Blogs


ABOUT ME


  • » Name: Anthony Springer, Jr
  • » Age: 25
  • » Location: Sigma Land/The City of Sin
  • » Member Since: 04/09/07
  • » Bio: Hip Hop fan, writer, promoter of higher ed... you want to know more: blusolo1914@yahoo.com
  • » Contact Me:
  • » Syndicate: RSS RSS

MY RECENT POSTS



MY CALENDAR


  April 2008  
S M T W T F S
    1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30      
« Mar May »

MY TAGS


50 cent • a-plus • al sharpton • baldwin hills • barack obama • barry bonds • bet • bullshit • bun b • common • davey d • debra lee • deelishus • don imus • duke • dx • flavor of love • freestyle • hip hop • hip hop culture • hip hop dx • hip hop is dead • hiv • hot ghetto mess • house of payne • ike and tina • j. burnett • jason whitlock • jeezy • krs-one • latrice janine • lion king • little brother • luke • malcolm x • michael eric dyson • michael vick • minstrel show • mlk • mos def • movement • mtv • pacman jones • phat ass • phonte • porn • r. kelly • radio • reader • real world • roger troutman • sean bell • stephen hill • stop snitchin • t-pain • talib kweli • the box • the real problem with hip hop • the source • ti • tyler perry • vanessa blue • video • women • xxl • yo! mtv raps

MY FAVORITES




Mr. Springer's Neighborhood

Dollars and Change


April 25, 2008 | Tags: barack obama, al sharpton, Sean Bell, J. Burnett

It’s been a minute since I’ve blogged on this site, and those of you around during the infancy stages of DX blogging will recognize the screenname (note to all: I haven’t gone anywhere, I just write under my government now: Anthony Springer, Jr.)

I can’t recall the last time I shed a tear over too much of anything in the news, not 9/11, not Jena, Darfur. The Sean Bell verdict did what an act of terrorism and a genocide could not: move me to tears. My heart hurts for the Bell family, his wife, and the two daughters that will grow up without a father. But most of all, I hurt for everybody who’s ever been killed or maimed at the hands of overzealous, cowardly and crooked officers.

To continue saying “fuck the police,” at this point in time is counterproductive, and gets us nowhere. Sure, it makes us feel good (go on and say it now, you know you want to), but at the end of the day, we’ve wasted emotions and black and brown men everywhere will still be getting shot across the country and we’ll be left feeling powerless to do anything about it.

My blogging brethren J. Burnett  issued a call to action, and if that was the alley oop, I hope this post is the dunk that hits home with somebody out there in cyberspace.

Barack Obama commented on the verdict today, saying, "Well, look, obviously there was a tragedy in New York. I said at the time, without benefit of all the facts before me, that it looked like a possible case of excessive force. The judge has made his ruling, and we're a nation of laws, so we respect the verdict that came down.”

I don’t expect Obama to take a real controversial stance on the issue, and while his statement was, to say the least, disappointing, there’s a gem in there that we need to heed.

In a nation of lawless police, we are a nation of laws, which means that we can’t be content to march in the streets and we can’t resort to random acts of violence against law enforcement. We need to lobby our elected officials to change our laws.

“Dollars and change,” in the words of the late Johnnie Cochran. There’s no amount of money that will bring Mr. Bell back, but if the people who fund the police are made to pay EVERY time some rogue cop acts a fool, the police may think twice before drawing a weapon.

And we need to lobby for changes to the court system. Expecting the police to police themselves is ridiculous; expecting the local district attorney—who’s success DEPENDS on a good working relationship with the police—is equally ridiculous. Cases involving police misconduct should be investigated, at worst, by an independent body and at best by the FBI or Justice Department.

The three officers in the Bell case were likely acquitted because they opted for a trial by judge instead of a jury. This needs to change as well. Trials involving police misconduct should be MANDATORY jury trials, in a venue close to the location of the incident in question.

Bullshit rolls down, real change is an uphill battle, who’s willing to push the wagon for justice and equality? I seldom agree with Al Sharpton, but justice was aborted today. Let’s not allow Mr. Bell’s death to be in vain.


The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Comments             

Loading Comments…

 Back to Top
Post Your Comments Back to Top
Become a registered member.
Name:(Required)


E-mail Address: (Required but won't be displayed)


Your Comment:

Enter verification code:
 
Note: Registered members are not required to verify posts. Click Here to register.
Some BBcode and HTML may be stripped.