Thinking On An Anonymous Comment

When I first began this blog, no one commented on anything I wrote. Or rather, no one except spam commenters . Thank goodness that eventually changed because I love reading your comments. And the longer I blog the more grateful I am for the honesty with which you choose to share what you do. I will admit though that sometimes it's hard to quickly respond to comments in as meaningful a way as I want.

I wrote on Friday about my struggles with anger management (and the out of control dog), and one of you, Anonymous, really got me thinking with this comment:

"Can you aid me with some anger management issues that I have? I live in England, UK, and I am really angry that the USA is still in the dark ages regarding racial discrimination. The recent Sean Bell incident with the police has exacerbated the downward spiral of my emotional well being. What do you suggest that I do? I feel hurt and insulted by the illegal legal process that you have in the USA, whatever happened to Glory, freedom and justice? Why is there so little international condemnation? How does the USA keep getting away with these crimes against humanity? Yet it has the gall to go to other countries and lecture them about their human rights atrocities! Its absurd and surreal, what drugs are your politicians on?

To add insult to injury they use Condoleeza Rice a black icon to deliver the GOOD news globally, she looks like an evil profit of doom cabbage patch caricature, with the subliminal message that black people are evil doers even when they get to positions of authority! Although, she is probably a lovely lady in real life, so no offense meant!

Please help me I am losing all faith in the USA, the New World Leaders. I feel like I am in a bad dream, trying to wake up but I cannot. Despite my misgivings about some aspects of American life I think that in a converse way that you are so fortunate to have the opportunities that you have. I love the average American person, they are so lovely and full of hope and faith,they demonstrate their affection unlike us English. Tonight I will pray for America and pray for world peace but Doctor Liz what would you recommend for me. You always shed light on socio economic and psycho spiritual factors!"
Anonymous, we seriously need to go grab a couple cups of chai and sit down for a long chat because you have me thinking about enough for a dozen blog posts. First, let me say that the Sean Bell verdict has me thinking about how tomorrow, April 29th, it'll be the 16th anniversary of the beginning of the LA Riots. I know most people don't think about the LA Riots too much anymore, even in Los Angeles. But I do because, well, I wonder what I'd do if something similar popped off in my neighborhood. Clearly, the conditions that created the riots definitely still exist, and not just at the intersection of Florence and Normandie where they began.

The official spark of the riots was, of course, the acquittal verdict for the police officers who beat Rodney King and got caught on camera. But that was merely a tipping point. They were unofficially begun by recession-induced high unemployment, racism, gang violence, failing schools and a lack of justice. Hmm... that sounds a bit like 2008 instead of 1992, doesn't it? And I'm sure all that could be said of your city in the UK as well, not just LA.

So now Al Sharpton and other activists are threatening to shut New York City down in protest of the acquittal of the officers that shot Sean Bell. I wonder if they will and I wonder what spin we'll see in the media as a result. I'll tell you, Al Sharpton doesn't have a ton of credibility with me. How about protest the everyday things that do so much destruction, things like crappy schools or living conditions in the Bronx. How about march every day over those injustices? So yeah, I'm a little skeptical about Sean Bell's death being used as a tool to possibly further personal ambitions.

I'm sure that the yuppies who've bought up the brownstones in Harlem are shaking in their boots today, scared that angry black folks are going to bust them upside the head with a brick, a la Reginald Denny. I hope they remember that it was a black man who risked his life to save Reginald Denny and that more black people died in the LA Riots than any other group of people. Besides, the new residents of Harlem could go out there and protest in solidarity with their black and brown brothers and sisters. They could also exercise their influence and demand a federal trial. They could remember you don't have to be black to demand justice for an injustice that was served against someone who's black.

As far as glory, freedom and justice? The nobility of those sentiments got corrupted the minute someone decided to drop some smallpox blankets on the native population that had helped them survive in the first place. You ask why we're still in the dark ages of racial discrimination. I think it's because we haven't really told the truth yet about the blood soaked roots of this country so we can't yet heal ourselves-- and when we do know the truth, we cling to mistrust and refuse to make things right. I mean, if I suddenly discover that my family stole your land a generation ago, then I have to decide what is the right thing to do. Do I keep the deed and say, "Too bad. That's life! Survival of the fittest!" Do I make my own family homeless by moving them off that land and giving it back to you? OR, do we work together to ensure that everybody has a home and has their basic human rights taken care of?

