Sunday, April 02, 2006

The Beatdown


I am sure every one has heard the story by now. The one where congresswoman Cynthia McKinney from the great state of Georgia almost caught a Rodney King from the capitol police.

I have been reading about this incident in blogger land, and not surprisingly, given the make up of blogger land, every one thinks the congresswoman was way out of line. Many of her detracters have used this incident to point to statements and mis-steps the congress woman has made in the past. They say this is just another example of girlfriend gone wild. The capitol police are even thinking of [Ready for this?] pressing criminal charges against girlfriend for assaulting a police officer.

So let's go over what we know are the facts for a minute. The congress woman recently changed her hair style -this is important- she is in a rush to get to a meeting, and bypasses the metal detector. The capitol police notices this black female whizzing by him as if she owns the joint, and he immediatly gives chase, grabs her, and demands to know just who the hell she is. This is when girlfriend goes Russell Crowe on my man and tags him with her cell phone.

The capitol police want to make an example of her, they say she was not wearing a congressional pin which she is required to wear for easy identification, and she did not pass through the metal detector as required. The problem is, that very few congressmen or women wear this pin while in the building. Like all people who are accustomed to a certain amount of entitlement they expect to be recognized, and pin be dammed. This might have been the case with congresswoman McKinney. That, complicated with her new hair style might have made it hard for the police officer to recognize her. So we are going to give the officer the benefit of the doubt here, let's assume that he really did not know that this was a congresswoman from the great state of Gerogia. My question is this, did he have to grab her the way he did? I submit to you that if it were a white person passing through in this manner -congress person or not- they would not have been subjected to this type of treatment. These officers are all well trained, and part of their training is learning to treat people in a respectful manner. I submit to you, that this officer knew
exactly what he was doing.

Cynthia McKinney has complained about this type of treatment from the secret service and capitol police in the past. She views this as just a continuation of her on- going problems with these agencies, and, she says, it's because she is a black woman. I say, of course it is, so what else is new? Girlfriend do you think because you are a congresswoman you are immune from your Rodney King moments? I think not. You ask any black person out here if that type of treatment is unusual and they will tell you no. Ms. McKinney's problem is that she now sees herself as an all powerful congresswoman that no one should f**k with it. And when some lowly white police officer questions her authority it really sends her over the deep end. This type of mind sent might have been the genesis of many of her problems in the first place. Nobody, -black or white- likes it when someone plays the "don't you know who I am?" game, and Ms. McKinney seems to be one of those individuals who likes to remind others of just who she is.

What Ms. McKinney needs to realize is that although she views this police officer as just some guy paid to protect her and beneath her stature and pay grade. He still sees himself as a white man, and Ms. McKinney as a black woman.[just another n*****r] Being white in his mind automatically gives hm status, something that she will never have because of her color. He is white, she is not. It's that simple and in his mind that's all he needs to know.

The congresswoman is being beat up in the white press, and on conservative talk radio -Neal Boortz called her a ghetto queen- for this incident. Why, because anytime a black person in this country rises to a position of power, the last thing those in the majority want you to do is flaunt it. In their minds laws were passed to give you certain rights, but don't you dare get the big head, and not think we can't send your black ass right back to square one. That's what the congresswoman has done, she has gotten the big head, and all of white America is praising that policeman for introducing, or at least giving girlfriend a feel, of what a Rodney King moment could be like.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

"He still sees himself as a white man, and Ms. McKinney as a black woman [just another n*****]. Being white in his mind automatically gives him status."

Hey field negro, are you a lawyer AND a mindreader? Has that h***y policeman confided his deepest thoughts to you?

IF you want to give Cynthia McKinney the benefit of a doubt that's fine, just give the policeman a similar benefit. You've already convicted him of being part of some vast racist "get Cynthia" conspiracy.

Then there's this howler: "...and all of white America is praising that policeman...blah,blah,blah."

