Fashion, Brutality And Using Our Voices

I've been wanting to write something for a while now. Really about a month or so ago when I read about another county somewhere in this country (Florida I believe) that was in the process of criminalizing the wearing of sagging pants to where you can see their boxers (or shorts). Now, I'm not a fan of the style nor do I need to be really. Whatever my opinion of it is doesn't matter, if this country is indeed about "Freedom" then it should not only be applied to things in which the masses agree with or even understand. The thing that got my goat though was the amount black people I knew championing this effort. As if we needed another reason to incarcerate and villianize our youth. Being that we are in an era where prisons are becoming more and more privatized this seems to me to be a ploy to fill these prisons,  and what better way to do that than criminalize the things that do not fit our decency or sensibility standards. Also as we get older we forget that how we dressed and acted was frowned upon, criticized and mocked by the generations prior to us. We conveniently forget that. We of the early stages of Hip Hop were judged based on the "bad" qualities of the culture and not the beauty that arose out of it. Then when we brought up the good things it was dismissed as an anomaly and not the norm. If you wore a Kangol and Bomber Jacket you were perceived as a drug dealer. We forget that. We forget that we were arrested for break dancing in large crowds. Carrying spray paint and markers was "reason" for a stop and frisk, though we again conveniently forget that. We don't remember the anxiety the sight of a police car caused us, and because we forget we are more willing to condemn and vilify those actions which we consider unlike us.

As I was contemplating these things the killing of Eric Garner happened. Then the killing of  John Crawford III happened. Then Michael Brown happened.  Then Ezell Ford. Which led me to think of Amadou Diallo. Then think of Sean Bell. Then think of  Oscar Grant. Then Jonathan Bell. Then Kimani Gray. I also thought about the countless others that were slain by those sworn to protect and serve them. I thought about the survivors of the brutality, and I prayed for the unjustly convicted. I cringed about my encounters with the police where I could have easily ended up with behind bars. (Thank God for honest people in this world.)  The connection of how we are portrayed and how we are treated is not lost on me. The fact that we have to promote the "good" qualities of the slain, you know the "he was a good father" or he was "getting good grades" discussion . As if simply being a human being isn't a valid enough reason to live. Furthermore, police brutality and "misconduct" DID NOT begin and more than likely will not end with the sagging jeans and boxers showing fashion. That is the undeniable truth for so many of us, that often get dismissed or overlooked.

So as all of this was unfolding in my mind I would log into various social media outlets, and watched a lot of pinned up and frustrations being released. I also noticed a sort of retaliation to those who did not vent, post or say things that others felt they should be posting. I personally do not post a lot of political or social things (on Facebook at least), because I know quite a few people with narrow perspectives (at least from my vantage point) that I'm no longer willing to debate or argue with. Not that we owe anyone a reason for what we do or do not post about. We have gotten in the habit of making judgments about people based only on what we can see. There are many ways to contribute to the discussion. Social media is one. This blog is ONE of mine. Someone else will have theirs. I do urge and  implore anyone that may read this to do something. Find the way you feel most comfortable and do that. Do not let anyone tell you their way is better for YOU. You know yourself better than anyone else and you know how your voice is most effective in this fight. Best believe this is a fight. In 2014 I am very intrigued the group Anonymous and their efforts. As technology advances and companies and governments become more reliant on them, that is where we need to take that fight.  If you hurt someone's ability to function they will be more willing to listen. Actually they may have no choice but to listen. It isn't always an "either or" situation, there are times when all or none of the above works best for you. Find your lane and play that lane well.