Our society is in a lot of pain and it's reflected on all levels. I'll be the first to admit that it's hard to not be demoralized, it's hard to not give up hope, and it's hard to know that we've all got to be somewhat depressed about everything that's going on. This weekend I felt so sad after reading this LA Times article about fear and depression among low-income high school students in LA. The conditions in their schools and neighborhoods are caused by institutional racism and unjust practices. There's going to be a point where those kids demand justice but when will that point come?

Why do things continue the way they are even though more and more people recognize that the way we've been operating on an individual, institutional and community level isn't working? Because even though over 80% of Americans think this country is on the wrong track, we've also allowed ourselves to be bought off. We've swallowed materialism as the driving force of our lives and it's hollowness is what echoes in our hearts. On a daily basis we think more about American Idol, what we're wearing to work and what we need to pick up at Wal-Mart than about what's really going on in our world or what's going on with our souls. It's easier that way. It's like the Matrix where the drama begins once you take the pill and see the world for what it really is.

Many of us want someone else to solve it. We want the American Congress to solve everything or we want Barack Obama to solve everything, and real change just doesn't work that way. Political leaders are drunk with the pursuit of power and are beholden to someone in some way, and that limits the extent to which they'll really demand change. Besides, I can't tell some "leader" to change everything while I go about my merry life and do whatever I want. Real change happens when we each individually bring ourselves to account and stand up and alter the way we behave.

I always ask people to look around at their circle of friends and ask if everyone looks the same or if there's a diversity of colors and cultures represented, are there people from various religious backgrounds, etc. And if there aren't, then why not? It's when we hold the people we're supposed to mistrust close to our hearts with genuine love -- that's when things change. When we stop shopping and start paying attention to what's happening to our brothers and sisters down the street, that's when things change.

That said, I don't think I have to be perfect to ask someone else to stop doing something wrong and I don't think the U.S. should just be mum about human rights violations in other parts of the world. We need to both correct our own failings and advocate for justice in other parts of the world.

I think we're starting to see more individual mobilization happen -- look at the power of bloggers to push information and demand change. The stories of Dunbar Village and the Jena Six would be dead if not for bloggers. And I remember when Barack Obama won the Mississippi primary. All the TV talking heads were all, "Well, he has a problem because he only got 40% of the white vote." Quite frankly, I never thought I'd see the day a black presidential candidate would get 4% of the white vote in Mississippi, let alone 40%. So you see, change is happening.

I really do think we're nearing the end of a period of profound misery for this nation and our world. The "end" might take several decades or several centuries. A halt to racism and injustice may not come in our lifetimes, but we are getting closer. And yes, I want it now. I don't want my sons growing up in a world that teaches them to be ashamed of their blackness and that they shouldn't do well in school or be well-mannered because they are black. I don't want anyone's kids growing up with that.

Anonymous, both of us have a responsibility to keep going and keep making sure we're doing the right things in our personal lives. It's a painful process but we're experiencing the destruction of an old way of living and being. The growing pains are necessary. Keep your head up and know that even though injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere, we are all in this together.

Comments

none said…
The media and nearly everyone else seem to think the sean bell case is racial when in fact two of the three officers are black.

From what I've read, bell and his friends went to the car to get a gun to "kill a stupid white bitch" that was in the club. Someone called the cops when they heard bell and his friends were getting a gun. The cops confronted bell. He didn't obey the lawful orders of the officers punched the gas pedal and tried to run over the cops... so they shot him before he killed someone. Bell was legally intoxicated and he hit a police van during the incident.
thailandchani said…
Something is coming to mind. Noam Chomsky and the whole concept of "manufactured consent." That doesn't apply only to war. It applies to many other concepts, including the US position in the world, the notion that the only life worth living is here, that other people, other races and other cultures exist only to serve US interests.

It stops when people dig deeply enough inside themselves to see the truth in their own beliefs and change them when appropriate.

How many times does anyone say mindlessly that everyone in the world would rather live here than where they live?

How many times does anyone say mindlessly that the US is the best country in the world? (Who says.. and how is that statistically borne out?)

How many times do people mindlessly believe that just because Barack Obama runs for president that it means prejudice obviously no longer exists?

That is "manufactured consent", listening to and believing a single word uttered by corporate media.

