A tipping point for criminal justice reform - CNN.com

A tipping point for criminal justice reform - CNN.com:



'via Blog this'

There’s a scientific reason for the racism built into America’s criminal justice system

There’s a scientific reason for the racism built into America’s criminal justice system

Drug Awareness and Child Soldiers in The War On Drugs

Fact: children can be more resilient than adults. Some kids, like NFL star Demaryius Thomas, display remarkable tenacity and transition into adulthood triumphantly despite growing up the child of an incarcerated parent. Some kids are less fortunate, and end up continuing the cycle, by way of cradle to prison pipeline.

When the government decided to intervene in "the 80's crack epidemic" to punish and rid America of its addicts, mythical crack babies, and "Nino Brown" pushermans (all disproportionately black males, see Rico & Rockefeller Laws) by installing youth drug prevention programming and outreach in schools nationwide; mass incarceration was not a buzzword yet. But exploitative television shows, such as "Cops", were then a primetime hit with audiences, so mass media plied Americans with enough reasons to contribute to why it would become a phrase in the near future, when the problem hit too close to home. The flipside of the coin was that it was entertaining to watch other people go to jail or prison on television, but not to watch your own family members and friends go in reality; or worse, make that trip to the bricks and walls yourself. So begat the war on drugs, as we know it. The government contracted services to deliver to youth to educate and protect them from the scourge of drugs. Enter Nancy Reagan, Just Say No, and the D.A.R.E. program.

This was the ideology of the D.A.R.E. program:  "It was OK when America watched hippies trip on drugs in the sixties, but not cool now so let's use that fear to push police into schools to scare kids about drugs.
Ya know. The parents guilt will allow it, the teachers won't mind a break, and the government will dig it."

Maybe it took a while for society to collectively dissimilate and process that good people are sometimes incarcerated for the wrong reasons, and that its justice system is so heavily flawed. It had to sink in that drugs were a health matter, as well as a public safety matter, not just a narrow minded area of criminal justice. That children aren't stupid; that grade school children generally don't sell or use drugs, now and then.

D.A.R.E. wasted 700 million dollars on police "schooling" youth about drug culture while robbing them of precious classroom instructional time. The implication of this sort of outreach strategy using law enforcement officers on black youth holds much significance when one considers that schools in lower income areas were the initial target of the program. (at that time, police officers in schools were not altogether commonplace.) Now police are prevalent in schools, having its own set of benefits and issues.

The program was a failure, and it actually ended up making things worse in that it encouraged kids to relate to or be familiar with drugs and drug culture in a harmful way, in the perspective of sometimes negative and inappropriate direct law enforcement involvement. Sometimes, there was information shared that was too complex for the age level. Or worse, the in-class discussions that encouraged that shamed and stigmatized children before their peers that were facilitated by insensitive or bumbling officers who didn't have the training to deal with trauma and childhood psychological/psychiatric matters. Obviously, certain topics would make continuing professional development outside of the 80 hour D.A.R.E. officer curriculum a serious need.

I can personally recall my own personal negative experiences with the D.A.R.E. program and how it shaped my childhood view of  "police school time" which is exactly what we called the officers who showed up before lunch in my fourth grade class time. A few bad recollections that come to mind:

• When the officer brought the briefcase full of labeled drug vials and baggies, handcuffed to himself, giving a talk about the dangers of its contents and not to touch, before showing us what was inside. He opened it in such a mysterious and dramatic fashion that could give a child the impression that drugs were fantastic things (i.e. "presto" "a magician's case", glamorising the unveiling of them. The hanging  assortment of drugs on display in the attache case looked like candies to us children, and I said so, to my teachers' horror. The point was supposed to be so that we could identify the drugs, know the names and not get tricked into using them. Since substances change form, and names, this was a fail.
  
• That time the other kids called one kid a crackhead because he looked and dressed poorly, after the officer explained how crack was for poor people and you can get robbed by crackheads, they smoke it out of t.v. antennas after they steal your t.v. set., and the crime rate's high due to crack...yada yada.
  
