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and Get Away With It An Open Letter By Punkerslut
Greetings, There is nothing available on your site about the Oscar Grant shooting. It's January, 2011, and the police officer who executed a black man on a subway platform is now eligible for release, only two years after the murder. But the National Association of Police Officers, an organization that "represents its members" like a union, has taken no notice of this. One century ago, unionists organized in this nation because their own people were being openly shot by Capitalists, like Carnegie and his infamous riflemen. An honorable union fought when their own members were killed. But, what can anyone say about your union, that says nothing and wipes its hands of blood, when its your own people that kill? If only I could compare the minutes of those two meetings: blood is being washed out of the clothes in both, but it seems to mean something to a workers' union and nothing to a police officers' union. On your website, ironically, you celebrate the passage of the "Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements." Is there at all a bit of injustice in this? After all, it seems that police officers have no problem with safety even when they're executing civilians in public. What was the reaction to that by police officers? (1) Immediate detainment and harassment of witnesses, (2) Confiscate and, if possible, destroy video tape or recordings of the incident. What happened to be the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? What happened to "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants" ? If anything, it seems like you would rewrite that statement to "just the blood of the young, the poor, and the ethnic minorities." Why was it that "a jury of your peers" means transporting this police officer from the community where he had committed his crime? To hang a black man, all you need is a jury packed with whites -- this was proven multiple times before the Supreme Court (if that matters). But, you've made a wonderful tactic to get around this: just shoot the black man, and pack the jury with the people you want who tries the officer who committed the murder.
But wait, who's that who's throwing guns into your hands, rigging trials for you, and doing your research, to help you get away with murder? Why, it's the Department of Homeland Security! They have worked with local police in surveillance of people who protest the execution by police officers. "Intelligence bulletins and departmental emails indicate extensive communication between Oakland Police, officials in Los Angeles, and Northern California's 'fusion center,' an intelligence agency where Homeland Security and local law enforcement gather and share information." (KalwNews.org Link) This is unusual. No, wait, the other thing... typical. This is typical. The Department of Homeland Security, allegedly an agency to make us feel secure, is now helping to defend police officers who have murdered civilians unjustly. Does that bother you at all? The police, the fire department, etc., are all here to "serve and protect," or something like that. But now, instead of working on rape cases, tracking down the cocaine shipments coming out of Reagan's and bush's houses, or stopping murder, you are defending murder. You are not tracking the locations of rape and sexual assault in the cities -- you are tracking the movements of protesters, civil rights activists, and victims of oppression. Burglars don't have to worry about the Department of Homeland Security. Neither do muggers, murderers, or intoxicated and abusive partners. Not at all. In fact, they benefit from the Department of Homeland Security. Why? Quite obvious: it's directing the efforts of local police in repressing protest groups. Why stop a murderer from breaking into someone's home? You could be attacking someone who's giving out newspapers that talk about murder. That seems to deserve your attention so much more. And even then, if you did stop some rapist from breaking into an old peoples' home, what could you tell the residents? "Oh, we'll lock them up and keep them away, you know, assuming that they're not a police officer." If there is any honor in what you think you're doing, if you believe that you defend the American people, then tell them that you know about the dead in the streets -- tell them that you know the names OSCAR GRANT, SEAN BELL, KHIEL COPPIN, AND ALL VICTIMS. Just a few weeks ago, a group of police officers detained a man in a wheelchair at a mental health clinic, and then fired several shots at him when they were "unable to control" him. (RawStory Link) It was caught on video, like the others. How long do you think you can keep on killing people and nobody will do anything? How long do you think you can ignore the blood on your hands? How long before you're forced to cure the disease that is tyranny? Because if you do not fight it, you will have to be fought as part of it.
Sincerely,
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