First, is it wrong to think that black people should be held to a higher standard when in a position to deal with black people? Is that reasonable?

On the one hand, it is patently absurd to think that a black doctor will give better care to a black patient, that a black police officer will serve and protect black people better, that a black teacher will be a more effective force for education to black students. The wish is that no matter what your job is, you would always do it to the best of your ability, no questions asked. But the reality is that very few people if any are able to maintain a constant level of care or service for anyone at anything, after all we are human and do falter. But also being aware of the obstacles black people have faced over time and in many instances still face, it did not seem unreasonable to thinkg that black people would do better by and for black people.

Maybe because I came of age when I did, I always thought that to be a fact. That given the chance, black people would do better for other black people, not so much because the people are black, but because black people are conscious of the context that many black people operate in. In other words, cops know that truancy is the bane of education and community safety, knowing this they would not allow school aged children to be on the street during school hours, especially in poorer communities. Not that they would round them up and take them to jail, but that they would take them to school or to they mama.

There are two reasons why I am thinking about this (oddly both of them involve preachers). Some group of preachers met with the Chief of Police in Chicago and told him that if he wanted to inspire trust in the community, he would have to have more black leadership on the police force. I immediately thought of two incidents that involved black police officers and have to wonder if they took these kinds of things into consideration when they said this.

Here is one storyand just so you do not have to read the whole thing, here is the important (to me) part

quote:

The damn thing about it is that Michael Pleasance would probably be alive today if the two officers assigned to cover the Red Line station at 95th Street hadn’t been late for work. Alvin Weems and Donald Johnson worked for the CPD’s Public Transportation Section. While they were with that unit they rotated to various sites, not knowing where they’d be posted from one day to the next. On Saturday, March 8, 2003, Weems and Johnson were supposed to report to the 95th Street station at 6 AM. Weems arrived at 6:17, Johnson was nowhere in sight, and the two officers on the midnight shift had already left.

It goes on about the coverup and all, but just know that all the police were black.

And this story Some cops were caught robbing drug dealers, then selling the drugs to other drug dealers, again, all black.


The other thing with the ministers is Those supporting Kwame Kilpatrick

I know it is essentially wrong to hold us to a higher standard than others,but when it came to taking care of us, I just thought we would be better at it somehow.

WHat the hell are we fighting for anyway?