Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager (r) shooting and killing Walter Scott (l).
Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager (r) shooting and killing Walter Scott (l).
Do we even need to review the evidence? Must we again go through the litany of facts, the list of names, and the evidence of crimes being committed by our boys and girls in blue? Is there any doubt now, after the multitude of news stories coming out every week about murderous thugs hiding behind a shield and using it to commit downright atrocities? The people who have opened their eyes have seen the truth: our police are given carte blanche, a free pass to do what ever the fuck they want when they want and are actively given cover by the political system to do so. Oh, it isn't just police corruption -- the rot of course extends to our political and justice systems -- not to mention private entities such as media outlets and private prison firms who find a convenient interest in keeping the "police are perfect/our justice system is perfect" meme going.
All the while the names of the victims are too often lost to the wind. Their memories turned to dust because the police must protect their own, the political system must protect the police to protect their own hides, and the justice system actively covers their often racist, murderous, and criminal intent. These three forces built a human warehousing complex -- human beings go in, profits and political rewards come out at the expense of the weakest and least represented in our society.
Because, hey, who the fuck wants to go into the rich neighborhood and face down Daddy Warbucks over a coke charge or several contempt of court charges over fines. Who wants to go to the Meadows, right into the elite's little cocoon and poke a sleeping money giant? No police department or prosecutors office in their right mind, that is who. So the rich get the community policing, the night watchman model, and are totally fucking disconnected from the reality of real policing in the cities. The real horrors of the rough rides, being left to waste in a jail cell, being stopped and frisked three times a day because your pants ride a little low. They don't fucking get it, because that isn't the police force they have. Who can really believe police brutality exists when their local police officer is a dopey Barney Fife wanna-be?
And so it goes, the cycle continues and lives are lost or ruined in the balance.
That is why I sought out the Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act like a moth to a flame. Sure, it does not address all of my concerns about the criminal justice system of today, but it represents the best hope we have of ending some of the worst abuses our government-sponsored gangs enjoy perpetrating. Further than that -- it has the teeth to make real change in the criminal justice system.
That is why we must do everything we can here as Kossacks to pass this proposed bill. Seven hundred Kossacks wrote it, approved it, and thought it was strong answer to the problems our police departments create. Coupled with some good ideas coming from Democrats (for instance, Martin O'Malley's plan to reform civil forfeiture or Bernie Sanders' plan to abolish private prisons) the MBOPRA can make some real change. We just have to have the will to make this an issue.
I have seen this community pull off miracles before. I have seen us properly apply political pressure to get something done. We can do the same for the Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act.
Support the Dream Defenders have started a campaign to pass this key piece of proposed legislation. Our volunteer force is small right now, but our plan is big.
We plan to:
1) Try a state-by-state pressure approach at the national level. In that vein we have a couple of big hearted kossacks writing their representatives both at the local and state level demanding to know their positions on the issues that face modern policing and criminal justice and the MBOPRA specifically.
Right now our Kossack volunteers are:
DefendOurConstitution - Massachusetts
howabout - did not specify
Nannyberry - Georgia
rexymeteorite - Oregon
Tortmaster - South Carolina
The basic idea is to write at least your two Senators and your Representative, and be sure to ask for a response back. We can then use those responses in further actions to pressure these politicians into at least discussing the MBOPRA. The more politicians discuss it, the more people will know about it. The more likely it becomes a 2016 campaign issue.
We are also trying to get a social media campaign off the ground letting the Democratic candidates for President know about the MBOPRA. If you have any influence on social media please message StDDs directly if you are interesting in leveraging your following for a good cause!
2) Passing the MBOPRA on a state by state basis using bite-sized state versions of it. That might be a might bit harder there are tons more players in local politics and many of them are not that well known. If you have inroads in your local mayors office or state house, again message StDDs and lets try to get something going.
As for now what we needs is really everything to get this off the ground. We need people. Kossacks. We need people to write letters in other states besides Maine, South Carolina, Oregon and Georgia, we need graphic artists and designers to help design memes, we need idea people, people with connections, anyone really to volunteer for this cause. If you are interested at all, drop a comment or drop StDDs a line.
There is every reason to want to pass the MBOPRA. It was a proposed bill crowd sourced by kossacks, made with full knowledge of our murderous criminal police departments, and it prescribes real solutions to the problem. There is nothing to lose here, guys. Please, if you want something done about this, get up and do it!
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