by Patricia Britt
Serena Williams lost the 2015 US Open. What happened? Could it be her emotions were effected by what did, and what could have happened to her friend on the way to see her assured victory?
At the top of his game James Blake ranked number 4 in the world on the tennis circuit. Now he's involved in another game. The game of justice for the masses. In the video we've viewed this past week of James Blake's encounter with a New York police officer he goes limp when he's tackled to the ground which could have saved his life by not resisting in any way, and 100 % cooperating with the officer even though he was cuffed for 10 - 15 minutes. The considerations of violent possibilities, and outcomes are endless.
In Blake's ABC, and CNN interviews he said treatment like that isn't fair because it effects a whole family. Initially Blake didn't want to respond to his internal wounds, and just let the matter go until his wife convinced him to speak up. It's understandable he was willing to let it go. He was known for winning on the field of tennis with respect, and dignity. He knew any comment would only prolong the risk of a negative perception by people unfamiliar with his tennis accomplishments, that might want to believe he'd done something to deserve it in blind loyalty to the police. He must have considered that in speaking up he ran the risk of being smeared with the repetition of the incident throughout the Internet through infinity.
Then it must have clicked in mind that he would have to live with the opinions of people embracing, or rejecting his story even with video? Perhaps he thought, if he has small children, he has to see the story through for them to search out, and read someday when the kids think back to the day that daddy was so sad.
James Blake announced that he's chosen to be a bridge through the miscommunication in New York between police, and young black men, and open a dialog between the mayor, and police department, because he is an individual with indisputable character who became a public victim of the evident resentment some white people have toward black men whether they're in a suit, and tie or saggy pants due to perceptions, and projections.
James Blake plans to articulately approach the representatives of the City of New York with how to make it a better, and safer place for everyone involved, essentially saying if a small percentage of police are making the larger percentage look bad through their actions then the city needs to look at alternate policies. If race turns out to be the precipitating element in all its citizens safety, because perception matters in a just calm country that can be measured in institutions based on objective facts it will be an indisputable example. If only there was a way to change the 5 % who aren't police officers to see, and treat everyone as equal, but it won't happen this decade nor probably the next, because fairness moves incrementally slow when the ether of concern is ultimately about dollars, cents, and prestige. Some of us admire each other for our strengths, and tenderness while some of us could careless about each other in whatever profession.
The police officer's intent to make physical contact with James Blake might have been based on his accumulated perceptions of men of color. He didn't know James Blake was a retired athlete when he tackled him? But America has to have the conversation about white males resentment of blacks not only from crime ratio statistics, but from resentment of so many millionaire black athletes, and esteemed black, and brown professionals at every level, possibly taking out aggression on the poor, because they can't touch who they wish they could?
James Blake was thrust into a spotlight he's secure in from his past fame as an athlete geared towards excellence. I hope he's able to make a difference in the country as time goes by. I would guess that 95% of police officers become police officers to protect, and serve that have now universally been cast as bad guys because they've been tarnished by the visual reality of the 5% who might join the force in order to hurt people if given an opportunity to do so.
In addition to the eyewitness events in the news, Hollywood plays a major role in law enforcement perception from great movies about the 5% of bad police like Internal Affairs (Richard Gere), Training Day (Denzel Washington), House Party (Kid & Play), and so many others about the dark side. Years ago we used to have pure portrayals of police officers like Andy Griffith in Mayberry, or Marshall Dillon on Gunsmoke. Now we have shows with the complexity faced today where no one is 100% good, or 100% bad like Tom Selleck's force in Blue Bloods, Hawaii 50, Criminal Minds (Shemar Moore), Law & Order (SVU), you name it. James Blake saw the reality of a single minded unchangeable intention to make him pay physically, perhaps for being a good looking guy, parked in front a swanky place he wished he could visit in his off hours, asking questions later?
Everyone on all sides of the equation involved in cases of perceived racism are wasting valuable time that prevents people from spending time respecting, acknowledging, and learning about each other in order to move faster toward scientific breakthroughs for the human race instead of being bogged down in cave man stupidity. There is currently a 2 million person technical shortage today in America. With full employment people would be able to spend their time thinking about love instead of their personal safety.
All it takes is 5% to hurt 95% whether it's with police officers, teachers, lawyers, judges, athletes, politicians, reporters, rabbis, pastors, priests, scientists, corporations, the plutocracy oops that's 1% in order to ruin any altruistic efforts to let each person live up to their potential. You can never recapture wasted time, or lives that could have made a difference like Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life for instance or in the disadvantaged youth who might have discovered the cancer cure if he'd lived, or been guided to greatness, diverted from joining the over-hyped ranks of the rap world where like athletes only about 5,000 become millionaires with no mortgage worries, with the ability to make a difference, shed light on reality, and, or create good vibes, and beatz.
