By now, anyone who is not living under a rock has probably heard about Michael Brown and Ferguson, Missouri. But how many people have heard of Michael Day?
Michael Day was a 13-year-old African American middle school student living in the Edison neighborhood of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who was shot to death on Memorial Day this year. The reason why Michael Day's death did not make national news and cause massive protests around the country is that Michael Day was not killed by a white policeman, but by teenagers of his own race. In other words, Michael Day is merely a statistic. His death has no political value whatsoever.
Michael was killed as a result of gang violence. There are two gangs feuding in the Edison neighborhood and Michael belonged to one. Both gangs are made up of people of color. This situation has been going for some time. When the news first broke out about Michael's killing, the media (M-Live and Kalamazoo Gazette) as well as law enforcement, initially referred to these two gangs simply as "groups." They are now singing a different tune due to public outcry and are calling these gangs what they are: gangs.
I won't say Michael's death has gone unnoticed in the Kalamazoo area. There have been rallies in the Edison neighborhood and elsewhere in Kalamazoo. At the recent ISAAC meeting (an interfaith advocacy group), which I attended, several children put on a demonstration chanting "Stop the Violence" while the audience cheered enthusiastically. However, I am sorry, but they are preaching to the choir. Trap Money and Washington Street Boys (the two gangs) are not listening and don't give a damn. At the trial of the three young men accused of Michael's death, two witnesses admitted that they were afraid of testifying and had received threats on social media. Because two of the three were found guilty, there is talk of retaliation and the Kalamazoo Public Safety Department has increased its presence in the Edison neighborhood. I would not want to be a white public safety officer assigned to that area--God help them if they have to fire their weapons, especially now!
Back in the 1980's one of my white coworkers made the statement that "They ought to have a hunting season on (n-word), like they do deer, to reduce the population." That was when it was "safe" to make such statements at work. Well, there is a hunting season on African-American males, it seems, except that whites are not allowed to participate, Actually, whites don't need to. All whites have to do is sit back and watch. Just make sure they are not the ones to pull the trigger.
Nearly two years ago, a young African-American was shot and killed at a party in my community. It took more than a year to bring his alleged killer, another African-American, to trial. This man was found not guilty and went free. Case closed. Matter dropped. Why should anyone--especially anyone in the white community--care? I'm sure somewhere some white supremacists are singing, "Another one bites the dust" every time they hear of a black-on-black killing. I think of my former co-worker's words often. "To reduce the population, like deer." What incentive do people like that have to want to stop the killing? They don't, and by focusing on cases like Ferguson and ignoring the much higher body count of black-on-black murders, plays right into their hands. As long as there are no national rallies and protests directed against gangs like Trap Money and Washington Street Boys, they will continue their terrorist ways and no amount of singing by schoolchildren in a church basement is going to stop them.
Yes, it's hunting season.
Michael Day was a 13-year-old African American middle school student living in the Edison neighborhood of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who was shot to death on Memorial Day this year. The reason why Michael Day's death did not make national news and cause massive protests around the country is that Michael Day was not killed by a white policeman, but by teenagers of his own race. In other words, Michael Day is merely a statistic. His death has no political value whatsoever.
Michael was killed as a result of gang violence. There are two gangs feuding in the Edison neighborhood and Michael belonged to one. Both gangs are made up of people of color. This situation has been going for some time. When the news first broke out about Michael's killing, the media (M-Live and Kalamazoo Gazette) as well as law enforcement, initially referred to these two gangs simply as "groups." They are now singing a different tune due to public outcry and are calling these gangs what they are: gangs.
I won't say Michael's death has gone unnoticed in the Kalamazoo area. There have been rallies in the Edison neighborhood and elsewhere in Kalamazoo. At the recent ISAAC meeting (an interfaith advocacy group), which I attended, several children put on a demonstration chanting "Stop the Violence" while the audience cheered enthusiastically. However, I am sorry, but they are preaching to the choir. Trap Money and Washington Street Boys (the two gangs) are not listening and don't give a damn. At the trial of the three young men accused of Michael's death, two witnesses admitted that they were afraid of testifying and had received threats on social media. Because two of the three were found guilty, there is talk of retaliation and the Kalamazoo Public Safety Department has increased its presence in the Edison neighborhood. I would not want to be a white public safety officer assigned to that area--God help them if they have to fire their weapons, especially now!
Back in the 1980's one of my white coworkers made the statement that "They ought to have a hunting season on (n-word), like they do deer, to reduce the population." That was when it was "safe" to make such statements at work. Well, there is a hunting season on African-American males, it seems, except that whites are not allowed to participate, Actually, whites don't need to. All whites have to do is sit back and watch. Just make sure they are not the ones to pull the trigger.
Nearly two years ago, a young African-American was shot and killed at a party in my community. It took more than a year to bring his alleged killer, another African-American, to trial. This man was found not guilty and went free. Case closed. Matter dropped. Why should anyone--especially anyone in the white community--care? I'm sure somewhere some white supremacists are singing, "Another one bites the dust" every time they hear of a black-on-black killing. I think of my former co-worker's words often. "To reduce the population, like deer." What incentive do people like that have to want to stop the killing? They don't, and by focusing on cases like Ferguson and ignoring the much higher body count of black-on-black murders, plays right into their hands. As long as there are no national rallies and protests directed against gangs like Trap Money and Washington Street Boys, they will continue their terrorist ways and no amount of singing by schoolchildren in a church basement is going to stop them.
Yes, it's hunting season.
