During the Michael Brown incident in Ferguson, I was angry at how Brown was treated by cops. However, the evening the prosecutor revealed that there was evidence that Michael Brown charged at officer Darren Wilson, I had doubts that he was standing, hands up, without threatening Wilson. I was looking, at the time, for any contradictory stances on the matter, and went to the Facebook page of Greta Christina (a major atheist who is a social justice advocate), where I was blocked for bringing it up.
This took me aback, and it bothered me to see questions stonewalled instead of answered, because I saw importance in presenting a strong case. Let me be blunt: I’m a black man with six younger black sisters, and I don’t want to get shot by law enforcement when I’m innocent or cited for a minor traffic incident. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, I have to have a convincing case. In addition, I have a vested interest in encouraging dialogue among thinking people who can make the changes necessary for this better world to become a reality. I have to be reasonable, I have to have strong evidence, and I think it’s also a good idea to have strong, rational answers to people who ask legitimate questions. I also want to be seen as fair so that my voice is trusted. I don’t always do this perfectly, but I try. So when an ally shuts down a legitimate inquiry, I see that as hurting me — as saying that there is not a well-reasoned, evidenced position behind my stance.
That’s why, when it was suspected that Sandra Bland was murdered, I didn’t give my position on whether or not the suspicion was true right away. Not because I didn’t care about Sandra Bland — just the opposite. I do very much care about Sandra Bland. I care about the fact that the cop, Brian Encina, escalated a minor traffic incident, and I think that what he did was not only wrong but characteristic of traffic stops in the area. I am glad this incident is getting press for this reason.
I care about Sandra Bland, and that’s why I want to get her story right. I don’t want us to have tunnel-vision and just say she was murdered when she wasn’t. That will distract people from the rest of her story, which IS important and NEEDS to be heard. It will have others saying that this movement is more about groupthink than the actual facts of racism in this country. And I don’t want that to happen. I don’t want our voices to be ignored in that way — I would like to have a strong, undeniable case concerning the racism that exists in this country so that honestly thinking people will be convinced.
So that’s what I did in this case. If Sandra Bland was murdered, I wanted to build a strong case that would be undeniable to most observers.
So, first of all — the depression. There was a bit of back-and-forth as to whether or not Sandra Bland was actually depressed. I investigated this — if Sandra Bland was not depressed, and it said on one of her papers that she was…maybe there was a cover-up. To me, this was one of the strongest arguments one could have as to foul play.
But then I discovered this video. In it, Sandra Bland discusses her struggle with depression. And she clearly states that the date of the video is March 1, 2015.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOF3hwNcEM0[/youtube]
Video evidence. Right in front of my face. Not of a third party, but of Sandra Bland. No CGI that I could see.
So I think that yes, she was depressed in the past year. Deeply. Enough to make a video about it. Enough to say,
But I gotta be honest with you guys: I am suffering from something that some of you all may be dealing with right now. It’s a little bit of depression, as well as PTSD. I’ve been really stressed out over these past couple of weeks….”
She goes on to encourage others who are going through what she is going through to be free to talk about it, and she talks about how God blocked those moments of depression — indicating she was trying to keep it repressed.
She was excited about a job, which is an extreme high. Many people have argued that she wouldn’t have killed herself with those prospects.
But what they forget is that, besides the $5,000 bail, Sandra Bland’s charge of assaulting an officer is a third-degree felony here in the state of Texas, and carries with it a 2-year minimum (and a 10-year maximum).
For a traffic ticket. The job was an extreme high — and instead, she was going to get two years in prison, minimum, and a third-degree felony on her record the rest of her life.
That is probably making you angry — but she didn’t have any recourse. She was stuck inside four walls, alone, for three days. With the PTSD and the depression. And still angry at the officer. And just…completely defeated.
The more I looked into the job argument, the more I saw that the offer of the job was a reason that she would kill herself, not that she would not.
There is also her voicemail, which is used to say she was fighting to live. But all we have, really, is a voicemail — there doesn’t seem to be any indication anyone called her back, and her bail (it would have been $600 to get her out of jail on a $5,000 bail) remained unpaid.
So she felt isolated…which would have added to the depression as she was there, alone, in the cell.
Then, there is the infamous video by Anonymous Official on YouTube:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2pVJl6AmbI[/youtube]
But this video simply does not correlate with the facts. Instead of going point-by-point, let me just show you the video that was recently released:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5NY0VF8F94[/youtube]
Sandra Bland is alive in this video, does not seem mistreated (by the attendants who did not have reason to think the video would be released), and is crying…it seems rational to think she may have committed suicide, especially since jailhouse suicides for offenses less serious than the one Bland was charged with are not at all uncommon.
I think it’s a case that makes me angry. Even the suspicion that she was lynched is deeply rooted in the history of Waller County in disturbing ways. That’s why, instead of dismissing those concerned as making much ado about nothing, I think it’s important to hear their pain and change law enforcement so that it’s clear they are here to help, not to harm.
I think it’s also important to teach policemen some manners and professionalism — especially since some of those they may be arresting struggle with depression and PTSD. Escalating the situation is not good policing.
Let’s talk about this:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT12F2Q3vPM[/youtube]
And the importance of better policing, and better laws about assaulting an officer, and more sensitivity to those struggling with mental illness.
Let’s talk about how the nature of the stop may have been motivated by Waller County’s racism and the racism throughout this country towards black individuals. Let’s use this opportunity to more closely examine racism among cops in traffic stops. Let’s use this to continue the conversation of the facts uncovered in places like Ferguson.
Let’s focus on what we know happened as we remember Sandra Bland. If we focus on theories that are clearly not true, we’ll lose credibility and distract focus from these important aspects of racism. And that’s something I don’t want to do — I want to do what I can to convince those I need to with a strong case that ensures me and my family walk the streets and drive the streets without being violated, like Sandra Bland and others, by law enforcement.
Thanks for reading.
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