“I Wish I Hadn’t” …. This I have to share …. “POWERFUL …. “!!

~~July 7, 2016~~ 

THE FIRST OF TWO

Alton Sterling Killed by Baton Rouge Police

I haven’t been able to blog today.

As I said before, I have no words.

I can’t forget two Negro men who were killed in the light of day, with witnesses around, with the police cameras and civilian cell phones.

Social media is exploding with information about these events which occurred back to back in different cities.

The perfect words.

They are not mine.

I need to share.

HortyRex©

~~GRAPHIC SOURCE~~ 

LAB Pro Lib

https://www.facebook.com/LABPROLIB/?fref=ts

Occupy Democrats

https://www.facebook.com/OccupyDemocrats/

Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was standing in the parking lot selling CDs as he had for years when two white cops arrived on Tuesday night, July 6.

By Wednesday morning he was dead and protesters were in the city’s streets.

Calls erupted from Congress and the NAACP for an independent investigation into the shooting, which the Justice Department announced within hours.

~ALTON STERLING~

POWERFUL STATEMENT

By Ricardo Neftali Arroyo

I watched the Alton Sterling execution video.

I wish I hadn’t.

Not because I didn’t want to bear witness. The way Emmett Till’s mother wanted an open casket, “so all the world can see what they did to my boy.”

I’ve borne witness before.

I saw the final moments of Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Laquan McDonald, Samuel DuBoise, and so many others. I’ve felt my heart break as Black men, women and children are gunned down for existing.

Not because it was triggering.

Police brutality is always triggering.

Triggering in that I too have seen the other end of a police officers gun, I too have felt the violation of being searched, of “fitting the description“, of being well aware that your body, at that moment is not your own, that even in the heat of my greatest discomfort my well being depended on having that officer feel as comfortable as I could.

Comfortable in my violation. Comfortable in my pain. Comfortable with my existence. All while knowing that even though I must give as many reasons for my continued existence as possible.This officer wouldn’t need to provide any to be my executioner. I am not alone in having that experience. That experience, like police brutality, is not isolated. Not even in the direct example of my life.

Not because I was already sick and tired thousands of deaths ago.
As a public defender in our criminal injustice system sick and tired is a state of existence. When on the best of days I can achieve a result for a person that resembles justice. But far more often I am simply fighting, as hard as I can, against the worst of several unjust outcomes so that I can minimize the level of injustice they must endure.

You learn, as a person of color in America, at a very early age, how to push on through the weariness of injustice.

No.

I wish I hadn’t seen that video because I have grown uncomfortable with the fetishization of black death and more importantly of its desensitization. Of those who do not lift a finger in the interest of racial justice. Or against police brutality. But are content to gawk at the trauma and injustice without engaging in the struggle against it. Those that only contribute by bearing witness.

I am uncomfortable with those who have grown comfortable with the idea that we must present our dead in order to be believed. In order for there to be action. How many more must we lay before you in order for you to do more than passively engage? If not us then who? If not now then when?

I’ll leave you with this.

“If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time; but if you are here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

#IWishIHadnt #LABProLib #RicardoNeftaliArroyo #AltonSterling #AltonSterlingKilled #BatonRougePolice #StopShootingUs #StateSanctionedViolence #BlackBodies #Oppression #HeavyHeart #Love #BlacknessAndBrownness #BlackLivesMatter #PowerfulStatement #OccupyDemocrats

#WeAllAreOne #ItIsWhatItIs #DrRex #HortyRex #hrexach

We ALL are ONE!!

Haunting eyes …. Eric Garner’s!!

~~December 15, 2014~~ 

Tens Of Thousands March On NYPD Headquarters To Protest Police Killings

Tens of thousands of protesters streamed out of New York City’s Washington Square Park on Saturday to protest the killings of unarmed black people by police officers, as part of the “Millions March NYC.”

The crowd began to wind its way through Manhattan. A large labor union contingent was present, including members of the Communications Workers of America wearing red shirts and AFL-CIO supporters waving blue signs.

In contrast to other marches over the past weeks, this large, orderly demonstration took place during the day. A number of families with children took part, and demonstrators followed a pre-planned route. The march made its way uptown to Herald Square, then looped back downtown, with thunderous chants of “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” and “Justice! Now!” echoing down Broadway. The demonstration culminated at One Police Plaza, the New York City Police Department’s Lower Manhattan headquarters.

Organizers estimated that 30,000 demonstrators participated in the march. The NYPD told The Huffington Post that, as of the official end of the march, no arrests had been made.

Protesters held up 8 panels depicting Eric Garner’s eyes, created by an artist known as JR. “The eyes were chosen as the most important part of the face,” said Tony Herbas of Bushwick, an assistant to the artist.