I remember the Watts riots, btw. By the time the Denny incident occurred I'd already left Los Angeles. During the Watts riots, I recall the primary concern of the people in my neighborhood was that the riot might spread and somehow affect them. As long as it stayed south of Wilshire, it was okay.

Somehow, the truth needs to be spoken to power.

Just my coupla baht.

:)

Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
Anonymous said…
Denver is a really really segregated city. I've never lived in such a segregated city. For the first time in my life, I don't have friends who are also black people, Asian people, Hispanic people... just a lot of white folk. When we first moved here, I tried to integrate my life with very poor results. I was told over and over again that people of color liked the segregation.

Period.

For example, we went to a Native celebration (that I was invited to through the Open Grove and we wanted Navajo tacos) and were thrown out. We didn't do anything, they just didn't want us there. This is typical Denver.

It's sad but this is where I live. Amazing. But who am I to tell other people how to live? I can only be kind, open and hold a happy thought.

(I will tell you, I have a huge following of black folks who love my honey. See, what a happy thought brings!!)
Liz thanks for putting into words how so many of us feel when it comes to living in the USA. There are some great things about this country but as the daughter of immigrants I know there is another world out there. I am so much happier since leaving. Living in the States was too stressful for this black woman.

I don't know if it's because I'm getting older so I notice these things more, but I agree things are getting worse in the States. At some point people are going to realize shopping and porzac are not going to solve all our deep rooted problems.

re: Sharpton, he has no credibility with me, esp. after his actions in the Dunbar Village situation.

I wish the best of luck to whoever the new president will be. They will need it.
Anonymous said…
Because 2 of the 3 cops were black that doesn't make it less racial.

As if Black cops don't have certain thoughts or treat blacks differently than they would a white person.
Anonymous said…
Phew, there's too much thought-provoking stuff to comment on there, Liz! But I was struck by what you said about making materialism the driving force of our lives. That's so true. So often we lose sight of the important things in life - like friendship and compassion - because we're busy chasing some fancy lifestyle we don't need.
“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28. Do we discriminate against women, blacks and Hispanics? Sad to say, this ancient truth is nowhere to be seen in the modern American arena. What a strange world that we still have issues regarding discrimination. Like sexual harassment, the true victims rarely report it while the abused suffer in silence. This is a problem. Huge Problem. In my book, Wingtips with Spurs, I devote a chapter to pay discrimination and how it is often over-looked or swept into a dark corner. And yes, it still exists in modern America. While we pour more stupid laws into the books to prevent such painful actions, we fail to fix the real problem, that is, the root. In addition, we have been conditioned by lawyers to believe that legal and moral are the same thing. So sad. Whenever a human is treated differently than the masses, we should take a cold, hard look at the situation. A hard look indeed. Maybe even the mirror. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR www.michaellgooch.com
Jen said…
This is an amazing post, Liz, and you never fail to impress me with your extraordinary ability to write.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about two areas lately. I grew up in NYC in the 60s. The hot button topics, and what we lived our lives around, and what we were trying to change (I was from an activist family) were the Civil Rights movement, ecology/pollution issues, and the Viet Nam War. Our topics today are racial discrimination, global warming/ecological issues and the Iraq War (and Afghanistan "conflict"). Why aren't we changing? I do feel Walmart and shopping and pop culture have become our "opiate of the masses," as I've stated in comments here and in postings on my blog.

But you're exactly right. We ALL need to change OUR behavior. And we need to find ways to work for racial, ecological and economic justice.
Anonymous said…
Very thought provoking post. I have a question - how do individual people actually make a change? If your busy working to try to just provide for your family what can a person do in their "spare time" to make a change in their community?

I don't believe the police in this case were racially motivated. Everytime an injustice happens to a black person it's not about race. The police were scared and you would be to if you were out and someone started talking about getting their gun!!!
Ian Lidster said…
You know, Liz. I lived in England for a year in the 1980s and I actually found it to be a much more racist society than American or Canadian. When I was there, 1981, was the year of the Toxteth and especially the Brixton (London) riots. The police in Brixton (almost exclusively white) were accused of setting the riot in predominantly black Brixton in motion. I asked a cop friend of mine if he thought the riot was racially motivated and precipitated by the police. "Absolutely," he replied.
Liz Dwyer said…
Hammer,
I think the case is racial in a macro sense, meaning that there's an ingrained cultural reaction to black men. Likewise, black men have a cultural response to police that bears out the experiences they've had "fitting the description" -- and both reactions certainly impacted folk's judgement on both sides of this case.

