Again, it's been awhile since I made a post. The longest since I started this thing back up again. Partially because of the end of the semester and the holidays eating up all of my spare time. But mainly because I've been really in my head lately.
Recently, I was asked a question multiple times by many different people in different arenas of my life that I honestly have yet to come up with a viable answer to thus far. Students. Acquaintances. Like-minded folks that like to talk to me about these things. Blog readers. Everyday citizens like myself that are worried about what's going on in this country.
Here's the question (not verbatim but the basic idea from all parties that presented it): I hear you speak of all the wrongs in this country, and I have a better understanding of the current state we are in now. But what do we do about it? How do we fix it?
This is when I am presented with this question that I struggle to give a solid answer for many reasons:
(1) I am a writer and sociologist. I am conditioned to observe, explain, and teach, not to solve and implement.
(2) Because unlike most like to argue, the current state we are in is much greater than one single issue - civil rights, racism, unemployment, debt, wealth inequality, democratic corruption, police brutality, terrorism, the unfolding of Christianity, etc. - but it is instead the overarching issue of the connection between capitalism and immorality and its unyielding negative effects on all aspects of society. And let's face it...when we start discussing money...capitalism...our prized life source here in America, things start to get a little heated. Or, even worse, it simply gets ignored or labeled as "Communist" anti-American propaganda, no matter how much truth it holds.
(3) I am a member of society as well that has to worry about my survival on a daily basis, meaning I have to hold a stable job, pay bills, contribute to my family, etc., no matter whether I entirely agree with the system or not. So at times, I, too, am guilty of living in my own comfortable bubble, just as the rest of society is, and afraid to embark down a path that might jeopardize that comfy existence.
(4) When I look at recent attempts to make positive changes in this country, they were shut down before they even began. Think of Occupy Wall Street, a highly organized, massive movement with good intentions aimed at the real source of all of our problems. It didn't last long because the corporate-government regime knew of its existence before it was even implemented. When it was shut down, it wasn't done so in a kind way; peaceful protestors were physically harmed and jailed in the process. Not to mention, the entire movement was demonized and made out to be something that it wasn't by those that were threatened by its real goals and purpose. Basically, the amount of power that those that would be targeted in any effort to make real change in necessary areas is extremely strong, and the chances of a successful movement are slim to none.
(5) America is at the center of the entire world. Change in this country has massive effects on every other country. So, in reality, the problems we are experiencing aren't just a national issue, they are a global issue, and every global issue deserves input and involvement from all over the world. But recruiting that involvement in the technological spy world that we live in today is very unlikely as well. Nearly impossible.
All five of these reasons as to why I struggle with this answer almost make me want to give up even trying to make people understand what's going on today and our likely future. But the key word is "almost". Because giving up isn't in my nature, and it hasn't been since I was born.
So, alas, I'm back to not having an answer as to what exactly we do as a country with an environment that is in desperate need of change but that is not conducive to change in terms of what actually needs to be solved whatsoever.
Until I figure out what that answer is, I will continue doing what I always do: observing, explaining, and educating in hopes that people will listen. And maybe with more minds involved, real solutions can be created.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Beyond Race: Police Brutality Epidemic & The Gradual Loss of American Freedom
Our fears over a possible epidemic of Ebola igniting in America have blown over for the most part, but it seems that we are currently experiencing the symptoms of another epidemic that has already manifested. Not one of biological/medical origin, but one of social origin. Police brutality and excessive government control.
A grand jury in Missouri recently decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown, a young black male. Wilson got off on self-defense because he "feared for his life" during a physical altercation with Brown. Maybe this was the case, maybe it wasn't. I suppose one could say that much of the evidence was "circumstantial" and up to the eye of the beholder, so to speak, and not necessarily a matter of racism. While I have argued my opinion about this case with many (and I still stand firm to those opinions), I want to move past the idea of underlying racism and dig a little deeper into the real problem.
Let's look at another recent, more important case involving police brutality. Eric Garner and the NYPD. If you haven't seen the video of the altercation, you can do so here. Again, we are looking at a black male. But this time, it is very clear that he did not pose a real threat to these officers. He firmly stated his case that he had done nothing wrong, and when they attempted to arrest him, he resisted. But he was not armed and did not physically attack them in any way. He simply tried to pull his arms away from them. And then...the chokehold. Garner even stated many times that he couldn't breathe, yet Officer Pantaleo maintained the chokehold. He killed Garner, and the autopsy ruled Garner's death a homicide. Even better? Chokeholds were banned by the NYPD in 1993.
