The Rule of Law

When it comes to the rule of law conservatives will fight hard to ensure that this concept is enforced. But In the criminal justice system, blacks, Latinos, and the working poor are criminalized. Those who disagree with this premise, will simply state that these individuals have choices in which they can either choose to commit a crime or obey the rule of law. The problem with this notion is that it blatantly ignores the root of the issue that continue to effect lower level people on a daily basis. For example, Jim Crow was a popular law that was enacted by the ruling class, representing those who are not black. Since blacks had no say in the political process in America up until the 1960’s, they were bound to the laws that oppressed them. Therefore any morally sound person would reject Jim Crow laws, and agree that they were far from equal. It has been decades since these laws have been ousted, but today poor people still suffer from an institutionalized racism from the ruling power.

In inner cities in America young Black and Latino kids share a strong culture and style that is not understood or looked down upon by society. If they were part of a ruling class, their culture would be considered an ideal example to follow. But since they lack the privilege of the ruling class they are considered thugs, and labeled as criminals. These individuals are then alienated by society and forced to form close bonds to those whom are similar to themselves. In order for the ruling class to maintain their power, strict laws and policies are enforced to ensure that the chances of improvement for these people are slim to none. In addition, statistics are created which further enforce the notion that people of color are nothing more than savages and criminals who need to be incarcerated, to maintain a civil society. When one doesn’t have the economical power to better their own situation they fall victim to the systems laws, which were created by a dominate group; using the dominate groups beliefs, to benefit the dominate group. Blacks defiantly do not benefit from these laws since they are the highest in number of those incarcerated. Whites do benefit from these laws since their incarceration numbers are a lot lower than black incarceration numbers.

The rule of law debate is interchangeable. When a poor person steals something from a grocery store to satisfy their hunger, this action is looked upon as a crime. But, when a police officer murders a suspect their actions are looked upon as heroic. If the police officer can be spared by the rule of law, how come the hungry man cannot? This example only proves that the law is set to benefit those with some sort of political or economic power. When Oscar Grant, was assassinated in Cold blood in the streets of Oakland; the officer who shot him in the back was charged with murder. Similar to the Rodney King Trial in Los Angeles, the officer’s defense attorney plans to relocate the trial so he can face a jury in a whiter jurisdiction. The officers’ in the Rodney King trial evaded conviction by receiving a convenient change of venue. The officers’ political power allowed them to escape justice, even though they were clearly guilty. The Oscar Grant trial is still underway, but if the officer who killed him gets acquitted, this will only prove that those with political or economic power benefit from the criminal justice system. The rule of law is the rule of law, murder is murder, but when it apply to those whom are apart of the majority, exceptions are granted.



Capitalism creates a system of classism and racism that leaves the oppressed powerless. The criminalization of these people, are justified by the laws that they are bound to. Since they lack the political power to change these laws they will continue to be victimized. Black communities like Rosewood Florida, were self sufficient communities until they were destroyed by racist whites, who faced no repercussions from the law. It is no different today, a poor person can only get ahead so much until it is revealed to them who they really are. The rule of law only protects those with elite status, and criminalizes those who cannot protect themselves from the ruling power.

College Educated Idiots

Community Colleges are a stepping ground for students who struggled in high school, and students who can not afford the expensive tuition of public and private Universities. However, not all students understand the full entirety of the Community College system. Associate degrees are an accomplishment to be proud of, but when it comes time to transfer to a four year university, it is up to the University to decide which credits they will accept, and if your credits are accepted. Your grades from your Community College may not always be transferred. What good is it to have 60 credits transferred to a University without a grade attached to them? One may have the necessary credits to graduate, but may also lack the core classes needed to graduate. Therefore, your 60 credits completed at a Community College were used just to get you in the door of a University. As stated earlier, community colleges are a stepping stone to get into a University, but it is not fair to make students pay for courses that may not always be accredited at Universities.

Proponents to Community colleges argue that dummies are being passed on to university's funded by the government. I agree to an extent, however I believe that everyone deserves a chance to receive a quality education. At the same time, everyone should be able to receive some sort of federal assistance. Free money is out there but sometimes the wrong people are given the free money. I have an acquaintance who does not take his Community College education seriously. He often brags about what he is going to buy with his financial aid money, and tends to take the minimum amount of classes each semester. To continue receiving financial aid money a student only has to maintain a 2.0 grade point average. Students like the one mentioned earlier, then proceed to acquire associate degrees, and head on to four year universities to receive bachelor degrees. When they reach Universities their skills needed to succeed are below average, and they get pushed through bachelor programs with sub par skills. In today's day and age students who should not receive degrees are being handed degrees, and passed along to grad school, which produces College educated Idiots. These people then proceed to wear their college degrees on their sleeves even though their skills a far below a college graduate level.


