Anyone following this blog is likely to know the list of "Black Best Interests" that I have compiled after listening to people of all ideological persuasions.
- Safe Streets To Allow Our People To Live Free Of Terror Thus Allowing Up To Congregate And Establish A Strong Community Fabric
It should come as no surprise that I am a critic of the "Black Establishment" and their fusion with certain political and ideological forces in America. At the same time we cannot take these series of incidents that are happening in many places around the country and make hay with them as a part of some ideological or partisan or political game. Instead I make the case that these issues cannot be allowed to be disaggregated. Just as there was an attempt to see the individual incidents that are now seen as a pattern that makes up what I call "The Bloody Summer In Atlanta" we must also attempt to aggregate the "Bloody Summer 2009" with the other "Bloody {fill in the time period} in {fill in the urban hot spot}" that creates a matrix of time and location, thus forming a pattern.
In summary - THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH BLACK ON BLACK VIOLENCE IN AMERICA!!
Sadly it is the majority of innocent people who are trapped living with "Pirates" who suffer the most. I have stated several times before - In America 2009 the last place where there is rife violations of "Civil Rights" and intimidation in a functionally unchecked manner is WITHIN VARIOUS BLACK COMMUNITIES.
Sadly - it is the Black Political Establishment which has PAINTED US INTO THIS CORNER. They have promoted the "Non-White White Supremacist" notion that the deeds of the WHITE assailant is far more injurious, more deadly, more terrifying than anything that a Black Pirate could do. This is the case even if the White terrorist and the Black pirate went to the same gun store and purchased the very same weapon and bullets. In their reading - when the White terrorist kills a Black his action via the anointing of his skin color is far more deleterious to the Black community.
Our community is now living in the residue of what I call the "Justice Thurgood Marshall Justice" where we focused on making the system "fair" for Black criminal defendants while me missed the boat on how our communities now suffer from the ill effects of a criminal class who is anything but "thankful" for the protections that the Civil Rights establishment has done for them in protecting them from the exploits of the Criminal Justice System.
It is time for our community to start MANAGING OUR PEOPLE. We now have favored people in power over these same communities. We are no longer fighting "Sheriff Bull Connor" - he is DEAD. We now have the sons and daughters of the people who Bull Connor used to beat down wearing the badges and gun belts that Bull Conner's Sheriff's Deputies used to wear.
We need not revive a hostile disposition with the manager of our civic institutions. At the same time the Black community must DECOUPLE the notions that a "Black face in a high place" - who is ideologically favorable to them is by definition going to represent and express their own best interests. The missing link is the MANAGEMENT PRACTICES by which these Best Interests can been EXPRESSED. Thus we must shift from the notion of "POPULAR APPEAL" over to the notion of "EFFECTIVE EXPRESSION" of our Best Interests.
It is my opinion that fundamental to this is the needed change from always "expanding the police tape" looking to condemn the entire society for the "derivative behavior" of these young males who have been transformed into "Pirates" over to a focus of how those who know good and well what the rules of the society are and they have violated them, thus creating present day victims out of those who are said to be 'history's victims".
There is simply no justification as to a young Black male who was likely born in 1990 to put a gun to the face of 2 young Black women born about that time, stealing their cellphone and other personal items. This does not lend itself to the claim of "derivative behavior".
HOW TO STOP THE COMING WAVE OF "RACIAL PROFILING"
It does not take a rocket scientist to see that this latest crime wave is going to produce a police crackdown. The PROFILE of who is doing these crimes has already been crafted - BY THE ACTIONS OF THE ASSAILANTS. In response to the calls to "do something" we will likely see a large amount of moral indignation to the thought that the police will soon crack down on those we already know are doing the assaults.
Instead of focusing on your indignation - the time is NOW for the adoption of more early intervention efforts to redirect these (mostly) young Black males from preying upon our own communities. It is time to force those with grandiose theories to follow through.
The risk of THEIR FAILURE to come through with solutions MUST BE that their entire block of theories are purged from our popular acceptance. Failing to do so means that we as a community like our prevailing ideology more than we are offended by our present unease about our safety. The burden must be put upon our community which is producing these young men - NOT the greater society or the government authorities. From this will come best practices on how to change our communities.
The carjacking of a city councilman and the fatal shooting of a former boxing champ brought calls Wednesday for a high-profile response by the city.
Residents and politicians both said they want to see their police chief, Richard Pennington.
“I would like to see him come around and tour the community and let people see his face,” said Makeda Johnson, chairwoman of the Neighborhood Planning Unit for Vine City. “Let the criminal element know that we are cracking down from the top down.”
Johnson characterized the city’s police captains as “pretty active,” but said “we don’t see Pennington front and center.”
Pennington and his boss, Mayor Shirley Franklin, have taken hits in recent months for their contention that crime is actually on the downswing in Atlanta even though some high-profile crimes have created the perception that it is getting worse. They have called a news conference for 10 a.m. today. (Check ajc.com for updates.)
Pennington was out of town Wednesday and unavailable for comment, Police Officer Otis Redmond said.
However, in an interview with WAGA-TV Wednesday night, Pennington bristled at the criticism, saying, “I’m ticked off, only because they are going to characterize me as missing in action like I don’t care, and I’ve dedicated 35 years of my life to nothing but public safety.”
Pennington told the station that he was in Atlanta last weekend when Councilman Ceasar Mitchell was carjacked, but admitted he had left town for training before boxer Vernon Forrest was gunned down.
“I want to make sure that people understand that chiefs of police and everyone in our police department are required to have a minimum amount of 40 hours training,” Pennington said. “That includes me.”
The chief conceded that “people would like to see me more than what I’ve been doing, but I have good leaders and I have good commanders.”
Like Johnson, other civic leaders had praise for Pennington’s underlings while criticizing him.
“We have some phenomenal majors underneath him who are actually conducting our business,” said John Wolfinger, head of the public safety committee for the Virginia-Highland Civic Association. “These people are working 24/7.”
But Wolfinger voiced dismay that Pennington seemed to have handed off to the majors.
“Our department needs leadership,” he said, “and it has to come from the very top.”
Former Atlanta Deputy Chief Lou Arcangeli criticized Pennington for only being available for “good news” announcements while letting department spokesmen or his subordinates field questions about controversies and high-profile crimes.
“I was surprised to watch a recent press conference regarding crimes near the Georgia Tech campus and see the Atlanta Police Department represented by a lieutenant and a sergeant. Where was the chief?” Arcangeli asked. “Leadership matters, and he hasn’t mattered. His absence has been an issue.”
Arcangeli contended that Pennington’s lack of presence undercut department morale.
“I think it has created a lack of confidence in both citizens and cops, and I don’t think either group feels supported right now.”
City Council President Lisa Borders, a mayoral candidate, voiced concern Wednesday that Pennington has not been at the forefront of discussing the recent crime issues.
“One of the central themes of my public safety plan is identifying a chief of police who can provide oversight to the administration of the department,” Borders said in a statement. “That person must be available to the public and must be visible to uniformed beat officers.”
Borders has been burglarized three times in nine months. Fellow Councilman Mitchell, who is running for council president, was carjacked at gunpoint Saturday. Later Saturday, former boxing champ Forrest was shot in the back seven or eight times after chasing a man who robbed him at a south Atlanta gas station.
David Klinger, a former cop and policing expert at the University of Missouri in St. Louis, said chiefs don’t trot out to reassure the public during every high-profile crime but they need to be visible during controversies.
“He should be at community forums — certainly not all of them — but that is one place he should be,” said Klinger, who is also a researcher with the Police Foundation in Washington. “He is the chief of police, and for major things he should be there.”
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