That fact alone should have been enough to take Pantaleo to trial for killing a non-threatening civilian with an illegal restraining move. But alas, no indictment. Who did they decide to indict instead? The man who filmed the video of the murder, Ramsey Orta, who was arrested almost immediately after Garner's death was ruled a homicide, on charges that he adamantly insists are retaliation meant to deter him from bringing more attention to the case.
I suppose one could chalk this up to coincidence, but seems kinda fishy to me, especially since his wife was also arrested for alleged assault and subsequently released from those charges. Also, it seems very similar to the investigation into Louis Head, Michael Brown's stepfather, for igniting riots in Ferguson (that were already taking place before he said anything) with his gut-wrenching, heartbroken reaction to the decision for no indictment against Officer Wilson in his son's death. Seems like an attempt to blame the victims again.
Not getting into the possible racism involved in these two cases, the Brown case might be able to be justified with "circumstantial" evidence and false witness testimonies. But the Garner case? We can see for ourselves that he was murdered and that the brutality of the officers involved, particularly Pantaleo, was unjustified.
Let's look at a couple more recent cases. First, a 12 year old boy, Tamir Rice, was shot and killed in Cleveland by police officers. Maybe this one could be justified by saying that the officers didn't know that it was a pellet gun. But they couldn't shoot him in the knee? Nonetheless, let's move on... in another case, two officers in Jasper, TX brutally beat Keyarika Diggles while she was in jail for an unpaid $100 traffic ticket (that she was making payments on), and again, no indictment. You can see the actual videos of these incidents yourself in the links. Watch them yourself, dammit.
Thus far, all of these very recent examples of police brutality have involved an African American victim and White officer(s). But again, we're not going to talk about race here. Even though it is absolutely true that African Americans are killed by police at higher rates than whites (unjust), for the purpose of this piece, we are looking at police brutality in general.
We are looking at the mind-blowing comparison between the 6,700 U.S. servicemen casualties in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since the year 2000 and the estimated 10,000+ (at 1,000 per year) civilian casualties by non-military, U.S. law enforcement personnel during the same time period. As well as the starling fact that Americans are NINE times more likely to be killed by a U.S. police officer than a terrorist.
Is police brutality an issue that has just begin to surface? Absolutely not. It's been happening for years. There are plenty of examples here. Is this just a simple issue of racism? Absolutely not. Even though there are many aspects of racism deeply embedded into many of these situations, the truth is this is a much bigger issue.
This is an issue of the enforcers of our laws...the right-hand men of our government...taking their powers way too far. And even though this isn't a new phenomenon, there are a few things that are very worrisome to me at this point. (1) By turning police brutality into a race war entirely, we are once again ignoring the more important fact of the overall loss of American freedom. (2) It seems that while our government is slowly working to gain more control, their right-hand men are taking their authority to higher levels as well. (3) In the past five years, the federal government has spent $18 billion arming state and local law enforcement agencies with military grade equipment.
So, in a nutshell, we now have a federal government wanting more control and dispersing military grade equipment at alarming rates, state and local law enforcement agencies on massive power trips, and a race war. This should matter to ALL Americans, no matter what your skin color. Americans, as a whole, are gradually losing their freedom, and all we can fight over is the color of our skin.
The White House has even admitted themselves that the use of military grade equipment in local contexts can “facilitate excessive uses of force and serve as a highly visible barrier between police and the communities they serve.” Yet, they keep distributing it. Even in the midst of the recent cases that have brought about so much controversy and created increased racial tensions and protests within communities.
Citizens are going to fight back more. Police are going to fight back more. The cycle will continue. Until everything ends very, very badly. And when it does, I'm going to tell you all that you should've read this blog post and actually gave a shit.
In the words of Malcom X, "If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." Today, these words from a admirable, black man do not pertain to whites and blacks any longer. They pertain to American citizens and the American government. We all need to realize that before it's too late.
