Carnage in a Charleston Church: Another Mass Murder

Posted on June 24, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to “Break It Down!”

Once again, an act of senseless violence has pierced our nation’s consciousness. Based upon a tally by CBS News reporter and unofficial White House historian, Mark Knoller, last Thursday marked the fourteenth time President Obama issued a statement on a shooting attack. In his seven-and-a-half minute statement, the President was visibly frustrated, and in fact he admitted a range of emotions, including, heart-ache, sadness, and anger.

President Obama’s sense of frustration is undoubtedly heightened due to his fruitless efforts to move Congress to enact legislation to limit access to firearms, which many people believe is a key arbiter to how easy it is to facilitate an attack, such as the one carried out at (Mother) Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. As many of his supporters ruefully note, forget gun control, Congress has refused to even adopt new gun registration laws. Moreover, despite the recent tragedy in Charleston, the prospects of new firearms’ legislation seems no brighter today than at any point in the last six-and-a-half years.

That stark reality moved President Obama to say:

“Now is a time for mourning and for healing, but let’s be clear: at some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence doesn’t happen in other advanced countries.”

As he reflected upon the nine lives taken last Wednesday, the President noted:

“Their death says to us that we must work passionately and unrelentingly for the realization of the American dream.” And so we must!

Unlike most of the preceding acts of gun violence during the President’s tenure, this one, by almost all accounts, unless you view this matter through a Fox News-like lens, has a racial catalyst and component. While there is a segment of our society dedicated to refusing to admit that any white person’s action, no matter how much compelling residual evidence exists, is predicated upon racial animus, this is one of those instances in which, there is no clear reasonable option.

Last Wednesday night, Dylann Roof, 21, entered historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. Wednesday evening is traditionally Prayer Meeting or Bible Study night in the Black Church, and so it was last week at Mother Emanuel.

Near the end of a 2,000-word Manifesto, titled “An Explanation,” Mr. Roof reveals what authorities may eventually deem to be the impetus for his actions:

“I have no choice. I am not in the position to, alone, go into the ghetto and fight. I chose Charleston because it is the most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to whites in the country. We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the Internet. Well someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me.”

The text which appeared on a website, called “The Last Rhodesian,” is registered to Mr. Roof and lists him as its administrator. In an image tweeted by South Carolina authorities this week, Roof is seen wearing a jacket with the flags of apartheid-era South Africa and nearby Rhodesia, a former British colony that a white minority ruled until it became independent in 1980 and its name was changed to Zimbabwe. His Social Media also portray him brandishing a Confederate Flag, and burning an American Flag.

According to Police Chief Greg Mullen, Mr. Roof spent about an hour at the Bible Study/Prayer Meeting before rising to open fire. Witnesses told investigators the gunman stood up and said he was there “to shoot black people,” a law enforcement official said.

He answered one man’s plea to stop by shooting him, said Sylvia Johnson, a cousin of the church’s slain pastor who has talked to a survivor.

“‘No, you’ve raped our women, and you are taking over the country,” he said, according to Johnson. “… I have to do what I have to do.”

All the victims were shot multiple times, according to Roof’s arrest warrant.

“Prior to leaving the Bible Study room he stood over a witness … and uttered a racially inflammatory statement,” the warrant said. He told one witness, whom he spared, “I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to spare you so you can tell them what happened.”

Roof shot and killed six females, and three males, including:

The Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41, the Church’s Pastor
M Tywanza Sanders, 26
Ms. Cynthia Hurd, 54
The Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45
Myra Thompson, 59
Ethel Lee Lance, 70
The Rev. Daniel Simmons, 74
The Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, 49
Susie Jackson, 87.

Approximately fourteen hours after the shootings, police caught Roof in Shelby, North Carolina, about 245 miles away from the carnage in Charleston. He was armed, but surrendered without offering resistance.

Roof confessed to the shootings in interviews with the Charleston police and FBI, two law enforcement officials told Evan Perez and Wesley Bruer of CNN, the first network to report this development. He also told investigators he wanted to start a race war, one of those officials said.

Investigators are looking into whether Roof had links to white supremacist or other hate groups, a law enforcement official said. There’s no indication, so far, that law enforcement officials who focus on hate groups knew of him. Roof is being held under one million dollars bond.

A peculiar thing happened as the case of Dylann Roof has unfolded. Mr. Roof has been connected to a number of racist symbols, prominent among them, the Confederate Battle Flag. While President Obama has lifted the mantle of firearms access when discussing this horrendous event, the rest of the political spectrum, especially conservatives seem engrossed in an inexplicable about face on the efficacy of what is casually known as the Confederate Flag. As a symbol, the flag has been considered virtually sacrosanct among Southern Conservatives for…well forever…since the virulent initiatives to put down the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.

The shameless song and dance routine that so many Southerners contorted themselves through while attempting to explain the supposed innocuousness of this venal symbol is at once laughable and sickening. The words heritage and history are most frequently used to defend and /or explain why the flag should fly over a Statehouse, or adorn one’s vehicle, or front door, or desk, or whatever. Of course none of that explains the perfect storm coincidental nature of the symbol emerging virtually simultaneously to the rise of the Civil Rights movement, and the apex of efforts of Klansmen and other hateful and bad actors to diffuse and defeat that movement.

The cynic in me is compelled to recognize that this sudden infectious spread of good will seems a lot like a case of making a sacrificial lamb of the flag, all in an effort to sidestep another serious battle over new gun laws. I see you!

Don’t get me wrong; I have no level of disappointment about the potential dislodging of the hate-infused symbol that is the Confederate Battle Flag. I would love to see it go away altogether. However, I am also mindful that any prospects of even moving the flag to less prominent stations, on any large scale, is still quite an iffy proposition. This is true despite the Pomp and Circumstance generated by Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, and other politicos including Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Lindsey Graham, Chris Christie, Ben Carson, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, and John Kasich, Scott Walker, and Jeb Bush. There are still holdouts. Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, and Rick Santorum have hedged, and said the States should decide the issue. Mike Huckabee has dismissed the issue. For now!

In fact, in addition to South Carolina, Legislatures in several other Southern States, are currently engaged in some level of discourse about what to do about references (some subtle or not so well-known) to the Confederacy in their respective State Flags. Included among these States are: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Kudos to businesses, such as Amazon, eBay, KMART, Sears, and Walmart, which have taken the position they will no longer sell Confederate Flag oriented products. Although, I did take with a grain of salt, a statement by Walmart’s CEO, Doug McMillon, when he said he was surprised the products could be found on their shelves. Nevertheless, I credit him with adhering to the right impulse, even if it took him a while to arrive at that point. Moreover, a number of businesses, including NASCAR, Boeing, BMW, and Michelin have rallied to support Governor Haley’s initiative to remove the flag in South Carolina.

North Carolina and Virginia Governors have asked their States not to sell Confederate-themed license plates any longer. Even Mississippi is considering taking down the flag. However, govern any post-flag fantasies with caution. In South Carolina, for example, any measure to remove the flag still requires a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to pass, which I am certain, will be no mean feat. In the Palmetto State, the flag is institutionalized to such a degree that, even though the United States Flag and the State of South Carolina Flag are flying at half staff, in observance of the deaths of the Charleston Nine, the Confederate Flag (Which no longer flies over the Statehouse, is, and must by State statute still flying at full staff. Ergo, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There is still work to do.

Indeed, it “may be easier” to remove the flag than enacting any kind of enhanced gun laws. I’m just not sure the issue is nearly as important. Meanwhile, we are left to contemplate “Carnage in a Charleston Church: Another Mass Murder!”