You're a lawyer so you know a sweeping generalization like that wouldn't stand up in any court
except the the court of your racial fever swamp. In this case I'm afraid truth is going to trail far behind the agendas.

Anonymous said...

Of course they wouldn't stand up in court, they are opinions. And yes, I might be wrong about the officer -although I doubt it- and I might be wrong about Ms. McKinney's sense of entitlement because she is a congresswoman-I doubt that too-

But the bottom line is I have no agenda other than to call things the way I see it. If you will notice, I am equally as hard on black people as I am on everybody else. My main goal is to promote an honest debate, and to uplift black people from within. No handouts,no lying to ourselves about the man, and certainly no compromising of our dentity.

FN

Anonymous said...

FN
I think you are right on target. Sista Mckinney should have come in and modeled her new hairstyle first. Give them a chance to put a face with the hair, maybe. You know we are invisible. They probably only knew her by the hairstyle, anyway. Amerika the land of the free. Check out the FX show Black/White. Bruno serves it up big.

SwtMdr

Anonymous said...

I saw that show, real interesting. But you are right about the congresswoman, it's just a shame that a person can't change their identity without having to be subjected to the type of treatment that she was.

Let's see what happens.The federal prosecutor has the case now.

FN

Dangerfield said...

FN I gave you credit when you put together a rebuttal in repsonse to a comment on your tom delay post. I have a serious bone to pick with you, Im going to be honest Ive paid attention to this case and from what I understand the officer asked her to stop 3 times and I dont know what community you live in but I grew up in the black community and when a sister has an afro one week and then next week or day she has corn rolls it can be hard to recognize her and you know this. Im starting to get the impression that the post's you leave on your blog are truth according to field negro.Justifying totally inapropiate behavior is non progressive and only hurts us as a group. Especially when young black males have gigantic problems with all kinds of violent crime, most of it against black women and other black people. You are basically brushing off a problem that the black community is being affected by in a serious way. When we let clowns of the hook for totally over the top behavior, as far as I am concernced we are helping to hold down and even slow kill our entire race. Because by default people who defend or try to justify anti social behavior is saying to all other black it is alright to act a fool. No group of people are affected by violence the way black people are, all she had to do to avoid any incident is stop when the Police officer ask her to stop. And lets keep it real FN when I shave and get a hair cut thier are some people at work who might not notice me at first and I am a man. Shame on you for writting a post about that story and then conviently leaving out that they the police had asked her to stop 3 times. This is not honest dialog this is propaganda. Shame on you as one of the few educated black men around. A lawyer at that unbeleivable. Mark

Anonymous said...

Mark, thanks for the constructive criticism, and I understand your point about submitting to authority. I, like you have a serious problem with lawlessness in our communities, and I am front and center here in Philadelphia fighting that fight every day.

But respectfully, I have to say, you missed my point. Just because it is easy for even a black person to mistake another one becuase of a new hair style etc. It still does not excuse the capitol police for treating Ms.McKinney (A Congresswoman no less) in a disrespectful manner. Lapel pin or not, I doubt seriously if we would be having this discussion had that been a white male congressman. Again, I have not seen the video tape and I might be wrong. But my experiences tell me that as a person of color, we don't get the benefit of the doubt in situations like the one that took place here.

"Becuase by default people who defend or try to justify anti social behavior.. is saying it'a alright to act the fool.."
Wrong again, and you have totally mistated my position. It is never right to act the fool; but it is always right to stand up if you think you are being discriminated against or wronged in some form or fashion. Cynthia McKiney might be an arrogant bore who thinks too much of herself, but if that capitol police acted inappropriately towards her he should be called on it. You seem like a smart guy and I respect your opinion. But this is where you and I are different. You would bow to authority even if you know you are right and it is wrong. I, on the the hand, will never take such a position.

FN

Dangerfield said...

