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So if you want to see my show on Monday night at 9:00 PM EST just click on the link for Pounding The Beat and you’ll be able to see my ugly mug..
Hello all. I know it’s been a while since I have posted anything here. My apologies. I will get to the reason why after I make my points. I’m heated folks, and it all stems from Facebook. I posted an link from USA Today about how activists are protesting the Mexican government’s treatment of their own illegal immigrants. It appears that the Mexico is pretty hard on their neighbors from the south when they enter the country illegally. More than 9,000 illegal immigrants have been kidnapped and held for ransom. In 10% of those police took an active part. And the argument ensued.
Now I am not here to debate Mexico’s immigration policies, or their hypocrisy in their criticism of our immigration laws. What I am here to dispute is the Constitutionality of Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law. Now the law has come under much controversy as it gives law enforcement more power that it ever has to stem the flow of illegal immigration. This is the statute in case you haven’t read it:
” FOR ANY LAWFUL CONTACT MADE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL OR AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR A COUNTY, CITY, TOWN OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE WHERE REASONABLE SUSPICION EXISTS THAT THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES, A REASONABLE ATTEMPT SHALL BE MADE, WHEN PRACTICABLE, TO DETERMINE THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF THE PERSON. THE PERSON’S IMMIGRATION STATUS SHALL BE VERIFIED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PURSUANT TO 8 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1373(c)26″
You can see by the two words that are in bold are REASONABLE SUSPISCION for a reason. Now I am going to give you a quick lesson in law. As a police officer you are required to learn the laws of your individual state and municipality. Laws differ from state to state and from city to city. The one thing that does not differ in our 50 states and its outlying territories is the 4th Amendment of The United States Constitution which deals with search and seizure. If you are not familiar with the 4th Amendment, here it is:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon PROBABLE CAUSE, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
The words I bolded in the 4th Amendment are PROBABLE CAUSE. Aside from the difference in their spellings, they have completely different meanings. Reasonable suspicion is nothing more than “I have a hunch.” As a police officer with reasonable suspicion I can say “Hey, I think that guy is up to no good.” Do you know what actions I can take as a police officer? I can go up and talk to that person. I have what is called common law right of inquiry. What this means is that I can ask you what you name is, what your address is and what you are doing in the area. Guess what, you don’t have to answer me. You can even run away from me while I am asking you these questions. Do know what burden of proof I have now even after you ran? If you said reasonable suspicion you would be correct. That’s it nothing more. I still do not have probable cause to arrest you. Probable cause means that you in my opinion as a sworn and train officer of the state believe that you probably committed a crime and I have evidence that backs up what I believe. Do you now see the difference between the two?
SB 1070 allows law enforcement officers to circumvent the Constitution in order to fight crime and coming from somebody who has actually fought crime, that is completely unacceptable. Now am I for a single second saying that illegal aliens are not a problem in this country? Nope. Am I inferring for even a moment that violent crime in the border towns by these representatives of the drug trade is acceptable? Not even for a fraction of a second. Even one murder by anybody is not an item I am comfortable with. To quote from my favorite character from my favorite show, Omar Little; the game is the game. Criminals commit crimes as cops it’s our job to catch them. Are the criminals right, nope. But does that mean that cops shouldn’t still try and catch them. Don’t think so. As a cop you need to come up with creative ways to catch crooks. You need to be innovative and stronger that the prey you are hunting. It’s nature plain and simple, only difference is in this case the strength is strength of mind.
In this argument I tried to think of an example to have people see my point. The one I came up with was this, and it’s a very real scenario. A woman who happens to be an illegal immigrant is raped. The officer at the scene obtains information that she is an illegal and she is subsequently deported. Aside from being raped she in now being victimized a second time. When the trial comes there is no witness because she has been deported. She can’t testify because she cannot be found, and subpoenas from U.S. courts have no power in Mexico. Besides why should she want to help the same court that sent her away? Now a rapist goes free. Wow, that’s a good idea now isn’t it?
