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Showing posts with the label racism

Martin Luther King's Dream is More Alive Than Ever

It  is some time since I have written in this blog. Not since before the election of Donald Trump, a man whose offensive behavior and racist, sexist and divisive statements make him unfit to be the president of the United States. And yet he is about to be sworn into office, with a firestorm of controversies engulfing him regarding the election itself, his likely ties to Russia, his refusal to truly divest himself from his businesses and avoid the possibility and appearance of corruption, his continued gross insensitivity to issues of race and gender and poverty, and so much more, clouding his presidency even before he assumes it. I love America deeply with all my heart. I chose America as the nation in which I wished to live and be a citizen. I believe the vast energy, love and compassion of America will endure long after Donald Trump is out of office. His time is short. America represents, still, with all its complex, painful history, an idea that we can be better as a...

Marilyn J Mosby - A Woman of Great Courage and Integrity

Is Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn J Mosby a future U.S. president? I hope so. We need her. Her eloquent and courageously honest account of what happened to Freddie Gray in Baltimore, and the serious charges she has brought against the police officers involved, are one step toward healing the wounds of this country. She comes from four generations of police officers herself. I hope to see a lot more of her. She is a woman of great integrity and courage.  Here is a Time article that gives more of her background: http://time.com/3843506/marilyn-mosby-baltimore-freddie-gray-murder-charges/ If for any reason the embedded YouTube video above does not play for its full 21 minutes 22 seconds, please click on the link below for the full account and charges so eloquently and honestly set forth by Marilyn Mosby: http://youtu.be/w5EIjwn1g6k

All Six Baltimore Police Officers Charged With Homicide

All six Baltimore police officers charged with homicide in the Freddie Gray case: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/02/us/freddie-gray-autopsy-report-given-to-baltimore-prosecutors.html?referrer= One Baltimore cop charged with “2nd degree depraved murder.”  THAT is what is wrong with policing in this country - not every officer by any means, but the few who poison the system with their vicious racism, their violence and their hatred. Let's hope that Freddie Gray's family - and the city of Baltimore - finds justice. 

Baltimore and the LA Riots

Sad that today is the 23rd anniversary of the beginning of the LA riots . Earlier, I watched video of the Rodney King beating, and what was truly alarming was that, terrible as it was, it didn't look as aggressive as some recent footage of police beatings that I have seen. The situation in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray in a police van , and police violence and racism across America in general, suggest that little has improved since 1991, when King's beating occurred, or 1992, when his police assailants were  unexpectedly cleared by a jury, and the LA riots began in response. It’s by no means one-sided. I have driven with police officers in the most dangerous parts of Miami, and witnessed the aftermath of a man shot in the head on a Friday night - a civilian shot by another civilian. My main memory was that a young female police officer on the scene felt nauseous because she had never seen a man dying before. But the seemingly endless incidents of v...