I’m done; holla back!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/06/20/why-republicans-were-quick-to-cite-religion-but-not-racism-on-charleston/?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article25112812.html

http://www.vox.com/2015/6/22/8824113/obama-n-word-maron

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/22/politics/barack-obama-n-word-race-relations-marc-maron-interview/index.html

http://www.vox.com/2015/6/20/8818093/confederate-flag-south-carolina-charleston-shooting

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charleston-church-shooting/obama-deliver-eulogy-slain-s-c-pastor-clementa-pinckney-n379871?cid=eml_nbn_20150622

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charleston-church-shooting/south-carolina-gov-nikki-haley-calls-removal-confederate-flag-state-n379801

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/dylann-roof-raged-black-guy-girl-report-article-1.2266378

http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/06/dylann_roof_s_cousin_says_dylann_went_over_the_edge_when_his_girl_crush.html

http://wnep.com/2015/06/18/dylann-storm-roof-arrested-in-north-carolina-according-to-report/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths-about-why-the-south-seceded/2011/01/03/ABHr6jD_story.html?postshare=8031435009070693

https://instagram.com/p/4PpoPtSpky/

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/06/22/walmart-leads-pack-remove-confederate-flag-merchanidse.html

http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-charleston-eulogy-defining-moment-race-171823927.html;_ylt=A0LEVyhsA4pVKMcAm29XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEycTgwOTVxBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjAzOTVfMQRzZWMDc2M-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/22/christian-confederate-slavery_n_7638676.html

http://www.postbourgie.com/2009/04/29/the-confederate-flag-means-segregation/

http://time.com/3930464/south-carolina-confederate-flag-1962/

http://www.vox.com/2015/6/20/8818093/confederate-flag-south-carolina-charleston-shooting

http://www.rossde.com/editorials/edtl_conf_flag.html

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/6/23/mississippi-lawmaker-calls-for-removing-confederate-symbol-from-state-flag.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/22/us/charleston-church-shooting-main/index.html?eref=edition

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7639788?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000047

http://www.forwardprogressives.com/message-claim-confederate-flag-represents-heritage/

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3876157

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/22/civil-war-slavery_n_7639988.html?ir=Black+Voices&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000047

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/06/23/south-carolina-lawmakers-to-discuss-confederate-flag-as-debate-stretches-to-miss-va/?wpisrc=nl_evening&wpmm=1

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/22/politics/confederate-flag-walmart-south-carolina/

http://wn.com/president_obama’s_gun_control_speech_during_charleston_church_shooting_press_conference_full_

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/245422-obama-shooting-should-be-wake-up-call

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/us/church-attacked-in-charleston-south-carolina.html?_r=0

Black Like Me: The Rachel Dolezal Story

Posted on June 17, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

With wars, prison breaks, the NHL/NBA Finals, World Cup Soccer, a newly minted acronym (JEB = John Ellis Bush) presidential candidate, Democrats abandoning the President on the Trade bill, and a shark biting off an arm of two different teens off the North Carolina coast, the Rachel Dolezal saga hardly warrants a mention. That, however, is the beauty of having one’s own blog. Unlike LeBron, I don’t have to proclaim myself the best in the world to write about what I choose, and today, I choose Rachel; Ms. Dolezal, if you’re nasty. (That’s a cultural literacy/pop culture reference that you either get, or you don’t). Conduct a web engine search of Janet Jackson’s “Nasty,” if it escapes you. And yeah, I know the rule: The joke didn’t work, if you have to explain it. My blog; my rules.

In my view, there really isn’t a lot to say. To immediately frame this in a different, and sobering, if you will, light, simply imagine if, beginning today, I decide to “Identify as white.” OK, once you quit laughing, assuming you know me, really what if I did that? If, because I attended an historically white high school, matriculated and earned a graduate degree at a PWI (OK, another cultural literacy reference/Predominantly White Institution), spent a career working in majority white organizations, lived what some people would consider a middle class existence, and reside in suburbia, can I successfully commit cultural appropriation and declare, once and for all, I’m white; end of discussion? Can I? Really?

Before you spit out your coffee, or whatever your morning beverage of choice is, let me make it perfectly clear, I have no plans to either shed my locks, or begin any sort of bleaching treatment. I’m black; Ms. Dolezal is not. End of story!

Now, many folks smarter than me, and of much greater acclaim, have weighed in on this story. Frankly, I think it has taken up more time and space than is warranted. But we are a nation of excesses, so it is not unusual to immerse ourselves in flights of fancy while real issues go unaddressed.

Be that as it may, there are multiple issues at play here with the Montana-born, former Spokane, Washington NAACP President. They include, among others:

Is Ms. Dolezal black?

Did she misrepresent her race on various job applications?

Did she lie about whom her parents are?

Did she lie about whom her father is?

Did she lie about whom her child is?

Did she lie yesterday by saying she began identifying as black at age 5?

Has she done good work in her roles, while identifying as black?

The bottom line here is, not that hard to decipher. Moreover, I’m not writing any of this to persecute the woman. There is a lot to like about black culture and the African American experience. A number of people have been appropriating it for many years for that very reason. To that end, despite the fact Ms. Dolezal is not black, misrepresented her race on job apps, lied about who her parents are, lied when identifying someone who purportedly was her father, lied by saying one of her adopted brothers was her son, and lied yesterday when she said she began identifying as black at age 5 (according to her parents), she has apparently done significant and good work in roles afforded to her as a result of her various deceptions, misrepresentations, and lies. To that, I must say, she may have been able to do all those things by asserting that as the white woman she is, she was committed to advancing society in the same ways she did, in those same positions.

I applaud Ms. Dolezal…for her goals and the aims that she achieved while pursuing those goals. Her tactics and methods; those leave something to be desired. And I would add, those tactics and methods proved to be the instruments of her undoing.

There has been a lot of airtime and web space devoted to how much black folks disdain Rachel Dolezal. That may be true; but I am not one of them. I think she made a number of questionable judgments, employed a series of deceptive practices, and she may be, as her parents have contended, delusional. In fact, as I make mention of her parents, it is essential to note, it was they who exposed her canard. And while it seems to me, they are really the people most angered by all this, they only responded to questions posed by the media after the media sought them out and posed direct questions, to which they could have responded truthfully, declined comment (further intensifying the inquiry), or lied…as their daughter had been doing. Some would say, to their credit, they chose the honorable option.

Ultimately, if an accusatory finger points at anyone, sadly, it must be pointed at Rachel, herself. I’ll say this, her journey already has the makings for a book, movie, or TV deal…”Black Like Me: The Rachel Dolezal Story!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Dolezal

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/16/us/washington-rachel-dolezal-naacp/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6GyV_rcLV8

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/rachel-dolezals-brother-refutes-her-claims-ezra-121684154470.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/15/opinions/rich-rachel-dolezal/index.html

http://abcnews.go.com/US/rachel-dolezals-parents-hope/story?id=31771932

http://abcnews.go.com/US/rachel-dolezal-naacp-leader-questioned-race-parents-reportedly/story?id=31714836

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/us/rachel-dolezal-quits-naacp-in-spokane.html?_r=0

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0613/Rachel-Dolezal-Does-it-matter-if-she-is-black-or-white-video

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/12/rachel-dolezal-black_n_7573930.html

http://yourblackworld.net/2015/06/16/kareem-abdul-jabbar-black-community-better-off-because-of-rachel-dolezal/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me

McKinney: Like It or Not; They Got Next

Posted on June 10, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

Sadly, but necessarily, my focus for this post is the next installment of what seems to be an endless procession of, shall we say, “unfortunate” interactions between citizens and police officers. In this instance, like many, if not most of the ones preceding it, the majority of the citizens in question were African American.

