Refresher: Death by Cop 101

     Ever know somebody who just can't stop getting DUIs? One after another, and every time you see them in a bar you just know they're gonna make bail in the morning. Well that's the mind set of a lot of black folk these days. Boy! I played THAT race card pretty early in the game, didn't I. I do stuff like that. Anyway, we've already gone over Death By Cop 101, but I sense the need for a refresher course. Last time out I had to explain that you don't bull rush a police officer. Now we have a new wrinkle. You don't pull out a gun out and point it at their head either. 

     Seems a young man did exactly that this week, and he got to join Michael Brown and Treyvon Martin in their very exclusive club of dead rappers society. This one died for a pair of shoes. That kinda moves him to the head of the class. Of course there are demonstrations, and the obligatory grieving mother is paraded around talking about an empty plate at dinner and all that. Haven't seen an uncle jumping up and down on the roof of a car yet, but the day's still young. 

     I'm not going to suck up and say it is tragic the young man died. It frankly amazed me how he lived so long! What I'd like to talk about is how stupid the demonstrators are. Yeah, I said stupid, deal with it. Back in the day when Dr. King was leading people in marches and giving speeches there was a very focused reason for it. Voter's rights, fair housing, discrimination in everything from a bus ride to rest rooms and God knows what else. What Dr. King did actually healed a situation in America that affected all people, white and black. And he was recognized with a Nobel Prize! When you hit the streets because some thug gets capped during an armed robbery . . . Well, heeeere's your sign. Oh, my bad, they already have their signs. 

     Ok, don't point guns at off duty cops! As a matter of fact, don't try to steal shoes from someone in a parking lot. Go in the store and steal them right off the shelf, you'll live longer and in some county jails they may even let you wear them, that is until some big guy named Santos slaps you up long side your head and takes them away from you. Dudes! Just playing by the rules YOU set.

     The undercurrent to this whole sorry scenario is that if I had the young man sitting right here, right now he would ignore my advice. In his culture the shoes are worth the risk. He put his life on the line for a pair of shoes that would make him King of the Homeboys! When Brown bit the dust the demonstrators all marched around holding up their hands in a kind of "surrender" posture. I think it would be appropriate to have this cluster of wear a necklace with little gold tennis shoes around their neck. Or better than that, have the necklace, with  hands raised holding Arizona Tea and Skittles. Yeah, perfect! The absolutely perfect social statement for the entire Hip Hop generation.