James Blake's motivation is to enter a new phase of his life as a different kind of leader. To meet with police leaders motivated by the public good in New York, and perhaps elsewhere in time. He'll surely learn the statistics of black on black crime as well, as he immerses himself in what's going on that will require a nationwide team to stop the violence of internalized self-hatred absorbed from repetitive broadcasts of worthlessness causing some to hurt people, neglect their right to vote as an American birthright, precious to so many, or not to even lobby for a fair minimum wage, and except the status quo as their fate. What are the true percentages of lives gone wrong, lives gone right, and lives with possibility?
Violence stemming from envy is an American epidemic. Firefighter Dennis Rodeman was allegedly killed in a hit, and run by Grant Taylor in Lansing, MI while collecting money for a charity called Fill the Boot for the Muscular Dystrophy Association ( http://kfor.com/2015/09/10/firefighter-intentionally-hit-killed-by-car-while-collecting-donations-for-fill-the-boot-campaign/ , http://www.people.com/article/grant-taylor-murder-charge-dennis-rodeman-firefighter ). Why on earth would someone run over a life saving fireman other than the envious, idiotic thought he's a goody two shoes? We've had too many sad chapters lately. It's time for a change in New York, and across the country with regard to letting people live, and let live. Not being envious of positive spirits from Hollywood to the streets.
God bless that handsome James Blake in his specific efforts to improve things in New York, and God bless America in general.
2015 Copyright Zimation Arts & Letters Ink
"The Humanity of all Americans is diminished when any group is denied rights granted to others." - by Julian Bond
"None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody - a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns - bent down and helped us pick up our boots." by Thurgood Marshall
Some people are cowards...I think by and large a third of people are villains, a third are cowards, and a third are heroes. Now, a villain and a coward can choose to be a hero, but they've got to make that choice. by Tom Hanks
Truth is, I'll never know all there is to know about you just as you will never know all there is to know about me. Humans are by nature too complicated to be understood fully. So, we can choose either to approach our fellow human beings with suspicion or to approach them with an open mind, a dash of optimism and a great deal of candour. by Tom Hanks
I like criticism. It makes you strong - LeBron James
I'm going to use all my tools, my God-given ability, and make the best life I can with it. by LeBron James
2015 Copyright Zimation Arts & Letters Ink
Songs ^ Free by Deneice Williams
^ Des'ree You Gotta Be
^ K-os ~ Man I Used To Be
^ Des'ree You Gotta Be
^ K-os ~ Man I Used To Be
^ Cupid by 112
^ Wishing on a Star ~ Rose Royce
^ Joy & Pain by Maze
^ Replay ~ Zendaya
^ Jason Derulo ~ Marry Me
^ AWB Soul Searching
Related Amateur Journalistic Opinion & Articles on how we've arrived where we are today.
October 5, 2015
People have known about Inaccurate textbooks in general for at least a decade.
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/mcgraw-hill-to-rewrite-textbook-after-moms-170440446.html
People have raised the issue of corporations taking over prisons for at least a decade.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/for-profit-prisons
This article coupled with the two above might partially explain why OJ's alleged horrific crime is the equivalent to the Columbine slayers, and so on in media coverage over decades that subconsciously plants the seeds of assumed guilt, and hatred toward young black men for ratings profits on various channels with the added result of self hatred for possibly 10% of black men.
http://www.ew.com/article/1994/07/08/commercializing-oj-simpson-scandal
Upon a Google search of Thurgood Marshall's legacy erased here's what I came up.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=thurgood+marshall+legacy+erased
Upon a Yahoo search of Thurgood Marshall's legacy erased here's what came up.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=thurgood+marshall+legacy+erased
To spend time on these articles is to discover unconscious views materialized with the roughly 25% of the 2.4 million prison population being men of color. Where do we go from here if we really care about i.e. injustice, or coming together for each other?
Blacks live with two realities in regard to the police as both heroes, and villains.
1. Two of the Oregon heroes were policemen that don't want to praised as heroes.
2. Ronald Weekley Venice skateboarder lives with the joy of knowing he survived, and the lifetime pain of fear from what happened.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-venice-stakeborder-who-claimed-lapd-beat-him-loses-case-20140623-story.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EcdA_QaNvY
October 29, 2015
Many of us as citizens, and professionals need more compassion, and empathy. Many professionals need to be required to listen to Soul Searching by Average White Band, and His Eye is on the Sparrow by Deneice Williams while watching a 15 minute video on deescalation techniques to begin the day if interacting with the public is part of the job. police officers need annual psychological evaluations, in addition to body cameras.