According to most accounts, teens decided to throw a pool party at a local neighborhood pool in McKinney, last Friday. McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city’s 2010 population was 131,117, making it second in size to Plano, among cities in the County. It is the nineteenth most populous city in the state of Texas, and is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. McKinney is located 31 miles north of Dallas.

Among cities with more than 50,000 people, the Census Bureau cited McKinney as the fastest growing city from 2000 to 2003, and again in 2006. In 2007, it was listed as the second fastest growing city among cities over 100,000 in population, and in 2008, the third fastest. In the most recent estimate, as of January 1, 2015, the city’s population was estimated at 155,142.

So right away, it is clear, the dimensions, and likely the character of what used to be a small town has been altered significantly in the last decade and a half. With that in mind, it is certainly conceivable that homogeneity has gone by the wayside, and with it some degree of tolerance. I cannot say that the resulting changes caused Friday’s incident, but it almost surely contributed.

Just what happened in this swanky burg outside Dallas? Here’s a youtube video of the incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpWP8aMcOo8.

By Sunday, a number of variations of the video above showed a police officer most viewers, including the Brass at the McKinney Police Department, thought was out of control in his efforts to respond to a call to curtail the actions of a raucous crowd at the pool party. The officer, Eric Casebolt, though not named initially, was quickly placed on administrative leave.

A seven-minute YouTube video shows a police officer using profanity and aggressively throwing a 15-year-old girl in a bathing suit to the ground, facedown. He then appeared to pin her down with his knees.

The girl can be heard screaming, “I want to call my mom. He hit me.”

As is common, there are conflicting views of the matter. One version of the sequencing of events involves an assertion by Tatiana Rhodes, 19, who maintained that she and some of her friends were enjoying themselves at the Craig Ranch North Community Pool when conflict with a white neighbor ensued. Ms. Rhodes said:

“This lady was saying racial slurs to some friends that came to the cookout. She was saying such things as ‘black effer,’ and “that’s why you live in Section 8 homes.’” More insults followed, according to Rhodes. One neighbor said, “Go back to your Section 8 home.” Then, by Rhodes’ account, “A white neighbor came up to me and smacked me in my face. That’s when both of the women attacked me,” said Ms. Rhodes. A photographer recorded the statement and uploaded it online.

Conversely, Brian New of CBS Dallas reported that “Many McKinney residents say that Casebolt was justified because the teens were ignoring his orders.” Well, there you have it! Comply, or face unmitigated wrath, language and physical assault by a police officer.

In the video, Officer Casebolt was recorded pinning a teen girl to the ground, handcuffing her, pulling her hair, pushing her face to the ground, and holding her down with both knees on her spine. He was also shown drawing his weapon and pointing it toward several other teens.

Yesterday, Corporal Casebolt resigned from the McKinney Police Department. Chief Greg Conley said the officer resigned voluntarily. He stated at a press conference:

“Officer David Eric Casebolt’s actions were “indefensible, but he was not pressured to quit the force.”

Chief Conley also said:

“Twelve officers responded to the report of fights and a disturbance at the pool party at the Craig Ranch North Community Pool in an affluent area of western McKinney. Eleven of them performed according to their training, Casebolt did not. He came into the call out of control and the video showed he was out of control during the incident.”

The Supreme Court has held that it is legal to record police officers executing their duties. There are some states and jurisdictions that frame that right in strict parameters. However, it is crucial to note that the recent trend of video-recording such encounters has provided an incredible array of enlightenment. Thanks to a revolution in technology, i.e., virtually everyone has a video-capable cellphone; the public has regularly become party to an eye-opening series of developments when citizen and police have what devolve into brutal encounters.

The good news resulting from the McKinney incident is no one lost a life, as a result of the encounter. We can all be thankful for that. Moreover, let us hope that, in as much as a picture is worth a thousand words, we can reach a national consensus that videotaping such incidents is a good thing for all involved.

In this particular incident, it brought to light the errant ways of, what for the duration of that incident at least was, a rogue cop. Conversely, it illuminated the commitment to departmental protocol of eleven other officers. That ought to be deemed a huge and compelling benefit. And while we are contemplating the power of hope, let us hope I will have a long respite before having the need to elevate another event such as this. I doubt we’ll be so lucky, but one thing about which there is no doubt is this; “McKinney: Like It or Not; They Got Next!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/09/us/mckinney-texas-pool-party-video/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpWP8aMcOo8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKinney,_Texas

http://mckinneytexas.org

http://gokicker.com/2015/06/08/what-we-know-about-the-racially-charged-pool-party-conflict-in-mckinney-texas/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/06/07/texas-police-officer-suspended-gun-pool-party/28651179/

http://news.yahoo.com/behind-tension-over-texas-pool-party-seismic-shift-205849024.html;_ylt=A0LEVx2fkXdV1L4AmLFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzbzdqbzlsBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQNTA0XzEEc2VjA3Nj

http://www.fox4news.com/story/29270610/mckinney-pool-party-incident-sparks-protests

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/us/mckinney-tex-pool-party-dispute-leads-to-police-officer-suspension.html?_r=0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5nwVllNZvM

http://www.vibe.com/2015/06/pool-party-officer-resigns/

http://www.courtroomstrategy.com/2012/11/supreme-court-upholds-legality-of-videotaping-police/

Tomorrow: The Finals!

Posted on June 3, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

For most of my life, my favorite sport has been basketball. In the formative years of my youth, I cut my sports teeth on baseball. It was my father’s sport. Though he never told me, I learned from a relative, just a few years ago, that my dad played semi-professional baseball. I never knew, when I was playing Little League Baseball, I was in the early stages of following in my father’s footsteps.

He came of age during the Golden Age of the Negro Leagues. He lived through and watched unfold the phenomenon that was Branch Rickey. Mr. Rickey, an innovative Major League Baseball (MLB) executive was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967. He is likely best known for breaking MLB’s color barrier, by signing the sport’s first African American player, Jackie Robinson. Though not as widely recognized, he also signed the first Afro-Hispanic superstar, Roberto Clemente, and was responsible for creating the framework for the modern minor league farm system, for encouraging the Major Leagues to add new teams through his involvement in the proposed Continental League, and for introducing the batting helmet. Indeed, he was a proverbial force of nature in MLB.

For his part, after integrating the sport, Robinson went on to become a star player for my dad’s beloved Dodgers. They were the Brooklyn Dodgers when Jackie broke into the League, but they would move to Los Angeles, as did the fan support for generations of African Americans. So it was, my dad’s team became my team.

Similarly, my dad introduced me to the Sweet Science, better known as boxing. In those days, big boxing matches often took place on Friday evenings, billed as Friday Night at the Fights. Baseball was a Saturday afternoon affair. My weekend TV sports viewing pattern was set. LOL!

Then, through the course of normal growth and development, I found my own sports passion. I truly believe since the first day I picked up a basketball, I have never viewed the broad spectrum of sports the same. It became basketball, then everything else. Oh, I dabbled with sandlot football, softball, bowling, and tennis. I even played stickball, and handball, during summers in New York. But they were all always just an interlude, a mere distraction until I could return to hoops, my game.

So it is, today, you might say I’m Jonesing; waiting out the inescapable NBA imposed interval until the Games resume…tomorrow. The NBA Finals will pit against one another, two formidable opponents.

In one corner we have the team that amassed the best record in the League this year. The Golden State (Oakland, CA) Warriors, feature this year’s League Most Valuable Player (MVP), Stephen Curry.

