Monday, November 3, 2008

Not So Fast With the Kumbayas!

Will Palo Alto Chief Lynne Johnson be removed for her candid remarks about profiling Black men? Or will she get a pass because she's a white woman? With 80's era blue eyeshadow and unfashionable haircut will she be branded an angry butch lady cop? Will she claim to be part of the marginalized even though she is in fact a person of great authority? Has anyone considered the increase in crime in Palo Alto may be due to the failed economy? Or that all the perpetrators are not Black?

I am not able to embed the video but here's the link from the local ABC affiliate and her quote:
"When our officers are out there and they see an African American you know, in a, in a congenial way, we want them to find out who they are. The one suspect was wearing a doo-rag. We, my officers see an African American who has a do-rag on his head, absolutely we will be, the officers will be stopping and trying to find out who that person is."
This is a law enforcement officer and I am so sick of of hearing the two-step "I didn't mean what I said" dance from racist people when their own words are used against them and they are held accountable. Can you image if McCain supporter and liar Ashley Todd had made her false claims of assault and robbery in a more amenable environment like Palo Alto? 

What can you do? Call the Palo Alto police station and lodge a complaint. Send a letter to the Congressperson in charge of that district, contact the State Senator and the NAACP. This just goes to show you that an Obama Presidential win does not 'trickle down' to local politics and issues of abuse by law enforcement doesn't automatically go away. We must fight for our neighborhoods street by street - against would-be criminals and against those that cannot tell the difference.

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