You want to stop the crimes taking place in these border towns, here’s my solution. Hire 5,000 new Border Patrol and I.C.E. agents. Have them flood these high crime areas, and enforce the law. If an illegal breaks the law he gets arrested. If he is convicted he gets the maximum sentence plus one year for entering this country illegally and then subsequently deported. Post signs reflecting this at every border crossing and wherever people cross illegally. Make sure it’s neon and in English and Spanish. Even though ignorance is no excuse, we still have to make it fair.
It doesn’t matter if it is for speeding or jaywalking, a crime is a crime, and the reality is that when you are given a summons it is in lieu of an arrest. That’s right if you violate the Vehicle and Traffic Law you technically could be arrested. If a people were arrested for every single offense no matter how minor just think how crowded the system would be. That’s why cops give tickets, well that and as a revenue source for the municipality. If you rounded up every single illegal alien, don’t you think the system would be overloaded? Talk about a burden to the tax payers. But if said illegal commits a crime he’s gone. It should be just like how New York State used to enforce seatbelt infractions. You could not be pulled over solely for failure to wear your seat belt, but if you did something wrong you got a seat belt ticket. You’re illegal and you commit a crime and you are gone. And once deported do you think these people are going to stay put in Mexico? They’re going to find the closest coyote and get back to Arizona or Texas or California or wherever they were originally. That’s the game and the game is the game. If you play the game like that it’s a waste of man hours and money.
Now regardless of how I feel or how you feel SB 1070 violates the U.S. Constitution. Your opinion has validity, but you cannot argue that without probable cause an arrest is not valid. If the arrest is not valid then any information I obtain while making that arrest (ie. your citizenship or lack of it) is not valid. That is called fruits of a poisonous tree. Illegal immigration is a problem and border towns of today’s West are turning into border towns of The Wild West. I will not dispute that, but what I can dispute is the legality of SB 1070. If you want this law to be valid then Arizona has to convince the rest of the country that there needs to be an Amendment to say as such, and I can’t see that happening.
So in the beginning of this entry I acknowledged that I hadn’t been doing much on here. I am guilty as charged. The reason why I have been neglecting you is that I have been putting together my own talk show on a website called www.shovio.com. The show called Pounding The Beat airs every Monday from 9:00 to 10:00 PM EST. On the show we discuss issues of crime and law enforcement. I would love to have you swing by some time and check it out. The beauty of the format is that it is completely interactive where you can actually communicate with myself and other viewers directly by the attached chat window or by calling in via your webcam. There is nothing else like it out there. So now that I have all the required items like a format and my opening sequence all finished I will be back I promise. If you have any show ideas, or would want to be on the show as a guest e-mail me at theghettoist@gmail.com. But if you are watching and want to cam in(or shove in as it’s called) all you need to do is press a button and we’re talking live on the air. I’ll even be posting episodes on here for you to check out once I work out all the tech stuff.
Tomorrow night Thursday May 6th, please tune in to see me on The KC in 60 show. I will be discussing the Times Square bombing and terrorism in general. KC in 60 airs live from 7:00 to 8:00 EST on www.shovio.com , and is available on demand at www.KevinCanessa.com.
Please forgive my absence. I was actually training for a fight. With 40 quickly approaching I have decided it would also be my last fight, so I wanted to give it my all. I’m just not able to roll with these 20 year old kids any more.
In this entry I am calling for revolution. I am demanding that people take to the streets. I am imploring that they take to TV and get their message out. Who am I calling out? I call out any follower of Islam. I am talking to you if you read the Koran as your book of faith. If you face Mecca 6 times a day and pray this is addressed to you. What am I asking you to do? I am asking you to come out and say “These people do not speak for me.” Prominent Imams should go on Larry King Live and say that the Koran as inspirational as a book as it is should not be followed to the letter in this day and age. C.A.I.R. should abandon the Al Sharpton tactics and going after companies that don’t allow head scarves. There is a entire agency in the government that fights those fights. C.A.I.R. should use some of their budget and go on a P.R. campaign to let us know that they are with us and not people like Faisal Shahzad. If any of this is happening I can’t hear it. The silence is deafening.
Aren’t you tired of your faith being associated with terrorism? Am I reaching to say that the thing Muslims have become best known for is terrorism? Now to suggest that every Muslim is a terrorist is incorrect, but to state that almost every terrorist is a Muslim is not.
