Hunter has written a lovely diary that is now on the front page and the "Most Shared" list, called "No, it really was just an effort to smear Michael Brown". As usual, he tells a compelling tale - this time about evidence that Ferguson PD chief has been caught telling a lie. Sweet News! The evil bastard might actually get what is coming to him. Hooray!
But in the midst of my joy, I couldn't help but notice that public records request laws were the key that allowed the obscene behavior of the chief of the Ferguson Police Department to be exposed for the outrageous actions he has taken to smear Michael Brown.
Ensuring that public agencies comply with public records request laws is about exciting as watching grass grow for most of us. We would rather read "more exciting" stories that don't make our minds glaze over with boredom over the tedium.
Hunter referenced a source article on theblot.com where journalist Joel Currier with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is given credit for having made the requests to obtain the information which allowed the lie of Chief Thomas Jackson to be exposed. Surely we are all grateful for the awesome work that Joel Currier has played in order to bring Jackson and the Ferguson PD to something closer to justice.
Ok, writing the bits above were easy. Writing all the bits below is much more difficult. Much of it was originally going to be a comment in Hunter's diary, but then I realized that perhaps I might accidentally derail it and decided to publish my own diary instead. The community "has spoken" about the issue I want to raise, and it looks like I'm not part of the herd (which is generally a dangerous and scary place to be). I guess it's my lot in life, though. As background I confess that I am also a liberal Christian who has finally started to come to terms with her status as a heretic when it comes to the "Mainstream" Christian community (whatever that actually is). I won't talk any more about Christianity in this diary, but if I've just given reason for you to hate me for "being a Christian" then I guess it's nice that it's out in the open and we all know where we stand, eh?
I'd rather not be viewed as a heretic here at Daily Kos too, but stupid me, I find it hard to "play it safe and muzzle my voice" when I see what I consider injustice/ stupidity. Especially when the "good guys" are the ones that seem to be doing it. Breathe in, breathe out, and here we go ...
Daily Kos used to have someone with the skills and fortitude of our new hero, Joel Currier, to patiently make the requests that will allow the lies to be uncovered - his name is Charlie Grapski. IMHO, he was treated very badly by this community, over a stupid "you say Po-TAY-to, I say Po-TAH-to" kind of an argument. Continue below if you will ...
Grapski wrote a diary, Its NOT a Race Problem Its a POLICE Problem where he expressed heretical sentiments such as this one:
Yes - there is a glaring disparity when it comes to police abuses and minorities.
But the issue of police misuse of force - including deadly force - is NOT confined to the minority community.
The net result after 208 comments? Grapski was accused of being a RACIST and engaging in DENIAL OF RACISM. Pissed off and insulted, Grapski left the community.
I wrote a post about it: I am stunned and shocked at what has happened
Out of empathy for those who were so passionate about the dialog on "the other diary", I bit my tongue. But to be honest, the debate strikes me as rather akin to intensely arguing about which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Racism is a huge problem. The abuse of force by the police is a huge problem. I don't like to use profanity but fuck it guys, does it really friggin matter so much which played a bigger role in Ferguson?
...
And now [Grapski] is gone? Over a "how many angels can dance on the top of a pin" type question?
Is anyone else doing ANYTHING like Grapski on the ground to catch the Ferguson police in their lies?
Great rhetorical question. I think the answer is NO.
I think the Daily Kos community has just cut off it's nose to spite it's face.
FUCK IT, FUCK IT, FUCK IT ...
I think that
Joel Currier and
Charlie Grapski are both champions of democracy and should be treated as such. It saddens me the way this community treated Charlie Grapski - turning our back on him instead of giving him support for
the wonderful work he was doing
to ENSURE THAT THE FERGUSON PD complied with public records request laws.
Somebody once said we get the government we deserve. I think those are words worth pondering. Instead of supporting Grapski's work, we drove him away over what I think is unspoken dogma over the ranking of the various evils in the world. Apparently there is a pecking order, and "good members" of the community need to be mindful of it at all times.
Am I a racist too, for standing up for Charlie Grapski? I'm sure the answer is yes, in the eyes of some. And that depresses the hell out of me.
