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Stage is Set for More Tragedies with Larger Social Repercussions Dear Editor, Democracy is too precarious to cry wolf or ignore the sheep. I would like to share my thoughts about the extremely tragic death of Amadou Diallo. I do not believe that the four police officers responsible for killing Mr. Diallo, had this end result as their sole purpose on that evening. I think this event was more likely caused by poor execution of police procedure and horribly bad luck. Now, lets examine the issue of general insensitivity on the part of those responsible for creating these Òspecial unitsÓ. A little personal background is needed here. I am a 38 year old African-american man. I was bussed out of my school district in Hollis, Queens, to schools in Bellerose (Jr. High 172) and Glen Oaks ( Martin Van Buren H.S.). A simple inquiry at the police stations in those areas, (from 1973 through 1978) will expose years of documented violent attacks on African-american students by White male residents. Understanding the ignorance and insecurity that leads to this kind of maliciousness, would not make me any less cautious, if four white men (dressed exactly the same as the ones that attacked us in school) demanded that I stop, put my hands up, turn my back to them and leave myself at their mercy. Like most people, I would not know a real police badge from a fake one. Let us now create a few scenarios. Scenario # 1. Four Black men claiming to be police officers in plain clothes, approach a young White male, in a predominately White neighborhood. They produce badges, but the young man runs. During the pursuit the young man lashes out at one of the officers and seriously injures him. The young man now faces charges of resisting arrest and assault on an officer. If while facing a Òjury of his peersÓ, the young man says, Ò...I feared for my lifeÓ, he would stand a very good chance of being found guilty. But could understandably walk away from the incident serving no jail time. The reason being that his peers (young White men and women) would more than likely agree that their first impression of four Black men in their neighborhood, is not the image of authority that they are conditioned to expect, and would be afraid. They would probably take their chances in court, and feel confident that a Òjury of their peersÓ would certainly understand. Scenario # 2. Similar to scenario #1, with two differences. 1) The suspect is a young White woman. 2) The injuries suffered by the officer were fatal. I donÕt think the final result would be much different, except for a faster verdict. |
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Just get Rid of Mayor Giuliani Dear Editor, Hi! I just read your interviews concerning the recent police killings. I am as outraged as anyone, but what makes me just as mad is that there are people who say that you can't do anything to stop this. That is not true. It is actually very simple: Just get rid of Mayor Giuliani and the situation is certain to improve. I am not saying that Hillary is a saint or that she is even free from racism, but it certainly won't remain as bad a situation with her in power. Here in California just a couple of weeks ago a proposition passed that makes it easier to try juveniles as adults and feed them to the prison-industry. It also makes hanging out in groups a crime (I am sure that applies only to 'certain' groups). Most Blacks that I know didn't vote because "you can't change things anyway" or because they were "too busy". To me that means they refused to protect their children, because they were too lazy to go and vote. When the police begin collecting their children off the streets later this year they'll be sure to cry foul and blame the white man, but that won't be right: They could have prevented it, but they were too lazy. It's the same situation in New York: Every African-American, actually every citizen no matter what color, who refuses to vote against Giuliani in the upcoming mayoral elections in New York in effect will vote for Giuliani and will have to take responsibility if the killings continue. Chris |