• The day I went home feeling sad because I realized that people in my family were on drugs, and I was mad the police could take them from me because of it. Thank goodness my mama knew what to say.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not totally against school drug outreach programs and awareness, it's just common sense to have them in place. There is however, a responsible approach. It wasn't D.A.R.E., and the money spent kinda seems like a backwards investment. Like investing in the cradle to prison pipeline backwards. Some gather that the schematics of the whole drug war war were intentional. Either way, we got served.

Who needs school drug awareness when their parents and big pharma are the kiddie drug pushers nowadays, not the racist stereotypical boogeyman of "sketchy black guys on street corners"? Kids are very aware surely! Yet, good ol' D.A.R.E.'s still around for some reason. You do the math.

The War on Drugs hasn't ended by a long shot for people of color in the racist social undercaste of The New Jim Crow. Children of incarcerated parents face social stigmas, "doing time" right along with their parents, paying a price they didn't deserve. Police run drug programs can normalize criminal justice interactions for children. Mass incarceration will continue to disproportionately impact black men and women as long as we allow our children to be mis-educated or undereducated about the systems, such as criminal justice, that they are subject to, as citizens of the United States of America .We as parents, not the schools, are responsible for effectively teaching children drug awareness and decision making skills. Who is to blame, really?

Whitney Houston told no lies when she said the children are our future. Clearly, the change is up to us.

7 Reasons why black youth are murdered in America by bigots

1.  The punishment rarely fits the coldbloodedness of the crime. Premeditated murder is capital murder.

2.  Historically, premeditated murders perpetrated against people of color by white people in America have not formally been addressed in a direct conversation between us. Slavery, and the racism and brutality of the civil rights era have been, in the form of apologies, speeches, holidays. Are bloody black bodies taboo?

3. Deluded (white) people who believe that they are incapable of violence, destruction, or harm, merely "acts of heroism" or self-defense" which is their right that they must act out whenever fear strikes them
 (which is often, as a coward always tries to convince himself he is a hero.)

4. Fear Goggles. Say what now?  (It's a phrase coined by Jessica Williams of The Daily Show)
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/19/1278732/-Jon-Stewart-and-Jessica-Williams-deconstruct-Michael-Dunn-verdict?detail=email

5. We are desensitized to black teen mortality. It is "normal" for black youth to die by "violent means".

6. Young people are easy targets, and willingly engage with strangers, as it in a child's nature; thus "Stranger Danger" and other childhood tactics we teach to try to protect our youth that sometimes sadly, fail us.

7. We rely heavily on heavily flawed systems of public safety, that are not designed or intended to protect people of color, and explain away the failings of said systems with more reliance on the same systems to correct these flaws. What sense does this make? The cycle continues...


*I chose not to give this blog post any formal opening or closing, so as to translate to its reader the irrationality of violence and the cold, abrupt, finality that epitomizes murder. #RIP Jordan. #enoughisenough

The Hidden Hatred of Black Women

Hey swagger jackers, I got some new content for you to steal! Just kidding! Listen, I blog for creative outlet. Imitation is the blah blah blah...flattery... Be original though. Thank you to people who read this blog with the intention of support and interest in what I share. Your comments and links are welcome.

Back to business.

Disclaimer, this one's a "coffee post', meaning brevity is not intended.

The realest and saddest comment, in my opinion, on my social media newsfeed of 2k13 goes to a Ms. Mia Eubanks; she was referencing the hatred shown toward recently murdered domestic violence victim, and young mother Michelle Rowling. http://madamenoire.com/328804/michelle-rowling-reportedly-killed-by-ex/
A YouTube video was compiled by someone under the name "theblackauthority", (which I won't link to here, I refuse to give this individual any views) insinuating that she deserved to be murdered, noting that she had tattoos, tracking her facebook timeline activity and describing it as "ghetto", because she was a "hoodrat" and "liked thugs", as if any human being deserves to be brutally killed. Ms. Eubanks' poignant comment was: "I can't help but feel some of these men think black women should die period."

 Wow. I sat back. 

Let's all hold that sentence for a second. Men: Relax. If the shoe don't fit, it won't butthurt. (inject humor to diffuse tense moment between the sexes.) But really, does she have a point? Offreakingcourseshedoes!

