Black lives continue to be wantonly snuffed out in US
Dear Editor,
As Guyana shares a strong and vital link with the United States of America, it behoves me to respectfully use this medium to catch the attention of the US ambassador to Guyana, Her Excellency Ms. Sarah-Ann Lynch and as many US citizens and residents as possible.
How many more innocent black people, especially men, must be killed by white police in the US? It has been happening from time immemorial and was probably hidden from the populace before the introduction of body cameras became mandatory for police to wear and onlookers started posting videos of police brutality. Despite body cameras providing evidence, many of the police involved are given a slap on the wrists by appointed enforcers of the judicial system when they exercise excessive force on their victims. This would result in the police perpetuating these horrendous acts as if they are entitled or entrusted to do so, knowing that the worst result could be the loss of their job. Many witnesses retreat into the background due to the fear of being entrapped in one of these melees and becoming a felon, which could negatively impact them and their families forever.
However, as the sociologist Karl Marx said: the oppression of the proletariat by the oligarchs will ultimately create a situation where the oppressed will rise up against the status quo. Indeed, blacks as human beings in the 21st century, need to unite to eradicate this abominable infliction of punishment and humiliation meted out against the black community, with impunity. We have witnessed these dastardly acts escalating since Trayvon Martin’s murder (although not perpetrated by the police but by an arm of the police in the form of a white man who was part of a community watch group), with ongoing frequency. It would seem that America is reverting
to the era of the pre-civil rights movement.
The psychological impact that these events have on blacks and whites is tremendous, especially on the youth who are malleable and vulnerable. It may empower white youth to replicate the police’s actions. Many black youth are already challenged and tasked with school and university assignments and are distracted and disoriented by the insecurity foisted on them by the police and the legal system. This could retard their progress in academic achievement. Innocent black youth will consequently react aggressively when stopped by the police. The resentment and disgust caused by the series of racist events conducted by white police against blacks (even towards children, women and the aged) could naturally be combustible and lead to explosive reactions by blacks. Why aren’t the effects of criminal behaviour by white police considered as being de-empowering and destabilising to the black community?
Politicians and enforcers of the legal system often take the side of the police, by stating the danger and challenges of the police’s profession and the split second decisions they sometimes have to make, which dictates the choice between life and death, i.e. kill or be killed. What are the legislative and judicial branches of government doing to have laws enacted that may serve as a deterrent to police brutality and murder? They have provided only rhetoric to stem the scourge and that is insufficient.
Where is President Trump during these episodes of police brutality against blacks? His responses are either late or insensitive and detached. President Trump, you said many times “Let’s make America great again.” You need to tweet about these incidents and to instigate the enactment of laws that impose jail terms for the perpetrators of police brutality and severe sentences for the death of any victim resulting from the police’s use of excessive force. That will help to make America great again. Where is the one percent (those at the top of the socio-economic ladder) at these times? They are the people who can make a change as they control the wealth and social structures.
Strangely enough whenever a person calls 911 or the police to report that someone is involved in an altercation or a threatening situation, the caller is asked to state the ethnicity of the perpetrator(s) or participant(s).
America is blessed with so much, yet black lives that played an integral role in its development since slavery, continue to be snuffed out by those who are entrusted to protect lives.
Yours faithfully,
Conrad Barrow