Five % of police say journalists, and citizens video taping them aren't their boss, and aren't helping by shedding light on the bad apples, but a silent majority are probably glad the 5% are being exposed for not being fair, so the good guys can uphold the standards of the job, come home each day after protecting citizens, community policing, coaching little league teams, and giving boots to homeless people. How can the good guys help but be ashamed of the bad guys? As any person from any ethnicity is sometimes ashamed, and sometimes proud of others heroic actions.
Police officers need to remain alert, however 10 minutes of instrumentals across the country at the beginning of each shift while watching a de-escalation video of the same length of time, certainly couldn't hurt moral, and community goals at this moment in time. I know there's a few DJ's in law enforcement somewhere who could put together 12 CD's for nationwide distribution to elevate, and illuminate perspectives. There could be a nationwide cops contest with a cash prize to submit the best CD to a cops board for review. For some cops it would release tension while proactively studying what's on youth's minds, while also studying the musical pillars of American thought in its evolution, and the heart of cops with multiple selections of the same songs across the country inevitably being submitted due to the Internets unifying connectivity. Basia's song New Day For You might even make the cut if an alternate dimension such as this is ever considered a practicality.
12 CD's to eventually be played in rotation for 5 years as quiet background in squad rooms at the start of each shift. Then order a new contest for a new set of 12 CD's. CD's that could even be used for policemen's charities. Each CD would include 1 song from 10 musical genres. 14 songs / tracks per CD. A national contest outline could be developed, perhaps sponsored by itunes, or universal entertainment, etc with perhaps each city competing within each state, then each state competing within the country for the best 12 CD's to be distributed to all police departments nationally, available online. Each department could work with a local radio station to sponsor the 12 policemen from each precinct who comes up with a selected song by his entire department.
There is a deep sadness among black men at being targets of so many hunters (pay day loan corporations) over such a long period of time with the extensively documented common knowledge in historic facts of runaway slaves to modern day tragedies at the hands of authorities, to sacrificing each other for personal gain, or envy, that has to be acknowledged, if not empathized with i.e. Bone Thugs n Harmony's classic modern day track "Crossroads." The definition of blackness is rising above sorrow, locking the joy of simplicity in your soul, when your avenues of elevation are blocked. If you study Dr. Ben Carson's hopeless circumstances, and analyze him today, you see the potential in every youth, as you do in President Barack Obama's hope principals, developed in the Hawaiian sunshine. It's time to change the climate of projection.
Deepak Chopra says we're all made of stardust. If we keep that concept in mind we might all look at each other as dazzling.
2015 Zimation Arts & Letters Ink
Deepak Chopra Quotes ~ http://thinkexist.com/quotes/deepak_chopra
“If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time. It's very important to be aware of them every time they come up.”
www.deepakchopra.com
^ Wishing on a Star ~ Rose Royce
^ Joy & Pain by Maze
^ Replay ~ Zendaya
^ Jason Derulo ~ Marry Me
^ AWB Soul Searching
Related Amateur Journalistic Opinion & Articles on how we've arrived where we are today.
October 5, 2015
People have known about Inaccurate textbooks in general for at least a decade.
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/mcgraw-hill-to-rewrite-textbook-after-moms-170440446.html
People have raised the issue of corporations taking over prisons for at least a decade.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/for-profit-prisons
This article coupled with the two above might partially explain why OJ's alleged horrific crime is the equivalent to the Columbine slayers, and so on in media coverage over decades that subconsciously plants the seeds of assumed guilt, and hatred toward young black men for ratings profits on various channels with the added result of self hatred for possibly 10% of black men.
http://www.ew.com/article/1994/07/08/commercializing-oj-simpson-scandal
Upon a Google search of Thurgood Marshall's legacy erased here's what I came up.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=thurgood+marshall+legacy+erased
Upon a Yahoo search of Thurgood Marshall's legacy erased here's what came up.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=thurgood+marshall+legacy+erased
To spend time on these articles is to discover unconscious views materialized with the roughly 25% of the 2.4 million prison population being men of color. Where do we go from here if we really care about i.e. injustice, or coming together for each other?
Blacks live with two realities in regard to the police as both heroes, and villains.
