{"id":1475,"date":"2019-03-10T01:12:36","date_gmt":"2019-03-10T05:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/?p=1475"},"modified":"2019-03-10T01:12:40","modified_gmt":"2019-03-10T05:12:40","slug":"gun-clubs-for-people-of-color","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/blog\/2019\/03\/10\/gun-clubs-for-people-of-color\/","title":{"rendered":"Gun Clubs for People Of Color"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_1480\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1480\" style=\"width: 394px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC0YvoAYGgdOfySQSLcxtu1w\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1480\" src=\"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Beau_Of_The_Fifth_Column.jpeg\" alt=\"Beau Of the Fifth Column\" width=\"394\" height=\"394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Beau_Of_The_Fifth_Column.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Beau_Of_The_Fifth_Column-150x150.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 394px) 100vw, 394px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1480\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC0YvoAYGgdOfySQSLcxtu1w\">Beau Of the Fifth Column<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Greetings and Salutations<\/strong>;<\/p>\n<p>We are seeing more and more news reports of people of color being gunned down by the police.\u00a0 Common threads in these reports?\u00a0 There are a few:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The victim was unarmed.<\/li>\n<li>The lethal force was applied in an appalling short time after the cops showed up.<\/li>\n<li>The cops who murder the victims have either escaped prosecution completely, or been found &#8220;not guilty&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This post was actually motivated by a video discussion about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zL_IX8yX_JU\">People Of Color setting up their own Gun Clubs<\/a>,\u00a0 by a wise fellow on YouTube.\u00a0 Beau of the Fifth Column (Click on picture at top to see his YouTube channel)\u00a0 is well worth subscribing to,\u00a0 and watching.\u00a0\u00a0 His commentaries are insightful,\u00a0 well put and right on point.<\/p>\n<p>This having been said,\u00a0\u00a0 I have some observations about the topic of People of Color and their interactions with cops in America today.<\/p>\n<p>I am an old,\u00a0 white\u00a0 guy,\u00a0 so,\u00a0 I DO understand that I only have a dim view of the reality of the tense relationship between People of Color and the cops.\u00a0\u00a0 I, for example,\u00a0 have only had three times in my entire life that I have been pulled over for no valid reason.\u00a0\u00a0 I have had a few other interactions with the cops,\u00a0 but,\u00a0 in those cases,\u00a0 it was &#8220;fair&#8221;.\u00a0\u00a0 In every one of those\u00a0 interactions, though,\u00a0 I have never had a cop pull his or her weapon,\u00a0 call for backup,\u00a0 or show any signs that they had a bad attitude towards me.<\/p>\n<p>It was not until I was in College that I interacted on a personal enough basis with People of Color that I learned about things such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/inside-the-heartbreaking-talk-black-parents-must-have-with-their-kids_n_581ca092e4b0d9ce6fbb465b\">&#8220;The Talk&#8221;<\/a> which is a standard part of a black child&#8217;s growing up.\u00a0\u00a0 It was then that I learned that, for People of Color,\u00a0 it was a normal part of life to be pulled over when driving, and that it often happened on a daily basis; \u00a0 That it was a normal part of life to be followed by sales associates, or, store security, when they went shopping; \u00a0 That it was a normal part of their lives\u00a0 to be wary of being in certain parts of town during the late evening;\u00a0 That calling the cops was, in almost all cases, a Bad Idea. \u00a0\u00a0 This was,\u00a0 by the by, in the mid-1970s,\u00a0 and so at the time,\u00a0 I had this foolish idea that crap like that had been pushed out of our Society.\u00a0\u00a0 The Civil Rights movement,\u00a0 and the Hippie culture of the 1960s\u00a0 had, I thought,\u00a0 produced real change in our society.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Now then,\u00a0 I hope, y&#8217;all took the time to watch Beau&#8217;s commentary of the idea of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zL_IX8yX_JU\">Gun Clubs being set up by People of Color,\u00a0 FOR People of Color<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My remaining remarks are focused on his discussion of how to interact with the police, and ensure that they are following the same rules everyone is supposed to follow.\u00a0\u00a0 One thing that Beau did not speak to, in his discussion of why the cops are so likely to kill a Person of Color these days, \u00a0 is that this is a basic part of the training they receive as LEOs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A huge part of the problem is that some years ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/08\/02\/us\/training-officers-to-shoot-first-and-he-will-answer-questions-later.html?