The hate is real. I turn on the TV, the radio, go online. print magazines, news. Still controlled by plutocratic white men. Hatred in different forms directed at women. But with a special amount of vitriol for black women. How so? Its all in the portrayal. The images of the harlot/hottentot, the mammy/help, the welfare queen/ghetto BAP are all still there for us to feed into and emulate. And yes, we do, and have been for years, some of us. Some black men have been used as puppets in the broader landscape, who were ranting on  "angry black women" being hard to love, and and interracial dating being better. They didn't realize these Kanye-esque rants and putdowns being published was their emotions being used against them was destructive and harmful to their own communities. The misogyny of rap lyrics are old hat, but the message still strikes its feminine target with precision and aplomb. That aggressive misogyny is often translated to rampant domestic violence, with an increased impact on women of color. The comfort that a man now displays with demeaning, abusing, and killing women has me questioning if America has become a Third World Country where a man fears no retribution or conviction for domestic abuse? Why do some black men harbor hate for women that look like his mother, sister, or daughter?

The key operative being SOME men. Understanding the WHO could save many lives. 

This is the undertaking that domestic violence organizations, and law enforcement agencies grapple with, figuring out which situations with people of all ethnicities are the ones with the danger of escalating to homicides. What they are not being forthcoming or realistic about is, that women like Michelle who are in a lower socio-economic caste are not being treated as a priority. The Michelle Rowlings of the world have smaller or no support circles, so are therefore, more susceptible to physical forms of domestic violence and trauma that can lead to homicide. Not too long ago, I worked with an organization on advocating for the passing of a Domestic Violence Survivor's Justice Act Bill in Albany, NY. As we convened and met at the capitol, I met more than survivors, I met leaders, these beautiful, strong, intelligent women unafraid to share their stories. Women like me, who were me. I shared with them that I had a history with a controlling guy that I was glad to have moved on from. I talked to women who when they fled their abuser and sought community linkages, they felt that they had been brushed off, or in some cases, or discriminated against by human services workers and law enforcement personnel because of their ethnicity or appearance, or the neighborhood they lived in, or by the fact that they had low incomes or received public assistance. 

But what the hell would a woman's economic circumstances have to do with her not being strongly enough encouraged/assisted to flee her abuser? Alot. If she is with him, she may be less dependent on other forms of support. Or, by issuing protective orders (which are not warrants and don't enforce or protect anyone, they are requests that can be legitimately violated) and not incarcerating an abuser, it could save the courts money and resources to prosecute "more pressing or legitimate" cases. Sometimes, they "run right back" to their abusers, especially when children are involved. That is not the point, there are wraparound services to address those specific types of issues. It does not make it a "waste of time and resources" to help when you consider the cost in terms of human life. (Quotes in this paragraph represent phrasings of actual statements made about victims of abuse on a social media comment thread.)

This would explain why a young woman like Michelle Rowling might return to her abuser, as a means of financial or familial support, when there can be none found outside the relationship in the community or immediate family. 

As for the guy "blackauthority" who made the video generalizing young black mothers with tattoos as "hoodrats" in the video? In fairness, some argued that there was some truth in what he was saying about lifestyle choices but his delivery was tacky, and that he was victim blaming and disrespecting the dead; causing pain to a grieving family. Some said that his video should stir controversy and strike up a much needed conversation in communities of color. Welp, I found his Facebook account which is  https://www.facebook.com/jason.black.583234  so you can have a conversation with him about it. I'm sure by now his page is now abuzz with comments of cross dialogue. I personally found the clip abusive, in itself.

It is noted that the commenter Ms. Eubanks specifically stated she feels that some of these men think" all black women should die". There is indeed a lot of hostility and general disrespect toward black women, that unfortunately some women perpetrate as a standard, by accepting and tolerating negative behavior from men and acting out in ignorant ways. Some of that can be chalked up to a trend of generalization via negative images of black women in media gathered from reality television and the new media wave of oversharing. 

Since we are considering commonalities regarding generalization and the abusive humiliation of black women, we can also include the sum of those society labels "rachet" because even in jest; these labels can sting and marginalize people that might possibly be in need of help, with deeper issues than we can understand beneath the surface. And maybe not. Maybe its merely their right to self-expression, and none of our damn business. A woman who is free in her sexuality is a "thot", which updates the More insecure men find it hard to come to terms with outspoken, confident women of any ilk, class, or race. Its easier to attack, bully or ridicule the undereducated, poorer ones though. Doubly easier to abuse an previously abused woman, as the cycle of abuse can go.  

