On Charles Kinsey & Respectability Politics

In America, police brutality is all too common an occurrence, as it has been for quite some time. And with black people primarily being racially profiled, shot while unarmed, and in even more extreme cases, murdered as a result of police brutality, it would seem as if it's a crime just to exist while black in this country we call home. But even still, there are many people who are blind to the issue, and are willing to defend police brutality acts, proposing that there are options that the victims could have chosen instead as to prevent their harm.

Enter Charles Kinsey, 47, a behavior therapist in the Miami area. This past Monday, while Kinsey was attempting to help one of his autistic patients and prevent the officers from shooting, he was shot in the leg. Prior to this, Kinsey can be shown on video trying to get his patient to listen to him, and also talking with the officer, all while his hands are outstretched in the air and he lies on his back. After the officers withdrew their weapons, Kinsey explained that it was not necessary, as his patient only had a toy truck and not a deadly weapon. Ensuing the fired shots, the officers handcuffed Kinsey, checked him for weapons, and left him on the ground bleeding and without medical help for 20 minutes. When the officer was asked why he shot Kinsey, he replied that he didn't know.

"As long as I've got my hands up, they're not gonna shoot me, that's what I'm thinking. Wow, was I wrong."

Florida is no stranger to police brutality or racial profiling. George Zimmerman's shooting of Trayvon Martin being justified under the Stand Your Ground law, as well as the brutal beating of Refus Holloway shows that the Sunshine State is far from being progressive when it comes to the attacks of unarmed black people. But America as a whole doesn't differ much from Florida. In fact, black people have been and are being regularly targeted by police for petty crimes or for no particular reason at all. This is essentially what sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, which fights against police brutality and the unfair treatment of black people. Like the name suggests, the movement serves to make the exclamation that our lives matter too, just as much as anyone else's in this country. But for whatever reason, many people take up an issue with the BLM movement. Many opposing arguments include the denial of police brutality against black people, using black on black crime to steer the conversation into a different direction, racist rhetoric, and respectability politics.

After the police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Catstile in early July 2016, former NBA player Charles Barkley sparked controversy by applying respectability politics to the incidents. "Some black people are crooks," Barkley said on The Dan Le Batard Show. "I think those cops clearly overreacted, but there's no doubt in my mind that if I'm fighting with a guy and I hear somebody scream "Gun!" and I got a gun, I'm going to shoot the guy. And like I said, the cops probably did overreact in both situations, but we got to look at the big picture. Let's work with the cops, because we need the cops, Dan."

Around this same time, black country music singer Coffey Anderson made a YouTube video titled, "What To Do When You Get Pulled Over". The video is basically a "PSA" to help people during traffic stops do all they can do as to avoid having an officer pull out a firearm or using excessive force.

But this dances around the problem, it does not solve it. The truth is that respectability politics cannot save you. And neither can dressing in an Armani suit, saying "Yes sir", or even complying with your hand in the air as a sign of deference. In the Castile case, many people, including Barkley, suggested that he shouldn't have reached for his wallet at all, and that the responsibility was on him to act amenably. In Post-Jim Crow America, we shouldn't have to tell a race of people that they have to act and be a certain way as to avoid being harmed. Because the problem doesn't lie with us, but in the laps of the police. Many law enforcement officers are too quick to pull out their weapon and use excessive force, as opposed to de-escalating a situation or solving a problem without the use of a gun. Whether the problem is that these certain officers are too afraid when they have no need to be, or that they are blatantly racist against people of color, they should not be on a force where they are supposed to serve and protect all citizens. Those in charge choosing to give officers involved in police brutality acts paid leave instead of firing them for behaving impulsively and unjustly is another problem that taints law enforcement in the US. We as black people should not have to do a thing to avoid being shot, beaten or murdered by police while unarmed. Charles Kinsey confirms that you simply cannot 100% avoid being a victim of police brutality when you are black in America, no matter how much you desperately try not to rock the boat.

Why #CrimingWhileWhite Is Frightening

by Jada Ojii

After the verdicts of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in recent weeks, there has been much outrage and a tremendous online response from black and white people alike. One such response was the online hashtag #CrimingWhileWhite, which was particularly featured on Twitter and consisted of white people outwardly discussing their experiences of getting away with certain crimes because they are white. The many stories  ranged from getting pulled over and let free to having their African-American counterparts arrested for the same crimes that they committed. The hashtag allowed many to share their experiences and also opened the eyes of others to white privilege and racism that still exists in America.

The reason that the hashtag and what lies within it is so frightening, is because it displays what we already know and further supports the fact that white privilege is, in fact, a big problem in present-day America. I recall a few weeks ago when the verdict of the Michael Brown case was made public, I commented on a Facebook status about how black people were pulling the race card about the whole issue. My white ex-boyfriend chose to argue with me about whether Mike Brown was killed out of self defense or not. After much back and forth, he then made the conclusion that black people don't face racism in America anymore and that we were all just living in the past. #CrimingWhileWhite shows that this isn't true, but this is not exactly a fact that black people want to be right about. Nonetheless, it is true that racism still exists in many aspects, including through police brutality. Although sharing stories about how getting away from charges and arrests because of the color of your skin helps to inform people about the issue of present-day racism, it also reminds black people that prejudice and injustice is right in our face and continues to happen behind closed doors and despite our efforts to end it. We have all come a long way in terms of creating a more equal society, however it is far from that. I think it's amazing that more and more white people are recognizing that this is an unfair society, but I only wish that the hashtag did more than inform. I wish that it would change things and that black and white people alike would be outraged by it. And that we would be upset enough to speak up when #CrimingWhileWhite happens, instead of waiting until a Mike Brown or Eric Garner gets murdered 40 years after the fact.