FN said:Mark, thanks for the constructive criticism, and I understand your point about submitting to authority. I, like you have a serious problem with lawlessness in our communities, and I am front and center here in Philadelphia fighting that fight every day.

God bless you on this one we all should be fighting as hard as we can against crime in our community.


FN said: Wrong again, and you have totally mistated my position. It is never right to act the fool; but it is always right to stand up if you think you are being discriminated against or wronged in some form or fashion. Cynthia McKiney might be an arrogant bore who thinks too much of herself.

FN you are right it is always right to stand up for yourself, the question is how you stand up for your self. Also think about this the officer asked her to stop 3 times and she didnt, then when he tried to stop her she hit him. You failed to mention in your rebuttal to me that none of this would have happened if she had stopped like the police officer asked her to.

FN said: It still does not excuse the capitol police for treating Ms.McKinney (A Congresswoman no less) in a disrespectful manner. Lapel pin or not, I doubt seriously if we would be having this discussion had that been a white male congressman. Again, I have not seen the video tape and I might be wrong. But my experiences tell me that as a person of color, we don't get the benefit of the doubt in situations like the one that took place here.

In which disrespectful manner did the police treat the congress woman?

Your also most likely right that we dont get the benifit of the doubt in those kind of situations.
But at the same time Cynthia McKinney has a bully pulpit to use. She had lots of tools in her arsenal ( tools that average citizens do not have) to use, If she had a greivance Im sure that the congress has procedures on how to handle greivances even against the officers charged with congress security. If the behavior of the police was racist shouldnt she have dealt with it in an official manner so as to protect the other black members of congress from that type of treatment.

Maybe that would not have happened if she was a white male, but I doubt if a white or black male would come to congress with a totally different hairstyle, so much so that a police officer would not recognize them. She played into a the sterotypical Angry Black Woman role. If they are really out to get us then the Congresswoman played her assigned role perfectly.

Cynthia McKiney might be an arrogant bore who thinks too much of herself, but if that capitol police acted inappropriately towards her he should be called on it. You seem like a smart guy and I respect your opinion.

I do think she's an arrogant bore.
If the police were acting over the top then they should be dealt with in the most effictive way possible.

FN said: You would bow to authority even if you know you are right and it is wrong. I, on the the hand, will never take such a position.

Brother FN as much good will as I have for you, you have to understand that people like me are niether left or right, liberal or so called conservative. We are mercenaries and we go were the truth leads us even if it causes us personal discomfort. My intellectual 45 is loaded and pointed at many different wig peices, some conservatives, some liberals, you get the point. All of them have a red dot on thier forheads and you know what happens then P.S as a wanna be intellectual I am not allowed to respond to cheapshots thierfore the white gloves shall remain on until further notice. Peace FN. Mark

Anonymous said...

Mark, my white gloves are always on with respectful honest dialogue-which, by the way, you always bring. So I don't think we will have that problem. Having said that, I still disagree with you about the conduct and the perceptions of the capitol police.

I agree with you also about the liberal and conservative gangs , all with an agenda and all with an acts to grind.

Hopefully, if I ever fall into that category someone will call me on it. But for now, I, like you, consider myself a straight shooter with only my people's best interest at heart.

FN

engagement ring uk said...

Cynthia McKinney has complained about this type of treatment from the secret service and capitol police in the past. She views this as just a continuation of her on- going problems with these agencies, and, she says, it's because she is a black woman. I say, of course it is, so what else is new? Girlfriend do you think because you are a congresswoman you are immune from your Rodney King moments? I think not. You ask any black person out here if that type of treatment is unusual and they will tell you no. Ms. McKinney's problem is that she now sees herself as an all powerful congresswoman that no one should f**k with it. And when some lowly white police officer questions her authority it really sends her over the deep end. This type of mind sent might have been the genesis of many of her problems in the first place. Nobody, -black or white- likes it when someone plays the "don't you know who I am?" game, and Ms. McKinney seems to be one of those individuals who likes to remind others of just who she is.