The Only Criminals Who Had Guns on the Scene Were the Cops Dear Editor, I'm a 22 year-old white girl living on 108th Street. I'm listening to the Diallo trial on WBAI and I am disgusted by the injustice surrounding this case. I have several comments to make. Of course, if Mr. Diallo were white, he wouldn't have been shot, and even if he had, the officers wouldn't be getting away with murder. The cops use the excuse that he had a gun (which he did not) and that he fit the description of a rapist (from a year before!). The only criminals who had guns on the scene were the cops. They said that he pulled out gun which was really his wallet, but then they said after they shot him the found only a wallet and a beeper in his pocket.So am I supposed to believe that while 41 bullets were fired at him he managed to put his wallet back into his pocket? I seriously doubt he pulled out his wallet in the first place, because he was trying to open his door and therefore he would have one hand on his keys and the other on the doorknob. These cops are clearly lying. Yet, the prosecution does nothing to catch their mistakes! Additionally, the prosecution has failed to address the incriminating evidence, such as the way in which the officers unconstitutionally searched Mr. Diallo's apartment after the shooting. They were probably looking for something to plant on the body or something to hold against Mr. Diallo. They also took Mr. Diallo's roommate in for hours of questioning even though they were the criminals who ought to have been questioned. I am embarrassed that this country is so racist. I am embarrassed that people of my race who claim not to be racist are doing nothing to stop this injustice. I am not going to be one of those people. I found your page while surfing the internet trying to find the address of the district attorney so that I could write a letter to tell him what a horrible, disgraceful, disrespectful job he is doing. Keep up the good work! Hopefully the jury won't let the shabby lawyers' poor presentation of this case get in the way of justice. But if the Rodney case is any indication, another lynch mob will be set free by the white man's justice system. Sincerely, Avery Matthews |
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GIULIANI ONLY REPRESENTS CERTAIN TYPES OF PEOPLE Dear Editor, THE MAYOR HAS BLIND HIS EYES TO THE CONCERNED OF MINORITY. THIS IS ONCE MORE OBVIOUS IN THE DIALLO 'S MURDER BY THE NYPD. MINORITY'S ARE CRYING OUT TO MAYOR TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE RECENT WAVE OF "POLICE BRUTALITY" BUT YET THEIR CRY FALLS ON DEAF EARS. IT IS AS IF OUR VOTES HAVE SO SAY. I'M A CONCERNED IMMIGRANT WHO JUST BECAME A CITIZEN AND RIGHT NOW I FEEL LIKE GIVING IT BACK BECAUSE "GULIANI" MAKES AMERICA SEEMS LIKE HELL! HE DOESN;T EVEN DESERVES THE TITLE MAYOR BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THE MAYOR OF A CITY REPRESENTS THE PEOPLE AND OBVIOUSLY GULIANI ONLY REPRESENTS CERTAIN TYPES OF PEOPLE. IT IS ONE THING TO STAND BEHIND THE POLICE FORCE BUT IT IS ANOTHER TO STAND BEHIND A POLICE FORCE WHO CONSTANTLY INCREASE THE MORTALITY RATES AMONGST BLACK MEN. CAN THE PEOPLE NOT VOTE HIM OUT? |
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Scenario # 3. Four White men claiming to be police officers in plain clothes, approach a young Black male, in a predominately Black neighborhood. They produce badges, but the young man runs. During the pursuit the young man lashes out at one of the officers and seriously injures him. The young man now faces charges of resisting arrest and assault on an officer. If while facing a Òjury of his peersÓ, the young man says, Ò...I feared for my lifeÓ, the very next thing the jury is likely to hear is, Ò...the officers identified themselves as police officers. If youÕve done nothing wrong, you should have nothing to fearÓ. That response would come from the prosecutor. That statement by the prosecution, when made strategically, will always cast doubt in the minds of any jury. The reason for this is that most people have been successfully conditioned to not question a White male claiming to be in a position of authority. Scenario # 4. Same as scenario # 3, with one difference. I am the suspect. Now, considering my not so happy experience going to school in two White neighborhoods, I would not allow four White men to get me into a compromising situation. So, unless they had some expedient way to satisfy my cautiousness, I would make all attempts to defend myself. Understandably, the officers would feel the need to protect themselves and their partners. With the odds against me, I could be shot and killed. Regrettable but justifiable in the eyes of the officers. The death of Amadou Diallo may not have been intentional, but is the intimidation of Black men intentional? One would have to have absolutely no idea of American social history (past or present) to set up special units to fight crime that are not racially mixed. If the people responsible could not do a little bit of brainstorming, like weÕve done here, then I would consider them woefully underqualified to be in such positions. If in fact they have considered such scenarios, and set up these potentially volatile situations anyway, then I can only conclude that insensitivity and an inherent assumption of White authority is what drives the decision making process. In either case, we will all lose eventually. The stage is set for more tragedies with larger social repercussions. |
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