Time to Speak Up, NOW! Equal treatment for all!

So normally when a blogger finds people are checking out her blog, she should feel really happy, right? Hmmmm...and yet I find myself with mixed feelings.

Why? Well, ever since I wrote a blog about the fatal police beating of Ken Howe of Webster, MA, I have suddenly had a spike in interest. It doesn't take much imagination or intelligence to figure out why I might have mixed feelings.

But last night I saw an interview with his sobbing wife, and images of a bruise from a foot smashed into his back, and I was horrified. And glad that I wrote what I did.

What kind of country is this if we all bury our heads in the sand, and don't believe that decent behavior IS possible, from police as well as politicians or CEOs? And YES, these people NEED to be regulated, just like the rest of us. If you or I get into a bar brawl, even just one on one, with each party ending up with a black eye, there's a pretty good chance we will be arrested and charged with assault.

If someone steals a shirt from the Gap, arrest and charges are pretty darn likely.

So why should police who lose control and beat someone to death be exempt? Or some CEO who is consumed with his own power and decides theft just goes with the job? Shouldn't he be charged?

If I dump garbage on the side of the road, I will at LEAST be ticketed. So what about major corporations that use the ocean, air and land as a dumping ground? Why should they be exempt?

The people in this country NEED to stand up, to speak out, to demand that the people we hire to work for us really work FOR us and not AGAINST us. And let's stop accepting the lie that politicians are working for US, if it is blatantly clear that they are working for the fat cat rich guys.

The health of the earth, our HOME, is in dire distress. If NOW isn't the time to find the courage to speak up, when WILL that time come? Speak up for your children, if it's too scary to do it for yourself. You can do it. Just write ONE letter to the editor and you will see how GREAT it feels to follow in the footsteps of the brave, outspoken founders of this country.

In the Mood to Kill Someone and Get Away With it? Consider joining the police force

It seems more and more clear that there is a PERFECT profession for would-be killers and thugs who want to get a paid vacation after killing an innocent person. Yes! Become a police officer!

Once again, an innocent person, Kenneth Howe of Webster, MA, has been beaten and killed by a gang of thugs, the cops. OK, he was allegedly smoking marijuana, which is now subject to a $100 fine in Massachusetts and something even US Presidents have admitted to doing. My god, half the cops smoke weed! This is NOT a capital offense, last I heard. Wanna place a bet that NO CHARGES WHATSOEVER are laid against any of the police in question?

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/11/driver_police_b.html

In case you don't believe me, check the history. Victoria Snelgrove, a 21-year-old Emerson student, a bystander after the first Red Sox World Series win in 86 years died in 2004. Victoria was standing OUT OF THE WAY at Fenway Park, just watching the celebratory happiness, when she was shot in the eye by a rubber bullet and died.

Any charges against the cop who shot into this crowd of happy bystanders? No way. And yet her parents received a $5.1 million settlement from the city of Boston. How does that work? Oh right, the rubber bullet was at fault, not the cop who decided to fire into a peaceful crowd.

In 2008, David Woodman, a young guy full of life and happiness after the Celtics Championship, made the HUGE mistake (and committed an atrocious crime, it seems) of saying, off-hand to a bunch of cops standing around a corner where nothing was going one, “Wow. I guess there’s a lot of crime on this corner.” For that he was beaten and died. Any charges against the police? No my friend, none.

"http://jonathanturley.org/2008/07/01/boston-police-accused-of-beating-student-to-death-for-snide-comment/

Allegedly David had a pre-existing heart condition. But just in case he didn’t, health “experts” have now conveniently discovered a BRAND NEW CONDITION!!! It is called “excited delirium” and if you didn’t know you had it before the cops beat you to death, you will find out after the fact, or at least your next of kin will.

http://www.theprovince.com/Knipstrom+death+linked+controversial+medical+condition+coroner+says/2243323/story.html

There are many cases in Massachusetts where a non-lethal weapon could have been chosen, particularly when dealing with a mentally ill or severely distraught person. Instead, over and over again, these people are killed. Any charges? Are you kidding me?

Then we have Sean Bell, the NYC bridegroom killed in 2006 leaving his bachelor party, and Amadou Diallo killed in NYC in 1999 while reaching for his ID. Any charges? Not a one.

So if you are thinking of calling the cops for help sometime, think twice. You may find yourself charged with something (the first tactic, even when police are at fault) and end up dead. And if you do die, will your family find justice? Not bloody likely.

When will it be time to look at the toxic environment of the police force? How about a look at the courts, which almost NEVER find any guilt in these cases? And how about higher standards when recruiting candidates for the police force, including better testing for bullying tendencies or other mental health issues?

Or if in fact the police are no longer there to protect and serve but instead to beat and kill if they so choose, let’s put the cards on the table, and send a general press release to the community at large.

At least then we will all know where we stand.


Here are a couple more links. There are thousands. Just Google “police abuse”.

http://www.coldink.net/2009/11/24/Abusive_cops_are_the_norm_not_the_exception

http://bullcutter.blogspot.com/2008/02/copd-kill-innocent-person-again.html

http://www.gainesnet.com/police.htm