I only have a few words for the Seattle incident, you know, where the 15 year-old was viciously slammed in a jail cell: Enough is fricking enough. My grand-uncle was lynched for refusing to let a Sheriff-approved white man enter his home to search for an alleged thief. Just last week a good friend was pulled over by the L.A. police for accelerating too quickly in a mostly-white community. He was then asked to pull down a dark alley so they could "talk" to him. Yesterday I blogged about a 12 year old who was Tasered by Hawthorne police for "running". Amadou Diallo, Oscar Grant III, Larry Hales, Sean Bell, the list goes on and on.
Honestly, what can we do to stop this inexcusable attack on people of color? The Seattle outrage was fueled by a teen girl kicking off her shoe for crissakes. And yes, she called the officers "pigs", etc, but does that deserve a brutal beating by two adult males? Today is one of those days when I've reached my limit on institutions that target and then violate the humanity of black people. Some idiots want to believe we're living in a post-racial America; some want to believe these are random acts that "just happen" to involve black people. Some idiots refuse to admit there's a fractured foundation in this country that will continue to generate troubled citizens who "go after" black for sport. I plan to go to my favorite cafe, find some much needed "chill", and figure out a plan of action. The Revolution may not be televised, but the Crazy is all up in our face.
Keith Josef Adkins is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and social commentator.