Schools need to stop worrying about making money , and make sure students who cant perform at a college level be educated properly.

Religion

Debate on Religion in America seldom occurs. Religious people are so stuck in their ways that they refuse to acknowledge science or common knowledge that can easily debunk their beloved gods. Spirituality and morals were around way before any concept of god or religion, but Christians act as though they have a trade mark on morality. Religion strips a person’s individuality from them and forces them to become something that they were never meant to become. Spirituality was founded on being true to ones self, organized religions stole spirituality and added their own twisted morals in order to control and brain wash their followers. If people would realize that religion is not needed to be spiritual and live a prosperous life then they wouldn’t flock to these churches by the millions. Religion is just a way to confuse people and prevent them from finding their own meaning of their own life. It is imperative that people become individual thinkers and question things that they believe are fallacies. I was once indoctrinated by Christianity, but I woke up and began to question things I was told not to question. Dropping Christianity granted me the ability to give my own life a meaning without worrying about some god in the sky judging me. In addition, I began to question why would a creator judge its creations when his creations are not godly like the so called creator. I could write for day’s questioning religion, but I will not because I have come in connect with my higher being, and I am comfortable with my own spirituality. It is up to those questioning their religion to do their own research and look in to them selves for guidance on spirituality. A great book to read is “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins.

Capitalism, Police Corruption and Classism

In a democratic society one would only believe that all people of all colors would be represented equally. But in the United States of America, democracy only applies to those in power. Capitalism creates classism, which disproportionately affects black people and people of color. Wealth is kept in the hands of a small proportion of the population, further decreasing the opportunity for people at the bottom the ability to better their situations. When people are not given equal opportunities to succeed disparities are created, which further separate classes. Lower level people are often times looked down upon and ignored. Take Hurricane Katrina for an example; the state of Louisiana knew they had faulty levees, but since these levees were located in lower level areas nothing was done to insure that they were prepared for a massive hurricane like Katrina. It is imperative that lower level people take action by becoming more radical and addressing injustices against their community’s.


When the serial killer in Cleveland stored seven poor black woman’s bodies in his house this further showcased the lack of concern for lower level black people. Had this same event occurred in a wealthy suburban area, national news coverage would have been diverted to make sure these women were somehow found. How can we live in a democratic society when a white woman’s well being is considered more valuable than a black woman’s well being? Black communities have been under attack by drugs, weapons, and, police brutality for decades. The war on dugs has systematically destroyed the family structure in inner cities throughout America. The disdain towards police in these communities stems from the historical oppression placed upon blacks by crime fighting police officers. When the goal of policing is to stop crime instead of preventing it, police officers perceive poor blacks as being inherently criminal. Thus, creating an us vs. them ideology that leads to innocent victims losing their lives, and innocent citizens being incarcerated.

Most people in poor communities have a lack of knowledge of the law which allows the criminal justice system to take advantage of their ignorance. This system is corrupted, and it is easy for this system to destroy lives by criminalizing the poor, while CEO’s and presidents profit off of wars, death, and indigent labor. We as a society must wakeup educate our selves become more radical and take what is naturally ours. We all deserve a piece of the pie.

Health Care Reform and Blue Dog Democrats

Health care reform has just passed through the house and the only thing holding it back is the senate. I do not want to jump to conclusions since the bill has not passed yet, but if it were to pass this is a great sign for actual change. Thirty nine democrats voted against the bill while only one republican voted for it. Thus, showcasing some sort of division within the Democratic Party. This division is a major threat even though the bill passed regardless. If the democrats are not careful this division can cost them severely in the upcoming elections. The Virginia and New Jersey Governor races were both lost by the Democratic Party, although President Barrack Obama is a very popular democratic president. Barrack is not a one man show and him co signing something does not always guarantee a victory. Therefore, the democrats must regroup as a party and get rid of the so called “blue dog” Democrats.