I'm not an expert on all the details but I believe it came up during the trial and investigation that there are conflicting stories. One of the officers that was staking out the club says he heard one of Sean Bell's friends say he was going to get a gun. Other witnesses said they did not hear that. The police say they identified themselves as officers but the two friends that survived say no identification took place. Yeah, I think there was a huge amount of fear clouding things all around on both sides and when split section decisions have to be made, that fight or flight instinct definitely kicks in. I mean, if I see some guys approach my car with guns drawn and I don't know who they are, I might freak out and try to run them over too because I'd be thinking I was about to be car jacked. And yes, he was legally intoxicated but that fact wasn't known, unfortunately, till his autopsy.

Chani,
Whenever I'd go to schools in Watts I'd always think about how the kids had no idea about the history of the community and what had happened there. It's history that's not taught, not seen as even remotely important. Anyway, I'd never heard of manufactured consent before. Very interesting and apt concept. Sometimes it feels like folks would rather have manufactured consent than the truth.

There's much good in this country to be proud of and lots of reasons to want to live here in the States (Chicago-style deep dish pizza is one of them ;0) but that whole "my country is better than yours" sort of ideology is sooo last century. I think less Americans these days are buying the idea that we've got the best deal in the world -- we work too much, self-medicate too much, feel too broke, yet we have too much crap in our houses. Sure we have great health care when compared to the Amazon jungle but put us next to Switzerland or Japan and it's not all peachy keen. There's a lot we can learn from other parts of the world and they can learn from us too. Share and share alike.

Claudia,
I had no idea Denver is so segregated like that. Goodness, is the mountain air making folks' brains stop working? I applaud your efforts to try to integrate your life because a lot of people don't even make the attempt and don't see it as being important at all. I guess you can only keep your heart open and keep up the bee keeping! That honey will keep fostering trust in hearts that have surely been wounded in some way.

NYC/CR,
I never really knew what an emotional and spiritual burden racism is until I lived outside the States, or rather, when I lived outside of the Western world and then didn't experience as much of the weight of it. In China folkd just thought I was HIV positive all the time because they were convinced that all Africans have HIV. When I came back to the US, it broke my heart to see all the things that we just accept as normal. Not that there isn't racism in other parts of the world because there is, but when you're here, it feels very different. And yes, whoever is the new president is going to need more than a box or two of Lucky Charms to mobilize the American people and turn this nation around.

Symphony,
Isn't it interesting how if a shooter is black and a victim is black then that somehow means that racism isn't a factor at all. Black folks have our own issues with internalized oppression and we believe the same things about ourselves that the rest of society does.

Nick
I think materialism and racism are so ingrained in our psyches that we don't always realize when our actions or thoughts are motivated by them. We miss out on so much because of both.

Michael,
Such a good point. Legal and moral are definitely not the same thing and we all know that just because something's illegal, that doesn't mean people stop doing it. Thanks for sharing.

Jen,
Same stuff, different generation. It's like we keep dragging the dirt of the past into the future. We're like little kids that don't want to bathe. I always think about how much worse things might be if there weren't folks that actively worked for change. Would I have gone to college if people hadn't worked to change things? Would my parents have ever gotten married? Probably not...and then I wouldn't exist! :)

Cyndee,
I think the best way to make change is to start with what's in your immediate locus of control and then expand from there. So, if folks start with their own families and children, that makes a difference. Because isn't the most annoying thing someone who's all, "Stop racism, stop injustice!" and then their kids are total bratty a-holes! And then talk to neighbors, use influencing and motivating skills to get people to think and then change the way they behave.

I do think those police were scared. Definitely so. I don't think they shot Sean Bell just because he was black, but I do wonder how much the snap judgements they made about the situation were influenced by Sean's blackness.

