A wise old African warrior once told us, “Smart folks don’t waste time trying to make the world understand them. They try to understand the world. Ironically, we hadn’t really considered our living historian’s wisdom, insofar as he’s usually cracking (jokes), instead of facting (about real world issues, that “you can’t do a damn thing about any way”), until we started listening to what he was saying, rather than how he said it. And, as we’ve said many times, “We might be crazy, but we ain’t stupid,” so we listen. In addition, we learned a long time ago, that when elderly people who’ve been through the storms tell you to take your umbrella, because it might rain, you just do it. Even if the sun is shining and there isn’t a cloud in the sky.
We Must Understand, it takes a whole lot of common sense and making good decisions for descendents of slaves to still be healthy, wealthy, and wise senior citizens. Therefore, we surround ourselves with still sharp, old folks like a Beulah Shepard, Marlise Armstrong, and yes, Bud Johnson. Consequently, we tend to see things from the perspective of Black people who’ve been there and done that, which is a fact that brings us to our “Profiling disrespect” topic. Yes, this is about racial profiling. Yet, it isn’t per se. First, however, let’s set some guidelines to assure an intelligent conversation, which requires pro and con communication, so that one can disagree, without being disagreeable. Denial aside, racial profiling is really more about disrespect than police harassment.
Surely, if you watch the news (on the local level of your city, or with worldwide interest), we’re sure you’ve already heard-- from time to time-- Black faces in high places trying to rationalize what every African American child (old enough to understand the viciousness behind the “N” word) know is racism. Truth is, we have a real problem with Black public servants, or even community leaders, who unwittingly insult our intelligence, as well as sound like fools trying to rationalize a racist systems hateful actions (See Publisher’s News Analysis.) You can be sure that when “happy to be in the Plantation’s big house” Black faces in high places” start their speeches off with, “I know racist still exist in American but…” at some point they’re going to blame “US” for being “OUR” own worst enemy. Especially, if TV cameras are present. We once heard a Black talk show host reason, “Well if we know from jump that the criminal justice system is going to discriminate against us because we’re Black, then we ought to try harder not to do anything wrong.” Hell, that’s just like telling an aspiring boxer, “If you know your opponent is going to do his best to beat the hell out of you, just don’t get into the ring.” Perhaps, we’re looking at the system from a very different perspective from “domesticated” descendents of slaves, but the boxer isn’t asking for any favors. He (or maybe she today) only wants the judges scoring the fight to give him or her a fair shake. That’s why we have a problem with how Chief Harold Hurtt defended HPD’s racial profiling study. We even have a bigger problem with him saying human behavior can be legislated.
We Must Understand, there’s a kernel of truth in Chief Hurtt’s premise. Certainly, the reason so many Black motorists are stopped and/or ticketed is their proximity to the high crime areas. That would definitely make sense, if we didn’t already know that more Black males are arbitrarily stopped when driving through middle-to-upper class predominately White neighborhoods (like West University, or River Oaks enclaves), than they are proportionately in the ‘hood. “What up” with that chief? As good of a question that is, we no better than holding our breath waiting for a straight up answer. On the other hand, African Ame-ricans truly aren’t a monolithic people, who all have the same perspective. So, the question is, how much of a city’s history can a virtual stranger be expected to know? Especially, when he wouldn’t dare settle his family in the heart of our ‘hood. Cutting to the chase, if a people are perceived as having no value, it’s only human nature not to respect them. And we suspect that most of America’s enforcers, who patrol underserved minority neighborhoods, see very little value in unemployed, aimless Black male and female crack heads loitering around stores, or any corner they think they can make a hustle on, on a daily basis. Truth is, many upward mobile African Americans, including Black police officers, find it very difficult to respect people who apparently don’t respect themselves. Where we coming from? Like everything else in a capitalistic, greed driven, bottom line society, law enforcement is an industry. A thriving, multi-billion dollar industry. Unfortunately, the entire criminal justice system depends on criminals for their existence.
We Must Understand, more criminals, translates to more profits. You can take it from here, because it doesn’t take a rocket science, critical thinking to conclude that the most expendable people (necessary to feed the insatiable appetite of the double-standard criminal justice system), are the less productive citizens. The bottom feeders, who have very little redeeming value for society, or offer the least resistance to being victimized and/or exploited. Racial profiling notwithstanding, in 2005 America, that’s “US.”