other places, are getting a face lift. Now, some of these eugenistic groups aren't focused on the Aryan race (a term derived from an ancient Indian word from the Hindu Vedas for an ethnic group from Iran - not blond, blue eyed people), they're just focused on their ethnic group, and only they get to say who is and isn't in that group.
You may say, "But that's just in Germany. Sure, we should keep an eye on it so Germany doesn't drag us into a third world war, but that's all." That would be incorrect. The strategies employed by them are also being employed in other countries around the world. Sometimes it's because a foreign nation is trying to destabilize them. The US has done that many times around the world. The Dutch did it in their colonies to help get rid of unrest: when local groups would band together, the Dutch would spread lies and divide them so that they'd fight each other, making it very easy for the Dutch to maintain control. Several countries in Africa, South America and Asia have also felt the negative effects of such movements, including Rwanda and North Korea. It doesn't matter what ethnic group or skin color is behind the rhetoric - the results tend to end up with a lot of pain and suffering, if not the reformation of a nation as a totalitarian dictatorship.
If You Don't Want to Get Hurt, Don't Resist the Police
I saw similar misleading information for several other shootings and, while I don't believe that George Floyd or Rayshard Brooks should have been killed, nor should Jacob Blake have been shot so many times, NONE of those men should've fought the police. In addition, in at least the first two cases, they were high and/or drunk, making their behavior less predictable and more violent, perhaps, than if they'd been sober. In George's case, he had fentanyl in his blood, which is known to depress or halt breathing, so it is entirely possible that he died because of fentanyl, not the knee on his neck. The different autopsies suggest different causes.
In at least Jacob's case, he had a warrant out for his arrest and was in the process of committing multiple crimes on top of resisting the police, including grand theft auto (the vehicle his boys were in was the target) and breaking a restraining order (the boys' mother had one put on him because he assaulted her in May and stole her debit card and car keys, then made 2 withdrawals). I don't know what kind of dad he was, other than that he withheld their kids from her for years, but he was a scumbag criminal. It doesn't matter to me that he was Black, he was a dumb-fuck for fighting the police, refusing to drop his knife, and then going into the vehicle. Officer Sheskey was an idiot for shooting 7 bullets, especially given the presence of 3 kids inside. Jacob was also guilty of involving his kids in a crime and risking their lives with his reckless behavior. My guess is he was also high because he shrugged of TWO tasings.
In some other situations, the police were entirely justified in shooting the suspect because of the degree of violence leveled against them. This is NOT to say that there have been NO racially motivated cases of police brutality, nor do I believe that no cities have systemic racism in the police force . This article is about the fact that the only cases that get attention involve Black victims, and the truth of the situation is obscured by yellow reporting as well as the lies of politicians trying to curry favor and support, and provocators stirring things up for their own reasons (such as to engage in theft, robbery, arson, assault, rape and murder). I am also concerned about how these heavily biased, if not false, reports about such events are manipulating people for elections because many people are not very aware of what each politician will actually do if in office.
Race & Gender Are a Critical Factor in What Gets Reported and What Happens Afterwards
Cases where a white person is shot or killed by ANY race of police are almost never mentioned and, as far as I know, have resulted in NO riots or even protests, despite the fact that far more whites resisting arrest or even trying to kill police happen than with Blacks. Even when a white perpetrator is mentioned in the news, it gets very little attention beyond locally. This apparent tendency of unbalanced reporting is especially true if the shooter is Black or female. Here are two examples.
TJ vs. Walter
In the case of Corporal TJ Session, who is a Black male, he approached and attempted to detain a known pedophile with warrants, Walter Emilio Orellano. Within seconds, Walter pulled out a sawed-off shotgun and shot the officer in the shoulder. Officer Session got up and fired round after round as he circled the SUV, emptying his clip, and retreated to reload. He ended up hitting Walter EIGHT times. Both men survived their wounds. Why wasn't there an uproar about THIS "racist police brutality?" Oh, that's right, the perp was a White Hispanic who survived and the officer was Black and, as with Rayshard, Hakim and so many others, it was a justifiable shooting. Although he shot off an entire clip, I defend his actions.
Elizabeth vs. Leah
In Jacksonville, FL, Officer Elizabeth Mechling and her (male) partner went to the home of Leah Baker, who came out of her front door and stabbed Officer Mechling. Mechling retreated, drew on her and told her to stop, but Leah picked up the knife, at which point her partner told her to desist, but Leah charged him. Mechling shot and killed Leah to protect her partner. Did it go national? Did riots or even protests happen? Nope. They were both white and female, so it's not useful material for the people who are tearing America apart for their own gain.