In the other corner, their opponent, the Cleveland Cavaliers feature the player most people consider the best in the World, LeBron James, a veritable walking record book. James has won two NBA championships, four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, two NBA Finals MVP Awards, two Olympic gold medals, an NBA scoring title, and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He has also been selected to 11 NBA All-Star teams, 11 All-NBA teams, and six All-Defensive teams, and is the Cavaliers’ all-time leading scorer. He is appearing in his fifth consecutive NBA Finals.

“The NBA is Fantastic,” and I can hardly wait for the hostilities to begin. There is no lack of allegiance for either team. Whether the dividing line is East vs. West, or Curry vs. James, or Cleveland vs. Golden State, or Ohio vs. California, or some other varied machination of the two, people, for the most part, including me, have chosen sides.

I really like LeBron James. At 6’8”, 250 pounds, he brings a combination of size, strength, speed, and skill seldom seen in any athlete, in any sport. Many folks think he would be a force on the football field. On the basketball court, he is a virtually unstoppable force. To put a finer point on matters, LeBron and I share the same birthday (not the year of course).

On the flip side, Steph Curry is simply amazing. In contrast to LeBron, he’s listed at 6’3”, and weights 190 pounds (they say). He is assembling his own portfolio, which impressively includes, while playing the point guard position, being considered by some to be the greatest shooter in NBA history. He is the 2015 NBA Most Valuable Player and a two-time NBA All-Star, and the son of former NBA player Dell Curry.

Curry displays incredible control of the ball, and his body. But his stock-in-trade is “the shot.” He makes three point shots with ease, from all over the court. His relatively diminutive size, combined with his ability to control or change the flow of a basketball game, single-handedly, is on occasion, breathtaking.

Enough already, I like both teams’ leader. But as I alluded earlier, I have chosen sides. I’m picking Curry and the Warriors. Allow me to be clear. I’m pulling for the Warriors. Curry has Charlotte high school and AAU roots, attended college at Davidson, right here in Mecklenburg County, plus the Warriors have two players who matriculated at North Carolina (and I’m a Tar Heel).

That’s great and all, but truth be told, I am pulling for Golden State. I’m pulling for them because I will not; in fact I just cannot pull for Cleveland. Not yet anyway. When LeBron chose to leave Cleveland for Miami, the Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert wrote a scathing letter (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5365704) lambasting his former star player, calling him a coward, former hero, and deserter, among other derogatory things. Mr. Gilbert owns the Cavaliers, not LeBron. In my view, his tirade revealed far more about himself than it did about LeBron. He revealed himself to the core. I took note.

He said a lot of other things, including, making an assertion that LeBron was taking “the curse,” bad karma, and the spell with him. He also said one other thing that continues to resonate with me:

“I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE”

Actually, he was correct; LeBron won two, while Cleveland regularly toiled in the NBA Lottery…without the so-called former King. Karma is real!

I fully appreciate Mr. James’ right to exercise his prerogative and make a business/family decision to return to the Cleveland community and the Cavaliers. Mr. James, to the credit of his negotiating ability, is being paid handsomely to do so; I, on the other hand am not. So, Go Warriors!

Oh, one final thing. None of this means I “think” Golden State will win. But I sure hope so. “Tomorrow: The Finals!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_Rickey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Brooklyn_Dodgers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_vs._Sonny_Liston

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Cavaliers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_State_Warriors

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Curry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Gilbert_(businessman)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5365704

Memorial Day: What Your Teacher Never Told You!

Posted on May 27, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

(Please enjoy this reprised edition of “Break It Down!” This post was originally published May 30, 2012 at: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com)

OK, so Memorial Day was earlier this week. You may be familiar with my holiday week philosophy, which is: make it easy on the readers, who are always otherwise engaged, no matter the holiday. Of course, in the process, I am also giving myself a break. That makes for a natural win-win scenario.

With that overarching thought in mind, I will endeavor to apply three elementary rules of communication:

Utilize the KISS Principle, AKA, Keep It Short & Simple (also Keep It Simple Stupid)

Convey new or “not widely circulated” information

Always remember to emphasize points 1 and 2 above

Memorial Day is a federal holiday to honor America’s fallen soldiers. It originated after the Civil War. Falling between Easter and Independence Day, it is often equated with a late spring break, or a pre-summer respite.

The weekend typically includes a cornucopia of sports. For example this week included the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, the NBA Conference Finals, College Men’s Baseball playoffs, and College Women’s Softball competition, among others.

With the rapidly heating-up political season thrown in the mix, the holiday is sometimes almost lost in the shuffle. But wait; Memorial Day has a special cultural significance. In fact, it is because of that nexus we should pay special homage to this late spring holiday.

The first well-known observance of a Memorial Day type was held May 1, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina. Over 250 Union soldiers that had been prisoners of war, died in Charleston, and were quickly buried in makeshift graves. A group of blacks, mostly freedmen, organized the observance and led cleanup and landscaping of the burial site.

Most of the nearly 10,000 people who attended were freedmen and their families. Of that number, 3.000 were children, newly enrolled in freedman’s schools. Mutual aid societies, black ministers, and white Northern missionaries were also in attendance.

David W. Blight, Professor of American History at Yale University, and Director of the school’s Gilder-Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, & Abolition, described the day this way:

“This was the first Memorial Day. African Americans invented Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina. What you have there is black Americans recently freed from slavery announcing to the world with their flowers, their feet, and their songs what the War had been about. What they basically were creating was the Independence Day of a Second American Revolution.”

Professor Blight conceded there is no evidence that the Charleston event led directly to the establishment of Memorial Day across the country. But the record is clear they formed the earliest truly large-scale event, complete with media coverage. Their effort was the prototype, if not the catalyst.

Having said that, I believe I honored the rules established above for this post:

Told this story in a direct and uncomplicated fashion
Presented information I am confident most readers did not know
Recognized points 1 and 2, were accomplished and closed the post

Enjoy your bonus time, and be sure to reflect on “Memorial Day: What Your Teachers Never Told You!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the links: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or /http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com.

A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_W._Blight

http://www.davidwblight.com/

http://www.snopes.com/military/memorialday.asp

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/25/1301862/-Memorial-Day-Has-African-American-Roots-First-One-Was-Conducted-By-Former-Slaves#

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/KISS_principle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War

http://www.yale.edu/glc/index.htm

http://www.civilwarhome.com/freedmen.htm

Waco Biker Melee: Where Is The WASP Outrage?

Posted on May 20, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

As I have frequently reminded readers, my norm for determining a blog topic includes a window shopping view of topics of the day that capture my interest. Usually there are quite a few to ponder. I choose one, and then endeavor to share the subject in a way that will appeal to some of the folks who regularly read my posts.

My initial inclination for todays post was to write about President Obama joining the Twitterverse, after six years in Office. What started as a purely human-interest piece, framed around Mr. Obama’s late breaking decision to formally enter the realm of Twitter by opening his own account. The tone and tenor of the conversation changed almost immediately. Almost quicker than one could say Abracadabra (not that there was anything magical about what transpired), the commentary took on a vile and racially divisive tone. No, it’s not prestidigitation; it’s not even surprising. Seven weeks ago (April 1st), I wrote a Post entitled, “President Obama Stumbles: Haters Rue Missed Opportunity!” (https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/04/01/the-president-stumbles-haters-rue-missed-opportunity/). Check it out, if you’ve forgotten, or in the event you never saw it. A few examples of the Tweets are here for your interest, edification, and/or perhaps, amusement.

President Obama

✔

@POTUS

Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.

Follow

John J. Johnson @JohnJJohnsonMN

‪@POTUS‪ What do you call the first black president of the United States?

