At least for the next 20 years or so. Why? Because that’s the law of the land.
Literally.
Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Connor are two pivotal supreme court decisions that should peak the interest of anyone wanting to see real punishment for police brutality. These cases give police officers nationwide, the right to brutalize and murder American citizens with little to no repercussions. They are the framework for local and state laws and provide abusive officers with a layer of protection directly from the top. Police departments and unions know this, officers are drilled on this, that’s why when there’s an incident, “I feared for my life” and “he fit the description of a ‘random’ suspect” are always the 1st lines of defense.
Don’t believe me? Look them up. Or listen to the short video I placed at the end of this post for a quick, mind-blowing overview. It’s real.
In 3 years, Donald Trump has given life long appointments to some of the most hardcore conservative men and women you can find. Trump has confirmed 2 supreme court justices, 40+ circuit court judges and over 100 district court judges, some of which are grossly unqualified. With a 2nd term, there will be many more so you could kiss any hopes of reform goodbye. Could you see Trump’s appointees welcoming changes that’ll prosecute law enforcement officers for police brutality and excessive force? Corruption? How about murder? Remember these are the forefathers of the #BlueLivesMatter movement we’re talking about, packed prisons means big money for them, why would they give that up? Ideologically, it’s not what they believe in, at all.
The new “Trumpublican” Party is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. They’re setting up for the long run while we’re bickering and losing our shit because our preferred candidate didn’t get the nomination. At some point, we have to discipline ourselves to see the bigger picture and not be distracted by the “fake outrage” moment of the week.
Biden wouldn’t crack my top 5 preferred Presidential nominees, but at this point, I have no choice but to vote for him. Without him I see no realistic chance to get rid of Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Connor in the foreseeable future. What I do know is that we’ve been hustling backwards for decades and these 2 cases need to be in the forefront moving forward.
We can’t wait to “hear” what a candidate’s “black agenda” will be, we need to tell them what our demands are, and ask how do they plan to address it. Following the 2016 election debacle we did not do a good job of this. We know this because we hear nothing about these 2 court cases that directly props police brutality on a pedestal. Begrudgingly, I see Biden as a “stop-loss” of sorts, to buy time to properly prepare for 2024 and beyond. It’s the least he could do, considering the damage he’s done to black and brown communities.
I’ll close by shamelessly asking you to swallow your pride and vote for Biden in the Presidential election. In my opinion, the numbers are not in our favor to vote 3rd party or for a write in candidate, we did not do the work to build momentum for that to be a possibility.
I’m not saying this is ideal, but Malcolm said, “by any means necessary.”
Ya’ll be cool. And keep living.
-Bobby
***For more details on Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Conner, please listen to the following podcast from The Breakdown With Shaun King, it’s less than 18 minutes. I know many of you have your issues with Shaun – as do I – but when it comes to raising awareness and coordinating action for social justice, he’s a force and pretty spot on. Let me know what you think.
Hey man-
I was visiting a few www’s checking to see if a few URL’s were available (yours was one I was checking) when I stumbled across your website.
This article was the first content on your website that I read. While you and I live completely different lives, have completely different backgrounds, and very different political motives, I’ve got to tell you that it was very refreshing to read something from someone who has important things to say and also says them well.
Based on what I’ve read, you’re a cool cat and I like your style.
I hope you and your family are enjoying your new home on the left coast (left coast is the best coast) and I wish you well. Hopefully we could go have a beer sometime if you ever come back to Tejas to visit.
In my humble opinion, the ownership of this URL could not be more appropriate.
Stay cool.