Now I cannot say that I am surprised by the tactics that are used by these people. The book that they follow openly calls for the death of the non believers. Surah 9:5 calls for pagans to be killed unless they are willing to convert. Koran 5:33 tells followers to cut off the hands and feet or crucify anybody who opposes the words of The Prophet. Am I taking these verses out of context, possibly; but so are people who are waging war against innocent people in Allah’s name. People often take a single verse from scripture and use that as the basis for their whole philosophy. I can think of quite a few Christians who take a few verses from Leviticus and Corinthians as the basis for their hatred of homosexuality. Yet if they look at the deeds of Jesus, he would surely have embraced anyone; especially the people considered to be the lowest of society.
Change comes from within. The followers of Islam need to look within themselves and demand change within their own religion. They need to realize that Sharia Law cannot be followed to the letter in this day and age. You cannot beat your wife when she refuses to listen. The God I know (and supposedly God, Allah and Yahweh are one in the same) is not going to give you 72 virgins (and some translations have it as 72 golden raisins) for dying whilst killing others. Imagine their surprise when it’s a cup or raisins. And the whole virgin thing…who the hell wants to tell 72 different women what you want in the sack?
Bill Maher says that Islam is in a dark age, and you know what he is right. A few individuals are speaking and very loudly for an entire religion. These plots are being ordered by people who live in squalid conditions in Third World countries, really oppressive third world countries. They beat their wives because the prophet says it is their duty. Maybe it’s because I have always known the freedoms that America provides, but I think these people are backwards, embracing a 12th century mentality in the 21st century. I don’t understand and I never will.
I want to start off by saying that I am not a pot smoker. Have I smoked pot in my life…HELL YEAH! I started experimenting in my early teens. Then at age 15 I saw my best friend lying in a coffin having been hit by a Staten Island Rapid Transit train while walking the tracks high. I decided I had best lay off the chiba for a bit. Then I became a cop and it’s a big no no to partake. It’s a lose your job kind of no no. Then once I retired I was hanging out at a restaurant with my crazy ex wife when the manager locked the doors. He handed me a cigarette. I told him I didn’t smoke. He told me it was marijuana. I lit it up and let’s just say I didn’t feel right for the next three days. Damn shit got stronger. Isn’t science amazing? Fast forward a few years and I have decided that weed is not for me. If given the choice, I will reach for a smooth, caramel colored glass of Bourbon any day of the week. But I am a big believer that marijuana should be legalized, and this is coming from somebody who has actively fought the war on drugs .
There are arguments on both sides, but I have to admit that the arguments against, have some trouble holding water. People smoke pot. It’s a fact. There is a market for it. The government is missing out on an amazing opportunity to make some easy money. Now I probably won’t bring anything new to the argument. It’s a battle that has been waged over and over again. But let me ask this though, isn’t it about time a politician actually comes out and says they are in favor of marijuana law reform? Can’t somebody with a progressive mindset say they are in favor of legalization and not come off like a kook? And most important they would have to be a Republican (which is highly unlikely) or a Democrat. Ralph Nader ensured us that a third party candidate is not viable on any national platform. Besides, the Marijuana Reform party basically holds the same credibility as the Communist Party.
At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, my theory is that there are too many powerful forces at work to prevent this and even if there was a candidate who came out with a platform of legalization it would be too easy to paint a picture of that person as a hippie, and we know that there are two types of people who hate hippies…Eric Cartman, and true blooded Americans.
If it were legalized there would be entities with lots to lose. The pharmaceutical companies for one would lose out on big bucks. People reach for the pill of the month to cure anxiety, depression, compulsive behavior. There is strong evidence that in certain cases weed cures those ailments. There is also strong evidence that it can cause those conditions as well. My theory is that for some people it is very good, for others their body chemistry is just not suited to be smokers. I have a friend who suffers from bi-polar disorder and he takes 30 separate pills a day. He said none of them give him the same positive effects as lighting up a big fat spliff.
