Has This Been Posted Yet? (Ferguson)

If not, it damn well should be.

https://www.change.org/petitions/president-barack-obama-please-enact-new-federal-laws-to-protect-citizens-from-police-violence-and-misconduct

PLEASE go to this link. PLEASE sign this petition. If you are following what is happening in Ferguson, MO, right now, you know what happens when racism and power abuse by policeman collide. This petition, in honor of Michael Brown and all the other innocent, unarmed black boys who have been killed by police, calls for the following action (quoted directly from petition):

1. The shooting and killing of an unarmed citizen who does not have an outstanding warrant for a violent crime should be a federal offense.

2. Choke holds and chest compressions by police (what the coroner lists as the official cause of death for Eric Garner) should be federally banned.

3. All police officers must wear forward-facing body cameras while on duty. They cost just $99 and are having a signficant, positive impact in several cities around the United States and the world.

4. Suspensions for violations of any of the above offenses should be UNPAID.

5. Convictions for the above offenses should have their own set of mandatory minimum penalties. The men who killed Diallo, Bell, Grant, Carter, Garner, and others all walk free while over 1,000,000 non violent offenders are currently incarcerated in American prisons.

This wouldn't stop racism. But it would make a difference in police brutality. It would benefit society as a whole in so many ways. And it would probably save the life of the next Michael Brown.

On that note, if you're NOT following what's going on in Ferguson, shame on you, and you should be.

I'm learning that's what privilege is: As a white person, I have the privilege of pretending none of this is happening. I have the privilege of not seeing it on the news much, of not knowing what's going on, of letting myself deliberately ignore it because it "doesn't concern me" (but it SHOULD concern us and it damn well BETTER). I have the privilege of going about my life as if this isn't happening, because I will never be threatened by this kind of fear. But that does not fucking mean I should ignore it, and that's what a lot of people seem to be doing. I don't know what the right course of action is yet, but what I do want to do is learn and share what I'm learning, and when I see an opportunity for any kind of action, I'm going to take it. So I hope those are the right things to do and I hope I'm doing them right.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch=u9Wf8y_5Yn4[/youtube]

Watch this performance. It is heartbreaking, but I think it's important and it points out a big root of the problem.

"Still, we both know it's not about whether or not the shooter is racist, it's about how poor black boys are treated as problems well before we are treated as people."