USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Lowering the rhetoric – why activists must listen to Mayor Turner and soften their tongues

 

 

Dear All:

 

 

The same acrimonious relationship that exists amongst the police and the

 African-American communities in  the USA

is also prevalent in Canada, especially in large urban centres in the country.

 

I couldn't agree more with both Dr Anthony Obi Ogbo, a Nigerian-American

 and Mayor Sylvester Turner of the City of Houston, Texas.!

 

We must allow common sense to prevail.

 

We must learn to jaw- jaw rather war- war.

 

As mayor Turner opined, American citizens including African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities

cannot be calling 911 over 200 million times per year while at the same time continuing

the negative  rhetoric against the law enforcement authorities at the current high decibel

levels notwithstanding the fact that most of the rhetoric is justified

 

Just as there is a small percentage of rogue officers amongst the police in almost all jurisdictions

in the USA and Canada, we must admit that there is also a  small percentage of African-American and African

-Canadians who commit crimes at much higher rates than the remainder of the African communities

and the broader  populations in both countries.

 

A minority of the police stereotype African-American males as potentially violent criminals just because of the 

frequent negative interactions  they have had with the criminals in our communities. However, the African-American communities

in both countries would be guilty of an even greater stereotype if we assume that the majority and not necessarily a small

minority of the police are prejudiced against us.

 

There is a need for continuing reform of the law enforcement agencies to rid policing of its inherent systemic bias against minorities

that have lasted for centuries. There is also need for improvement in the training of police officers so that they are more aware

of the communities they police.

 

The introduction of community policing in many jurisdictions has led to a decrease in the crime rate and in the frequency of incarceration of young males of African descent

in both Canada and the USA. More needs to be done!.

 

Last but not the least, the federal state, provincial and local authorities should work with the communities to address the root causes of crime.

With the exception of a miniscule of psychopaths amongst the human population, it is safe to say that  human beings

are not born to be criminals. There is no criminal gene in the human genome.

 

Most of the drivers of criminality are environmental ---due mostly to economic deprivation,

pervasive poverty, poor parenting, poor educational facilities and lack of opportunities for economic

 advancement in impoverished neighbourhoods.

 

Bye,

 

Ola

 

 

 

 

---- Original Message ----
From: International Guardian News <guardian@guardiannews.us>
To: olakassimmd <olakassimmd@aol.com>
Sent: Mon, Jul 11, 2016 12:24 pm
Subject: Lowering the rhetoric – why activists must listen to Mayor Turner and soften their tongues

Lowering the rhetoric – why activists must listen to Mayor Turner and soften their tongues The current war against the law enforcement would not work, but a dialogue on creating a structure to eliminate lapses in the enforcement system remains a sensible approach. Report from the National Emergency Number Association indicates that an estimated 240 million calls are made to 9-1-1 in the U.S. each year. One cannot afford to be twitting hate words against the police on one hand and calling the 911 for help on another hand. -------------->>> Respect and support for the law enforcement is not negotiable; respect means, simply, obeying the police while they are on duty, and support means providing them with necessary tools and training to effectively carry out their duties. READ FULL STORY >>>> Copyright © *|2016|* *|Guardian News USA|*, All rights reserved. http://www.guardiannewsusa.com/ Following us on: ■ https://twitter.com/guardiannewsusa  ■ https://www.facebook.com/guardian.news

This email was sent to olakassimmd@aol.com why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences Guardian News USA · P. O. Box 740811 · Houston, TX 77274 · USA

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