_r=0\">ONE Psychologist developed this idea that, for the police, the best way to handle almost any situation is with the threat of,\u00a0 and application of,\u00a0 lethal force<\/a>. He has traveled all over the country, holding training sessions for departments, based on this theory, and, acted as an &#8220;Expert Witness&#8221; in the few times that a LEO has been accused of a bad shoot.\u00a0 End result: Cops are TRAINED to use lethal force as the FIRST option&#8230;not the last.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. <span class=\"css-8i9d0s e13ogyst0\">Lewinski&#8217;s theory that &#8220;If I see a gun, I am dead&#8221; may have a distant echo of truth to it.\u00a0\u00a0 However,\u00a0 his expansion of that echo to a half-baked rule to live by,\u00a0 puts the lives of ALL citizens at risk.\u00a0 Adding\u00a0 to that the well documented fact that much of society adds many years to the apparent age of a Person of Color, and, the racial prejudice that is an undercurrent in our society,\u00a0 brings us to a state\u00a0 where we have one or more cops,\u00a0 looking at a Person of Color,\u00a0 who they think is 10+ years older than they are,\u00a0 and is a threat.\u00a0 So,\u00a0 tensions rise, and the slightest miss-step is enough to cause the cops to blow many holes in the victim. \u00a0 It does not help that when backup shows up either. When that happens, we often end up with several cops,\u00a0 yelling contradictory orders at the victim, and expecting immediate compliance &#8211;\u00a0 ready to kill if the slightest resistance is seen.\u00a0 Few LEOs have addressed the question &#8220;When one of you is telling the victim to \u00a0 do not move, and one of you is telling the victim to get down on the ground;\u00a0 WHICH command takes precedent?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It seems to me that\u00a0 the training has evolved from &#8220;use the threat of lethal force&#8221; to ensure compliance, to &#8220;Kill the suspect,\u00a0 claim you feared for your life, and, enjoy the few weeks of paid leave you will get for it&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I find it interesting that in many other industrialized nations,\u00a0 the police force depends far less on lethal force, and, still manages to deal with citizens who are breaking the law!\u00a0\u00a0 Of course,\u00a0 there are some differences between the United States and other countries on how they train and hire their cops.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In America,\u00a0 new recruits go to an Academy for training in basic skills for no more than 22 weeks. \u00a0 Then,\u00a0 after a short evaluation period,\u00a0 they are put on the streets, armed and ready.\u00a0\u00a0 In the UK, for example&#8230;while the Academy work only lasts for 18 weeks,\u00a0\u00a0 the new recruit is on a probationary period that requires continual training and evaluation for over 2\u00a0 YEARS!<\/li>\n<li>As mentioned before,\u00a0 after that 22 week training period, the recruits are on the street,\u00a0 armed with at least two weapons on them, and significant firepower in the cruiser they drive.\u00a0\u00a0 In the UK, for example,\u00a0 a vast majority of police never carry a gun, and <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/998266\/london-attack-how-the-uk-police-deal-with-a-terrorist-attack-when-most-officers-dont-carry-guns\/\">this article discusses why<\/a><\/li>\n<li>There appears to be a difference in the methods used for prisoners in custody.\u00a0 I have not researched this deeply,\u00a0 but, these two reports:\u00a0 On <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bjs.gov\/content\/pub\/pdf\/mlj0014st.pdf\">inmate mortality in the USA<\/a> And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inquest.org.uk\/deaths-in-prison\">inmate mortality in the UK <\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 show a significant difference.\u00a0 While the time periods reported do not overlap,\u00a0 I suspect that the comparison is still apt,\u00a0 as the numbers show a level of consistency over the respective reporting periods.<\/li>\n<li>There have been a worrisome number of cops that have records of criminal behavior (abuse, of spouse\/child\/power) who have been fired by one department, only to easily get a job with another one.\u00a0\u00a0 This seems to be NOT happening in the UK.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>What do we do now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These problems have grown over decades of allowing all the negative forces in society to achieve positions of power and control in the LEOs of the Nation.\u00a0\u00a0 I would like to see at least the following changes made to improve the situation.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The recruits for the force need to be scrutinized in more detail.\u00a0\u00a0 A trend of reports showing bully type behavior;\u00a0 racist behavior; misogynistic behavior; etc;\u00a0 should be a black ball for them.\u00a0 They should NEVER be on the force.<\/li>\n<li>Training of recruits has got to be changed.