Saturday, October 28, 2006

I'm sorry - wait.....what?

Last night, I caught the first 5 minutes or so of the news. Now, y'all know I don't like me some news because it's the same thing over and over and frankly, I am sooooo okay with not being well-informed. I know that Britney's kid has a real name and that is beyond enough for me.

So, seeing the first news story was a pure accident. You see, I live in Jefferson Parish. Parish being I guess the equivalent of a county in a NORMAL state. For those of you that are unfamiliar, let me school ya briefly. Several years back, there was a phenomenon in the New Orleans area called (and no, I am not joking) the "White Flight." What that was, in brief, was a mass migration on the part of the white residents of Orleans parish fleeing Orleans parish. Why would they do that, you might ask? Well, take a gander at some Katrina coverage and the peeps carrying big screen tvs down Canal Street (to plug into WHAT, I don't know) and perhaps you will have some idea of the prevalent feeling down here in the Big Not-so-Easy. So, whitey took off. First, he landed in Jefferson Parish. Well, that was not far enough bitches. In the ensuing years, the crackers have moved across the lake in droves and into the river parishes just to get some peace and quiet and the ability to allow their children to play outside without being in fear of their lives. My parish of Jefferson is still liveable. Most of it is, however there are portions that have slid slowly downhill and have picked up that downward speed since Katrina because guess where a shitten ton of those Orleans parish residents who needed a place to plop their FEMA trailers ended up? Oh you guessed it, bitches. In my figurative backyard.

So last night, our sheriff, Harry Lee was on the tube sitting next to a rep from the NAACP because he was in trouble yet again. This man has the uncanny ability to put his rather large foot in his mouth at least every other week. When I first moved here with my very liberal ideals (yep, I was like big time, tree huggin' give peace a chance liberal) I referred to him as Chairman Mao. I mean, he just seemed to be abrasive and just over the top with his paranoia.

Now, not so much.

You see, his current transgression was the idea he proposed (that came from one of his own deputies - we shall get to that later) to just randomly pull over and question any African American young male in a sketchy neighborhood.

Whoa, you say. What is this? Racial profiling? What the hell? He can't do that. He is just a giant racist in a cop's uniform (not something we have not seen before - Hi, Mark Fuhrman.) However, and this is a big giantical however, guess who came up with this idea? Oh, just hazard a guess, would ya?

An African American deputy for the JPSO. Oh yeah. And his response? "It is not racial profiling if the statistics back you up."

Oh he went there, bitches. The statistics to which he is referring is that 85% of the violent crime that has seized upon Jefferson Parish since Katrina the Whore has been young black male on young black male. So, one could make the argument (as Harry tried) that the proof is in the puddin, so to speak. The only way to curb this violence is to perhaps nip it in the bud.

But no, the interest groups are right there to make sure that no rights are violated. And normally, I am all for that. I don't want to be harassed any more than anyone else does. But you know what, if a cop pulls me over for some dipshit reason (has happened too), then fine. I have nothing to hide other than a sick amount of dog hair in my car.

However, as these things always do, this plan has been scrapped because heaven for-fucking-BID someone gets offended. Frankly, I am tired of worrying about offending someone when I don't even feel safe going to our local movie theater at night. How is that shit for offensive?

Harry's comments at the end of the press conference were something along the lines of hey, let them fucking kill each other. I can live with that. Perhaps without the cursing, but you get my drift. It's sad that it has come to this, but here it is. Here it shall continue to be until we, as a community, get tired of being scared. I just hope that the time comes before I have to raise a child in this madness.

Labels: Politics, TV

Elizabeth at 11:50 AM

7comments

7 Comments

at 2:15 PM Me said...: Amen.

(PS about 10 minutes ago I was just thinking about racial profiling while I was in the shower. I'm 'for' it - because, as the deputy in your post stated - if the stats back you up - it's just one more way of doing your job and doing it well. If people want crime to be fought they have to allow it to be fought.)
at 4:44 PM Tammy said...: Oh. Dear.

I hate people.
at 9:03 AM Kami said...: Hmmmm.

Hey, there is lots of room here for you in Dallas. And we don't have a lot of the evacuees anymore!
at 9:27 AM Sheila said...: Tiny.Baby.Jesus.

I am with Tammy on this one.... I hate people!
at 12:31 PM Platypus said...: I can't even imagine what it's like to live where you do with those issues. It's awful that you don't feel safe in your own area any more. Here's hoping that the law enforcers are allowed to do something about it without the P.C. Police overruling them.
at 6:32 PM Sheri & SuZan said...: I'm with ya! Now if the evacuees would just go home.
at 5:43 PM Kat said...: Well, I sure hope those interest groups are there to point out how offended the people who get shot or killed are because they didn't allow this. :P