>Nigger

2:00 PM – 18 May 2015

President Obama

✔

@POTUS

Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.

Follow

Gippo Dudee @DudeeGippo

‪@POTUS‪ nice job with the banner, gotta let everyone know that you’re some kinda communist nigger right?

12:15 PM – 18 May 2015

President Obama

✔

@POTUS

Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really! Six years in, they’re finally giving me my own account.

Follow

Jeff Gully @jeffgully49

‪@POTUS‪

#arrestobama #treason we need “ROPE FOR CHANGE” we still hang for treason don’t we? pic.twitter.com/YGOQDRan9u

3:28 PM – 18 May 2015

 ‪2 2 Retweets ‪4 4 favorites

Of course, as the Title belies, this post is not about POTUS or his Twitter Account. It’s about the deadly shootout Sunday in Waco, Texas, involving rival biker gangs, and police officers.

Recently I have commented on the seemingly steady stream of fracases in various communities across the American landscape. Typically violence is involved, often, but not always there is a racial component, and sooner or later some element, agency, or department of law enforcement must be engaged.

Just three short weeks ago, Baltimore was front and center. Three days ago, it was Waco. According to Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton, a police spokesperson, there were at least five gangs. He noted that bikers shot at each other, and at officers, who returned fire. He added:

“In my 35 years of law enforcement experience, this is the most violent and gruesome scene that I have dealt with.”

According to police, at least nine people died as a result of the gunfire exchanges. Police report 170 bikers were booked into the McLennan County Jail to be charged with Engaging in Organized Crime. That number has decreased from 192, originally reported by police Monday. Each was being held on $1 million bond. Other charges may be pending.

Sgt. Swanton expressed frustration and anger at Twin Peaks management. He suggested that the restaurant might have been able to do more to prevent the melee. For its part, corporate management at Twin Peaks issued a statement acknowledging that it was reviewing the circumstances of the shooting. In the release, they added:

“We are thankful no employees, guests or police were injured in this senseless violence outside the restaurant, and our sympathies are with the families of those killed.”

The initial position of Waco Police was that they would continue to refrain from naming the individual gangs, so as not to “give them publicity. However, earlier reports on the shooting pinpointed at least two gangs at the center of the chaos: “the Bandidos and the Cossacks.”

The Bandidos, with up to 2,500 members across 13 countries — 900 of them in the U.S. alone — are considered one of the country’s largest outlaw motorcycle gangs and “a growing criminal threat” by the Department of Justice.

The Bandidos are involved in the transportation and distribution of cocaine and marijuana as well as methamphetamine, which they also produce. The gang is also actively expanding its presence across Texas, where its membership is largely concentrated, and throughout other parts of the country, starting new chapters and recruiting members of allied clubs.

Less is known about the Cossacks Motorcycle Club, a local Texas gang reportedly founded just three years after the Bandidos, in 1969. But early expert analyses suggest rising territory-related tensions between the two Texas groups may have been at the root of Sunday’s shootout.

In 2013, Jack Lewis, the president of the Bandidos chapter in Abilene, Texas, was arrested in the nonfatal stabbings of two Cossacks members.

Steve Cook, executive director of the Midwest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association and a Kansas City law enforcement officer who says he previously worked undercover in the Bandidos, told both Vox and the Washington Post that the Cossacks may have been pursuing an alliance with the Bandidos’ rivals the Hells Angels in an effort to challenge the larger gang’s control of Texas.

“We knew the tensions with the Cossacks were as high as they’d ever been,” Cook told Vox. “I don’t think anybody could have forecast it to the degree that it happened.”

That is enough about the gory details of this incident. The real gist of the point I wish to explore for just a moment is, what was absent. During the Baltimore and Ferguson imbroglios, there was a palpable reaction; a visceral outrage about the thugs involved in committing senseless acts of violence. So what is different in Waco? Well, I’m glad you asked; here are 10 things:

No National Guard/late night curfews/incessant 24-7 News coverage
Recovered roughly 1000 weapons, including knives, pistols, rifles, & brass knuckles
Detainees were shown talking on their cell phones w/police nearby
9 dead
18 injured
Police officers engaged in exchange of gunfire
No reference of single-parent households
No signs of tear gas
No baton-wielding cops
No armored vehicles

No two of these scenarios is exactly alike. However, just four weeks ago, I penned a Post, entitled, “Dangerous Encounters With Police: The Flip Side!” (https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/04/22/dangerous-encounters-with-police-the-flip-side/). The point of that post was how differently an individual may be treated by a police officer under duress. Today’s post reflects the same thought on a communal level. Despite the violent acts of nearly 200 bikers, the majority of whom were armed, and many of them firing their weapons at each other and at police, they are considered more human, and engender more empathy than unarmed black men, or the protesters who support them. If nothing else, that should be a catalyst for not only a national conversation, but also for the Change We Can All Believe In. Don’t hold your breath though. The question of the hour is…”Waco Biker Melee: Where Is the WASP Outrage?”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://www.vibe.com/2015/05/barack-obama-racist-twitter-trolls/

http://www.centrictv.com/news-views/centric-news/articles/2015/05/19/president-obama-s-new-twitter-account-met-with-racist-tweets.html

http://downtrend.com/donn-marten/liberals-decry-conservative-racist-tweets-posted-to-obamas-new-twitter-account

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/04/01/the-president-stumbles-haters-rue-missed-opportunity/

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/04/22/dangerous-encounters-with-police-the-flip-side/

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/18/us/biker-brawl-bandidos-cossacks/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/17/us/texas-shooting/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/waco-biker-shooting-turf-war-uninvited-gang-sparked/story?id=31145828

http://news.yahoo.com/uninvited-bikers-turf-wars-led-deadly-texas-brawl-180630485.html;_ylt=AwrBT9H44ltVo5IAC.hXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzbzdqbzlsBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQNTA0XzEEc2VjA3Nj

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/turf-drugs-violence-behind-waco-biker-gang-brawl-n360861

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/18/us/texas-biker-gang-brawl-shooting/index.html

http://news.yahoo.com/who-was-involved-in-the-deadly-waco-biker-brawl-170330633.html;_ylt=AwrBT9H44ltVo5IAEehXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNWc4N2E2BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMzBHZ0aWQDVklQNTA0XzEEc2VjA3Ny

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/waco-shootout-biker-brawl-twin-peaks-leaves-nine-dead-n360336

http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/texas-news/2015/05/17/multiple-deaths-reported-in-waco-restaurant-melee/27498095/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/05/19/waco-police-say-threats-against-officers-toned-down-since-aftermath-of-biker-brawl-warn-more-violence-is-possible/

Chicago’s South Side: Could There Ever Have Been Any Other Choice?

Posted on May 13, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

I don’t think so! For months now as critics and admirers alike have pointed to the winding down of President Obama’s tenure as our 44th President, a quiet but intense battle has raged. Usually beneath the surface, or out of the eyesight of the seemingly ever present eye in the sky of the news media, The University of Hawaii, Columbia University, The University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Chicago have vied for the prestigious opportunity to be name home for the Barack Obama Presidential Library. Without further adieu, congratulations to the University of Chicago, located on the City’s well-known, and often controversial South Side.

Let’s take a quick look at the contenders to get an idea why they were in the race in the first place:

The University of Hawaii – President Obama, despite the insistence of Birthers such as Donald Trump, was born in Hawaii. Pretty much automatically, The Aloha State and its Flagship University was a contender. Frankly, however, the University of Nairobi and/or the University of Indonesia (for the sake of those zany Birthers) stood about the same chance as the University of Hawaii of winning the Library. Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the planet. It is 2,390 miles from California, 3,850 miles from Japan, 4,900 miles from China, and 5,280 miles from the Philippines. In the fast paced politics of Negotiation 101, there were probably many reasons why the U of H was not going to be the ultimate home of the Obama Library, but almost certainly, the distance factor alone was sufficient to eliminate the Hawaiian Islands from serious consideration. It was nice of them to try, but it was never going to happen.