A grand jury in Missouri recently decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the murder of Michael Brown, a young black male. Wilson got off on self-defense because he "feared for his life" during a physical altercation with Brown. Maybe this was the case, maybe it wasn't. I suppose one could say that much of the evidence was "circumstantial" and up to the eye of the beholder, so to speak, and not necessarily a matter of racism. While I have argued my opinion about this case with many (and I still stand firm to those opinions), I want to move past the idea of underlying racism and dig a little deeper into the real problem.
Let's look at another recent, more important case involving police brutality. Eric Garner and the NYPD. If you haven't seen the video of the altercation, you can do so here. Again, we are looking at a black male. But this time, it is very clear that he did not pose a real threat to these officers. He firmly stated his case that he had done nothing wrong, and when they attempted to arrest him, he resisted. But he was not armed and did not physically attack them in any way. He simply tried to pull his arms away from them. And then...the chokehold. Garner even stated many times that he couldn't breathe, yet Officer Pantaleo maintained the chokehold. He killed Garner, and the autopsy ruled Garner's death a homicide. Even better? Chokeholds were banned by the NYPD in 1993.
That fact alone should have been enough to take Pantaleo to trial for killing a non-threatening civilian with an illegal restraining move. But alas, no indictment. Who did they decide to indict instead? The man who filmed the video of the murder, Ramsey Orta, who was arrested almost immediately after Garner's death was ruled a homicide, on charges that he adamantly insists are retaliation meant to deter him from bringing more attention to the case.
I suppose one could chalk this up to coincidence, but seems kinda fishy to me, especially since his wife was also arrested for alleged assault and subsequently released from those charges. Also, it seems very similar to the investigation into Louis Head, Michael Brown's stepfather, for igniting riots in Ferguson (that were already taking place before he said anything) with his gut-wrenching, heartbroken reaction to the decision for no indictment against Officer Wilson in his son's death. Seems like an attempt to blame the victims again.
Not getting into the possible racism involved in these two cases, the Brown case might be able to be justified with "circumstantial" evidence and false witness testimonies. But the Garner case? We can see for ourselves that he was murdered and that the brutality of the officers involved, particularly Pantaleo, was unjustified.
Let's look at a couple more recent cases. First, a 12 year old boy, Tamir Rice, was shot and killed in Cleveland by police officers. Maybe this one could be justified by saying that the officers didn't know that it was a pellet gun. But they couldn't shoot him in the knee? Nonetheless, let's move on... in another case, two officers in Jasper, TX brutally beat Keyarika Diggles while she was in jail for an unpaid $100 traffic ticket (that she was making payments on), and again, no indictment. You can see the actual videos of these incidents yourself in the links. Watch them yourself, dammit.
Thus far, all of these very recent examples of police brutality have involved an African American victim and White officer(s). But again, we're not going to talk about race here. Even though it is absolutely true that African Americans are killed by police at higher rates than whites (unjust), for the purpose of this piece, we are looking at police brutality in general.
We are looking at the mind-blowing comparison between the 6,700 U.S. servicemen casualties in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since the year 2000 and the estimated 10,000+ (at 1,000 per year) civilian casualties by non-military, U.S. law enforcement personnel during the same time period. As well as the starling fact that Americans are NINE times more likely to be killed by a U.S. police officer than a terrorist.
Is police brutality an issue that has just begin to surface? Absolutely not. It's been happening for years. There are plenty of examples here. Is this just a simple issue of racism? Absolutely not. Even though there are many aspects of racism deeply embedded into many of these situations, the truth is this is a much bigger issue.
This is an issue of the enforcers of our laws...the right-hand men of our government...taking their powers way too far. And even though this isn't a new phenomenon, there are a few things that are very worrisome to me at this point. (1) By turning police brutality into a race war entirely, we are once again ignoring the more important fact of the overall loss of American freedom. (2) It seems that while our government is slowly working to gain more control, their right-hand men are taking their authority to higher levels as well. (3) In the past five years, the federal government has spent $18 billion arming state and local law enforcement agencies with military grade equipment.
So, in a nutshell, we now have a federal government wanting more control and dispersing military grade equipment at alarming rates, state and local law enforcement agencies on massive power trips, and a race war. This should matter to ALL Americans, no matter what your skin color. Americans, as a whole, are gradually losing their freedom, and all we can fight over is the color of our skin.
The White House has even admitted themselves that the use of military grade equipment in local contexts can “facilitate excessive uses of force and serve as a highly visible barrier between police and the communities they serve.” Yet, they keep distributing it. Even in the midst of the recent cases that have brought about so much controversy and created increased racial tensions and protests within communities.