I also noticed another diary at the top of the Rec list, Brave atheist to be tortured, imprisoned in Saudi Arabia...Christian persecution fetishists quiet. I agree with the diarist, who wrote
This is terrible news, and a stark reminder of the plight of atheists in theocracies.
The anger expressed in the diary is expressed primarily at right-wing Christians who complain to high-heaven about their own persecution, but are silent when it comes to the persecution of others. When I say that I do not admire such Christians, it is an understatement.
The diary is focused on religious persecution, but there are greater generalizations in the comments, with the implication being that "the just" should speak out when injustice occurs. Silence at such a time is essentially equated as "not being sufficiently concerned about" the injustice. Having a child who was the victim of bullying, I tend to agree. I've learned that when bystanders do nothing, they are essentially siding with bully (usually without realizing it, their intention is usually just to keep out of harm's way by not provoking the bully).
The way to end bullying is for bystanders to speak up. I believe this with all my heart when it comes to children. I can't escape the logical conclusion that the way to end injustice is also for bystanders to speak up. I think that there is a moral imperative to speak out when your soul informs you that injustice has occurred. I think it is "the right thing to do" morally, which is why I am standing up for Grapski. And yet, it is also a dangerous thing to do, because if others don't stand with you, then you mark yourself as a target. Which I may have just done, I don't know.
The last bit I want to say is to briefly note the enormity of injustice in the world, and the danger of judging others as being somehow morally inferior human beings if they don't speak out on the particular injustice that is most close to one's own particular heart. If failing to speak out when injustice occurs represents a moral failing, and I have just admitted above that I think it is, then doesn't it also condemn any and all of us here at Daily Kos if we fail to speak out on ANY injustice that we EVER see in the world? I am sure that I must be guilty of not speaking out on at least one injustice that I have seen in this world. But I am exhausted at the thought of being required to speak out each and every time injustice occurs, or else being judged a moral reprobate. Can any human being actually meet that standard? It is quite a worthy goal to strive for, I think, but I doubt that any of us can actually achieve it. Would one have enough time to eat and sleep?
So where does that leave us? I am speaking up today for Charlie Grapski because my heart informs me that it is the right thing to do and I want to support the incredible work he is doing that leads to such tangible and wonderful fruit as was mentioned in Hunter's diary. I want more of such fruit: more, more, more! Not less. Cutting off one's nose to spite one's face is not a smart thing to do, I think. But I am afraid to press the "Publish" button now, because I think I am making myself a target, perhaps by the very people who apparently also condemn me for not actively speaking out sufficiently against other injustices that are deemed worthy by them.
Racism is evil. Police brutality is evil. Persecution of atheists is evil. Persecution of Christians is evil. There is so much evil out there in the world. But those who try to fight it seem to eventually wind up fighting with their comrades instead. Maybe striving for "justice" is just a vain search for the "holy grail" that turns out to be simply a myth, in the end.
This diary is offered mostly as food for thought. But I think it would be really lovely if some kind of deal could be reached that would bring UID 5949 back into the fold. Joel Currier is the hero du jour, and UID 5949 has been driven away. Tres ironic, n'est pas?
Mon Sep 08, 2014 at 9:13 AM PT: I want to extend huge thanks to Demeter Rising for being able to both see and verbalize so simply two of the most important points of my diary (what I was trying “to say”):
I think Charlie was unfairly hectored off the site for not agreeing that racism is the one and only cause of police brutality. Of course it is a huge component but it isn't the only reason the police will use excessive force against you.
I also want to make an extra effort to verbalize a sentiment that Charlie expressed and which I also agree with 100%: "Yes -
there is a glaring disparity when it comes to police abuses and minorities."
There are two problems in my mind: 1) racism, and 2) police brutality. POC bear the brunt of most police brutality. Undeniably. Without Question. It is awful. It is unfair. I hate it.
I also agree 100% with the comments made by plumbobb in the first reply on this thread, where he describes in detail what happens to him vs a POC when pulled over by the police. It is a patient and well-written post to try to educate me and not attack me. It is beautifully crafted. But I have to wonder what it is about my post that inspired plumbobb to feel the need to write those words. What is it about my post that communicates to plumbobb (and the many people who recc'd his comments) that "I don't get it" and need to be educated?