1. Two of the Oregon heroes were policemen that don't want to praised as heroes.
2. Ronald Weekley Venice skateboarder lives with the joy of knowing he survived, and the lifetime pain of fear from what happened.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-venice-stakeborder-who-claimed-lapd-beat-him-loses-case-20140623-story.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EcdA_QaNvY
October 29, 2015
Many of us as citizens, and professionals need more compassion, and empathy. Many professionals need to be required to listen to Soul Searching by Average White Band, and His Eye is on the Sparrow by Deneice Williams while watching a 15 minute video on deescalation techniques to begin the day if interacting with the public is part of the job. police officers need annual psychological evaluations, in addition to body cameras.
Scientist have begun to study dark matter. Dark matter interacts in the universe with a visible effect, while being invisible itself. There are many effects on America, and the world. The concept of the Ferguson, and the Baltimore effect has become a topic of conversation, and concern. It might better be called the blue effect of say 5% of police officers. But the total effect is an equation: Blue Effect + Obama Effect (Landslide voting for a smart admirable guy by all ethnicities) + The OJ Effect + The Interfaith Effect + The Envy Effect + The Journalist Effect + The Budget Effect + The Fashion Industry Profit Effect + The Mariah Carey Effect + The Anti-Hero Effect + The Hollywood Effect + The Povich / Bravo TV Effect + The Dr. Oz Effect + The Legal Justice Seeker Effect + The Howling Love Effect + The Sportsmanship Effect + SPLC.org ap for smart phones effect + The Exploration / Quest Effect + The Pixels Effect. Add, subtract, multiply, and divide, and what does it all leave us with?
Five % of police say journalists, and citizens video taping them aren't their boss, and aren't helping by shedding light on the bad apples, but a silent majority are probably glad the 5% are being exposed for not being fair, so the good guys can uphold the standards of the job, come home each day after protecting citizens, community policing, coaching little league teams, and giving boots to homeless people. How can the good guys help but be ashamed of the bad guys? As any person from any ethnicity is sometimes ashamed, and sometimes proud of others heroic actions.
Police officers need to remain alert, however 10 minutes of instrumentals across the country at the beginning of each shift while watching a de-escalation video of the same length of time, certainly couldn't hurt moral, and community goals at this moment in time. I know there's a few DJ's in law enforcement somewhere who could put together 12 CD's for nationwide distribution to elevate, and illuminate perspectives. There could be a nationwide cops contest with a cash prize to submit the best CD to a cops board for review. For some cops it would release tension while proactively studying what's on youth's minds, while also studying the musical pillars of American thought in its evolution, and the heart of cops with multiple selections of the same songs across the country inevitably being submitted due to the Internets unifying connectivity. Basia's song New Day For You might even make the cut if an alternate dimension such as this is ever considered a practicality.
12 CD's to eventually be played in rotation for 5 years as quiet background in squad rooms at the start of each shift. Then order a new contest for a new set of 12 CD's. CD's that could even be used for policemen's charities. Each CD would include 1 song from 10 musical genres. 14 songs / tracks per CD. A national contest outline could be developed, perhaps sponsored by itunes, or universal entertainment, etc with perhaps each city competing within each state, then each state competing within the country for the best 12 CD's to be distributed to all police departments nationally, available online. Each department could work with a local radio station to sponsor the 12 policemen from each precinct who comes up with a selected song by his entire department.
There is a deep sadness among black men at being targets of so many hunters (pay day loan corporations) over such a long period of time with the extensively documented common knowledge in historic facts of runaway slaves to modern day tragedies at the hands of authorities, to sacrificing each other for personal gain, or envy, that has to be acknowledged, if not empathized with i.e. Bone Thugs n Harmony's classic modern day track "Crossroads." The definition of blackness is rising above sorrow, locking the joy of simplicity in your soul, when your avenues of elevation are blocked. If you study Dr. Ben Carson's hopeless circumstances, and analyze him today, you see the potential in every youth, as you do in President Barack Obama's hope principals, developed in the Hawaiian sunshine. It's time to change the climate of projection.
Deepak Chopra says we're all made of stardust. If we keep that concept in mind we might all look at each other as dazzling.