I also can’t see liquor companies being too happy about the allowance of weed. Some folks not wanting to violate the law would reach for a boll as opposed to a bottle. I’m thinking tobacco companies won’t be too happy about it either as when you really think about it, there is only so much smoke you can put into your body in a single day. The stuff can be grown pretty much anywhere and under many different environments, and it’s just plain aggressive. There is a reason they call it weed.
Now I am by no means saying to lift the prohibition and let the inmates run the asylum, by no means. We do a pretty good job of regulating alcohol production, we can do the same with pot. You can’t just grow it, you would need a permit to grow and sell it. In addition there would be a hefty tax on it. People are willing to shell out $40 for a good bottle of wine, what about $40 for some quality hydro? If we look at things objectively we are willing to pay close to a trillion dollars to bail out corrupt financial institutions who acted unethically but yet we turn up our noses at a revenue stream that many people want. If put to a popular vote, I bet marijuana law reform passes a hell of a lot easier than any one on gay marriage.
Now we all know what will happen the second it’s legal and available. People are going to act like assholes. It’s a fact that when given too much freedom Americans act like assholes. People would be abusing the stuff just because they can. There would be an increase of accidents initially. People would show up to work high as opposed to hung over. You wouldn’t be able to find a frozen pizza or a copy of Pink Floyd The Wall anywhere. Once the novelty of finally being allowed to smoke is gone we just might settle down and behave like human beings. It’s not a quick process, but then again when is real change ever quick?
I know I am not the only law enforcement officer (current or past) who shares this belief. I do know that most that I know felt weed collars were a big of a waste of time and money. I mean you have to compare US crime statistics to Amsterdam. They are 1/10 of what they are here. How can you deny that? Look at one of the most legendary crime figures in the country, Al Capone. Would he have been the same folk hero if had it not been for prohibition?
Like I stated earlier, I am not brining any new arguments to the table. I am fully aware of this; but I feel it bears stating. Hell I am not even a smoker. If it were legal, I admit I will probably partake just to have a lost weekend some time. It’s like a vacation without ever leaving home. Don’t worry I’ll send the baby to grandma’s. Unfortunately I can’t see any of the old white men in power pulling the ripcord on a hemp parachute any time soon. They just have too much to lose in the wallet and reputation department.
Sorry it’s been so long since my last entry. I came down with a severe case of writer’s baby. If you have never heard of the condition, it occurs when you sit down on your couch, pick up your laptop and formulate two coherent sentences. As soon as you start the third one a toddler is grabbing you by your index finger and leading you to the kitchen to show you how he took everything out of your silverware drawer and put it in the garbage pail. He is so incredibly helpful.
So I wanted to write about an incredibly historic day in one of everybody’s least favorite urban neighborhoods. Yesterday Sharpe James was sent home from The FCI Petersburg Low. Never heard of it, well you can see a lovely photo of it on the Federal Bureau of Prison’s website. If you’re not from these parts you might not know the name of Sharpe James. James was the mayor of Newark, New Jersey who was indicted on 25 criminal charges ranging from mail fraud (never fuck with the mail,) wire fraud and conspiracy. He was convicted on five and sentenced to 27 months. The man was legendary in The NYC metro area. He was mayor for 20 years. In addition he was also a state senator of New Jersey for ten of those years. Wait a second, hold the phone. He held two elected posts at the same time? Hmm, I’m thinking I might be able to hold two elected posts at the same time. The first being P.T.A. president, while at the same time being the North East Chairman of The Justin Bieber Fan Club. Not the mayor for the 65th largest city in the country, and a senator for an entire district as well. If we look at James’ laundry list indiscretions we see a modern day Boss Tweed without the cool middle name of Marcy, oh and without the results as well. Tweed was corrupt, maybe the most corrupt but in between stealing millions he did accomplish a good deed or two.
So with James now out (and finishing out his term in a half way house) if he ever goes back to the scene of his crimes he will see a very different Newark than the one he sucked dry. Newark had always been a joke of a city. It is the largest city in the metro area that is not one of the five boroughs. From as long as I can remember it has always been straight up ghetto, but a second rate one at that. Nobody swelled with pride to say they were” representin Brick City.” Not like you would if you were from Jamaica, or Brownsville which had the nickname of A Square Mile of Death. When you hailed from East New York, you could brag that the Seven Five Precinct had more murders than most of the cities in America. Growing up, the joke was that Newark was so crappy that even the airport didn’t want to be there. This stems from the fact that Newark Liberty Airport is actually in Elizabeth, New Jersey and not Newark.