I despise racism. I think it is evil. I desperately want it to end. What is it about my words that apparently makes that difficult for many to see? Demeter Rising also wrote:
The irony is that [Grapski] is in more of a position to do anything about the Ferguson and St. Louis Co. P.D.s than just about any other member here - save some politicians, I suppose. He was trying to recruit people to help with the FOIA requests but instead the action taken was to shun him.
Exactly. Grapski was taking action - exerting his precious life energies - to fight the racists. We like to say that actions speak louder than words. But I don't think that is how Grapski was treated by this community. I think Grapski's words were not crafted masterfully – what he was trying “to say” was different than many people “heard”. But I also believe that “listeners” bring their own set of filters to the party, and that affects conversations too; sadly, we sometimes believe we “hear” what people did not actually “say”. We all do this, it is human nature. Even I do it.
In the end, what I mourn most is the fact that by "shunning" Grapski, the "good fight" against racism THAT HE IS FIGHTING has been diminished. The community collectively took an action that is arguably against their own self-interest. Instead of aiding Grapski in work that can result in the great victory reported in Hunter's post, namely catching the lies told by racists in a way that makes them legally accountable for their actions, we have acted in a way that essentially sets him back instead. We knocked some of the wind out of his sails. This makes me want to cry.
If actions do in fact speak louder than words, what does that say about Daily Kos as a community? What does that say about our commitment to fighting racism? Would we rather make pretty speeches than support those who are actually doing the hard work to enact real change?
I hold this community in very high regard. I view the community as do-gooders. There are degrees of validity to everyone's arguments, I'm not trying to diminish that. I am not trying to assign blame or point fingers. I want to raise conciousness and encourage reflection about what has happened.
In this one tiny episode, I think we turned out to be best at arguing among ourselves. We valued “beliefs” over “actions”. And that upsets me greatly. Because I want more action. I want racism to end, yesterday. I want the flames turned up on that, not dampened in any way.
Tue Sep 09, 2014 at 6:25 AM PT: I want to add one more update to explain in different words what I think Grapski was trying to say. I appreciate the dialog with Phoebe Loosinhouse, who helped me find these words:
I think Grapski wanted to shine a light specifically on an issue that he believed to be the ROOT CAUSE of MANY problems:
You can remove 100% of the racism in America's police departments. And the deadly shootings will continue. Because they are not the result of that racial dynamic - but that police culture that has substituted the law with their own view of what they law OUGHT to be.
They assume they can shoot first and ask questions later. They assume they are supposed to shoot to kill - and not to stop - never to wound. They assume they are supposed to go for the kill shot - shooting center-mass at the target. They assume they are entitled - and are supposed to - to shoot until their magazine is empty. They assume they are allowed to shoot a fleeing suspect - because they are not "complying" with their orders. They assume they are entitled to shoot to defend themselves - even if the threat, if there is such, is not one that will likely cause serious - let alone deadly - harm.
He believed that the ROOT CAUSE of the problem is not racist cops, it is that police culture that has substituted the law with their own view of what they law OUGHT to be.
My own opinion is that arguing over what is the ROOT CAUSE is silly - Po-TAY-To, Po-TAH-To. Who friggin cares? And somehow the discussion morphed into whether racism IS a problem or IS NOT a problem. He never said racism IS NOT a problem! But that's what folks somehow heard. I am not saying they are "wrong" for hearing that, but I think they heard something that was not actually said.
I think what Grapski was trying to say is important: the police culture is apparently highly dysfunctional. Steps must be taken to fix that problem, but steps will only be taken if people acknowledge that it's a problem that must be fixed. But that apparently can't happen in this community, because ... folks don't seem to hear what other people are trying to say. It's all very sad.
Grapski was trying to say that one way the dysfunctional culture manifests itself is in the way that the police treat POC. But the dysfunctional culture manifests itself in other ways, such as police chiefs showing blatant disregard with producing reports that they are legally accountable to produce. Having a police force that views itself as being above the law is a different way of looking at things.
By trying to utter this sentiment, which I don't think is really objectionable to the community if they better understood what it actually was, he was accused of being a racist and being in denial of his own white privilege. That is a gross misunderstanding of what he was trying to say. And it led to an awful situation. He was deeply offended at being misunderstood in this way.
And the beat just goes on, I guess.