Troy Davis.
This isn't your typical blog about a man named Troy Davis, but then again, I haven't read any about him. This blog will not contain buzzwords and catchphrases like "fuck the system." This blog will not recant the chants of Black Panthers long before us singing, "No more pigs in our communities, fuck the pigs." This blog is going to come at you from the whole other end of the spectrum.
I believe in justice. I believe in law enforcement. Matter of fact, so do you all of you. If someone hurts your loved one, you're going to reach for your mobile and dial 911. If someone steals your car, you're going to reach for your mobile and dial 911. If you see someone in peril, you may try to help, but you'll definitely reach for your mobile and dial 911. So, please, let's cut the bullshit. It's not fuck the pigs, fuck the system, fuck the police. Wasn't it just 11 days ago we were thanking the policemen of New York City for being heroes? So let's get past that posturing already. It doesn't make you seem more revolutionary, it doesn't make you seem more countercultured or educated. In fact, it makes you look like a damn fool.
Now the system isn't the best. The system has flaws all over it. But then again, every societal structure has flaws. But let's not kid ourselves either; the system gets it right more times than it gets it wrong. For every Troy Davis that may have been, and we can only say may have been, imprisoned as an innocent man, there's 100 correctly imprisoned. We're not going to deal with the socioeconomic inferences of the population imprisoned, but let's not write the entire judicial system off, okay?
But let's get to the crux of the matter. This blog is dedicated to my fellow African readers, and primarily African-American. I haven't quite seen the same from the Afro-Latino friends I have. There's a lot of Al Sharptons on facebook and twitter. A lot of you niggas, and yes, I'm using the word now, are making statuses and tweeting all day and night about the injustice suffered by another brother. The system, the white man, at it again, fucking over another brother. When will it end? You niggas make me sick. This doesn't go out to my conscious friends, my friends who are about the causes of the the global community and equality for all. This isn't for those of the like mind who truly care about the plight of our people, other people, and all people. This is for you niggas who grandstand and bring out soapboxes and take the easy position and do it "for the black." If I were Fudge and yall were Malik and this was "Higher Learning", I'd say to yall, "Run, nigga, run." That's what all of yall are doing. You're not down for the cause. Sure, you think you are because you went to a black college or sure you are because you have one dashiki in the closet or sure you are because you have some books about Africa or ancient Egypt on your bookshelf. That's great. But what are you doing for the community overall? What are you doing everyday? How has your worldview influenced your actions, your thoughts, your compassion for your fellow man every single day?
All of you niggas are Al Sharpton and facebook, twitter, these are your cameras. You slick your hair back, you put on a sharp suit, and you climb on your soapbox and say the system was built to imprison our people, to keep us subdued, to rid the country of the black plague. And while there is merit to the argument, this is not about that right now. This isn't a black thing. This is a humanitarian thing. Troy Davis wasn't executed because he was black. Troy Davis wasn't imprisoned because he was black. If that was the case, a lot of us would be in prison now. And if not us, we all know at least three people who would be in prison right now. Now, the thing us black folks fail to realise often is just because something is racial, it doesn't always make the leap to being racist.
None of us know the details of the case. And if we do, we probably just wikipedia'd them in the last couple days and ran with it. We can come to the conclusion that the evidence was close to nonexistent and that there's a chance this man was imprisoned for being black and in the wrong place. And sure, we can say the witnesses could be lying and leaning to imprison a black man because the black man scares them. There's probably elements of truth in all of this. But to see so many saying, hmm, Casey Anthony goes free but a brother dies for a crime he didn't commit. The system is so fucked up. But I'm sorry, the two cases, not the same. One, no one came and said/lied/whatever that "Yes, I saw Casey kill her kid. People did come forward and say/lie/whatever that "Yes, I saw Troy Davis shoot that cop." That's gonna get you in prison and on death row 10 times out of 10. Two, and perhaps the main reason Anthony got off, the prosecution could never say, Anthony did this on Wednesday at 2:34 pm. That's always gonna keep you out of jail. But beyond that, if you're rationalising these two by saying one gets off because she's white and the other gets executed because he's black, I offer you the West Memphis Three. I'm not going to give you the history lesson about that case, go look it up and feed your own brain.
But let's say this was all about being black and the white man wins again and that the system is so fucked up and another brother died for nothing. Where do you get the right to take this man's life, this family's loss and trivialise it to something so primitive? And then again, let's go back to 1995. I'm sure a lot of you grandstanding, talk-loud-and-draw-a-crowd niggas were so happy that Orenthal James beat the system. Funny how that works. How can you justify both? Is the justice system fucked up or does it hate brothers? And he was a brother who won the hearts of America through his athleticism, his smile, his character in Hertz commercials and Naked Gun moves. Oh, did I mention he was married to a white woman!? The grand prize, the treasure, the crown jewel of the white man? If that nigga can get off after all of that, then can the system really hate brothers? And you, you tap-dancing nigga, how can you dap up OJ with one hand and throw up the black fist with the other for Brother Davis? Think about it.
The moral of the story is, yes, there are grave injustices in the justice system. But it's the system we have and it's the system we'd rely on if our mothers, fathers, children, spouses were killed tomorrow. Troy Davis may or may not have killed a cop in Georgia. He may or may not have been wrongly imprisoned. He's now dead. The blood isn't on the man's hands or the system's proverbial hands. The blood is on you niggas' hands too. Don't be pro-black when the timing is right and the camera lights are bright. Don't suddenly be conscious and aware on cue. Brother Davis isn't a person to memorialise for the wrong reasons of another black man defeated by the man. He's a person to memorialise because he's another human who appears to have suffered injustice and been wrongly executed. This isn't black or white. This is about wrong or right. Don't put up your black fist in protest. Put up your heart in protest. This stuff happens more often than you know. And a lot of times, it's not just brothers. And I'm a firm believer in the death penalty. I relate it to the principles of Darwin. But it has to be the right man or no man at all. Don't reduce Troy Davis to such trivial posturing.
I hope his case turns some of you niggas to productive members of the race, be it black and human. However, I'm smart, I know it won't. Sure, Troy Davis will trend on twitter for a day or two and be linked to articles all over facebook. Then the weekend will come. People will be at the beach, shopping, watching sports, listening to the new hot album on the streets, and Troy Davis will just be another nigga dead. But hey, at least you got to stand on your soapbox right?
Psht. Niggas.
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