A couple of things to keep in mind about the DOJ’s Ferguson Report. First, all it does is confirm many of the things that independent media has long been reporting and what folks from Ferguson had long been articulating.. Sadly for more than a few folks, what was being asserted is now legitimate because the DOJ says so… I’ll let folks think on that for a minute..
Because folks may have dreads, not speak the king’s English or have a fancy degree or title next to their name, important truths were ignored.. and when I say ignored, I don’t mean folks didn’t hear what was spoken. What I mean is that what was spoken was not felt or taken seriously.
It’s interesting to look at folks timelines, read blogs or watch their twitter feeds to see them suddenly expressed concern about the systemic atrocities levied on folks by the Ferguson police…Perhaps now those who wagged their fingers and smugly said its a shame folks have not voted will understand a few things..
1-Police hunt for folks who have all these jay walking, traffic and other nuance warrants come time to go to the polls. In short warrants are not only great revenue generators for Ferguson and 41 corrupt cities/municipalities that surround them, they also serve as great voter suppression/intimidation tools..Police go hunting for folks in and around the polls during election time.. So no more finger wagging (looking at you Congressman Jim Clyburn )…
2-This system of ticketing and issuing obscene amounts of warrants that put almost every single resident of cities like Ferguson at risk.. (yes damn near everyone gets expensive tickets along with court fees), happened on the collective watch of Democrats..Contrary to popular believe this was not a Tea Party, far Right republican thing.. This happened under Democrats..It happened under the watch and blind eye turning of a whole lot of prominent folks.
Poor Black folks were chastised and told they need to save the day and save themselves by voting for folks who not once issued a report like the DOJ. These folks never took steps to end voter suppression and provide protection. They never held hearings to bring about relief for this outlandish practice of ticketing.. From Governor Jay Nixon on down to Congressman Lacy Clay on down to the DA Bob McColloch..This happened with their approval.. These are folks who we would see at DNC conventions..
A few years ago I went to huge Lacy Clay party at the 2008 DNC in Denver. It was hosted by Nelly and attended by DNC big wigs like Nancy Pelosi.. Folks stood on stage and said Clay was the man of the hour, yet all this madness happened on his watch.. Going against someone like him was met with scorn and ridicule.. How dare folks vote against a Black man running for office? How dare folks not support this staunch democrat? How dare folks turn their backs on the Governor, Congressman, Mayor and risk allow the Tea Party get into power.. How many folks heard this rhetoric? How many people spoke it??
How many people knew that Anthony Gray one of the lawyers for Michael Brown is also the police chief for nearby Pine Lawn where he oversees this horrific practice of ticketing poor Black folks and handing out high number of warrants?? You can peep that HERE http://bit.ly/1DZAZIz and http://bit.ly/1aMB0pI This was first reported 4 months ago…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3pIRMU0gY0
Now that all this is out in the open, will we see a cleaning of house from those in leadership position within the DNC or will people be told to rush off to the polls and vote come April when the next elections occur?? Sadly we are more likely to see action taken because of racist emails about the President before we see changes on the horrors many Ferguson folks have experienced..
When it comes to politics we can no longer look at the overly simplistic Left/Right binary.. In 2015 if you lean left politically speaking we need to know those who are Progressive and Social Justice minded.. We need to know those who are Liberal-minded and feel like what’s systemic can be easily be reformed..We need to know they are there to protect the party and ride hard at all costs.. We need to know those who are corporate friendly and have been touched by big money and feel replicating the GOP love for Big Biz is the way to go.. White Supremacy (and yes they can be Black). They got a taste of power and wanna be in the spotlight and at the forefront even if it means selling their souls or throwing their own under the bus.. Peep the DOJ Report here http://1.usa.gov/1ESyzNH