the end of the nightstick

'there is more law at the end of a policeman's nightstick than in a decision of the supreme court' -statement from NYPD lieutenant alexander 'clubber' williams in 1877

'the end of the nightstick' is the title of a PBS 'point of view' (POV) documentary made in the 1990's on the subject of the scandalous and horrific systemic practice of a squad of chicago police of the previous 2 decades of beating and torturing confessions out of men of color. it provides a very rare street level point of view from those who have been subjected to the worst sorts of brutality and terrorism from 'america's finest', the police. it's very information dense, and unfortunately the audio is sometimes not as clear as one might wish, so i think it's best to take one's time viewing, stopping along the way frequently to ensure u understand what's being communicated.the actual film is only 44 minutes long. there will be a link to watch it on youtube at the very bottom of this post.

it should be noted that near the beginning of this film, the number of documented cases of police torture in chicago under the terroristic rein of the sadistic and racist police commander jon burge and his partners in lawless law enforcement was stated as being 'over 30'. the actual number turned out to be well over 100. the book linked below tells the story of one of them:
https://www.amazon.com/My-Midnight-Years-Surviving-Torture/dp/1613737661/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=ronald+kitchen&qid=1593565257&s=books&sr=1-1

i find it amazing that this excellent documentary has so few views, particularly in light of the present day wave of protests against police brutality and the almost routine murder of black men by police officers in the usa, (usually with impunity) which has been exposed again and again in recent years. this should be seen by everyone who cares about justice and the need to rein in the brutal abuse of 'authority' (which sometimes includes judges and prosecutors who conspire [along with crooked law enforcement officers] to frame innocent defendants and convict them, sometimes for capital murder) in the usa.

for a much more in depth look at the police brutality scandal this film documents, one of the lawyers who played a primary role in fighting and exposing it has written a great book:

https://www.amazon.com/Torture-Machine-Racism-Violence-Chicago/dp/160846895X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=flint+taylor&qid=1593564482&s=books&sr=1-1  

and finally the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTthOb1DXmM

wipe that stupid grin off your face!

just watching pbs newshour report on record setting arctic heat, which in many places has reached 38C or 100F recently. an expert discussed some of the ramifications of the rapid and alarming warming of the arctic in recent decades/years. what struck me more than her words was the stupid and utterly inappropriate grin on her face at times, as if this matter is amusing.

i think american corporate funded and influenced media like pbs goes out of it's way to choose scientific experts to discuss ultra sensitive topics like this one specifically for their perverse ability/inclination to make dire pronouncements appear to be not dire. it's like a doctor informing a patient (s)he is terminally ill with a sick, idiotic grin. the message and the manner in which it's conveyed are completely dissonant.

hey, lady! wipe that stupid grin off your face! and corporate media, stop wrapping truth in the guise of bullshit, and vice versa!

corporate media. the slickest misinformation and propaganda that money can buy. as the world burns, america turns on it's tv's and is bullshitted to death/sleep.

Who Polices the Police?

i've submitted the following for publication in local newspapers. it's titled, Who Polices the Police?

In a recent year, american police killed 1,043 americans officially . That same year, japanese and british police killed a combined total of 3 of their citizens. Even taking into account america's higher population, american police kill their own citizens at a rate that's hundreds of times higher than those 2 nations. While racism is certainly a factor, one may rest assured that not all of those 1,043 american victims of deadly police violence were people of color.

Besides this outrageous excess of the use of deadly force, american police are also well known for their almost casual use of violence, such as assaulting political protesters and criminal suspects. On youtube there's virtually an endless supply of videos which document some of these crimes, as well as other instances of police misconduct.

There's also the notorious practice of civil asset forfeiture, in which police are allowed to seize private property on the basis of suspicion that it was obtained thanks to the proceeds from illegal activity, without having to back up this suspicion with evidence.

All of this adds up to one irrefutable conclusion: american police have far too much power, are far too prone to abusing it, and have far too little oversight or consequences for their own criminal behavior. The whole institution of policing in america, and for that matter the criminal (in)'justice' system, which imprisons a far higher percentage of americans than any other country in the world, is in need of urgent and radical reform.

putting the fear of god into u(s)

i've just been paying scant attention to a pbs tv program about the rochester ny race riots of july 1964 (the show's titled july'64). i'd have paid more attention if too much weight wasn't being given to establishment voices, but that's sadly to be expected, even from PBS. but at least pbs sometimes also gives voice to radical dissidents, like one black woman who in reply to an interviewer's question, responded in conclusion that she believed that police often beat blacks they arrested to 'put the fear of god into u'. again, this was in rochester, a mid sized upstate ny city with a proud tradition of being home to the likes of susan b. anthony and frederick douglass, a northern city that was an underground railroad stop for slaves fleeing slavery. so if this is what was happening in rochester to such an extent as to precipitate massive rioting, i think it's pretty safe to assume it was happening all across america.

i think any intelligent fair minded curious individual who looks into the history and social role of policing, not only in america but around the world, will discover that police' primary purpose and function is to use force, sometimes brutal force, sometimes deadly force, to maintain existing social and economic inequalities and injustices (link below to a great book that documents this, titled OUR ENEMIES IN BLUE). they mainly serve the establishment, provide it's muscle, enforce it's edicts or 'laws' with whatever force is deemed necessary, and quite obviously, their bosses give them basically carte blanche to abuse 'authority' when dealing with (in?)subordinate, downtrodden minorities (or troublesome radical rabble rousers, which is what i sometimes aspire to be...). they routinely brutalize and terrorize these groups when deemed necessary (which can be virtually all the time) to let them know viscerally who's the boss, or as that black woman put it, to put the fear of god into u.

this is still obviously how america is policed. i've experienced it a little myself (but not remotely anything like those who've been severely beaten and/or abused and/or murdered).

i wish more sheeple would know this. i wish they had or would take the time to educate themselves on such important matters. i wish they cared more.

of course, i should care more too. i should do more than write shit like this that i can't even interest anyone into reading. but of course, that requires leaving my comfort zone and perhaps security as well behind. it requires coming out of the closet, proactively reaching out, not just to a select few, but as wide and large an audience as i can reach, trying to rouse them, the 'rabble'.

unfortunately, i can't see this succeeding. i can very easily envision it failing, and my having to pay dearly for
trying seriously to challenge 'authority', which makes it all too easy to care less, and not even try.

ironic, isn't it, that a non-believer like me has the 'fear of god' put into him. 'authority' is something to be greatly feared by one with my inclinations and aspirations. just as it is by downtrodden minorities inclined to be the least bit 'uppity'. 'authorities' are here to put the fear of god into us.

https://www.amazon.com/Our-Enemies-Blue-Police-America/dp/1849352151

Thank God For Slavery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCZ6PRiQq_w

and, from the same source:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84gh6d3AjqA