Chapter 5:

All American Girl vs Injustice

Chapter 5:

 

Today’s memory is a tough one.  This incident took place in Bloomington, Indiana circa 1987. My ex-husband (who was my boyfriend at the time) was in a very popular band and we often had people over to our apartment.  We played our music loudly and drank a little too much, but we were 21 . . . that’s what you’re supposed to do at that age.

 

Living in a small apartment building off campus (Indiana University), we didn’t really know our neighbors.  People moved in and out constantly, so there was no point really. Maybe if we had taken the time to meet the neighbors, this incident wouldn’t have happened.  Then again . . . .

 

I had just come home from work to find R and a couple of friends hanging out at the apartment.  R had a gig that night, so there was some excitement in the air.  We always had a great time when he was performing.  Shortly after I got home and was changing clothes, there was a KNOCK at the door.  Ya’ll know there is a difference between knocking and KNOCKING.  R opened the door to four policemen who forced their way into our apartment.  It was chaotic with the police yelling at R and his friends to “get on the floor.”  (You do remember that R is black? So were his friends.) The guys are trying to cooperate, but the place was small, so getting these big guys space to get on the floor while four other big guys are yelling at them, not to mention me being me and yelling at the police, it was a tense situation.

 

After a few minutes, things calmed down . . . I should say all the men “calmed down.”  I was still livid and screaming at the police. “How dare they come into my home and treat my people like this?  What are they doing there?  Why did they just barge in? I want names and badge numbers. They had no right to barge in.  They had no warrant and they had no cause.”

 

Finally, they allowed R and his friends to get off the floor and sit down on the couch.  R got me to chill out to find out why this happened.  It turns out that our new neighbors had seen R and his friends in the apartment earlier, and when they saw me come home thought I was in danger.  Afterall, what white girl would have three black men in her house?  I flipped out again.  “Why wouldn’t they just ask for me when R opened the door?  Why wouldn’t they say that the neighbors called in a complaint?  Why didn’t they just act like human beings instead of treating R and his friends like crap? Why, when they saw I was upset at their treatment of R and his friends, didn’t they just stop and explain immediately?”  Their response?  “We’re just doing our job, ma’am.” I didn’t even get an apology from all of this.  In fact, I heard one of them mutter something along the lines of “you shouldn’t have all them Ns there anyway.” When I asked what he said, the coward said nothing and left.

 

Now, before all the police-types jump down my throat, remember (1) I support law enforcement, (2) I know that situations can get “out of control,” (3) I know that domestic violence calls are some of the most dangerous to law enforcement, and (4) I know that your training is insufficient for most situations.  Ya’ll good cops who signed up to protect and serve get a raw deal.  However, I also believe that most situations can be handled better and this was one of them. I have plenty of family and friends who are law enforcement and I know that not a single one is bad or dirty, but there are bad cops and those are the ones that we focus on.  They are the ones tainting your profession.

 

That said, this situation took place over 30 years ago and we are still doing the same thing today.  We have to look at law enforcement training and revamp it.  I personally believe that law enforcement training should require more training hours and have more emphasis on psychological fitness, as well as incorporate more stringency to weed out the bad apples before they put on the badge. At another time, I may address the history of law enforcement and how we got to this point, but right now, I’m focusing on education and training. SIDEBAR: Did you know in most places, it takes more training hours to become a hairdresser, cosmetologist, etc. than it does to be come a police officer?

 

For those not in law enforcement saying “F the police,”  I hope that you can see past the bad apples and help to make this situation better.  How do you do that?  I’ll say it again . . . #vote.  Write to your elected officials, march (peacefully) to your government seats, donate to causes to better our lives.  Support those who are trying to make the changes.  Don’t just make posts on social media and think that will fix the situation.  Research and arm yourself with facts.  Don’t rely on just one source and don’t rely on Wikipedia.  Look at multiple sources and see what they all have to say.  Are there one or two that stand out as either controversial or just wrong?  Are the sources leaning to one side or the other?  Find the sources that report the facts (hard to find these days), not just sources that support your agenda or are totally against your agenda.  Use logic, not emotion, and get out there to fight the good fight.

 

 

#vote  #blacklivesmatter  #JesusSaves #nojusticenopeace #wecandobetter #askthequestions #learntheanswers #stopthemadness #wedontwanttodieyet #educatethemasses #Icantbelievewearestilldoingthis