Introducing The Great United Democratic Republic of My Pants
You have to be careful not to take the names of countries at face value. Take The Peoples Republic of China. It requires a ballsy marketing executive to slip ‘republic’ into that title. Indeed China seems to pay scant regard to the ideals of republicanism as first laid out by Aristotle and then Plato. Perhaps my favourite is Great Britain, this does not require a ballsy marketing executive, as much as one who is suffering from a chronic mental illness. Only boxers and wrestlers name themselves things like Great, Marvelous, but that is what Britain has become symbolically, an over weight middle aged man in a Lycra leotard, both unappealing to look at, and even more unpleasant to be around.
Always be wary of countries that contain united in their name, for it is almost a certainty that they are not. In the same way that China is not a republic, and Britain is not great; America is not united. Is it even reasonable to expect a country of over 300 million people of every race and creed to live in harmony? If the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri are anything to go by then the answer is a resounding no.
The Ferguson riots have understandably generated much debate as to what lays at the heart of the problems. Personally I thought it was the brutal execution of an unarmed African American teenager by a policeman, after watching the news however, I realized my initial deduction to be too simplistic. Rather than apportion all the blame on one red neck, trigger happy cop, who probably only became a policeman after finding shelf stacking at Walmart to be too stressful. The riots have become the inspiration for national reflection. Topics up for discussion have included the militarization of the police, the appropriateness of the 2nd amendment and of course race.
Militarization of the police and the 2nd amendment have a causal, symbiotic relationship. The 2nd amendment gives citizens the right to arm themselves, this in turn necessitates the police to arm themselves. Citizens see the police are armed and get nervous, they run down to their local gun shop for more firepower. The police become concerned when helping an old woman across the road she pulls out an AK47. 9/11 has been the scapegoat for the reason of police militarization, but the reality is that there has effectively been an arms race between U.S citizens and U.S law enforcement. And anyway neither of these were the main causes of the Ferguson Riots.
The cause of the riots is racial tension fueled by extreme disparity in the distribution of wealth. The demographics of Ferguson Ferguson shows that it has a population of 21,000 people, 67% black and 30% white. 20 years ago these figures were reversed however the Ferguson Police force and Government haves remained almost exclusively white.
Some Economic Statistics for Ferguson
- 25% of blacks in the Ferguson area live below the poverty line, compared to 11% of whites (the first time I saw this I was shocked at that many white people struggling).
- The average income for black people is 60% of what it is for white people $32,000 compared to $53,000.
- Unemployment for black people in the Ferguson area is 20% (double the national average) compared to 6.7% for white people.
House ownership is the main means that an American can accrue wealth, the diagram below shows the disparity between blacks and whites.
This money then gets fed down via inheritances, making whites ever wealthier and blacks ever more resentful. In his speech on 18 August 2014 President Obama identified that disparities of this nature between ethnic groups will inevitably lead to tensions.
As with the aftermath of the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots, America sits uncomfortably on a knife edge. And I believe the economic disparities between white and blacks is a problem, I’m still left asking myself, wasn’t this just caused by one dumb, poorly trained, ignorant cop? Is it right to go tearing up a town because of the idiocy of one man?
I simply don’t know. Once again Uncle Sam has pitched me a curve ball. striking me out and leaving me with nothing to do but scratch my crotch.
My Blog 
Was being brown Michael Browns problem?
It was a warn sunny day in July of 1999. The city was Fort Wayne, a medium sized town in the northeastern corner of Indiana. My mother saw me off and wished me well, as I drove due east to visit a college in an effort to ascertain a basketball scholarship. Paying for college was not even an option. If it were not for this great nation, and it’s commitment to higher education, I would have never been able to attend.
I am the son of a single mother, who worked at Taco Bell to ensure her three children had food to eat and clothes to wear. She raised us in the crime ridden city of Gary, Indiana. We are famous for a few things: Michael Jackson, sports, and crime. Anybody who knows anything about inner city culture, knows that Gary often tops the charts as it relates to disenfranchisement and extreme poverty. Nonetheless, this is where I was born and raised, and I am proud to say so.
I grew up surrounded by gang activity. I saw what a lack of jobs and opportunity does to a community and the psyche of the people who are inundated with such misfortune. As a kid and young teenager, my greatest fear was being killed by someone of my own race for mistaken identity or the stray bullets of constant drive-bys. The first time I lost a friend to a bullet was in the 6th grade. It’s still such a painful memory.
