"How Not To Get Your Ass Kicked By The Police"- Chris Rock's old but timely advice- Video

I think everyone can agree that we need police reform. There are some corrupt cops, there are some bad cops who take advantage of their positions of authority to exert power over others, and there are some that have anger management issues and should never have become cops in the first place

Take Derek Chauvin who had at least 17 to 20 complaints lodged against him over the years, but was finally removed only after he calmly, defiantly, and mercilessly shoved his knee on George Floyd's neck, hand in pocket, for a good 8 minutes while the man begged for help, calling out for his mama. Floyd wasn't resisting as he lay face down on the asphalt like many others we've seen. In fact, for those last few minutes, he was already unconscious. No threat at all.

Yes, Floyd had a criminal past, yes, he was possibly trying to purchase something with an alleged fake $20.00 bill,  yes, he was on drugs, but he didn't deserve to die. Chauvin had no right to be judge, jury, and executioner.

So, yes, bad cops exist, but there are evildoers in almost every industry and we shouldn't judge the whole by the few bad. However, this post isn't about that, it's about the fact that the majority of people of every skin color who have encounters with the police walk away with no issues. If you are not committing a major crime and you act respectfully and don't resist, you won't wind up dead on a sidewalk.

However, if you're mouthy, you will most definitely get some flak. Take my mom, for instance, who has never responded well to being told what to do. Factor in a sassy attitude, couple that with an authority figure, and you have a recipe for disaster. Take that time in 2013 when the TSA officer balked at the fact that unbeknownst to my mom her Driver's License had expired. Mum made such a major stink that she almost didn't make it to California. I had to pull the TSA agent aside and explain that my mom is bi-polar and has issues. They let her through, but mum was the one they pulled aside to be thoroughly searched from head to toe. My dad and I breezed through. Then there was the time, on a trip back from South America, that my mom refused to get in the line that the immigration officer at Miami Airport had pointed us to. Whose luggage was searched?  Mom's. And on a road trip with my dad somewhere down south, my mum and dad were pulled over.  Not sure what the reason was, but apparently my mom mouthed off to the police officer and she was almost hauled off to jail.  My mom doesn't remember the incident, and my dad is no longer with us, but my dad wrote a letter complaining about the treatment of my mom. So yeah, if you mouth off you will suffer the consequences.

That's why I thought I'd share this Chris Rock video from ages ago.

How Not To Get Your Ass Kicked By The Police

It should be required viewing for all ages and races. It's very funny with some great advice.

Does Police Deadly Force Justify Looting?

Excessive force by law enforcement is becoming an all too common occurrence, and it's not okay. In some cases innocent people, mostly black, are being killed.

Eric Garner, the 43-year-old asthmatic New York man allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes, dies while being held in a choke-hold by police, in spite of the fact that choke-holds have been banned since 1993 by the NYPD.  He's crying I can't breathe and no-one does a thing. Yes, selling black-market cigarettes is illegal, but witnesses claim he was not selling them at the time, and he had just broken up a fight.

22-year-old John Crawford III, was killed in an Ohio Walmart, for allegedly brandishing an air rifle that Walmart happens to sell, after witnesses (a former marine and his wife) called 911. No-one else seemed to find Crawford worrisome that day except for Ronald and April Ritchie (broken ankle and all), who were so fearful they followed Crawford around for a while, before calling police.  When police arrived, Crawford was on the phone talking to the mother of his children, holding the cell phone in one hand and the rifle in the other. Police told him to drop "the weapon", Crawford (who had no criminal record) told them it wasn't real, and within a split second he was shot dead.

Both of the above were black, and not much of a peep out of people.  Then, black teen Michael Brown is killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, a predominately black town where most of the police are white. Since the stories differ between what the police claim happened, and what Brown's buddy Dorian Johnson says occurred, I will reserve judgment, but unlike Crawford who had no criminal record, it appears Brown had been involved that same day in a strong-arm robbery of a box of cigars. The 18-year-old was no innocent, but did he deserve to die, no way.  If there was a struggle for the officer's gun in the patrol car, as authorities have intimated, the policeman might have feared for his life. But again, we don't know for sure what transpired that night, and we probably never will, since there was no dashcam in the patrol car. Do people have the right to protest, yes. Peacefully. Do they have the right to loot? No. What does looting some poor shop owner's store accomplish? Just making you look bad, is all.

In some cases victims have been subjected to police violence even though they have complied with the cop's demands. Other times, they've resisted arrest or have not followed orders and it too ends badly. I blame that on the victim. However, with the increase in random violence these days, I can understand why police are fearful, but in most cases there is no need for excessive force, Crawford's case in point. Why was deadly force necessary? There have to be alternatives.

Bob Parks from Black and Right, posted this Chris Rock video from many moons ago, on How To Not Get Your Ass Kicked By The Police.  This should be mandatory viewing for all kids in school, maybe there would be fewer incidents of excessive and deadly force.