Ian,
Thanks for sharing a bit of UK perspective on this. (Where's Anonymous to weigh in on this!) I definitely think the UK isn't some racial nirvana. If it was, there wouldn't be some of the social problems there that echo what we have here. So sad that the officer said that riot was precipitated by the police. Such a shame.
Jameil said…
giiiiiiiirl!! you are so fabulous! my fave part was "the new residents of Harlem could go out there and protest in solidarity with their black and brown brothers and sisters. They could also exercise their influence and demand a federal trial. They could remember you don't have to be black to demand justice for an injustice that was served against someone who's black." b/c it's so in line with how i feel about it. HOW DO YOU FEEL SAFE WHEN COPS GET OFF FOR STUFF LIKE THAT!?!? i mean seriously no matter your color. if you believe in justice and obeying the law, you should be outraged. OUTRAGED!! girl. i've had to take some days away from this and i don't know if i'll be able to adequately address it on the blog. it won't be pretty (which i know is ok) and it won't be easy (which is the harder part).
Liz Dwyer said…
Jameil,
It's all so sad for the baby that's now left without a father because of all this. I know folks keep pointing out that two of the officers are black, but when you are in a particular system, you operate like that system does or go beyond the system to work out your internalized oppression in horrible ways. And I know some folks are saying, "That's what he gets for being out at a strip club," but I don't think anybody deserves to die because of that. I truly believe most officers are alright and really do want to serve and protect, but the 50 shots thing was just beyond the pale.
MartiniCocoa said…
Liz,
you said it all. you said what i can't say because I'm too angry. You said what I wish people of all backgrounds and genders could understand about what america is and what it isn't.
and want to change it the best way they can.

You explained why some days i prefer to opt out.

Hammer: Sean Bell and his friend were caught up in, I believe from my sources here in NYC, haggling about a prostitute in Club Kalua. Also that Bell never heard NYPD identify themselves.

An aside: if Sean Bell and his friends had Eliot Spitzer money for a prostitute, we would have never heard his name.

Maybe Bell was so focused on the prostitute problem that undercover officers was not on his mind.

Also remember Club Kalua opened last Friday. Odd isn't it? The club that was the focal point of the investigation is still in business. SMH.

The Bell case, I feel, is a symbol of ineptitude and racism. White boys do not get shot upon like that... there are a lot of clubs like Kalua in the five boroughs with a pale clientele, prostitution, strippers and everybody walks out without NYPD bullet holes in their chest.