\u00a0 The emphasis should be on deescalation of a situation,\u00a0 with the use of lethal force being a last resort.\u00a0 In addition,\u00a0 there should be objective observation and evaluation of a given LEO&#8217;s ability to use both lethal and non-lethal attacks on a suspect.<\/li>\n<li>Policies and procedures must change.\u00a0 Not only should the use of lethal force be discouraged,\u00a0 but, alternatives should be at hand.\u00a0\u00a0 Tasers,\u00a0 batons, and the like are very effective tools for slowing anti-social or threatening behavior.\u00a0\u00a0 There should be more K9 units available to LEOs.<\/li>\n<li>More LEOs should face the prospect of a trial in ANY shooting death that is questionable.\u00a0\u00a0 By questionable&#8230;I mean killings that happen when there is less than a few seconds pause between the arrival of the LEOs on scene, and the killing of a suspect.\u00a0\u00a0 I mean killings where the suspect is not presenting an immediate threat &#8211; say &#8211; is cooperating,\u00a0 or, is running AWAY from the LEO.\u00a0\u00a0 There are other scenarios but these are obvious ones.<\/li>\n<li>The whole issue of &#8220;Driving While Black\/Chicano&#8221; should go away.<\/li>\n<li>All LEOs should have body cams that cannot be turned off by them,\u00a0 only turned on.\u00a0 There should be clear guidelines as to what footage is automatically tagged private.<\/li>\n<li>We are seeing so many cases where, after a bad shoot,\u00a0 the magical phrase &#8220;I was in fear for my life&#8221;\u00a0 has popped up,\u00a0 I think it is past time to start doing more psychological evaluations of LEOs,\u00a0 to determine if their level of fear disqualifies them to carry a weapon, and, if they can, with therapy,\u00a0 overcome this trembling fear that drives them to insane actions.\u00a0 This should be an ongoing process, too.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Perhaps close to the most important is a change in attitude of the LEOs.\u00a0 They need to look at themselves as a part of the community, and focused on keeping the peace for all.\u00a0\u00a0 Today, with the increasing militarization of the LEOs they are more like an occupying force.\u00a0\u00a0 In addition, they have grown an attitude OF being an occupying force, not constrained by the Constitution, or laws of the Country.\u00a0\u00a0 This militarization and change in attitude has caused a serious destruction of the relationship between LEOs and citizens.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>About that last point&#8230;\u00a0 When I was a very young man,\u00a0 I learned from cops that they had three rules that they used to determine how to treat a person of interest.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Were they a cop?\u00a0 If so,\u00a0 cut them as much slack as possible.\u00a0 Ignore violations,\u00a0 give them privileges,\u00a0 etc.<\/li>\n<li>Were they immediate Family of a cop? \u00a0 If so,\u00a0 go easy on them,\u00a0 unless you knew they had pissed off the cop. \u00a0 Then,\u00a0 No limits.<\/li>\n<li>Everyone else was a Perp. \u00a0 They might have not been caught yet, but, they were guilty of something&#8230;so assume that&#8230;and treat them accordingly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now, alas, that third rule seems to have evolved to &#8220;Everyone is a homicidal maniac,\u00a0 likely to magically produce a gun and start killing everyone in sight. \u00a0 Going home to your family after shift is more important that public safety,\u00a0 so, it is better to kill them, and move on, than risk being killed&#8221; \u00a0\u00a0 This is made even more dangerous by the view that many have of any Person of Color being a giant monster.<\/p>\n<p>I hope, if any of this makes sense to you, and seems like a good idea,\u00a0 you will take the time to communicate with your local and state governments to let them know of the problems, and that you, as a Citizen, are not willing to allow our society to live like this.<\/p>\n<p>God Help Us All<\/p>\n<p>Bee Man Dave<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 Greetings and Salutations; We are seeing more and more news reports of people of color being gunned down by&#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/blog\/2019\/03\/10\/gun-clubs-for-people-of-color\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,708,9,764,10,11,23,12,13,16,1],"tags":[782,784,785,653,783,287,786],"class_list":["post-1475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethics","category-family","category-humanity","category-improving-life","category-nuttiness","category-observations","category-political-rants","category-politics-2","category-questionable-decisions","category-ruminations","category-uncategorized","tag-gun-clubs","tag-law-enforcement","tag-lethal-force","tag-misogyny","tag-people-of-color","tag-racism","tag-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1475"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1485,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1475\/revisions\/1485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}