“As it appears in ….. full read”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/13/millions-march-nyc_n_6320348.html

~~GALLERY~~

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#EricGarner #HauntingEyes #ArtistJR #ThousandsMarch #NYPDHeadquarters #ProtestPolice Killings #HandsUp #DontShoot #JusticeNow #Eyes #MostImportantPartFace #BlackLivesMatter #ThisStopsNow

#WeAllAreOne #ItIsWhatItIs #DrRex #hrexachwordpress

We ALL are ONE!! 

From Upworthy ….. Here Are 10 Images!!

~~August 26, 2014~~ 

I subscribe to “Upworthy“. I receive their updates, videos and emails. I received this one recently. In view of the vital information presented and the time in history that we are living, I feel very strongly that it needs to be shared. I take no personal credit for this information. It was all gathered, compiled and presented by their staff. 

“As it appears in …..”

http://www.upworthy.com/here-are-10-images-by-the-time-i-reached-the-third-one-i-was-crying-by-the-10th-i-was-furious?g=2&c=upw1

I’m merely providing another forum for dissemination. All graphics in the slideshow were prepared and presented by Upworthy. All images in the slideshow and all information are the intellectual property of the original presenter. 

John Crawford was holding a toy gun as he stood in the toy section of a Walmart. Before the police shot him to death in that same aisle, John managed to say, “It’s not real.” But it was too late for John.

Sean Bell was going to get married. One night, he was driving away from his bachelor party with his friends, Joseph and Trent. Suddenly, he hit a minivan. Four undercover police officers from the minivan began to shoot at them without warning, firing a total of 50 bullets at the three unarmed men. A wounded Joseph turned to Sean and said, “S, I love you, son.” Sean’s reply: “I love you, too.” Joseph and Trent survived, but their best friend, Sean, didn’t make it.

One of the witnesses in the Trayvon Martin trial, Rachel Jeantel, was on the phone with Trayvon moments before the scuffle with George Zimmerman that ended his life. One of the last things she heard the unarmed Trayvon say to the man who was following him with a gun that fateful night: “Why are you following me for?“

Michael Brown died August 2014. Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson shot him at least six times, twice in the head. Michael was not armed. His friend and eyewitness reported that Michael said: “I don’t have a gun. Stop shooting.” Minutes later, he was on the ground, bleeding. Dr. Michael M. Baden, the man who did Michael’s autopsy, told the New York Times, “In my capacity as the forensic examiner for the New York State Police, I would say, ‘You’re not supposed to shoot so many times.'”

Amadou Diallo died right outside his own apartment in the Bronx. He was unarmed. Four police officers shot 41 bullets, hitting Amadou 19 times. Later, they claimed that they had mistaken Amadou for a serial rapist. That same day, some of the last words he said to his mother as he spoke over the phone were, “Mom, I’m going to college.“

Eric Garner died July 2014. He was unarmed. Police officers were trying to arrest him for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes. Eric suffered from asthma, and as a police officer put his arm around Eric’s neck during the arrest, he managed to gasp, “I can’t breathe!” The New York City medical examiner’s office ruled Eric’s death a homicide, pointing out that the officer’s chokehold might have been a big factor.

Jonathan Ferrell had been in a traffic accident and was knocking on a homeowner’s door for help. He was unarmed. A video later used at the trial showed that when police officers approached him, Jonathan held his hands out in a non-threatening manner. The police officers never identified themselves. They fired 12 times, and 10 of those bullets hit him. Even as Jonathan lay on the ground, bleeding and dying from 10 gunshot wounds, the officers handcuffed him. Jonathan’s dead body remained handcuffed all the way to the medical examiner’s office.

Oscar Grant was on a subway train in Oakland when a police officer forced him out of the car and onto the subway platform. Oscar was lying down when a second police officer shot a bullet into his back. “You shot me! You shot me!” Oscar yelled before he died. That officer later testified that he meant to use his Taser on Oscar instead of his handgun. A court later ruled that the two had no legal reason to get Oscar — who was unarmed — off the train.

Kimani Gray was standing on a street in Brooklyn when police officers approached him. The officers claimed that when they approached Kimani, he pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at them. But one eyewitness, Tishana King, said Kimani never pointed a gun. She also said the police officers didn’t identify themselves when they approached. Police officers shot Kimani at least seven times, even though Kimani hadn’t shot a single bullet. One witness said some of Kimani’s last words were, “Please don’t let me die.”

Kendrec McDade died after a man called Oscar Carillo made a phony 911 call, telling police officers that he had just been the victim of an armed robbery. He later admitted that he had lied about the guns. The two officers eventually found Kendrec in an alleyway. They began shooting after Kendrec apparently moved his hands to his waistband. But Kendrec didn’t have a gun on him. All he had was a cellphone in his pocket. Court documents show that Kendrec’s last words were, “Why did you shoot me?”

~~GALLERY~~

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I have no words. I think these description of events speak for themselves. I do know that there is a load of evidence regarding a total lack of disregard for black human life. 

BLACK LIVES MATTER!! 

We ALL are ONE!!