Is this what we’ve come to?
Racism and brutality by American police departments is so awful and so often left completely unchecked, that good people are literally starving themselves to death just to get justice. Four men and a woman have been camping out for 12 straight days in front of the San Francisco Police Department’s Mission station, on a full hunger strike, with the hope that their efforts will not only bring attention to injustice in the city, but lead to the police chief, Greg Suhr, being terminated.
The “Frisco 5,” as they are called, are doing something incredibly brave, peaceful, and non-violent — yet San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has refused to even meet with them, instead asking the activists to “email him,” according to the San Francisco Examiner. As compassion and momentum continues to build for these five wonderful warriors, their bodies grow weak from malnourishment.
While I have nothing but deep admiration for Sellassie Blackwell, age 39; Ilych Sato, 42; Edwin Lindo, 29; and two educators, Ike Pinkston, 42 and Maria Gutierrez, the lone woman, age 66, I am absolutely embarrassed that this is what needs to be done in 2016 to get justice. But make no mistake about it, this is absolutely what it takes.
The activists are using social media to spread the word, using the #Frisco5 hashtag to tweet and Facebook about the ordeal.
The Daily News was unable to immediately get comment from Mayor Lee.
The system itself has failed us time after time after time. That’s how 1,207 people could be killed by American police in 2015 without one single conviction among them the entire year.
A 0.0% conviction rate defies all logic and statistical probability.
Many of those shootings, unfortunately, have taken place in San Francisco. Even when filmed or witnessed, not a single ounce of justice has followed.
In 2012-2013, at least 14 different officers from the San Francisco Police Department were caught sending horrendously racist, sexist, xenophobic, and homophobic text messages. The powers that be stalled and stalled and let essential deadlines pass until the officers were no longer allowed to be terminated for their actions. This is a disgrace.
Now even more bigoted messages are emerging from a new set of officers.
Elsewhere, the second-highest ranking law enforcement officer in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department resigned in disgrace Sunday after being caught sending bigoted emails. In fact, police departments all over the country are discovering the exact same type of bigotry among their officers.
That we have to starve ourselves to have these grievances addressed appears to be our sad reality right now.
America in 2016 is not nearly as different from 1966 as we hoped it was.