Then all of a sudden something changed. The laughter just stopped. Well actually it wasn’t sudden, but I remember waking up one day and saying to myself “Is Newark a respectable city now?” The fact of the matter is that Newark will never be confused with the Upper West Side, but you cannot deny that the place has made huge strides to becoming a place where people don’t have to cower in shame when they say they come from it. If you have to put your finger on what the biggest factor for that change it’s pretty obvious that it all falls on the lap of one man, Cory Booker.
Now when I say that Cory Booker is responsible for the turnaround I should really say that it falls on the backs of Booker and the men and women who serve under him. But what I can pin squarely on the shoulders of Booker is that he allowed those people to do their respective jobs. I’ve seen firsthand what a mayor can actively do to reduce crime. I was hired as a police officer under David Dinkins. Whenever the shit hit the fan we were told that angry mobs just need to vent. Really? A group of heated up idiots taking to the streets to behave lawlessly is an entity that should be allowed to exist? Is it any wonder that Dinkins held the distinction of being the mayor who had the highest murder rates on his watch. This is not joke, just look at videos of The Crown Heights Riots. Under St. Rudy (I’m not a fan, but you can’t argue with his results) the amount of murders dropped to the lowest levels in forty years. Booker seems to have charted a course for the same results.
Newark hit a milestone last week by going thirty eight consecutive days with without a single murder. Now this is just plain amazing. Cory Booker and his cops have managed to not have anybody killed intentionally by another person for more than a month. But at the same time I think about it, is it that big of an accomplishment to not kill? I’ve gone 39 years without killing, using this logic shouldn’t the media be covering my every step then? I’m not a bible scholar, nor am I that religious but I wholeheartedly understand the commandment Thou Shall Not Kill. There are times I’d like to violate it, but I don’t.
So I would like to congratulate Mayor Booker and the entire Newark Police Department for reaching their milestone. I mean they do have a former brilliant NYPD guy in Garry McCarthy at the helm calling the shots. Most of all I would like to congratulate the citizens of Newark, New Jersey for behaving like human beings for a short period of time. Stay Classy Newark, Stay Classy!
Last week there was a bit of a controversy involving Gaborey Sidibe. The powers that be over at Vogue said they will not be featuring the rookie actress in any issue as she is “too fat.” This caused some outrage and controversy. In addition Howard Stern came under fire for saying that she is not part of Hollywood and will vanish pretty quick because of her weight. As much as I hate to do so, I have to defend those two entities. I have to tell you Vogue is 100% correct in their actions and Howie, is probably right.
I have to start by saying I am not a vogue subscriber. I don’t read the publication. I have thumbed through it but only as any other man does, to look at pretty ladies and hope for a glimpse of boob. In addition I am no fan of the fashion industry. I have worked indirectly in the industry and I have to tell you the stereotype of the shallow fashionista is based very much in fact. Many (not all) people who work in fashion believe they are doing God’s work. They think that by designing shoes and purses that their chosen career rivals surgeons who remove malignant tumors from cancer patients. I bet if you surveyed ten cancer patients they would probably vote for the surgeon as having more important role.
The editor and chief of Vogue Anna Wintour is legendary for her diva (there was another word I wanted to use that begins with a C…you can figure it out)like behavior. Editor please! In spite of your self-important view, you’re no more important to the planet than Rob Schneider. I am sure when fashion week rolls around you feel like a big deal, and to your staff of servants in your Hampton’s estate you are the center of the universe, but lady you and I breathe the same exact air. Can you see my disdain with Vogue and the fashion industry itself? Guess I’m not getting a job writing for Conde Nast any time soon. I’m okay with it, I will keep my soul.
The other critic of Gabby is Howard Stern. I am not a fan of Stern. I just plain don’t find him funny. This has nothing to do with his raunchiness either. I am a Sirius subscriber, but you never see me tuning in to Howard 100. I will say that channel 197 The Virus is on my presets. I laugh my ass off every time I listen to Opie and Anthony. They’re just funnier and edgier. They also seem to understand that what they are doing is for an audience and not some self indulgent exercise in ego stroking.
