I was disappointed to learn that a local judge is pretty much condoning a few rouge police officers giving on the spot abortions to women of color in Kansas City.
The fact that a judge sided with officers in the Sophia Salva miscarriage story is not only troubling because it makes EVERYONE less trusting of police officers and the judicial system but also because if the woman was white and she lost her baby there's no denying that the same situation would be met with more widespread outrage and not a reactionary defense of the obviously negligent conduct that's nothing more than thinly disguised bigotry.
The judge reviewing the case of a videotaped police stop involving a woman who later miscarried has released a 25-page ruling defending the Kansas City officer who didn’t answer the woman’s pleas for help. I can only hope that the Police Board follows Police Chief Corwin's initiative and fires the officers involved.Sadly, Kansas City saw this racism throughout 2007 in a year that seemed to be an outright assault on Black women in the metro area. From "Mammy" slurs at the highest office in City Hall to an Independence School principle being forced to the ground - Kansas City obviously doesn't have a lot of love for Black women and not much has changed in the new year.
The Judge says not only should the officer not be fired, he went out of his way to lay blame with almost everyone else, including the woman who later lost her unborn child.
It's a local manifestation of a national issue . . . For instance:
I was horribly disheartened that the first time I was able to see Halle Berry naked, the decrepit Billy Bob Thornton was also in the shot. And while Monster's Ball might have been a good movie (I don't know, I only watched the sex scene) . . . It's obviously part of an overall assault on character of Black females everywhere as this society forces Black women to endure horrible injustices in order to survive.
Actually I think that if the woman had been an ugly fat white woman with a history of drug abuse and other criminal rap sheet the outcome would have been the same. You see Tony, it's really only hottie (no fatties) white women and their babies that get special treatment. Though of all people you would have known that. Glad to help.
ReplyDeleteBlack women equals attitude. Large and in charge. No wonder the brothas won't date them. You ever work with these women? MMmmmm child, you KNOW it's true.
ReplyDeleteHalle Berry's first nude scene was in Swordfish.
ReplyDeleteMonster's ball was filmed before Swordfish.
ReplyDeleteThe sex scene in Monster's Ball gave me nightmares. So strange...so disjointed...too much Billy Bob ass.
ReplyDeleteI wish more black women looked like Halle. And by that I mean I wish that they looked more like hot white women.
ReplyDelete"large and in charge" indeed. Not in my world. Black women can take their attitudes and the rest of their "charms" to another planet...Pass.
ReplyDeleteGotta say, the sisters are sassy. I wouldn't get into it with one of them for good money and they ain't got that.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has a fake license plate on their car is not blameless. She chose not to license her car legally and not to be insured. Instead she joined the thousands of other inner city folks who use temp tags printed on a home computer. By and large the police ignore them while they look for more prosperous folks who actually pay traffic tickets. Must have been rookie police, I don't think veterans ever stop citizens with no money.
ReplyDeleteMan you people are fucking racist.
ReplyDeleteYeah, either that or just keen observers of human behavior.
ReplyDeletei just heard an interview with the attorney who represented one of the police officers in this case. the list of incriminating evidence(not anecdotal) against this "victim" is endless.
ReplyDeletewhile i'm no fan of the police, any thinking person understands that they are a neccesary evil, and in this case were trying to do a neccesary job arresting this criminal. this criminal had many outstanding warrants for serious crimes.
people who scream "racism" automatically at every turn do the minority community a tremendous disservice. it only perpetuates the stereotype of the "angry black victim".
Or, in Tony's case, the "angry latino victim".
ReplyDeleteShe had warrants against her, and was spotted putting bogus tags on her car. Black or white, they had every right to pull her over - so let's stop making her out to by a martyr. (I'm all for Draconian punishment.)
ReplyDeleteMan, Anonymous. You sure are a bigoted dude.
ReplyDeleteI think charges of racism are a big reach in this case. They caught her dirty and had ample cause to arrest her. That said, I think they screwed the pooch by not calling paramedics and the jail dropped the ball on that as well. The civil suit is going to cost the police dept and ultimatly the city. Further proof that your average cop aint the sharpest knife in the drawer.
