police-are-killing-our-power-of-reason-blacklivesmatterI have watched just as many of these viral (and reckless) interactions with citizens and police; just as many as you have, and I have been convinced (for years) that the only way out… the only solution that has immediate impact on a situation (most situations) is to “stand down.” You’ve seen “stand down” yelled in movies. We’ve seen “retreat!” shouted throughout history… we’ve learned to “lose the battle, win the war” but those methods are mostly references of older generation. While the younger generation has been raised most radically, not by Elvis and his popping his leg, but by Michael and his pumping (and grabbing) his groin & genitals. This generation has been guided by NWA “Fuck the Police” and Ice-T “Cop Killer” and even Malcolm X “by Any Means Necessary.” We’ve been taught that “off the hook” is popular in reality shows, and that you can win awards and earn praise for being the worst imaginable human being “Training Day.” We see all of this evidenced in movies, books, music, etc and we keep asking “why?” We don’t come up with answers or solutions, but we’re quick to say “wrong!” or to point fingers, but when do we take personal responsibility for our actions? We wanna “turn-up” and get loud and fight back and Lord knows we NEED an enemy to make our day… to affirm our so-called “beliefs.” And still, there’s no answer for that next dead boy… that next guy shot while in his seatbelt in his car… while selling CDs or cigarettes. We can’t bring back a woman who is said to have hung herself after wrongly arrested imprisoned. Before you utter your next “coon” broadstroke/because you’re not able to think up something more applicable…

   NO QUESTION that this shit is backwards, killing us and needs fixing. But its too late for all that cuz I’m already dead. You’re already dead. We’re all already dead at the hands of the rogue cop. I know, silly and extreme, but thats how many of us sound. But check it…

The reality is (again) that you can for the most part avoid the BS. So many of us (including myself) “talk back” or we wanna hold court in the street, and there are so many other variables. Even if you don’t say a word and have your hands up… I’m reminded of Charles Kinsey, charles-kinsey-behavior-therapist-to-arnaldo-eliud-rios-sotohe’s the behavior therapist in Florida helping the kid with mental challenges; had his hands up, he was on the ground and they shot him anyway… I get it. But it’s isolated. All of these incidents… most of them, isolated with various reasons why shit happens. I know it looks bad, mainly due to our viewing choices on social media, but everyone in the world isn’t being shot by police. However my open is that the overwhelming way to avoid it, the way that mostly assures that we get out alive is “kumbaya.” Not yelling, arguing, and def not calling 911.

In any case, if you are facing a gun, knife, oncoming Mack truck, you’re already fucked. Now, lets get you safe. Lets get to the point here… how do we avoid it? We can’t get into these cops homes to see that their personal relationships are in tact. We can’t get into their heads to see if they are psychosomatically balanced. We can’t even tell if they’re scared of Black people and/or that they want to kill Black people. Wish we could read minds; we can’t. Wish we could freeze everything and find the “big fix”, we can’t. Wish we could get rid of entire law enforcement armies and put all guns in a melting pot. Nope, we can’t. So the easy alternative that we DO have control over is the way we address shit. “kumbaya…” and I know so many of us are stubborn, stuck in our thoughts and the allegiances we have with others who think and act the same, but in most cases (as we address all this BS) the major most solution to escape harm and harms way is to kumbaya our way out. That, or go ahead and fight. I’d acknowledge I knew you when your face shows on the 6o’clock news. Promise. And AMEN

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