I will never deny Stern’s legacy. He was at one time cutting edge and relevant. His wit and antics were a machete that cut through a sea of boredom and fake politically correctness for the sake of preserving sponsors. He set the bar really high and I feel like he might have been his own worst enemy. It’s hard to live up to the image he created. As time went on he got complacent and lazy. The last time I seriously listened to him, he was bitching because he didn’t like the limo his driver picked out for him. Are you serious? Are you that out of touch with your listeners? You have your fanboys who eat shit like this up, but the average listener does not want to hear about your model wife, Hampton’s mansion and how your chauffeur is an asshole.
It’s hard to defend the positions of two entities you have a strong dislike of, but I’ll do my best. In order to write this entry I shelled out the $4.99 and watched Precious on pay-per-view. It wasn’t a movie that I was interested to see, as I have a hard time relating to urban literature sometimes. I’m down with a lot of stuff in the hood, but Zane and other urban authors don’t speak to me. It’s probably because most of the work is geared towards women. So I did not read the book Push. Besides, people who use one name like Sapphire and don’t have the name recognition annoy the piss out of me. Stop trying to create a persona, you’re a writer not a pop singer.
So I sat through a viewing of Precious. I thought the film was good, I’m not sure if it was worthy of a best picture nomination, but I guess that it was a symptom of the expansion to ten. I have some insider info that if there were eleven nominees that GI Joe:The Rise of Cobra would have been it…and if it weren’t for politics, it surely would have won. Seriously though, I did like the acting in Precious. It was good. Gabby Sidibe proved she could play ghetto, and Monique made me want to throw my television down a flight of stairs just like in the movie every time she appeared on the screen. I can’t stand her to begin with, and she made me hate and respect her at the same time. That’s a pretty strong indication of the performance when you can stir up hatred but still garner respect at your craft. As I write this entry, Monique’s talk show (if you can call it that) is on my television. It might be one of the most amateur productions on any network, ever. And I am not referring to the people behind the scenes. I am addressing the people in front of the camera. But she’s sassy so I guess you have to listen to her.
These two women became their characters. I can’t say any more than any other film critic has already stated. I can imagine to channel these characters could not have been easy. It has to put a black mark on your psyche to be able to live in the darkness that the mother and daughter characters existed in. It could have been easy to take these roles and made them comedic, as the subject matter defies what a rational person would consider natural human behavior(I challenge you to find another species on this planet that would treat their offspring in that manner) , but neither woman fell into that trap. If it were me and I had that kind of talent, then I know I’d need some therapy to recover from the experience. But I ask the question, do we have to reward these woman for the rest of their lives for one role? Unless they perform in their next respective projects they should be treated like every other actor who faded into obscurity.
Should Gabby be on the cover of Vogue…HELL NO! I recently posted as my Facebook Status, “Are we really shocked that Gabourey Sidibe will never appear on the cover of Vogue?” It was more of a commentary on what a shallow bunch of douche bags Vogue was as opposed to anything regarding Gabby’s weight or appearance. I received a comment from a person who I went to grammar school. She wanted to know why Vogue couldn’t do something different and put Gabby in their magazine that the situation as they are creating it sends a bad message to women everywhere. I don’t disagree with her, but Vogue was built on a being vanity elitist. Gabby obviously has inner beauty, but that’s not what Vogue is about. The reality is though that she does not deserve to be worshiped as an object of physical beauty. Vogue does promote unhealthy physical standards for women, but then again so does Gabby. The woman is morbidly obese (my wife the doctor said so, so I am not just throwing the phrase around) and women should not aspire to look like her. You can figure out for yourself what being that fat can do to a human body, I don’t need to give you a lesson in health. I will never have a body like somebody who graces the cover of Muscle and Fitness or even Sports Illustrated (unless they feature a 13 year old girls softball team) no matter how much I lift weights and eat right. I am just not genetically made up for that. That’s just life, but it sends the same message as Vogue.