And even easier to abuse a dead woman, unable to any longer defend her own name. Nothing on Michelle Rowling's Facebook profile or in her lifestyle justifies her abuser murdering her. Domestic violence is a horrible cycle that is hard to escape. Clearly, her own mind was set that she had no option or way out but death, no help, no one would save her. Her final Facebook post would prove that. No one even responded with concern when she said goodbye, knowing this man was abusive. Shame on those who judge.

Not liking, or loving someone anymore is not justification for the verbal, physical, and emotional abuse; the sheer violence and death warrants that it seems that have been issued to women recently in tragic homicides cases across the country as we're seeing.  Abusers are gender neutral, I acknowledge these circumstances occur in LGBTQ relationships; women do abuse and I am in no way diminishing DV in these instances. What I am referring to here is a specific type of sociopathic male hatred projected onto a female;
The fact women can abuse and harm other women still doesn't negate the fact that there are definitely some men that think we should just die when they don't want us anymore, but don't want anyone else to have us.
I don't generalize. Some.

I call this "the broken doll" syndrome. He hurt/broke her, and can't fix her, so she is damaged goods and therefore is now permanently abuse-able and disposable. The really advanced cases of abusers might decide to dispose of the doll permanently. Abusers are everywhere. They are not only male, but male abusers are the topic of this post. They are hidden in plain sight amongst us. Hell, they may even be your brother, father, cousin, uncle, church pastor, professor, or neighbor, and this may be the reason why they haven't yet been called out, or locked away, because they have the protection and support that the women that they beat, stalk, harass, and belittle don't. Most of us fear getting involved. 

The comment thread referencing this topic had grown to over one thousand replies at my last notification. It was buzzing with statements like:

Why would he kill her if he loved her? Why would he want the mother of his child to die? What type of man even thinks likes that, and, the million dollar question, what kind of man is the type you'd never think would act upon it? The only answer to that question can only be, my dear other Mia:

An fatally abusive one. 

Mia, thanks for giving me and the others in the comment something painful yet substantial to think about. 

Love - M

Seven signs you’re dating a sex addict

This might seem like a random post, but considering the rates of sexually transmitted disease and HIV infection in communities of color, this topic is more than worth mentioning, because it is clearly connected to unsafe sex. In my informal discussions with women in my age group, the majority of them claim multiple sexual partners, or are dating someone who they believe may have other sexual partners besides them. Casual sex seems to be now almost an afterthought, a modern prelude to dating. A second look needs to now be given to the link between mental illness and sexual activity in the health care and human services communities. Promiscuity can be a red flag that something deeper is going on beneath the surface, and research links depression and other form of mental illness to inappropriate sexual behavior. Sexual addiction is indeed an addiction, but not so similar to other forms, like drug addiction. They are both health issues, and both require clinical mental and physical health diagnosis, and treatment. My point is here is that individuals and treatment communities alike have a shared responsibility to come together and look at ways to prevent the spread of disease, and have more honest conversation on this topic. Because if the topic is uncomfortable, or you think it doesn't apply to you, then you are probably not being part of the solution.

Seven signs you’re dating a sex addict

Noam Chomsky: America hates its poor

Noam Chomsky: America hates its poor

I love the headline. Its honesty gives me life, the realness and truth is what it takes to make people know we have a big fucking problem. Its starts with people being facetious and uncomfortable with the meaning of the the second word. HATE. Hate also can mean strong dislike. Do we not still use dictionaries? People are also ignorant about the experience connected to the last word of that headline. POOR. Unless they are personally familiar with that experience in life, they cannot comprehend the meaning of what Noam Chomsky is referring to here.

You may think: "Why in (insert spiritual deity/or atheist phrase for disbelief) name would anyone hate poor people Mr. Chomsky? Oh pish posh. Don't be ridiculous."  But we do. I can tell you why, because my life is testimonial of hatred for the poor. I myself almost damn near perished in poverty...Don't go grab a seat and some chips kids. I'm not gonna spill. Not today. But in the long view here is that his statement is steeped in a truth that America doesn't want to face.

Read on for clarity and continuity in the linked article.