When I think back over the survival tips my mother gave me upon leaving Gary headed for a town that was 74% white and 15% black, her words were, “Don’t get into any confrontation with those police.” I didn’t know why she said what she said, because growing up in a all black town, combined with a financial position that did not allow for frequent travel, equated into a life with little to no racism.
Upon entering Fort Wayne on this warm July afternoon, all of what she said would come full circle. I arrived on the main drag of the city; Coliseum Blvd. Like most men, I got lost. This was pre-GPS and smart phones. In those days “directions” written a sheet of paper or direction printed from MapQuest were the only options. Pulled over by a police officer, I was asked “for what reason are you prowling?” To be honest at that time I didn’t know what he was alluding too. But after a few years of education, and may more multi-cultural encounters, I have come to understand better.
To prowl (Of a person or animal) means to move around restlessly and stealthily, especially in search of or as if in search of prey. Was I being called an animal because I was brown? This would not be the first time an African American would be referred to as something other than human. It begs the question: is being brown a crime in the eyes of some? Was Michael Browns problem his skin color? History says emphatically in the eyes of some: YES!
None of us know what happened exactly at the moment Michael Brown was gunned down by officer Wilson. But we do know what happened to Rodney King, Eric Garner, and the unarmed black woman that was beaten by a Patrol officer in California. All of these events were caught on camera. I am certain that no citizen of Houston, Texas wants to think that our city could face such tragic occurrence. Could this happen here? Has it happened here? We must double check ourselves and ensure that these types of incidents are rid from our city.
It seems that there must be a nationwide conversation and a conversion by the people who have sworn to protect and serve all citizens. The comedian Katt Williams has had many legal troubles over the past years, and his antics may not be agreeable to some. But he tweeted a statement that I believe sums of the matter in the minds of the frustrated people of Ferguson, Mo. “Black crime = gang violence, Arab crime = terrorism, Hispanic crime = illegal immigration, and White crime = insanity.”
I recently made this statement in a room full of Hindus, Pagans, Muslims, Jews, and Christians. My comments were received with a standing ovation. In fact, one leader of this groups said, “I want to note that I was really surprised by the number of you that made advocacy around social justice and other moral issues of the day on of your top priorities for opportunities.”
The fallout in Ferguson represents the pot of humanity sitting dead center in the flames of history. I’m afraid that the contents have reached a boiling point. There is an ancient book known as the Bible. Whether you are Christian, Buddhist, or Muslim, there is a message in Psalm 133 that is worth noting. “How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” Houston let’s not have a problem here. Let stand for justice so that there can be peace. We are all created equal, and anyone who thinks differently does not speak for us all.
Author:
Velma Trayham
CEO & Founder at Thinkzilla Consulting Group
info@cocotheceo.com
http://cocotheceo.com/
1.888.509.1145
You are suggesting the police have militarized as a result of the 2nd amendment? I don’t read about stories of large or even small scaled battles between armed civilians and police which would support your claim. I do, however, read about cops shooting unarmed adversaries, the wrong people and even their pets. Your theory that a correlation exists is ludicrous. Do you suggest that once the 2nd amendment has been repealed, police will cancel their orders for upgrades on their armored vehicles and NVG equipment for fully automatic battle rifles? The only correlation that exists is that between government and force. Citizens don’t get nervous when they see armed cops and run down to the gun store. They run down to the gun store to buy guns and ammunition when gun control zealots move to draft racist legislation restricting 2nd amendment rights. An old woman pulling out an AK-47 when the cops are helping her across the street? WTF????
Kevin,
“The police become concerned when helping an old woman across the road she pulls out an AK47.”
Is an example of hyperbole, a literary device used to emphasize a point through deliberate and obvious exaggeration. Such comments are assumed to be read figuratively, not literally. The point being that weapons proliferate U.S society, if your job was to enforce the laws of a society whose citizens are often armed, isn’t it reasonable to expect that the police will need to be armed?
Are you saying there is no correlation between militarization of the police and gun ownership. Let’s look at other countries around the world, no other ‘civilized’ (that is an example of irony, a literary device used convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning,) country has such liberal gun laws and no no other ‘civilized’ country has such a militarized police force. Guess it must be a coincidence.