Citizens are going to fight back more. Police are going to fight back more. The cycle will continue. Until everything ends very, very badly. And when it does, I'm going to tell you all that you should've read this blog post and actually gave a shit.
In the words of Malcom X, "If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." Today, these words from a admirable, black man do not pertain to whites and blacks any longer. They pertain to American citizens and the American government. We all need to realize that before it's too late.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
From The Mouths of Babes...
It's been a little while between posts. The end of the semester is hectic, so I apologize. I will make two today, since there are two different things going on in my mind and heart right now...
Recently, in the course of tutoring quite a few young kids in 4th-8th grade, I've noticed a trend of depression and accepting depression as a normal way of life at a very young age. And I would like to ask: what the hell is going on with the younger generation today?
The 8th grader that I work with has been in and out of the hospital and counseling multiple times because she has tried to commit suicide and/or cuts herself horribly. She's on medication and attends professional counseling sessions on a regular basis. I see her father try to do everything that he can to help her. I've also tried to talk to her, thinking that maybe she just needs to know that an outsider cares since she's a rebellious teenager that doesn't think her father knows anything. Yet, it all seems to fall short.
The 6th grader that I work with asked me to read a play that she wrote the other night for her theater class. She had to take a classic fairytale and turn it into her own version. She chose Hansel and Gretel and made it "modern". What happened to Hansel and Gretel in her version? They killed themselves because they were sad. Apparently, suicide and depression are "modern".
So, the first of these children has fallen victim to extreme depression herself and the second has accepted depression (and suicide) as a normal way of life. Why? Why do children these days think this is their first resort?
I'm not very old myself. 27 to be exact. So, I, too, am still part of the "younger generation". And I will admit that there have been times in my life where I fell victim to serious depression as well. But as an adult. These are kids...I didn't even know what suicide was at their age...And even when I was "sad" as a child, I never once saw taking my life as an option, much less my first resort...
It's scary to me that children these days see this as not only a viable option for being sad, but they see it as a norm - that suicide is what everyone resorts to when they are sad. If they are already feeling this way at what's supposed to be "the happiest time in their life", then what's going to happen when they hit adulthood and shit gets real?
This is serious business...as a sociologist, I know that suicide rates are no different than any other pattern of behavior. In every society, they are predictable and reflective of the broader structures of human life. Every year in American society, virtually the same percentage of individuals commit suicide. (For more on this: click here). No matter how many people contemplate suicide each year, roughly the same amount will actually follow through.
Durkheim's theory on suicide also tells us that those that contemplate it and don't follow through are held back by social integration, or the degree to which they feel connected to and needed in the society that they live in. Durkheim also argued that religion was the key to people feeling socially integrated because those countries that were more religious had lower suicide rates, and those that were less religious had higher suicide rates.
In other words, if we see a rise in suicide rates, then there is some sort of major societal change taking place, most likely with religion, that is causing more people to feel disconnected from their society and, thus, more likely to take their life.
So, the three things we're looking at then with this issue: (1) children today are more likely to view suicide as a normal, first resort to depression; (2) children today are more likely to be severely depressed than children in previous generations; and (3) the younger generation is less likely to be religious than previous generations.
Seems like a recipe for disaster to me that is in need of serious, SERIOUS attention...I think we tend to chalk this all up to "oh, they're just typical teenagers..." but I really don't think that is the whole story...I think we are witnessing the beginning stages of what is going to be a very tragic outcome for a generation that is literally crying out for help.
Children today are more likely to grow up in broken homes. They are also being bullied at alarming rates in schools and via social media (thanks, Internet). They are also being exposed to suicide more in the media. The recent case of Robin Williams, for example. Social integration is deteriorating for them as they now have 500+ friends on Facebook, but they don't have a single buddy that they go outside and play with because their parents have to worry about sex predators. And they are rejecting religion...well...because, Christianity, you're simply doing it wrong...
So, the question is: what do we do about our wee-ones? They need our help. Badly. They are asking for it in every possible way that they can. We need to figure out how to deal with the negative side-effects of individualism and social media today. And we also need to figure out how to restore some sort of spiritual purpose within them since they are rejecting organized Christianity (not that I can blame them...). We need to teach them that they don't have to "be" any certain thing to have value. They need to just keep breathing. Unfortunately, I think being able to do this for them is, once again, going to require us all examine our cultural beliefs and societal institutions for how we treat (and teach them about) human life. If we don't do it for ourselves, we should at least do it for them.
