Every thing isn’t going to be all right?
Ted Folkert
December 4, 2014
My old handball buddy Bill Sharp used to jokingly say “Don’t worry, nothings gonna be all right.”
Bob Marley used to sing to us, in his inimitable way: “Don’t you worry – About a thing – Every little things – Gonna be all right”
Well, he knew that wasn’t so. He knew every little thing wasn’t going to be all right because he had lived the life he was born into. He lived the life of racial discrimination, the life of disenfranchisement, the life of hopelessness, helplessness, and despair that was impossible for most of his people to overcome – even though they sang their song of hope – “We shall overcome.” Although Bob Marley tried to make it better, he left too soon, before the job was done. And the job is still a long way from being done.
The most recent perfect examples of racial prejudice and disenfranchisement have been dominating the news recently, not because the noise media truly believes the real impact of this reminder of second class citizenship that we make evident each and every day for the disenfranchised, but because it gets viewers so they can sell advertising.
Ferguson, Missouri and New York City have made it loud and clear once again. In Ferguson a frightened police officer shot Michael Brown to death. It seems apparent that Michael Brown was a bully, but it certainly seems that the officer could have backed off somewhat, could have taken other measures to arrest or subdue him. He wasn’t wanted for any serious crime at the time but was merely jaywalking. Although I would sympathize with the officer somewhat, he didn’t want to get hurt and Brown was much bigger that he, but a case could be made that he used excessive force, which may have warranted legal resolution for the sake of justice and closure for family members for what was perhaps a wrongful death. Instead there was a decision not to charge and not to have a public court hearing.
And even before this case has cooled off, in New York City several police officers subdued and unintentionally killed Eric Garner for allegedly selling cigarettes, obviously using a chokehold on him, which is prohibited for the use of police officers, and then ignoring Garner’s pleas for relief until he was dead. Could they have backed off? Could they have taken other action? Could they have let him go and arrested him later? Was he harming anyone? The answers are yes, yes, yes, and no. Nothing that could be reasonably construed as warranting such drastic action seemed to have occurred. He was a big man but there were several officers and Garner was not armed.
So, putting yourself in their place, would you be infuriated by these two incidents? Would these incidents remind you of discriminatory policies that have been festering for several hundred years? Discriminatory policies which have been a way of life for blacks, unequal to the treatment of others, harsher enforcement, harsher surveillance, harsher treatment, harsher penalties. Combine this with extreme disadvantage in employment opportunities, living conditions, educational opportunities, and health care and you get the idea of what the impact must be on these second class citizens.
These are just two isolated incidents that became prevalent in our minds recently. The facts of unequal justice are overwhelming.
Check out these numbers:
From 1980 to 2008, the number of people incarcerated in America quadrupled-from roughly 500,000 to 2.3 million people.
African Americans constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population
African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites
Together, African American and Hispanics comprised 58% of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one quarter of the US population
According to Unlocking America, if African American and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rates of whites, today’s prison and jail populations would decline by approximately 50%
One in six black men had been incarcerated as of 2001. If current trends continue, one in three black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime
1 in 100 African American women are in prison
Nationwide, African-Americans represent 26% of juvenile arrests, 44% of youth who are detained, 46% of the youth who are judicially waived to criminal court, and 58% of the youth admitted to state prisons (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice).
About 14 million Whites and 2.6 million African Americans report using an illicit drug
5 times as many Whites are using drugs as African Americans, yet African Americans are sent to prison for drug offenses at 10 times the rate of Whites
African Americans represent 12% of the total population of drug users, but 38% of those African Americans serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense (58.7 months) as whites do for a violent offense (61.7 months). (Sentencing Project)
35% of black children grades 7-12 have been suspended or expelled at some point in their school careers compared to 20% of Hispanics and 15% of whites.
If you want more of these facts they are readily available.
Bill Sharp thought he was kidding when he said nothing is going to be all right.
Bob Marley knew everything wasn’t going to be all right
We need drastic changes in law enforcement hiring, training, practice, and control of police officers. They have a tough job but they have options in dealing with unarmed suspects and incidents like we have been shaking our heads over recently make it imperative that something be done now – before all hell breaks loose – and before another victim of improper law enforcement results in mass violence against discrimination.
Everything isn’t all right!
Think about!