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Drake the "Bad Boy"

by Jada Ojii

Aubrey "Drake" Graham has found himself in  quite a few scuffles in this past week alone, and its starting to make many wonder, "Is Drake a lover or a fighter?"

Although Chris Brown is infamous for finding himself in altercations with anybody that has ever held a microphone, including: Adrienne Bailon, Tamar Braxton, Frank Ocean, and Rihanna, he has feuded with Drake on multiple occasions. In the past, Chris Brown found himself in an altercation with Drake when, allegedly, Drake sent a bottle to brown with a note that read, "I'm fucking the love of your life, deal with it." After the fight, however, Chris Brown was antagonized because of his bad boy persona, which stemmed from the domestic abuse of Rihanna and fights with other celebs. And as of very recently, Chris Brown made the infamous Instagram post, accusing his girlfriend Karreuche Tran of having "secret trips to Toronto" and having "dates of Drake". After getting with Riri and then teasing Chris Brown with it at the club, could Drake have officially earned his title of Mr. Steal Yo Girl by getting with Karreuche too? And to put the cherry on top of the cake, Drake got punched in the face by P. Diddy this past week because of a beef over his hit song 0 to 100/The Catch Up. Could it be that Drake was to blame and actually the aggressor in these situations? Did he actually fuck Rihanna and Karreuche even after settling his beef with Chris Brown? Is he not the good guy who just wants love that we've constantly ridiculed him for through memes, or is he caught up in the fast life and all about fucking bitches and getting money? Perhaps... looks are not always what they seem and Drake is just having his own version of fun.

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Like it or hate it, you helped Kim K #BreakTheInternet

by Jada Ojii

Unless you have, in the literal sense, been living underneath a rock for the past couple of weeks, you have more than likely been exposed to Kim Kardashian's ass, and maybe even a full frontal view. And considering the drama, outrage, and general buzz about the shoot for Paper Magazine, its pretty apparent that this clickbait made us click a million times over. Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc. blew up with memes and opinions (because everyone wanted to weigh in on the "How could she? She's a mom!" vs. "She can do whatever she wants. It's HER body!" debate). But whether or not we as the general public agreed that it was in good taste to bare it all for Paper Magazine, we couldn't turn away. And Kim K is loving it. After all, was her attempt not to break the internet as the hashtag was so carefully placed on the magazine? Does she not thrive and make a living off of being relevant and staying in the limelight by any means necessary? So it seems that as long as Kim can give us that shock factor that so continuously leaves our mouths agape, she will remain famous. She might have even just wanted to show that after giving birth to North, she still has high tits and a slim figure (because, yeah this photo wasn't photoshopped at all). Nonetheless, if Kim wants to show it, we'll be here to watch it no matter how much some of us may disapprove.

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Why "Save the Ta-tas" is not helping the cure

by Jada Ojii 

#savethetatas

October is winding down to an end, and as many know, it is noted as Breast Cancer Awareness month. Numerous organizations and campaigns have been founded in order to bring awareness to the disease and raise money for cancer research. One such organization is the Save the Ta-tas Foundation. You can find the hashtag #savethetatas under a pouted selfie of that girl that you kinda know and follow on Instagram clad in her shimmering pink shirt. OMG, she is totes down for the cure and she must donate to cancer research on a very regular basis! Unlikely. Many people tend to post hashtags in order to seem all humanitarian, charitable, and kind-spirited, but in reality its just for the likes and attention. Yes she is letting people know about cancer and all, but no dime is being donated to help cancer research and by the time November comes around, it will be less about the ta-tas and more about the turkey.

No, save the bodies

The Save the Ta-tas Foundation has a good idea in that it strides to donate a portion of its profits to cancer research with the hope of finding a cure for breast cancer. However, save the tatas? Many would agree that saving boobies is not a the goal for finding a cure for breast cancer. And can I just say that slogans like "I heart breasts" and "save the tatas" is at least a little offensive to the women who have to undergo a mastectomy, or surgery to remove the breast, so that the cancer won't spread, or in like Angelina Jolie's case, as a preventative measure because cancer runs in the family? The mission is not to save the ta-tas, here. It's to save the bodies of the women (and some men) who have the disease. Breasts do serve a purpose, but they are superficial and they are not necessary to in order to live. The Save the Ta-tas Foundation has a good understructure, but fails to thoroughly exhibit it through its title. Just because it is 2014 does not mean that we have to sexualize something like breast cancer awareness. Sure you've got everyone's attention, but how about we #savethebodies instead and actually get to the root of the problem: cancer.



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