ReplyDeletethe last comment is absolutely correct. We're dealing with retards, not klansmen. Would they have called the ambulance if she were White? Probably. But everyone knows that 'protect and serve' means different things in different communities. I heard on NPR that their attorney said they 'had no training on discretion' WTF? Really? Life trains you to be discretionary. A 9-year old child would have called an ambulance.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the meat here is that most beat cops are 'C' students, and they should have been fired for stupididy.
"f" is correct. police officers are stupid people, not racist. who in their right mind would want that job? you have to have a personality disorder of some kind, and/or not have any other options for a career.
ReplyDeleteThis is the problem with policing and becoming a cop. Every stop becomes a potential political topic. Maybe that's why they are having such a hard time finding new recruits.
ReplyDeleteThis upstanding woman had 10 outstanding warrants (including one for mistreatment of children). Funny how the Star ---and Tony---overlooked that minor detail.
ReplyDeleteThe license plate is no big deal. Heck, the mayor didn't properly license HIS car after he took office. Everyone blogging has the resources to have a computer (unless you're at work or somewhere), and you obviously don't understan what it's like to be disenfranchised and desparate. We don't know whether medical help would have saved the pregnancy, but the cops and jailers should have given the woman that measure of human decency.
ReplyDeleteWell put, Tony! I'm so glad you pointed out that BS that was almost completely swept under the rug by other media venues.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I believe that not only should those abusive officers be in jail, but the judge should be dismissed from the bench and disbarred.
Incidentally, considering that most of Kansas City is black, maybe this town is ripe for a community backlash against this racist crap. One obvious point of interest is that should there be any sort of Rodney King-style uprising, then white businesses will finally suffer a few unique losses by way of the supposed "downtown Renaissance". Come to think of it, now I'm sort glad that the Sprint Center and the KCStar are all-glass (as well as pompous and disgusting) structures. Maybe a little Van-Damage would finally raise of few eyebrows.
(Note: This should not be taken as any suggestion, whatsoever, that I'm advocating violence. I don't condone violence or unlawful transgressions of any kind, whether they're committed by "police officers", "judges", or the general public. I only condone justice (and I'm still waiting for it). These are just a few philosophical things to think about. Enjoy.)
Oh, and...peace.
Actually Kansas city is about 35 pct black and 60 percent white, idiot. and we had riots here once before, didnt turn out to good for the rioters.
ReplyDeleteThe Judge made the right choice.
ReplyDeleteTony go ride with a police officer. They do ride alongs. It'll change your mind.
Kansas City native - That was a stupid-assed comment. Go ahead and burn it down. I could care less. Just remember, if you do stupid crap like that, you gotta deal with finding a new place to work, get groceries, and live. As Katrina showed us all, you can't count on FEMA. And chances are, they wouldn't come for that reason anyhow. That was just retarded to say. We've got men and women dying at the hands of militants overseas and you want to bring that militant crap here? Grow the hell up. You're part of the damned problem.
ReplyDeleteTony - I blogged about your view on this case. I even used a quote from one of the other stories you wrote on it. You said that the Salvo situation was "A PERFECT EXAMPLE of how the KCPD has failed to listen to the minority
community in this town and that's why they haven't received much cooperation in
solving or preventing the regular spate of murders on the Eastside." That's total horse manure. People don't talk because they don't want to be shot and killed for being a snitch. Why else would so many people start "don't snitch" campaigns? It's not the cops that are the problem. They may not help, in some instances. But the whole concept of abiding by the laws of society, the concept of helping your neighbor instead of robbing them, or selling them dope, or pulling drive by's, it's so we all can live in peace. Get over it, man. I hope you and everyone else reading that crap realizes that when you don't help stop the violence, you've left only one option remaining - you're fostering and saying you're okay with how it is. You're creating an atmosphere that cultivates it. Put the blame where it needs to be - right on the heads of people who refuse to make a difference, the people in the community that refuse to talk. I grew up poor white trash. We had nothing. Life is about the choices you make. You want to allow your neighbor's kid to sling smack on your corner, shoot people, and rob other houses, then keep your mouth shut and let him. Don't tell the cops what you know how he shot and killed your neighbor over a $20 rock so they can clean up your streets. Hell, according to you, they won't listen... How stupid is that comment? They come ASKING THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S help to solve crimes, and clean up the streets. What you're actually saying is that the cops are "not listening to the community and that's why we don't want the criminals caught..." and "We refuse to assist the police in getting the drugs out of our neighborhoods and school yards because they don't listen to us." You do realize that when they are ASKING for info, they are listening intently. They're trying to HELP RID THE COMMUNITY OF CRIME. That's why they are there. Not just to collect a check. And if you try to turn this as "the government is the entity that isn't listening," my response is this... How much control does the city have over your neighborhood crime? NONE. The cops do only as much as you allow them. You got 500 people that see a kid shot in cold blood, but nobody saw a thing when the cops arrive. All that says is that you are okay co-existing with the crime. The government has no control over my neighborhood's crime either. We as responsible citizens HAVE TO ENSURE THAT WE DO THE RIGHT THING FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, AND OUR YOUTH so we leave it in better shape than we got it. That's not happening in a lot of areas. But now we have one more stupid-assed reason for why the citizens in the affected neighborhoods are not getting involved in the clean-up...
