POLICE

"Voting is one thing but it doesn't go the place where fundamental change will occur in a country like ours."

Reflecting on my time as a law enforcement officer during the War on Blacks (Drugs) in the 1980’s I recognize some fundamentals in our national thinking. There is a practical belief in waging war on problems. The police of any community are seen as a defense against criminals, and criminal enterprises. An attitude of wealthier people tends subtly towards an ostracizing use of their police forces to keep poor communities away from them, and so policing is conducting in a way that reflects this notion. Upper and middle-class black communities of homeowners fear the criminal elements in poor black neighborhoods, and turn an eye away from the violence police can and will inflict on poor black criminals. White wealthier communities have a higher level of education, and keen understanding of the US constitution, and the civil rights of the individual and seldom react defensively in a variety of social settings that may or may not go against them. Black Americans regardless of education and economic status tend to react defensively in social settings that may or may not go against them.

The perception of black folks leans towards the negative within the minds of other ethnic groups, and that is our fault. So we invite bad treatment by our declarations, and what we visualize. The police are the armed agents of government to war against perceived and actual problems. War and violence are embedded in the national consciousness, and is inseparable from problem resolution. So police violence against criminals will continue to find ways to justify the use of excessive force because the directives come from a belief that social problems need to be attacked. If that is the paradigm and expectation then what other results will we get as citizens from the police, and the governments?  - Gregory E. Woods