Will There Be Riots for Killed Cops?
On 9/4/20, a police officer was murdered in Cleveland. Aside from the Blue Lives Matter counter-movement, who's going to be stirred up by this?
Why is it that when cops die, there are no protests against the criminals? Why don't we see rioters going to where they think the bad guys live and scaring the shit out of them? Why don't we hear national statements from politicians, even when it's not an election cycle? Why does the news tend to just gloss it over? Because people are so polarized and emotionally biased against police in general that they can't see past the sheet pulled over their eyes and that means that the media and politicians can't take advantage of that incident for their benefit.
You're Being Used and Manipulated
If someone wants to control your thoughts, the easiest way is to provoke an emotional reaction in you. Once you've been "triggered," it's VERY hard for someone to help you to understand the truth. You will react negatively to overwhelming evidence and logic instead of realizing that you've been tricked. Thus, this is a favorite tactic because it keeps you almost permanently on the side you've been tricked into believing is right. This also tends to cause polarization in populations as people feel forced to take a stand on one end or the other, despite the fact that there are almost never just two options.
Folks, you're being taken advantage of by bad actors who do NOT care about you or the US - they just care about their own agenda. Sometimes, it boils down to money, power and/or revenge.
- Politicians play on these events to get your votes and to get bills passed that help their benefactors. They don't usually care about you, your cause or your problems. You're just a meal ticket to them. Look at WI Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who have made statements regarding the Kenosha riots that were based not on facts but on seeking votes. They claimed racism in the case of Kyle Rittenhouse when, in fact, he has Caucasian and Latino who shot whites, and they made other statements designed to make themselves look like they're on the side of Blacks and to stir up anger against certain people. In addition, people are calling Kyle a white supremacist without any evidence.
- False activists and non-profits say they're working for social justice, equality, and so on. However, you can tell by the inflammatory statements, the bias and the lies that what they really seek is civil unrest, chaos and destruction. Maybe they seek to destroy the US, they're so twisted that they think they're doing something good, they're being paid to sabotage genuine efforts for equality and an end to discrimination in the US, or maybe they do it for fun. Although Black Lives Matter has been around for several years now they, along with the Color of Change, have repeatedly put messages in emails and on social media that distorted the truth, and sometimes outright lied, in regards to police shootings. As a result, situations that shouldn't have garnered more than passing interest sparked riots, looting and arson, as well as injuries, loss of property and livelihood, and even death.
- The FBI, CIA and NSA have a long history of undermining such efforts in the past. Look at what the FBI did to the Black Panthers and other groups in the '60s and '70s. It's also textbook security agency style to send in infiltrators who report activities, members and plans, as well as doing what they can to sabotage a group.
- Saboteurs, provocators and spies working for foreign nations want to undermine the US or, at least, specific groups and/or people. They work behind the scenes to stir up problems. This includes Iran, Russia, China and North Korea.
- Criminals may contribute to the problems by taking one side or the other (or both) and then use the chaos to commit crimes while the police are overwhelmed by the protests, riots, looting, arson and so on.
- The media want better ratings and, thus, more income, so they will write up distorted reports that are based on emotions and half-truths rather than take their time, do the research and get it right.
- Other self-serving people, organizations and companies will also make things worse and/or try to make themselves look better. Some only do so after they are targeted by organizations for NOT making a public statement or severing ties with people, groups and/or companies that supposedly support inequality and discrimination.
When you see something shocking, ESPECIALLY on social media or in email from an advocacy group, look at the facts VERY carefully before you make a decision. Seek out various reports on it from different sources - even ones that you're not politically aligned with. I find that if I spend enough time, I can almost always figure out what's going on. If you don't feel you can do this, look to someone you trust who is analytical. If you like, you can ask me to take a look at something - I will if I have time and feel I am qualified enough.
Keep the dialog going instead of yelling and fighting. We need to heal our nation.
Finally, I want to share some counter-point to all the negativity out there from some videos I found.
Why I, as a black man, attend KKK rallies. | Daryl Davis | TEDxNaperville - He actually got a KKK leader to quit!
What I am learning from my white grandchildren -- truths about race | Anthony Peterson | TEDxAntioch
A black man goes undercover in the alt-right | Theo E.J. Wilson
My road trip through the whitest towns in America | Rich Benjamin
From ‘devil’s child’ to star ballerina | Michaela DePrince | TEDxAmsterdam 2014
My descent into America’s neo-Nazi movement -- and how I got out | Christian Picciolini
If you appreciate this article, please 🏅upvote/like👍
, 🤩resteem/share
and share it to Facebook
, Twitter
, Reddit
, LinkedIn
and wherever else
you can!