Columbia University – President Obama earned his undergraduate degree, a Bachelors of Arts in political science with a specialty in international relations from Columbia, after spending his first two years of college studying at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Columbia, an Ivy League research university, located in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is in many ways the antithesis of the University of Hawaii. Located in America’s largest population center, is situated in the center of the BosWash megalopolis. Columbia is many things, but located in an isolated region is not one of them. Yet, I do not believe Columbia was serious player in this game. Barack Obama had not begun to make his mark during his Columbia era.

The University of Illinois at Chicago – The UIC has a lot to offer. First, it is in President Obama’s adopted hometown. Although there has been a number of feints and deflections about where President Obama will live after his presidency, and it’s yet to be determined…or at least announced, what we do know, is Chi-Town has served as the launching point for almost everything related to his political career, from his introduction to community organizing to his victory speech in Grant Park after his election in 2008. The school operates the largest medical school in the United States, and educates more of Illinois’ physicians, dentists, pharmacists, physical therapists, nurses, and other health care professionals than any other institution. Yet, I am reminded of an inside joke a friend of mine and I share. Cutting straight to the chase, UIC is a State School. All the Presidents Post Secondary education pursuits to date have occurred at private institutions, Occidental, Columbia, and Harvard, where he studied, and the University of Chicago, where he served as a Lecturer from 1992-1996, and a Senior Lecturer from 1996-2004, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Senior Lecturers are considered professors; just not full-time or tenure-track. Mr. Obama was invited several times to join the faculty in a tenure-track position, but declined.

It’s worth noting that Harvard was not among the list of schools vying for the Obama Presidential Library. A little research reveals that the Kennedy Library, located near the University of Massachusetts was initially slated for Harvard, President Kennedy’s alma mater. The shorthand version of what happened is it took the project so long to unfold, that what began as a popular idea devolved into one opposed by the community around the University, due to the anticipated crowds and commercialization of the area. There is not much reason to think attitudes have shifted in any fundamental way after the ensuing decades.

The University of Chicago – As President Obama put it in his own words in a video to the Obama Foundation yesterday:

“All the strands of my life came together and I really became a man when I moved to Chicago,”

That pretty much says it all. Any other location would have been an upset selection. He represented the South Side of Chicago in his Illinois Senate Seat, and of course went on to represent the State in the U.S. Senate. Ultimately, the Foundation decided on Chicago, and Mr. and Mrs. Obama signed off on the call. The president also said in the video:

“With a library and a foundation on the South Side of Chicago, not only will we be able to encourage and effect change locally but what we can also do is attract the world to Chicago.”

Finally, President Obama observed that Chicago is the nexus that connects the many elements of his life when he said the city of Chicago is that place where:

“All the strands of my life came together. The people there, the community, the lessons that I learned – they’re all based right in this few square miles where we’ll now be able to give something back and bring the world back home after this incredible journey.”

The City is where he began his career, met his wife, Michelle, and where his children were born. Chicago’s South Side: Could There Ever Have Been Any Other Choice? Really, no!

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/12/politics/obama-presidential-library-chicago-announcement/index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/12/obama-presidential-library_n_7263666.html

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/12/406241842/chicago-wins-bid-for-obama-presidential-library?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=storiesfromnpr

https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIGLsVJVpi0APYf7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTEwbjZlcTBnBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDVklEMDYEZ3BvcwM0?p=University+of+Chicago+Wins+Obama+Library&vid=ddc8b652cac4fec0dc3703f35e78f068&l=&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVR.6880322788886%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Funiversity-of-chicago-to-house-obama-presidential-library%2F&tit=University+of+Chicago+to+house+Obama+presidential+library&c=3&sigr=12m7sqjr3&sigt=11pi75c3r&sigi=11mi8nfh5&age=1431428354&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=aaplw&tt=b

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_citizenship_conspiracy_theories

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Hawaii

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Illinois_at_Chicago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_Presidential_Library_and_Museum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occidental_College

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Chicago

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media

Jade Helm 15: The Next (Not So) Great Conspiracy Theory

Posted on May 6, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

Odds are, you’ve never heard of Jade Helm 1 thru 14, not to mention Jade Helm 15. Alternately, if you have heard of what I shall refer to as JH15, for convenience sake, you have either had the occasion to embrace or reject the conspiracy theory of the moment. Needless to say, the choice you made says a lot about you. I’ll just leave that right there.

Alrighty then, let’s peel this onion. What in the Jesse Helms is Jade Helm 15? First off, the two things are not related. The Late Jesse Helms was a Republican Senator representing the State of North Carolina for 30 years (January 3, 1973 – January 3, 2003). JH15 is a planned United States military training exercise that is scheduled to take place over multiple states in the US from July 15 through September 15, 2015. The exercise will involve U.S. Army Special Operations Command (SOC) with other U.S. Armed Forces units in a multi-state exercise that includes Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado.

Quickly, what do Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, and Chuck Norris have in common? As I view the question, on its face, it appears to presage the punch line to a bad joke. However, in this particular instance, it is a serious question about an issue that has at least surfaced around the fringe of the public square.

These distinguished gentlemen, two politicians and an actor, all with immutable ties to the Lone Star State, have all recently asserted to varying degrees that the Pentagon is in effect, embroiled in a nefarious scheme to take over Texas. The Honorable Greg Abbott is the Governor of Texas. He is so concerned about the devious and dangerous nature of JH15 to Texans, that he has ordered the State’s National Guard to monitor Operation JH15.

Intrepid Senator Ted Cruz, the Junior Senator from Texas, and a freshly minted GOP Presidential Candidate, while blazing the campaign trail in the friendly confines of Columbia, South Carolina this past Saturday said he’d been hearing concerns about JH15, and he wanted answers. As he continued, he said:

“My office has reached out to the Pentagon to inquire about this exercise,” We are assured it is a military training exercise. I have no reason to doubt those assurances, but I understand the reason for concern and uncertainty, because when the federal government has not demonstrated itself to be trustworthy in this administration, the natural consequence is that many citizens don’t trust what it is saying.”

So, based upon his not so reassuring reassurance, one can infer Senator Cruz believes the Pentagon when it affirms the operation is a military training exercise, though he clearly believes the conspiracy theorists have legitimate grounds for concern.

Chuck Norris, who appeared in a number of action films, and portrayed a heroic lawman in the TV Show, “Walker, Texas Ranger, also joined the JH15 conspiracy bandwagon. On Sunday Walker, I mean Norris, published a column on the Conservative Website WND, in which he asserted:

“The U.S. government says, ‘It’s just a training exercise.’ But I’m not sure the term ‘just’ has any reference to reality when the government uses it.

Concerned Texans and Americans are in no way calling into question our brave and courageous men and women in uniform,” Norris wrote. “They are merely following orders. What’s under question are those who are pulling the strings at the top of Jade Helm 15 back in Washington.”