And that's what makes me pissed.
Why doesn't it make everyone else as angry?
Anonymous said…
I read your wonderful blog all the time but have never commented. I found you randomly. This is not about Bell or even the more horrible case Gena 6....it's the fact that no one has the guts to speak the truth in public discourse about racism and sexism...and if they do they are shunned. Today, the Supreme Court made an outlandish decision that the clock starts ticking on the statute of limitations when a job discrimination decision is made against a women even if she doesn't know about the discrimination. This is in total conflict with law in any other area...the statute of limitations begins to run when you find that you have been hurt or discriminated against usually. This is just plain simple women hating disguised as a legal opinion by the Supreme Court. I watch the extended version of Rev. Wright talk at the NAACP with question and answer period. Rev. Wright I think is truthful and everything he said was right on about racism and people hating in America. He didn't encourage any divisiveness. It pained me to see Obama a man I formerly had respect for come out and condemn him as divisive and take ALL of Rev. Wrights comments OUT OF CONTEXT. What do you think?
Anonymous said…
Greetings Dr Liz,
Thank you for the kind words of enlightenment and encouragement! Did you notice how many people did not respond with a comment either way on this post, quite illuminating methinks.
Although it is a very difficult one to comment upon for so many complex reasons. So sometimes it is better to say nothing. Also Liz, you have a responsibility to keep peoples emotional wellbeing stable and sometimes posts like this cause people to switch off or over because its too real! Who wants real, we all want soaps dont we!
Great Britain is just as bad as the USA, they are corrupted siblings feasting off worldly riches which will last many lifetimes, their greed knows no boundaries, it is limitless and worldwide. It affects everybody whether they realise it or not. Discrimination in all its forms is stronger than ever before, we are going backwards not forwards. Thay change the rules to suit themselves. The Laws are theres, the interpretation theres, the world theres! Oil, gold, money, more more more. Illusions, delusions, miseducation, smokescreens, lies, slavery, neo slavery. Field negroes, house negroes, the Willy Lynch syndrome still abounds. We have here in little old England, kids sucking on crack pipes, girls 10/11 prostituting themselves, paedos running wild, gang violence in every major city, black kids demonised and set up to fail, POVERTY, no jobs, crap jobs, people still piss poor! They wont let black people join the police force on mass no way, and black people dont really wanna join the police force anyway, its like the ultimate sell out and almost like joining the KKK. Consumerism and celebrityism as gone crazy, they are the new religions, the new displacement/projection devices.
All the black professionals running up the backsides of the system just to protect their gains and status. Nobody is representing the average black person, the cool spiritually aware forward thinking astute brother and sister, who know the score, who know how not to fall into the trap? Discerning, enlightened.
To be black in England means to be oppressed and oppression in anyway or form is not good, so all those people trying to defend the indefensible lets just dont go their! We in England have been Americanised and it feels weird cos we dont have the historical legacy of living on sacred land and all the Karmic repurcussions that that brings over time. And we are small, very small, with a lot less people to control. A lot of the kids are walking around talking like they are in a Menace to Society Film, white kids too, its pimp my ride, Yo bro this Yo bro that, they greet one another with Yo whassup bro, who you down wit? Genteel English and Shakespeare not! Whats going on? We worship America, Gangsta is cool with all races.
But aint this the bigger part of the plan anyway?
On my CV I have two educational degrees BA and MA and many other varied qualifications but this means nothing nowadays in England and absolutely nothing to kids. Black folk are being excluded from education and society as a whole as are poor white folk and other races.
Crime is cool, lets beat the system and make buckets of money and become a hero in doing so! Gang members are anti heroes, they are celebrities in their neighbourhoods, they have respect and status because they overcame the system that didnt give them a hope in hell! Wow its surreal, is it not? Crime rates are up, mental health problems are up, sexual health problems are up, whats going on? Marvyn Gaye can you help us! England England, beautiful England.
In England we cannot make big money from black music the system wont allow us to, rap music only sells if its American. Americans wont buy second rate English wanna be rappers music. White label bosses here wont let us earn top dollar!
Football or soccer as you guys call it is strictly off limits for black street kids. However, if you are black African and foreign you can earn a crust. Local black kids are not being drafted by teams, only a few make it because the system doesnt want loads of poor rich black kids running around England. Thats where the USA is better than us, it gives sporting opportunities to its black people. That is why England will never win the World Cup again because they whitewash the game. Imagine all the top black basketballl players or athletes being taken out of the USA teams, they wouldnt be as good would they? Nope! Thats why England are crap at football. No real ghetto black footballers. The ones they do have are quite posh and have been seriously vetted with the odd exception! Poor white kids struggle to make it too! And no way will they let Asian kids play, no way! There must only be about two professional Asian players in the whole of the UK. Asian meaning Pakistan, India, etc.
Another thing is that Americans can be patriotic and Nationalistic but here in England we cannot, us black folk feel like we dont belong our identity and self worth is devalued almost. I love England and but England doesnt love me!
My opinions are my opinions so please do not be offended as no offence is intended. For some reason I love this blog site and I love the way Liz does her thing!
Miriam said…
Liz,

This is such a good topic.

I don't know if I've been made keenly aware of the world's atrocities because I've become a blogger. If its because I turned off TV and pay attention only to the news that actually effect me, or a combination of both. But this has been on my mind for a while.


At first, well, quite recently, I thought the only way to effect change would be via a mass movement. Mass movements usually means civil disobedience, etc.

Now. Now that I've rested on it more. lol. I think if we make better financial decision, more concious choices in our lives, we can slowly effect the change we need.
This is a magnificent post Liz. You've created a great community of commenters over here, something I have not been as successful in doing!

The Sean Bell thing is tragic on so many levels, not just for him but for the police officers as well. What do I mean? We have a society that is grossly unjust but very clever at keeping things that way. One way is to create a class of folks, most of whom come from working class and poor backgrounds themselves to "police" other poor and working class people. Meanwhile people with ridiculous amounts of wealth go on accumulating it all the while being protected by the sons and daughters of people less well off, both domestically (the police) and internationally (the military). The wheel just keeps turning and Sean Bells keep ending up dead, while the cops get attacked reinforcing their lack of consciousness of their own exploitation further fueling the process. I think part of what must happen is rather than attacking the police is to engage in a critical dialog that will assist at least some of them to wake up to their location in the social hierarchy so that they could start to work towards changing that. Otherwise you essentially have the same old game which is working class and poor folks divided against each other so that they cannot effectively unite for a better society. Just a thought.

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