2015 Zimation Arts & Letters Ink
Deepak Chopra Quotes ~ http://thinkexist.com/quotes/deepak_chopra
“If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time. It's very important to be aware of them every time they come up.”
www.deepakchopra.com
Meditation at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation
SONGS
Person to Person by Average White Band
A Fifth of Bethoven by Walter Murphy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MFbn8EbB4k
You Gotta Be by Des'ree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oZXJD1NVW0&feature=player_detailpage
A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwkej79U3ek&feature=player_detailpage
No One by Alicia Keys
You Gotta Be by Des'ree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oZXJD1NVW0&feature=player_detailpage
A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwkej79U3ek&feature=player_detailpage
No One by Alicia Keys
October 31, 2015
America's fascination with the outlaw mentality didn't start yesterday. It's been ingrained for hundreds of years (Christopher Cross ~ Ride Like the Wind https://youtu.be/4SOu9MwlwrU) in all types of men. The weapons industry, coupled with the NRA have a stranglehold on youth in every ethnicity. Law enforcement has to consider their are bigger fish to fry than surly youth in saggy pants walking down the street, or driving with loud music, that are subject to lose their jobs, or life when confronted by law enforcement. A percentage of white men declare it is their right as Americans to have guns while some ethnic youths carry guns for protection from other youths. If black lives became more valuable to blacks as well as whites reversing the need to be armed, you'd still have 2nd Amendment whites armed for protection of life, property, and nefarious reasons. A percentage of Americans in authority across the spectrum of impactful professions have to work on the Twin Peaks of perception i.e. 1. Innocent, until proven guilty 2. Live & let live.
If every one was given the benefit of the doubt maybe everyone could relax, and enjoy the sunshine in the spirit of cooperation in a perfect world ...
Note: Not only are there dignified statues of civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks immortalized across this country in reflective repose, for changing this country's heart, there are also irrefutable statues of beatings in motion on southern American soil, cast in metal, lest anyone were to forget, and be condemned to make the same mistakes, again of enslaving people physically, spiritually, or economically.
The civil rights community should copyright a "flag," and sell it at the Civil Rights Museum to develop, and maintain one all encompassing go to web site about Civil Rights including statue images from across the country, just like the pink lapel ribbons sold to fight cancer.
Note: Not only are there dignified statues of civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks immortalized across this country in reflective repose, for changing this country's heart, there are also irrefutable statues of beatings in motion on southern American soil, cast in metal, lest anyone were to forget, and be condemned to make the same mistakes, again of enslaving people physically, spiritually, or economically.
The civil rights community should copyright a "flag," and sell it at the Civil Rights Museum to develop, and maintain one all encompassing go to web site about Civil Rights including statue images from across the country, just like the pink lapel ribbons sold to fight cancer.
God bless America.
2015 Copyright Zimation Arts & Letters Ink
Songs
Don't Disturb This Groove by System https://youtu.be/0wqUDylYcnY
What is this by Bishop Walter Hawkins
Marvelous by Bishop Walter Hawkins
Quote
The right to vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democracy.
by Congressman John Lewis
Quote
The right to vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democracy.
by Congressman John Lewis
Also See Race: The Road to Unity earlier in this blog
See http://www.si.edu to learn more about valuing all this country has to offer.
See 60 Minutes Overtime for more on the slave ships & the slave trade October episode.
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=iba&hsimp=yhs-1&type=rmds_5056_CRW_US&p=60+minutes+overtime+african+slave+ships
Post Script December 2015
On November 20, 2015 the A&E channel introduced a concert with Bruce Springstein, John Legend and others to eventually restore trust & peace between police & black youth communities supported by iheart music.
See concert iniatives here
http://www.aetv.com/shows/shining-a-light-a-concert-for-progress-on-race-in-america
The Black Lives Matter movement was born from tragedies committed by non-blacks against blacks whether civilian, or police officer, specifically stemming from Trayvon Martin after George Zimmerman pulled the trigger. Explore their site for a key to understanding young black men who feel under siege. Excessive Force is not a part of their current platform.
http://blacklivesmatter.com/guiding-principles
See http://www.si.edu to learn more about valuing all this country has to offer.
See 60 Minutes Overtime for more on the slave ships & the slave trade October episode.
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=iba&hsimp=yhs-1&type=rmds_5056_CRW_US&p=60+minutes+overtime+african+slave+ships
Post Script December 2015
On November 20, 2015 the A&E channel introduced a concert with Bruce Springstein, John Legend and others to eventually restore trust & peace between police & black youth communities supported by iheart music.
See concert iniatives here
http://www.aetv.com/shows/shining-a-light-a-concert-for-progress-on-race-in-america
The Black Lives Matter movement was born from tragedies committed by non-blacks against blacks whether civilian, or police officer, specifically stemming from Trayvon Martin after George Zimmerman pulled the trigger. Explore their site for a key to understanding young black men who feel under siege. Excessive Force is not a part of their current platform.
http://blacklivesmatter.com/guiding-principles
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