These magazines make their living on selling a certain image of beauty and shouldn’t have to change. Hollywood and Madison Ave know that sex appeal sell. Ask yourself who would you rather see in a steamy love scene Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston or Kirstie Alley and John Goodman? A friend of mine told me the easiest way to not be racist is to back up your views with unbiased facts. This entry is not so much about race as it is about human nature. Recently Arizona State University released a study that said when companies use regular people in their advertising campaigns that the results were not as positive as when they used models and people based solely on their appearance. When Dove used “real women” the campaign drew raves, but the fact was that it actually hurt sales. People develop lower self esteem by looking at plus sized models compared skinnier ones.
Recently when I was watching The View (it’s okay call me a bitch) and Joy said that writers will now have to keep Gabby in mind when creating roles, and I agreed. Much like the clothes she has custom made for her, roles will have to be specifically written with her in mind. If I look at it from the other side of the coin, I can’t see her being that much of a box office draw where people are going to pay $12 to see projects where she is the centerpiece on a consistent basis. People watch movies for the escapism. They want to live vicariously through the characters they see on the screen for the most part. Sometimes we like to take a masochistic journey through films like Precious. But other times we want to do our best to identify with the ultra dreamy Robert Pattinson. Do you really want to repeatedly take the voyage as somebody you can see every day on the 2 train?
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Ridden the subway in the past few years? It’s midday and you found a seat away from the homeless guy at the end of the car who smells like really good French Cheese and urine. You’re about to really lose yourself in some smut that’s been authored by Zane. You somehow manage to filter out the idiot standing in the doorway who is playing their damn IPOD so loud that you think Akon is actually in the train car with you. You find the place where you left off in Addicted, and it’s getting steamy.
Then without warning, your concentration is broken. “Excuse me ladies and gentlemen.” You cringe a little. You think to yourself, “Shit, Zoe Reynard was just starting to really let go of her inhibitions and now I have to listen to this amateur P.S.A.” It’s right about this time you start to wonder which one will it be? Is it the guy who lost his job and needs to feed his family? Is it old homeless black guy who tells jokes. If I hear “I know where you got your shoes, you got them on your feet,” I might just punch somebody.
Last night the car crier proceeded to let everybody on the train know that he was HIV positive and a brain cancer survivor. He went on to tell us that he was also a marathon runner and the head of his own foundation. As if his resume wasn’t impressive enough, he even shows us a picture of Barack Obama’s grandmother, as she is the one who fires the starting pistol of a marathon his foundation organizes every year in Kenya. Hmm if you are the head of a foundation do you really think the New York City subway is the best spot to seek funding for your international charity? If you personally know the president’s grandmother wouldn’t she be better to solicit for money than some construction worker on the 1 train?
You might be treated to a spur of the moment concert by some out of work musician who plays the guitar, drums, bass, kazoo, or kazoo made out of a comb and tissue paper. It can also be the cheapskate who doesn’t take the effort to buy an instrument but will regale you with their amazing voice. I know, they’re saving up to get a ticket to audition for American Idol.
There’s also a chance it could be a sports team selling candy to buy new uniforms, rent a bus to drive to the league championship or build a new state of the art training facility. But you are most likely to have Zoe’s sexual epiphany interrupted by Michael Jones (or whatever name they are using) to tell you that he doesn’t play for no basketball team and he is selling candy just to put a little money in his pockets.
I have to admit, out of all the subway solicitors, I like these kids the best. If they are nothing else, they are honest…and I respect that. Now with this being said every so often I throw these kids a few bucks when I have a sweet tooth, but I must admit that their speech does make me scratch my head. It’s the same speech every time regardless of who says it. I’ve had horrible sales jobs and the one thing they all have in common is the fact that they have a presentation that you have to memorize to sell the product. The words are carefully selected and seem to have been written by some marketing firm for maximum effectiveness. The candy speech has the same feel to it. If we look at another commonality, we see the packaging is identical on every one of these kids. Where are they getting these boxes? These are obviously wholesale products, and not the type you can buy at Costco either.