Mr. Norris is a very talented individual, who plied his acting skills in both movies and on TV. He is also a skilled martial artist, holding belts in a number of martial arts, including:

10^th degree black belt Chun Kuk Do

9^th degree black belt Tang Soo Do

8^th degree black belt Taekwondo

5^th degree black belt in Karate

black belt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

black belt Judo

He created the martial art known as Chun Kuk Do, based primarily on Tang Soo Do, but including elements from all the combat styles Norris knows. Chun Kuk Do, loosely translated as “The Universal Way,” like many other martial arts has an honor code. The code, which Mr. Norris claims as his personal code, has 10 principles, including:

Chun Kuk Do Principles

I will develop myself to the maximum of my potential in all ways.
I will forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements.
I will continually work at developing love, happiness and loyalty in my family.
I will look for the good in all people and make them feel worthwhile.
If I have nothing good to say about a person, I will say nothing.
I will always be as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.
I will maintain an attitude of open-mindedness.
I will maintain respect for those in authority and demonstrate this respect at all times.
I will always remain loyal to my God, my country, family and my friends.
I will remain highly goal-oriented throughout my life because that positive attitude helps my family, my country and myself.

After a quick perusal of the ten pillars of Chun Kuk Do, I can only conclude Mr. Norris suspended principles 5, 7, and 8 from his person code, at least when it pertains to JH15. Forgive me while I LOL!

As I wrote in another space, No doubt this distinguished group fancies themselves fiscally conservative. Yet, the Governor has found a rather ingenious way to waste Texans’ money. Obamaphobia is real. But it’s too late for such hijinks; he won. Twice…and despite the hype machine, he’s not running again. So, in conclusion, I give you…”Jade Helm 15: The Next (Not So) Great Conspiracy Theory!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Helm_15

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/04/politics/pentagon-texas-jade-helm-15-takeover/index.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/03/31/why-the-new-special-operations-exercise-freaking-out-the-internet-is-no-big-deal/

http://www.inquisitr.com/2054439/jade-helm-15-texas-governor-greg-abbott-wants-state-guard-to-monitor-military-exercises/

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-02/ted-cruz-says-he-has-asked-the-pentagon-for-answers-on-jade-helm-15?cmpid=yhoo&pt=tAD1SCT8P7/2012-07-28.html/

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/chuck-norris-jade-helm-15

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2015/0505/What-is-Jade-Helm-15-and-should-Chuck-Norris-be-worried-video

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/05/05/watch-jon-stewart-rip-reaction-to-jade-helm-15-the-military-exercise-spawning-conspiracy-theories/?wprss=rss_national-security

https://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=aaplw&p=Jade+Helm+15

http://www.examiner.com/article/jade-helm-15-is-not-cover-for-martial-law

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chun_Kuk_Do

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Abbott

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Norris

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldNetDaily

Baltimore: Dissecting the Riotous Behavior

Posted on April 29, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

A friend of mine characterized himself as “conflicted” over the Baltimore riots. Another, a Baltimore native, described himself as “DISGUSTED!” The all caps were his. And yet another who reads my blog, added, “I’m looking forward to your take on the events today in Baltimore.” All three made their remarks Monday, long before I decided what I would write about in today’s post. Ultimately, the sequence of events made the choice for me. To that end, let’s do this.

Ta Nehisi Coates, a son of Baltimore, himself, who wrote a nearly 16,000 word, 10 Chapter essay on “The Case for Reparations,” featured in the June 2014 issue of The Atlantic, has weighed in with, as you might expect, a nontraditional view of the matter. Mr. Coates essay was a powerful instrument for initiating, and in some cases, provoking, discussion about a subject Americans often find difficult to broach. In an effort to leverage the national discussion that ensued, I blogged about the topic myself in my June 4, 2014 post, entitled, “Why Reparations?” For your convenience, both Mr. Coates essay and my blog post are included in separate links below.

All that taken aside, my reference to Mr. Coates relates not to his views on reparations, but to his reaction to Monday’s Baltimore Riots. On Monday, Mr. Coates penned another piece that appeared in The Atlantic, this one entitled “Nonviolence as Compliance.” In this piece, Mr. Coates opines, “Officials calling for calm can offer no rational justification for Gray’s death, and so they appeal for order.”

While he said much more than that, those words right there; one sentence, eighteen simple words synthesize and crystallize the catalyst for why Baltimore was at least temporarily beset by rioting. You could reduce Coates’ articulate phrasing to a shorter, but perhaps more powerful, and much more familiar meme: “No justice, no peace.”

Let me say straight away, there is no simple secret sauce coding that explains what unfolded in B’more on Monday. Yes, there was rioting, looting, threats, and rumors of all that and more. Numerous individuals engaged in criminal behavior; much of it captured on video. These acts included violence, and a substantial amount of property damage, some to vehicles, but most to businesses that served the community in which the riots occurred, and in which many of the rioters live.

Those operatives who call for peace in instances such as this are often called collaborators, and are considered to have betrayed the cause and/or the community. Conversely, individuals who fan the flames of dissent, often leading to progressively escalating confrontational behavior are frequently referred to as instigators, and are frequently considered to be intent on fomenting violence and disorder.

In most instances, by the time a situation devolves and deteriorates to one in which there is this level and degree of yin-yang, the balance has tipped and events such as those occurring Monday evening are all but inevitable. By the time crowd members had attacked police officers by hurling rocks and debris, and surely by the time business were looted or burned, Freddie Gray was long since no longer the issue.

These were acts of anger, spiked by a longstanding seething over past slights and sins against African Americans. It is easy enough to submit that two wrongs do not make a right. That is not just easy to say, but also a fact. However, another fact that too often gets lost in the high intensity media frenzied translation that accompanies occurrences such as this in the digital age/24-hour news cycle, is Freddie Gray’s demise was not the first, or the twenty-first, of the fifty-first of it’s kind. It was just the next…in a long and tragic litany of black lives lost to violence perpetrated by law enforcement officialdom.

Given the myriad of dynamics, moving parts, related to just the actions in Baltimore this week, I can appreciate why one of my friends would feel “conflicted.” His sense of personal resentment, no doubt fueled by the recognition that, as the Baltimore Sun reported results from a study conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU):

At least 109 people have died after encounters with police in Maryland between 2010 and 2014
Nearly 70 percent of those who died were black, and more than 40 percent of the people were unarmed
Blacks make up 29 percent of Maryland’s population
Of the 109 cases studied, less than 2 percent of the officers involved in the deaths were criminally charged

There is a deep level of food for thought integrated in those findings; at least, there should be.

I can also understand the sentiment of the friend and Baltimore native, whom declared himself “DISGUSTED,” by the events of Monday evening. His mother still lives on the Westside of Baltimore, less than 10 minutes away form where much of the action went down. In his words, it “Makes ABSOLUTELY ZERO SENSE to tear up/burn up your own stuff…the few businesses that are bold enough to come to and stay in your community. I’m DISGUSTED tonight!!!”

Moreover, I can see very well why a third friend would say, “I’m looking forward to your take on the events today in Baltimore.” At this point, it is imperative to emphasize, the issues on the ground in Baltimore are complex and historically entrenched. However, they are also not just present in Baltimore, Maryland. As I have noted in other posts, they are evident in locales as far afield as:

Stanford Florida (I know Zimmerman was not a police officer, but as a neighborhood watch captain, he took the law into his own hands),
Staten Island, New York,
Ferguson, Missouri,
Cleveland, Ohio,
Beavercreek, Ohio,
North Charleston, South Carolina,
Charlotte, North Carolina (my hometown)

I have written about troubling and related events in each and every one of the communities listed above.

Back to B’more, as I’ve have already stated, the looting, burning, and violence that took hold in parts of Baltimore is criminal. Authorities there are justified in calling it such, and in seeking to bring offenders to justice.

