Am I To Blame For You Not Finishing?: The Cops

There are tons of videos out about what the police do to "Innocent Black People" and how much force they use. Now coming from a low income community and my own past....I hated the cops. Hate is a strong word, but that's how I felt. I have seen so many things the cops would do to people just hanging out, guys just walking by and a number of situations where cops used their Power to instill fear in the community. I've been pulled over in white neighborhoods and questioned for no reason about why I was there. I have been stopped by police for walking with other guys at night time. I've been told to leave parks and benches while doing nothing but hanging out. Even yelled at by cops for being kids and playing around with one another. They arrested my friends and associates. Sent people I grew up with to jail. And then there are the 101 NYPD stories that come out all the time.

But in high school.....I ended up working/playing sports for/and spending all my time at a PAL. How did this start? A friend of mine told me about a football team I could join with him, and I was open to it. Then next thing you know I'm spending all my free time there after school and on weekends. I didn't know that PAL stood for Police Athletic League....or that there were more of them. I just thought it was PAL and that was it lol. Never cared about what the name meant. So when the guys working there told me they were cops and cops started coming in more and more.....I was shocked.....but open/accepting of it all. The guys were cool, the place was cool, and they taught me a lot. So did I stop hating cops? No. Of course not lol. They knew my dislike. I never hid it or kept it from them. We just worked around it since I was a civil person. But as time went on in my life....I didn't grow to love cops...I was just thankful for what they did and that hate turned into admiration.

So why am I writing this blog? Because of the nonstop people and videos that come out where cops are harassing people or using excessive force. First of all....those people the cops sent to jail from my neighborhood...they were drug dealers and killers. When the cops stopped me walking with those guys at night....we were out looking for the guys that beat up a friend of a friend of a friend (A guy was beat up. He called his friend for help. One of his friends was a friend of mine who called me up for help), so their suspicion was warranted. A lot of the things cops do are overboard, but sometimes what they do is logical and based on what you put out. And seeing these videos and hearing these stories of people feeling they have been done wrong by cops are getting old. Especially the Rodney King story (which people don't talk about the part that he had been drinking and speeding). Yes....a beat down was too much. But why is there no video of what happened beforehand? Was he resisting arrest? Did he hit a cop? I want the full story.

I'm just tired of seeing people call out abuse....when they started things or could have easily, done what they asked and moved on. Cop asks for ID....give it to him and move on afterward. Cops stop you for something....why start to curse them out and make a scene? See cops walking...what's the point of doing something to them to cause negative attention to yourself? You see them doing something...what's the point of joining the situation and adding more hostility to it? Why hit or resist a cop? In my opinion...if you hit, fight, or resist arrest...you deserve what you get. They have a lot to face, and you making their day harder helps nothing. Don't get me wrong....cops do a lot that is too far or they just wanted to show their power...but as a society...we are giving them that power. Have a problem with it? Fight back legally.

Violence only creates more Violence. Anger only creates more Anger. So when the biggest gang comes down on you...fighting them will only mean you lose. Even if you win a battle, you will never win the war. Look at the death of Tupac.....over 10 years later, do we have anything on the killers as yet? But he won and lost many battles. Looks like we know who won that war.