As the old saying goes..."from the mouths of babes"...and there is something terribly, terribly wrong going on today...
Recently, in the course of tutoring quite a few young kids in 4th-8th grade, I've noticed a trend of depression and accepting depression as a normal way of life at a very young age. And I would like to ask: what the hell is going on with the younger generation today?
The 8th grader that I work with has been in and out of the hospital and counseling multiple times because she has tried to commit suicide and/or cuts herself horribly. She's on medication and attends professional counseling sessions on a regular basis. I see her father try to do everything that he can to help her. I've also tried to talk to her, thinking that maybe she just needs to know that an outsider cares since she's a rebellious teenager that doesn't think her father knows anything. Yet, it all seems to fall short.
The 6th grader that I work with asked me to read a play that she wrote the other night for her theater class. She had to take a classic fairytale and turn it into her own version. She chose Hansel and Gretel and made it "modern". What happened to Hansel and Gretel in her version? They killed themselves because they were sad. Apparently, suicide and depression are "modern".
So, the first of these children has fallen victim to extreme depression herself and the second has accepted depression (and suicide) as a normal way of life. Why? Why do children these days think this is their first resort?
I'm not very old myself. 27 to be exact. So, I, too, am still part of the "younger generation". And I will admit that there have been times in my life where I fell victim to serious depression as well. But as an adult. These are kids...I didn't even know what suicide was at their age...And even when I was "sad" as a child, I never once saw taking my life as an option, much less my first resort...
It's scary to me that children these days see this as not only a viable option for being sad, but they see it as a norm - that suicide is what everyone resorts to when they are sad. If they are already feeling this way at what's supposed to be "the happiest time in their life", then what's going to happen when they hit adulthood and shit gets real?
This is serious business...as a sociologist, I know that suicide rates are no different than any other pattern of behavior. In every society, they are predictable and reflective of the broader structures of human life. Every year in American society, virtually the same percentage of individuals commit suicide. (For more on this: click here). No matter how many people contemplate suicide each year, roughly the same amount will actually follow through.
Durkheim's theory on suicide also tells us that those that contemplate it and don't follow through are held back by social integration, or the degree to which they feel connected to and needed in the society that they live in. Durkheim also argued that religion was the key to people feeling socially integrated because those countries that were more religious had lower suicide rates, and those that were less religious had higher suicide rates.
In other words, if we see a rise in suicide rates, then there is some sort of major societal change taking place, most likely with religion, that is causing more people to feel disconnected from their society and, thus, more likely to take their life.
So, the three things we're looking at then with this issue: (1) children today are more likely to view suicide as a normal, first resort to depression; (2) children today are more likely to be severely depressed than children in previous generations; and (3) the younger generation is less likely to be religious than previous generations.
Seems like a recipe for disaster to me that is in need of serious, SERIOUS attention...I think we tend to chalk this all up to "oh, they're just typical teenagers..." but I really don't think that is the whole story...I think we are witnessing the beginning stages of what is going to be a very tragic outcome for a generation that is literally crying out for help.
Children today are more likely to grow up in broken homes. They are also being bullied at alarming rates in schools and via social media (thanks, Internet). They are also being exposed to suicide more in the media. The recent case of Robin Williams, for example. Social integration is deteriorating for them as they now have 500+ friends on Facebook, but they don't have a single buddy that they go outside and play with because their parents have to worry about sex predators. And they are rejecting religion...well...because, Christianity, you're simply doing it wrong...
So, the question is: what do we do about our wee-ones? They need our help. Badly. They are asking for it in every possible way that they can. We need to figure out how to deal with the negative side-effects of individualism and social media today. And we also need to figure out how to restore some sort of spiritual purpose within them since they are rejecting organized Christianity (not that I can blame them...). We need to teach them that they don't have to "be" any certain thing to have value. They need to just keep breathing. Unfortunately, I think being able to do this for them is, once again, going to require us all examine our cultural beliefs and societal institutions for how we treat (and teach them about) human life. If we don't do it for ourselves, we should at least do it for them.
As the old saying goes..."from the mouths of babes"...and there is something terribly, terribly wrong going on today...
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