In Atlanta police killed an elderly women. Kathryn Johnston, age 88 or 92 (who knows), who shot at cops (or maybe did not), was killed when the undercover cops kicked in her door.[1] They had a warrant to search her house.[2] On the surface, it sounds as though the police were justified. But how did the cops obtain a warrant? Why did they come to the house in plain clothes? [3]
The story is all too common - according to the police, an undercover cop bought drugs.[4] But a paid informant said that he was told to lie, saying that he bought crack from inside the house.[5] You see, the particular allegation that crack was purchased inside the house is significant because such a claim can justify a court to issue a no-knock warrant - otherwise known as a "permission-to-kill-a-n-word warrant." After making these important moves, designed to save us all from the ills of "illegal drugs" - by purchasing the drugs so that we could not (thank you Ted Haggard), they returned to the house - guns blazing, and without uniforms.
What was the elderly Ms. Johnston to think? She saw menacing looking men - who were up to no good, out to kill and arrest people in her community. She sought to defend her home and family from what observers noted is a high crime area.[6] And for being Black, and living in an economically depressed area where people sell cocaine and cops play God, she was executed. Well, I am sure that the Atlanta band of the Uncle Tom brigade will sleep well at night, knowing that they have served a larger purpose - oppressing uppity Negroes.
What are we to surmise from the good works of the Atlanta police? Apparently they do not seek ways to reduce violence and crime, rather they play into it and stimulate it. Note this episode is not isolated. There have been 12 fatal officer-shootings since January 1, 2006 in Atlanta, nearly all of the suspects killed by police were Black.[7] Wow - that is a surprise.
Nevertheless, the officers must be proud to know that their actions, like those of the war criminals in Iraq, do nothing to promote peace, but encourage profits for war-mongers, in this case, drug war-mongers.
Gorillas in the Mist
But what does the execution of one n-word in Atlanta have to do with the murder of another in New York? We have heard the story, from different voices, and with a range of details, but some things are clear and admitted by the cops. Mr. Sean Bell and his colleagues were at a strip club. The club was under investigation by New York's finest civilian killers, who were looking to stop prostitution and drug dealing![8] (There's that word again).
Although no guns were found on the executed Mr. Bell, or his friends, or in his car, the police, violating their own protocols, shot without seeing a gun (did anyone one say Amadou?), and without provocation that was unrelated to the actions of Mr. Bell's driving.
Whether Mr. Bell tried to hit the undercover cop (there's that word again) who followed Mr. Bell outside the club (by the way, there was no allegation that Mr. Bell either sought to purchase drugs, had any or solicited a prostitute)[9] or Mr. Bell crashed into an unmarked police van (why are police afraid to be visible in New York - must be all the Niggers, you can't trust them), the entire episode was generated by the insanity of the drug war.
So Mr. Bell has been assassinated - remember 31 of the 50 bullets were fired from the White cop who reloaded (maybe Aryan Nation will send him a Winter Solstice card this year). But the infrastructure that killed him wrongly perpetuates while folks complain about superficial symptoms of racism.
Lastly, the week was highlighted by a case involving a man who might as well be the poster child for what is wrong with the Drug War and evidence of how its is used as a tool of racist oppression.
Calvin Broadus, aka Snoop Dog, was arrested again on a drug charge. The police had a warrant to search his house and car - where police claim they found a false compartment. (Never accuse police of understanding the English language. A false compartment would be a space that is NOT a compartment, i.e. where one could not store things. A hidden compartment would be one that is hidden from casual view). So again, the first question is, how did the cops get a warrant? Apparently someone, a snitch or undercover cop, was involved. Rather than preventing abuse, the police invent some.
And recall, California voters have already de-criminalized drug possession via Proposition 36. Through Prop 36, California saves millions by not sending arrestees to prison. But while the general populace has made in-roads to de-escalate the penalties for drugs, the criminal justice system still looking to make easy hits on "druggies." So Snoop gets arrested again. This man who entertains adults and provides uniforms and coaches youngsters in football is the object of criminal prosecution. When will the madness end?
Bush wants to finish the job in Iraq - when we all know that the battle was lost before it started. The invasion and occupation of Iraq was immoral and only causes countless deaths, needlessly. So too the American Drug War, wages on, from Anslinger to Kennedy, through Nixon (helped by the King Pill Popper Elvis), with Carter and Reagan (both of whom talked about decriminalizing pot), with the moralizing of Bennett and John Walters. A complex of racists, industrialists and war-mongers feeds off of the misery of us all.
It's called the drug war. It's stupid, and it needs to end now.
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