It's actually ironic as hell that she was a child abuser. She abused kids, dude. But none of you give a sh*t about any of that. You're focused on the skin tone of the cops that busted her doing something illegal and not the person who knowingly broke the law. And now everyone knows how to delay a trip to jail. Just scream "HOSPITAL!"
Here's a question for the ages - Why the hell did she stop for an illegal piece of paper if she was bleeding and miscarrying? Why didn't she call 911 or drive to the hospital, instead of the temp-tag "store?" Don't make excuses. Now she wants a quick payday.
Be part of the damned solution, and not part of the problem. I love all my brothers and sisters, regardless of skin-tone.
Peace!
i agree with 3% of the previous-- somewhat rambling--commenter said. I could actually give a shit if she planned on eating her kids and then praying to satan when she got wherever she was going. They key here, again, is the police once again not using simple common sense. Cops should be held accountable (read: pay up) whenever those who are responsible for training them fail to realize a lack of decency, intelligence, or discretion in their recruits. We give these people GUNS for fucks' sake. Let's hold them to a higher standard.
ReplyDelete"People don't talk because they don't want to be shot and killed for being a snitch. Why else would so many people start "don't snitch" campaigns?"
100% Grade A bullshit.
1) don't generalize based on a t-shirt you saw on TV or that one time you flipped past BET.
2) More people talk than 'dont snitch', clearly, because more homicides are solved than are unsolved. I mean, the way people talk about this shit flies in the face of basic mathmatical logic. Someone's talking because real detectives aren't as good as the ones on Law and Order.
3) People don't talk to the police BECAUSE BLACK PEOPLE DONT TRUST THE POLICE. Period. Crook or not, rich or poor. We have generations of damn good reasons not to. I'm tired of telling White people WHY it is. Seriously, you should be able to figure that one out on your own.
f -
ReplyDeleteThat's great than, f. You'll keep the crime in your area. You don't mind the killings.
You "don't trust" the police and refuse to talk to them, so the murders and other criminal activities "aren't so bad." Well, they aren't as bad as the police. You can live with it.
That's just stupid. No wonder the crime rate sucks.
You know, people, there are two sides here. One side is made up of people who generally want to do good. They don't make a ton, and they go to work knowing that at any time, they could be dispatched to a criminal event that might cost them their lives. They are tasked with situations where a lot of people don't even want to see them, much less talk to them.
The other side - the communities where they patrol.
The cops undergo continuing education, even for sensitivity, on a constant basis. They get new little instructions and directives handed down, which they must follow or potentially be fired. They have to conform to new rules and regulations as they are handed down.
The communities don't. As you just stated, you have generations of reasons to not trust them.
So who's going to give in? The cops are always training. It sounds like the only lessons in the hood are handed down from generation to generation, and they include hate and distrust.
