More Postings
Name: Michael Patrick
Location: San Jose, California, United States


why -a-t- michaelpatrick -d-o-t- org
This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours? 
Listed on sfbaybloggers.com 
Globe of Blogs 
Blogarama - The Blog Directory 
Listed on Blogwise 
Blog Search Engine 
Subscribe with Bloglines 

Wednesday, June 22

 

Unequal Police Treatment, Personal Responsibility, and the Public Street

I was listening again to KKUP this morning, which, in addition to "Free and Clear" (mentioned earlier), has another good talk show called "Block 2 Block Radio." Today's show was about police impropriety, inspired in part by last week's Metro cover story on the brutal treatment of one former inmate. One of the hosts claimed he had been questioned by the police after having done nothing wrong and asked, "Who polices the police?"*

A caller, identifying himself as Caucasian and second-guessing the Latino hosts' claims of police brutality and unjustified questioning/profiling in San Jose, patronized the host by claiming only criminals need be concerned about police treatment; the innocent are never treated wrongly. The caller, apparently convinced police impropriety is a myth spread by anti-Caucasian racists, condescendingly attempted to bait the hosts into admitting advocacy for giving special treatment to "people of color." When one host spoke about his interest in the welfare of his "people," he was referring to Latinos with contempt for the Man and for order in general, wasn't he--or maybe he was just talking about the people of his diverse neighborhood? The gist was that, if only San Jose's people of color practiced more personal responsibility, the police would give them no trouble. The caller had never caused himself to be wrongfully questioned; why can't people of color prevent this from happening to them?

Anyway, this guy might just be a reactionary who's easy to pick on. But it became easy to sense many others might share a similar defensive, territorial attitude, as the caller stated he would consider a person of color driving a "beater" car through his white, affluent neighborhood suspicious. What business does that outsider have in such a neighborhood? Crime, no doubt.

Yet that outsider would in most cases be driving along a public street. Every citizen is perfectly entitled to pass along every public street; no private property owner is legally entitled to take it upon him-/herself to block access to a street by a specific group of people. To do so would be flagrantly un-American. But, sadly, it seems private property rights are often perceived as extending onto neighboring public property.

Anyway, after the skeptical guy hung up, too confident in his position to absorb the host's thoughts, the show received callers ridiculing him.

*The host didn't mean to be accusatory, but his question was worth asking nevertheless.

July 6: A "shout-out" here to David Madrid of "Block 2 Block Radio."


Comments
I think that life is fair. When it happens to other people than it is funny.
 

Ever try driving through parts of Palos Verdes or Palo Alto without getting pulled over. For some reason people living in those neighborhoods are ok with driving into adjoining cities for work, leisure and related activities.

Oh my god they are staking out your home. Oh my god, call the cops. But they havent done anything dear. well sure they have they are disturbing the peace. can't you hear how loud that radio is. don't we have laws in this country? I will have you know that I am...
 

An employee does their job, you owe them a favor, right?
 

Though calls were generated from Unknown numbers, they are believed to be from the SJPD. The level of investigation conducted by the police department is what they are able to do and can do no more.

Based on my research, the international government including the UN are for other purposes and cannnot do much more either.
 

Moses and his Tribe need assistance and the UN can assist them. The people of Tibet need assistance and the UN can help them.
 

Look there are some adults in the San Jose area between the ages of 25 and 49 that have revereted to the ammoral state in their minds and we need to be flexible with them.

Advice: Go watch some movies.
 

I think the kids doing what their mother, father, family, country, religion, culture, nature have programmed them to do. They are doing good.
 

Leave a Comment

<< Main