Do Black Lives Really Matter...?

Written by David DiCrescenzo on . Posted in Op-Ed

It was just like any other morning in any other police department, in any town across America.  Outside the walls of the station, the general citizenry were already going about their daily business of working, going to school, shopping, or any one of countless activities that keep people busy.

Of course what most people are not aware of is the deliberate and unholy plotting and daily reminders to all police officers starting their shifts that they are to target and randomly kill unsuspecting minorities during routine enforcement activities, especially black men, whether they are armed or not.  It does not matter if the officer is male or female, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, or whatever; the bottom line is to find a minority and kill them with the ease of playing “whack a mole.” 

Conversely, in countless black neighborhoods across this great land, black “leaders” must be holding similar meetings which warn everyone about these instructions and tell their members that if and when confronted by a police officer, they are to ignore all orders given by said officer and attempt to gain the upper hand, because they haven’t done anything wrong and have only been detained because they are black.  Therefore when told to keep hands in the air, such things as reaching into windows and ones’ pockets are acceptable behavior.  Grabbing for a LEO’s gun is also okay since he or she will use it on you if you don’t.  Also, and very likely the most important thing, always, always be combative during the initial interaction with any officer; give them as much foul language laced back talk as you can.  Such things as moving quickly, swinging your arms all over, getting out of cars when ordered not to are necessary because since this interaction is going to get very bad anyway, it is prudent to get down to the nitty gritty as quickly as possible.  After all, if we do have drugs or weapons, what business is it of the “po po” anyway…?!  If they mind their own business, we will mind ours; except that since “po po” has obviously declared open season on us, we should band together in the early evening to loot the businesses of our neighbors, destroy everything in sight, and if possible, absolutely kill a random police officer to even the score as much as possible.

While those types of meetings are going on, apparently, given the relatively few times we hear of a fatal interaction between a white person and a LEO, white community leaders must be instructing their members to actually obey the orders of police officers and behave opposite of what is being taught in those black neighborhoods described above.  

Okay, cool your jets and listen to some reality.  

As crazy as that all sounds, but based upon the outrageous rioting that goes on, there are many in the black communities that must actually believe that such insidious police marching orders really exist. They don’t of course, but many must believe they do.  By the way, while I don’t for a moment believe that community leaders in black neighborhoods instruct anyone to actually behave as I described, it almost seems plausible given what we see far too frequently.  

Look, it really isn’t complicated.  As I’ve written about beforeand as anyone with an ounce of common sense knows; there is a way to conduct one’s self when approached by a police officer.  I don’t care if you love them or hate them, nor what race, ethnicity, gender, orientation, political view, faith, or anything else you happen to be; they have a very dangerous job to do, and when the time presents itself that they need to in some way interact with you and find the need to give you orders, you must comply to the letter.  Here’s why..!

Every situation is different, and of course you are an upstanding citizen; however the LEO, who may or may not know you, only knows that you have done something which has warranted his or her attention. That may come in the form of driving too fast, running a red light, or maybe they saw you doing something really egregious; what happens next is by and large completely up to you because that officer is going to approach you with extreme caution and give some commands such as, most important, keep your hands up where they can be seen.  

Now I know, I know, you’re just a great person who wouldn’t do anything wrong and everyone will say things about you like, “he loved to laugh and learn,” “had a bright future” and other nice things; but let’s just pretend for a minute that the LEO doesn’t know that, because he or she DOESN’T.  Quite the contrary, he or she has told you in no uncertain terms to do some things which you may perhaps find degrading; like dropping to your knees, turning slowly with your hands up and walk backwards toward the sound of his or her voice, or maybe just to freeze and not move a muscle.  At that very tense point of the interaction, for whatever the reason, the officer has developed cause to believe that you pose a viable threat to him or her, or to the immediate public.  The game has rapidly evolved into a potentially deadly one and your self-preserving duty at that moment, to yourself and to your family, as well as to the officer is to shut your pie hole and comply.  Nothing you have to say at that moment matters and anything other than total compliance and complete submission will cause an instantaneous escalation in the situation and one of you, (statistically you) could end up very dead in the next moments.  

It doesn’t have to be that way; I know you believe you didn’t do anything wrong and maybe you are innocent; but again, the officer has reasons to believe you have, and until it’s all sorted out, you need to be intelligent, calm your bravado, and bite your tongue.  You may be a little inconvenienced temporarily, and maybe even spend the night in the hoosegow, but at the end of it, you will be able to go home to live another day.

By the way, that’s all any LEO really wants to do as well; go home to his or her loved ones at the end of their shift.  I always find it amazing that some politicians will use these sorts of incidents to advance their personal agendas or call for more police “sensitivity” training when what we really need is citizen training at home, school, and church.  

To answer the question posed by today’s title; yes, black lives matter, they matter as much as blue lives, white lives, brown lives, heterosexual and homosexual lives, male and female lives, Hispanic Lives, Asian lives, Muslim lives, and all other lives.

Is it really asking too much to see community leaders and police leaders get together and hold meetings to teach these simple truths to keep more of all people alive…?!  It would sure be a great place to start.