The Blue dog democrats consider them selves fiscally conservative liberals who are independent. I consider them Southern Republicans who have infiltrated the Democratic Party. These blue dogs then complicate policy making for the true liberals further dividing the Democratic Party. One thing I can say about the Republicans is that they do tend to stick together no matter how whack their policies may be. It is up to the constituents of these so called Blue dog democrats to make sure these fools do not further divide the Democratic Party. Do not vote for someone who votes against health care reform, or any type of reform that may benefit society. Instead of worrying about the right the Democrats must keep an eye on those who vote against bills backed heavily by fellow democrats. One can only wonder if these Blue dogs are really just Republican infiltrators out to divide the Democratic Party.

Random Thoughts

Americans have a serious issue when it comes to living beyond their means, and buying materialistic things to impress society. Regardless of how much a person is earning yearly, their quality of life is often based off of what material items they posses. Materialistic people are placed on a pedestal, while simpler individuals are looked down upon. This creates a society of attention seekers, who will do anything for their five minutes of fame. Social networks are great for one thing, besides networking, entertainment. Sites like Ustream, and you tube, showcase attention seeking individuals on a daily basis searching for their big break. Throwing money on strippers, known as making it rain was embraced in the hip hop culture, and impressionable teens sale drugs to join in this fad. In addition, dropping out of school can be looked at as adding street credentials to an aspiring rappers resume, and I don’t have enough fingers to count all the independent rap artists I know. If this type of behavior continues our youth will be working until their 70, or our prisons will fill up until we have to start building prisons on mars. It may sound sarcastic, but our priorities are messed up. Like Barrack Obama said, “Not everyone can be Lil Wayne or Lebron James”, but if you were to take a trip around your neighborhood you would think otherwise. Maybe it is just my neighborhood, or maybe it is yours also, but one thing is certain there are too many Indians and not enough chiefs.



On a more serious note, I often times wonder why the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Do elite people exploit materialism so lower level people can spend all their money buying things that aren’t important? What says you……..

Social Engineering

Jason Williams and Will capers both posted magnificent posts, so I decided to respond to they’re posts with my own insights on white privilege and social engineering. In a society where little is taught about the suffering of people of color and indigenous people, it is to no surprise that white people are clueless to their suffering. Social engineering has helped dumb down society by bringing forth a false representation of people of color. This false representation has led white people to a belief that they are some how superior. In addition, this pseudo superiority complex has affected the mind sets of several peoples of color leaving them to believe that white people are indeed superior, when in all actuality we are all humans. When you are told your whole life, that you have to work 10 times harder, than a white man because of the color of your skin, and to actually work harder than that average white man to make less money. Makes one wonder if this system has actually changed any since the days of slavery?



With disparities in the criminal justice, educational, social, and economical systems disproportionally, affecting blacks. I wonder if any thing is actually being done to fix these problems or if social engineering is in fact enabling these disparities to continue. As Mr. Williams stated, with no control over Media, school systems, and judicial power these disparities will continue to effect people of color. Does any body care? Or is it ok for black children to continue to attend schools that do not care if they pass or fail. The American society lacks accountability, which allows these disparities to continue to occur. Without any real leadership people of color will continue to be underrepresented in corporate America and all forms of governmental power. As Mr. Capers stated, there are a hand full of black billionaires, and capitalism has helped insure that it stays that way.


When blacks try to fight these disparities it is almost as though they are fighting a fight that can not be won. Something always seems to pop up to create a new problem. For example, Tulsa Oklahoma was one of the wealthiest African American communities in the United States, until a deadly race riot destroyed everything that was created. The isolation of people of color in this society has led to the current disparities. A common phrase by racist whites is that blacks need to take personal accountability. I strongly agree that people of color do indeed need to embrace accountability, like all races of people, but we must address the underlying factors that lead to the current disparities.


I recently read an article on the lack of blacks in law schools. With tests such as the LSAT, the numbers of blacks in law school continues to dwindle yearly. Since the criminal justice system affects blacks drastically, one would come to the belief that blacks need representation in the court room that share the same skin color as them. We also need law makers who can help ensure that the criminal justice system won’t unfairly incarcerate blacks at a disproportionate number. Whites get off much easier when convicted of a crime, and most of the times do not get convicted at all. When you are deemed as a criminal, and the black sheep of society, and a war on crime is being fought . People of color will continue to get locked up at record numbers. Real change needs to occur before we can call the age of Obama, a post race age. What good is it having a dream to better your self, when barriers deter you from reaching your dreams? As in case with the LSAT, this system was designed to have a minimal amount of successful blacks to give you a pseudo belief that you too can make it. If we do not address these problems they will continue to haunt people of color.