DWB in Obama's America?

I'm sure by now everybody has heard about Ryan Moats, the NFL player denied being by his mother-in-law's side during her final minutes of life, by an overzealous Dallas cop. While this stories tragedy is not typical. It has all the earmarks of stories that can be told by a majority of African American Men including the affluent and elite among them. It's called DWB, Driving While Black! The act of being stopped, detained, and/or searched for unprovoked and unfounded reasons. In the case of Mr. Moats, the officer in question believed it was more important to give him a ticket after witnessing him run a red light, (with hazards blinking), to enter a hospital parking lot than escorting him to his dying mother-in-laws bedside. Anybody watching the video of the incident can see that something was terribly wrong but even after hearing the Moats' repeated explanations, (an explanation immediately confirmed by hospital staff), the officer, who had drawn his gun, still believed writing a ticket rather than allowing Mr. Moats to be with his family was most important. Think this is an isolated incident? Think again! So prevalent and pervasive is this act that everybody from Blockbuster Superstar Will Smith to the late and great "Legal Eagle" Johnny Cochran has experienced it. Rapper and Music Mogul Jay Z even wrote about it in his song 99 Problems. In it he says:

Son do you know what I'm stoppin you for?

"Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hats real low
or do I look like a mind reader sir I don't know?
Am I under arrest or should I guess some mo?"

Well you was doin 55 in a 54!
License and registration and stop out of the car
Are you carryin a weapon? I know a lot of you are

"I ain't stepping out of sh*t all my papers legit"

well do you mind if I look around the car a little bit?

"Well my glove compartment is locked, so is the trunk in the back
And I know my rights so you gon need a warrant for that"

Aren't you sharp as a tack you should try out
For a lawyer and something somebody important or something

"I ain't pass the bar but I know a little bit
Enough that you won't illegally search my sh*t"

Well we see how smart you are when the canines come

"I got 99 problems but a b*tch ain't one!"

"While most DWB cases never reach the attention of mainstream America nor have the tragic consequences of this case, this is still a prime example of what happens every day to African Americans across America. While I commend the Dallas Police Department for recognizing that their officer made a very poor decision. I wonder what they, and other departments, will do to ensure that this does not happen again. It frightens me to think of how close Mr. Moats and his wife came to being shot by an officer who had absolutely NO reason to draw his weapon. I'm reminded of Shawn Bell and Amadou Diallo and a list of other young African American men who were stopped and subsequently killed by police for unfounded or unprovoked reasons. This Dallas cops callous actions denied Mr. Moats the comfort of being by his mother-in-laws' side when she took her last breath. However, had he not kept his composure, this incident, could have quite possibly turned as tragic as the Bell and Diallo cases. Police are sworn to serve and protect us. My only question is, if they are here to protect us against criminals, who's here to protect us against them?

~d-the-VIP

Jay Z: 99 Problems Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hsC6txiySQ

ABC News Interview with the Moats:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=207187&cl=12730195&ch=243724&src=sports

Where were the Questions???

I know the stimulus package has passed but is it just me or does it sound like a "Crock of Bull-sh*t" when the same politicians who co-signed all of Bush's crap, now have the nerve, okay, the audacity, (no pun intended), to scrutinize every twist and turn that President Obama suggests? Where the hell were the questions when after 911, the worst attack on US soil since Pearl Harbor, we invaded a country who had nothing to do with the attack under the false pretenses that they had weapons of mass destruction, only to have the world find out that we were wrong and worse yet feel that we are bullies just out for money. Where were the questions when it was learned that after 911, during the "NO FLY" mandate, President Bush allowed members of Saddam Hussein's family to leave the USA without being questioned? Where were the questions when it was discovered that some of the hummers being used by our troops in combat were not bullet/bomb proof and therefore were inadequate protection for our troops? Where were the questions when it was discovered that the families of our soldiers in combat were using their personal money to buy bullet-proof vests and other protective equipment because their loved ones were in battle without it? Where were the questions when Vice-President Dick Cheney's old company, Haliburton, the biggest profiteer of the war moved its base of operations outside of the US to Dubai to avoid US taxes? It's amazing how these same folks who gave $700 billion, "No-strings-attached"dollars, to the banking industry can find every question in the book for President Obama but couldn't seem to find 1 question for President Bush before sanctioning his requests. Some may say they've learned from their past. I think it's more likely that they are trying to protect their personal pockets since President Obama's plan to jump-start America's economy will finally affect those who have benefited greatly financially. Lets face it America's wealthiest families all have ties to Capitol Hill via a family member who resides in the House or the Senate or friends who do. I can't say I wouldn't ask questions either if, like ex-Vice-President Dick Cheney, I had to pay more taxes on my estimated $30-100 million Haliburton fortune! Just one question what's the difference between former President Bush/VP Dick Cheney and former CEO Richard S. Fuld, of Lehman Brothers? ~d-the-VIP

The Audacity of Hope!!!

I don't know if Obama is Superman but I do know that he has given me a reason to believe that change is possible and hope is the equivalent of the proverbial "belief of a mustard seed". In him I see a brighter future and a better tomorrow. On Tuesday it will be my honor and privilege to stand with thousands of my fellow Americans and witness history being made as the first African-American takes the Presidential oath of office. I will be thinking of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech as that speech signifies the birth of a new nation. One that elects a President based on the "content of his character not the color of his skin!

Martin Luther King "I have a Dream Speech"

~d-the-VIP