It almost sounds like the slavery issue. Many people think they are due something or should get something because whites owned slaves at one time. Nothing's ever mentioned who sold the slaves to the whites. It was the black Africans that did that. Think I'm making it up? Go listen to the former football player turned activist, Jim Brown sometime. I got that from him in a lesson he preached years and years ago. Truth is, my family never owned anyone. But I'm guilty, as are most white's today, because we're white. You say it's BS? No it's not. There are no slaves, in literal terms, in this country. But that doesn't stop some people from claiming that they should get reparations for what happened to their ancestors. That doesn't stop people from saying they should be allowed to do something because of all the slavery endured by their ancestors. It always comes up. Here is no different. "Generations of reasons" means you, too, are holding todays cops responsible for some a$$holes offenses, some several decades ago. The people today had nothing to do with it. Nothing. Yet they are still being held responsible and treated as if they did it, themselves. That, my man, means you don't mind the crime, and you can live with it. If that is truly the case, then you guys should keep quiet and never talk to the police. If that's not the case, then people need to change. The cops have changed and are an ever-evolving entity. The hood isn't evolving for the better. It's getting worse.
As far as the stats for crimes being solved - It wasn't me that pointed out that the crimes aren't being solved. That was Tony. So, you two are actually conflicting, and kind of canceling each other out.
Peace.
I farted and now my finger smells funny.
ReplyDeletehey it took some white blood to get halle berry to look that good
ReplyDeletehey it took some white blood to get halle berry to look that good
ReplyDeletedon't assume that i wouldn't cooperate with police if the situation has arisen (it has). By FAR most Black people are the same way, we are tired of memorial services and being held prisoner in our neighborhoods. Remember the mob, anyone? Stoolies? I guess because they didn't wear t-shirts with it printed across it it didn't happen. Would it be fair to say all italians don't snitch, either? Of course not.
ReplyDeletethere has ALWAYS been a problem with people who don't cooperate with police, it just so happens that 'start snitching' became a buzzword to white people once it got on the news. Yet another stereotypical brush to paint an ENTIRE community by. Yet another reason to generalize an entire culture as not only the reason crime exists but the reason that crimes aren't solved. Full circle, i guess.
I don't care about slavery in regards to this issue. I don't care if you feel slighted being White and having to hear about your peoples' world history in regard to..well..everybody not White. What an injustice! (yeah right).
The 'guilt trip argument' isn't going to work with me because White is STILL right in regards to everything (well with the obvious exceptions of popular culture, music, and sports, haha). I'm an economist, man--and you cannot convince an economist that the White man is losing. Good luck with that one.
Back to the point, police are not an 'ever-evolving entity' as you posit. Police, esp in the US, were an institution CREATED to control the working classes and protect the upper. This mantra has been modified over the years since the middle class grew into a majority--but the basic tenants remain the same. Remember '911 is a joke' or 'Fuck the Police'? Which, again, is why 'protect and serve' means different things in different communities.
Last point, remember this: you CANNOT dissasociate slavery with today. Think of the economic progress made on slave labor. Some of the largest, oldest companies in the world (Lloyds of London, for example) got uber-rich directly off of the slave trade. There are backward linkages everywhere. Go to a Southern shipping town like Charleston, SC. There are hundreds 200-year old mansions surrounded by plantations that the descendants still live in and still have wealth to spend. Where do you think most made their money from? All it takes is reading some textbooks on the topic. These people got so rich from slavery that their great great granchildren are considered wealthy now just by spending up accrued interest.
Stop playing the victim--and no, not everyone Black wants reparations.
f - Great response. I respect your view. I still believe that if people banded together, the majority could overpower the drug dealers and thieves and gang bangers and take back their neighborhoods.
ReplyDeleteI don't see mine as a guilt trip argument. I see it as an argument to the people of the community who keep their mouths shut instead of doing something to make their neighborhoods a more respectable place to raise kids.
As far as a guilt trip - brother, that crime isn't happening in my neighborhood. I grew up in different areas of KC. None of which were affluent. One was a trailer. I've made my way out and won't look back.
The crime has little to no effect on me. I hate that it happens when most areas might improve if more people got involved.
good points as well, i agree. I try to involve myself as much as possible but some people are complacent with perpetual shit for neighborhoods. Complacency with high crime, shitty schools, and zero community involvement bothers me to the highest degree..Thats more infuriating than any outside stereotype or generalization that can be attributred to them. Its kinda like they establish ownership of the stereotypes and often times those people don't deserve help or sympathy. You have to realize though that there are other powers at work here than just simply community involvement.
ReplyDeleteSide note: nice reads on your page...i'll have to check it out more often.