But let us not pretend it is fair, courageous, or even minimally acceptable to suggest that an individual who was apparently healthy during the police’s pursuit of him, in great pain and discomfort as he was arrested (captured on audio/video), and dead from a nearly severed spine 2 hours later, was taken into custody “without excess force.” It is this unfathomable narrative that ultimately served as the fuel for the rioting. The Mayor, the Police Commissioner, and any other official who has in effect chosen to say “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it,” bears a considerable share of the onus for the ugly events we now contemplate and review.

I pray for the Baltimore community. I sincerely hope that state/local officials and disaffected citizens resolve their issues without addition mayhem. If there is a lesson to be learned from this community dysfunction, it is that the days of grin, bear it, and suffer in silence are behind us. We are barely a month into spring, but, frankly, this blowup foretells a long, hot American summer, if police officers continue to flagrantly African Americans, unabated. There you have it; my take on “Baltimore: Dissecting the Riotous Behavior!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/nonviolence-as-compliance/391640/

https://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/ta-nehisi-coates-on-the-riots-in-baltimore/

http://www.vox.com/2015/4/27/8506661/ta-nehisi-coates-baltimore

http://www.vox.com/2015/4/27/8505885/david-simon-baltimore-riots

http://sputniknews.com/us/20150428/1021453643.html

http://www.realclearreligion.org/2015/04/28/what_baltimore_needs_266628.html

http://www.newser.com/story/206019/baltimore-cops-injured-in-street-riot-reports.html http://m.920whjj.com/articles/national-news-104668/maryland-governor-declares-state-of-emergency-13540490/

http://news.yahoo.com/baltimore-erupts-riots-hollywood-reacts-040034406.html;_ylt=AwrBT9L2GT9VWGUAbDJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzaHViY3RhBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQMTMxXzEEc2VjA3Nj

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/04/27/officers-injured-as-rioting-looting-erupts-in-baltimore-following-funeral-in-police-custody-death/

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-aclu-police-deaths-20150318-story.html#page=1

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-aclu-police-deaths-20150318-7-story.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/us/baltimore-riot-mom-smacks-son/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/us/baltimore-riots/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/us/baltimore-riots-authorities/index.html

Dangerous Encounters With Police: The Flip Side

Posted on April 22, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

Another week has commenced, and it is tempting to elevate for review and discourse the next African American male killed by a police officer, Mr. Freddy Gray, of Baltimore, Maryland. B’more, as Baltimore is affectionately known, has often been cited as a place where relations between police and poor sections of the black community go awry. That appears to have happened in the case of Mr. Gray.

In an encounter that is being investigated by local, state, and federal authorities, many questions remain. In what local law enforcement officials insist was a police stop that involved no force by police officers, Mr. Gray was found to have a nearly severed spine, and died one week after being taken into custody.

Temptation notwithstanding, I’m not going to sift through the details of that case, as we know them, for this week’s post. Instead, I will highlight an instance in which an intrepid police officer, despite being confronted by a suspect whom the officer ordered to stand down on a number of occasions, chose not to use deadly force. In fact, the suspect was not tased, not beaten, or shot to death.

Those circumstances alone make this situation stand out among the almost weekly procession of instances in which it seems another police officer (in fear of his life) shoots another black man, more often than not of late, unarmed. But for perspective, add to the amazing confluence of unlikely circumstances, the suspect had been accused of killing his best friend and his fiancée. In addition, the officer, Jesse Kidder, was a rookie with the New Richmond, Ohio Police Department.

There is little reason to doubt this man posed a danger to people in general, and at the time of this encounter, to the Officer Kidder. Yet, instead of recapping the details of yet another tragedy, the Ohio cop is being praised as a hero for not shooting Michael Wilcox, a 27-year-old man who was apparently attempting to commit what is known in the vernacular as suicide by cop.

The entire incident was caught on Officer Kidder’s Body Camera, and shows that Mr. Wilcox repeatedly charged the officer and threatened to shoot the officer, if he didn’t shoot him. He even reached into his pocket as if to retrieve a weapon. As reported by MSNBC, the exchange below can be heard on the audio accompanying the Body Camera video feed:

“Shoot me or I’ll shoot you!” (Wilcox)

“No man, I’m not going to do it!” (Kidder)

Officer Kidder tripped while back-pedaling, but used evasive measures to avoid Wilcox. Given the information available to the officer, including the details previously referenced above, and the fact that the dispatcher advised him Wilcox had a weapon, either on him, or in his car, and was fleeing another law enforcement agency, he could have shot and killed Mr. Wilcox and in all likelihood, been deemed justified by every authority who would have been called upon to review the details of the encounter. Randy Harvey, New Richmond Police Chief, essentially said as much:

“For him to make the judgment call that he did shows great restraint and maturity. This video footage, it eliminated all doubt that this officer would have been justified if in fact it came to a shooting.”

Despite those facts on the ground, according to ABC News, Officer Kidder persuaded Wilcox to lie down on the ground and surrender. Prior to joining the police force on April 16, 2014, Officer Kidder was a Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, and won a Purple Heart. The video of the officer’s actions, understandably, has gone viral. In response to the many laudatory comments about his actions, Officer Kidder had this to say:

“Law enforcement officers all across the nation have to deal with split-second decisions that mean life or death. I wanted to be absolutely sure before I used deadly force.”

Mr. Wilcox has been charged with fatally shooting his 25-year-old girlfriend, Courtney Fowler. He is also a person of interest in a Kentucky slaying. He is being held in the Brown County Jail on $2 million bond.

Officer Kidder said a relative gave him the body camera following the deadly officer-involved shooting of Michael Brown last year in Ferguson, Missouri. Chief Harvey is seeking funding to purchase more cameras.

It may have occurred to you, this incident ended in stark contrast to so many others in the past year, even in the past weeks. Unlike in Ferguson Missouri, New York City, Cleveland, Ohio, North Charleston, South Carolina, and Baltimore, Maryland, the suspect survived. And the suspect survived, even though:

He was known to have killed (twice)
He was deemed to be armed
He charged the police officer
He disobeyed commands to stop
He threatened the officer
He never retreated
The officer was in continuous retreat

Despite a litany of aggravating circumstances, Officer Kidder has been deemed a hero, and much more importantly, Mr. Wilcox is alive. I wrote this post, not to critique the actions of the officers involved in the recent incidents in the aforementioned localities, but rather to underscore the one central point I always try to make in discussions about matters such as this. “Officers almost always have options other than ending a suspect’s life!” No encounter is apt to make that point more compellingly than this one (fortuitously on video).

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention the “ginormous” elephant in the room. While I do not know Officer Kidder, and would never deign to question the personal character of a Purple Heart recipient, I do know the one thing in this discussion that is not like all the other things. Michael Wilcox, the suspect in this incident, is a white man…who is alive today after a recorded encounter with a police officer that few if any black men would have survived. There, I said it…or at least, I wrote it.

I reiterate this is not a statement about what Officer Kidder would have done, had Mr. Wilcox been black, though that may be a fair point for consideration. Rather, it is a point blank statement of the inescapable: White men are afforded greater latitude than black men when they are involved in encounters with police officers.

That is a problem on many levels. It is a reflection of flawed public policy, an indication of a tacit distinction in the valuation of human capital, and an undeniable example of inequitable treatment of individuals due to race. All three of these points are incongruent with the “Exceptional” society we deem ourselves to be. Please join me in taking the requisite actions to create A More Perfect Union, as heralded in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, and in President Obama’s 2008 Speech using the same title. As we move forward to that end, let this encounter remind us that for all the events such as those for which Ferguson and North Charleston have been recently highlighted, they do not have to end the way they did, because due to the events in New Richmond, we are aware of…”Dangerous Encounters With Police: The Flip Side!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.