I Got Next! – Karsceal Turner
The latest in a long string of disrespectful actions against Black citizens based on the color of their skin was unveiled when Michael Brown was gunned down in Ferguson, Missouri a St. Louis suburb.
St. Louis police chief Thomas Jackson identified the shooter of the unarmed Black teenager as Darren Wilson, a six-year veteran of the Ferguson police department.. The shooting took place just before noon Saturday at a convenience store. Days of heated protests ensued days after the shooting. Friday, documents were released which alleged that the teen was suspected of stealing a $48.99 box of cigars.
Wait. As many cigars as I’ve purchased from convenience stores owned and manned by NON-Black folks, I have YET to see a box of cigars that expensive and easily accessible for theft.
But I digress and don’t worry about how I know such information.
My first thought in this matter is that it is so very similar to what went down against Trayvon Martin. The difference here was George Zimmerman was not a law enforcement officer but a “wannabe” cop.
Wilson was an actual law enforcement officer charged with protecting and serving the citizens of Ferguson. Instead he protected his own interest by basically stereotyping a young Black teen who fit the description of a suspect in an armed robbery. I’m not even touching how the young man was vilified in the video tapes that happened to surface strategically.
Emotional overload
You see, I’ve gone through a myriad of emotions while composing this piece. My fingers are trembling because despite my veteran status and collegiate background, I can be cut down just like Trayvon Martin or Michael Brown because of the melanin in my skin. Yet, other melanated people will argue about how we commit genocide. They should have several seats. You don’t see other races hollering about how they kill one another. But I’m steadily digressing. BTW look up the word Melanin.
The authorities placed a brother in front citizens to pacify melanated people. Clearly that didn’t serve its purpose as there were peaceful protests in response to Brown’s shooting that were met with tear gas canisters and the eventual calling in of the Missouri National Guard to quell the “unrest.” As a member of the working media, I clearly see how people have been taken, hornswaggled, shook, and led astray by the portrayals on the television. Have you ever experienced tear gas? Nasty stuff for holding up a sign because you’re upset a young Black male was shot by police.
I really had to to take some time to decide why I was so compelled to write about this incident. I didn’t want it to come across as just another rant by a Black columnist. I asked myself:
Is it because the young man who was executed has skin with melanin in it similar to me? Is it because it seems like yesterday that I was writing about yet another person who looks like me who was executed by a wannabe cop? Is it because I cringed at the thought of yet another young person who looks like me who lost his life because of his taste for loud jams (remember Jordan Davis)?” Hell I like loud jams sometimes. Is it because I’m feeling like open season on Black men and women was declared long before any of these incidents? Lastly, is it because with all my war medals and collegiate certificates, awards, and accolades I am damn near as likely to meet a similar demise and am considered lucky to have reached 43 years on Terra?
Proper armed and unarmed defensive training…get it!
The answer is a resounding ‘yes’ to all the above but I’ve decided to direct people of all colors to some possible solutions on how to handle themselves, if they are serious about effecting change. A friend of mine has insight into such situations and has been featured on television numerous times to share a wealth of information and education on how citizens can co exist with law enforcement officials whom view them as a threat.
Meet Samuel R Hayes III, Hayes is a certified weapons specialist with Caliber Training Group, which is based in Atlanta, GA and specializes in a plethora of specialties ranging from firearms training, unarmed combatives, consulting and urban preparedness to include civilian survival, evasion, resisting, and escaping tactics (S.E.R.E) for hostile urban environments, and personal safety awareness training and rape prevention.
Hayes has an extensive background in the security industry dating back to 1987. Caliber Training Group CTG was formed in 2008. He elaborated on the situation, which is still unfolding in Ferguson.
“Our objective is to teach people how to defend themselves but it doesn’t always necessarily mean from the criminal element. Sometimes that criminal element is wearing a uniform or a three-piece suit sitting behind the desk of an executive office” Hayes said. “We must learn to protect ourselves against civil unrest we’re seeing in Ferguson as well. Now with the introduction of the National Guard into the equation, I feel it’s an extremely bad idea. The introduction of the National Guard solidifies the racial divide in Ferguson. I think its overkill. Officials didn’t want to bring them in to protect the protesters but now you want to view the protestors as part of the problem and in comes the National Guard.” Hayes invites citizens to like his facebook page Caliber Training Group for more information about defensive training or hit the website at http://www.calibertraininggroup.com/
President gives two cents
Even as I try to wrap this up, the President of the United States (with melanin in his skin similar to mine), is meeting with the Attorney General to discuss the situation in Ferguson,
“We’ve seen events in which where is a gulf between perceptions around the country, this is nothing new and it is always a tragic when it involves someone so young,” Obama said. “I must not place my thumb on the scale one way or another. I must ensure transparency and accountability. Part of the ongoing challenge of perfecting our union deals with communities who feel isolated, left behind and without hope. We have not had enough progress to make “my brother’s keeper” a reality with models that work. It takes looking at our criminal justice system. We have included the Department of Justice under the banner of my brothers keeper to those ends. We must promote trust between communities and law enforcement. Fair administration of he law must be brought to bear in Ferguson and distinguish between those who are protesting peacefully and those who wish to disrupt and impede the process through looting and rioting,” he concluded Monday.
Ferguson. MO, which could have possibly been YOUR city. Consider yourselves vaguely informed through the perspectives provided here and govern yourselves accordingly.
