I said it in my last While You Were Sleeping and I'll say it again: you can't just hashtag things and get
upset when young Black men are killed by just the police. 12 year old
Jason Spears of San Bernardino (on the right) was shot and killed
while his 14 year old cousin Terrance Spears was wounded last Sunday
night. Jason's aunt had to point out that the boys were not gang
affiliated. “We sit at our house. We talk to our neighbors. That's
it. Now my sister has to bury her 12-year-old son. For what? Because
he went to the store to get some chips?”
At 10pm a dark colored SUV opened fire
on the boys. Police are checking all available cameras to get a lead
on the shooter. After being shot the boys managed to run to a nearby
store. Jason died while Terrance called for help inside the store.
Elsa Castro (sometimes listed as Elisa) that was at the store at the
time said “I seen the other little boy go inside limping because he
was shot in the leg and the other one collapsed right here on his
jaw. I turned him over and was telling him, 'Please baby boy,
breathe' I just don't understand why they would do this.”
Another issue that is coming out in the
wake of this shooting is the response time of law enforcement.
Paramedics and firemen are stationed less than 200 feet where the
boys were shot but they had to wait about eight minutes for police to
arrive which means that was eight minutes the boys were hurt and
dying while having no help. I know it sounds crazy, because it is and
isn't at once, but during violent crimes you have to wait until
police arrive. A lieutenant also pointed out that the fact that there
was a shift change during the time of the shooting may have led to a
smaller response time. Good information to put out there for
criminals. There were also cutbacks a few years ago and their budget
was slashed in half.
Castro also added in a critique of the
response time “They're firefighters, they need to work within the
minute, seconds, right? They didn't. They're right across the street
and could have run to the boy. A fire department spokesperson
responded saying “We don't know if there are people running around
with guns still shooting. We're not trained in those situations.” I
see a slippery slope where citizens start declaring that their EMT's
and firemen have the same training as police. “Give 'em weapons! We
want everyone that could be involved in our children and/or saving
lives to have the ability to protect them with weapons!” You all
remember after that Sandy Hook shooting how everyone wanted teachers
to have weapons?
There are a few things about this story
that bother me other than the fact that a kid was shot and another
killed. One is that the only picture I am able to find is of these
boys holding their fingers like a gun (could be just pointing but I
am a master of visual subtlety) and a West Side hand gesture. Another
is the response time. Another is the fact that kids were out so late. Another is the fact that stupid ass gangs are
still a thing. How is this still a thing?!
There is a quote from the classic film
The Warriors where Cyrus is speaking to all of the gangs in the city.
Well, not The Orphans because they suck and no one invited them. But
Cyrus gives a great speech that if I were in an actual gang and heard
I'd go “Well...shit. He's right. We're doing this for nothing.”
This is the kind of shit that a lot of young Black men and gang
members don't want to admit.
In the speech he says “The problem in
the past has been the man turning us against one another. We have
been unable to see the truth, because we have fighting for ten square
feet of ground, our turf, our little piece of turf. That's crap,
brothers! The turf is ours by right, because it's our turn. All we
have to do is keep up the general truce. We take over one borough at
a time. Secure our territory...secure our turf...because it's all our
turf!” If you are in a gang that has the task of shooting children
or anyone that looks like you there is a really good chance that you
have made a terrible life decision that isn't too late to change.
Click here for previous While You Were
Sleeping.
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