If I look at these two facts it tells me that these kids are organized, and that means that there is a head to this organization. I have a hard time believing it’s a collective of ambitious youths who are conducting their own marketing experiment. I wonder is there some Candy Fagin pimping street urchins out to hawk his wares and in turn they receive a pittance. Or it might be an adult who uses the famous words to hook suckers into sales jobs where there’s no future,just in scams like Herbalife (just Google those two words to see what I mean,) “You will be owning your own business.”
The one part of the speech that disturbs me is that they say they are doing this so they don’t have to “rob nobody,” or sell drugs. Oh so you have two options as far as a career? You can either sell candy or deal drugs and rob people. Those are really the only two choices? And since when did robbery and sale of controlled substances become viable career options? They are the easy way out, a quick road to fast money usually with a bad ending. How about you do what regular kids your age do, you get a paper route or your go work at McDonalds or some other fast food joint for a little more than minimum wage? That’s what I did…I flipped cheese steaks at South Philly Steaks and Fries in The Staten Island Mall. It wasn’t glamorous, or cool, but it was honest and honorable.
Now if it is as it seems where it is just kids who is hustling trying to make an honest buck I seriously commend them. Technically what they are doing is illegal as they need a license, and the MTA won’t let you sell anything on their property unless you pay a hefty tribute to them. But I say Fuck the MTA. They are one of the greediest most corrupt organizations on the planet. They make Enron seem like a company that cared. If by some weird turn I end up running a company I would hire these kids and show them what real work is like. Give them a chance to put that hustle and ambition to good use.
I must admit I am torn with the whole panhandling issue (whether it be selling a fugazy product or not.) I used to be completely anti when I was a cop. Under Emperor Rudy we were told take a zero tolerance policy to panhandlers. I did my job, but at the same time I dealt with them as human beings. They were the lowest rungs of the ladder that was society, but they were still people. I would tell them, “I’m out here till 12:00. When I am here, you are not. Nothing personal, it’s what they’re making me do. Go hang out in the park till then.” I’d usually have no problems. I didn’t bother them, I sure as hell wasn’t taking them to jail as the brass had wanted me to, but at the same time they weren’t on my post.
Then one day I had a situation. It was the only white panhandler I had ever seen on my post. I walked up to him and he shook his cup at me. Was he serious? I was in full uniform and here he was asking for money from me. He must not have read any newspapers lately. City Hall had declared him the enemy. I said to him, “You can’t be serious? You know they want me to lock you up for this. Besides, how about just a tiny bit of respect for the uniform?” He told me that he was just trying to get something to eat. I told the man to come with me.
He and I walked to the coffee cart that was on my post. I asked the man running it to give me a bagel and a cup of coffee. He gave it to me. I let him park his van in commercial parking even though he had passenger plates. He was a working man…why would I want to fuck with him? A bagel and a coffee was like a parking tax, cheap if you ask me. We’d talk and he was kind of like a friend anyway.
So after my friend Hassan gave the food and drink to Mr. Cup Shaker, I sent him on his way. I gave him the speech about not shaking a cup when I was around. He said okay and was gone, or so I thought. Fast forward an half hour or so. I walk up on Mr. Cup Shaker and another homeless guy Charlie that I knew. They were sitting on the curb and talking. Not knowing I was behind him Mr. Cup Shaker took the bagel and proceeded to throw it on the ground. He took the coffee and dumped it out. “I want bacon and eggs,” he barked, “I don’t want this crap.” Let’s just say I was livid. I went out of my way and this was his gratitude for my efforts. Let’s just say Mr. Cup Shaker was not seen in the vicinity of 57th and Broadway ever again. No I didn’t murder him, but I did scare him a little, nothing illegal either. It kind of led me to believe that people who live on the streets shaking a cup are often there by choice. I’ve had other incidents which reinforced this.
On the other hand I feel a great compassion and empathy for people who are truly down and out. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to be hungry. I myself walked around the streets begging, it was to stores and companies wearing a suit and begging for a job; but it was a time of desperation of my life so I know the feeling. Human beings who have should help human beings who don’t, provided they want the proverbial hand up and not a hand out. Some of the stories you hear are heartbreaking. They can’t help but move you to tears, but some are rehearsed and that is their exact intention. Just like a movie like Precious can get you to open your wallet with a moving tale so can a story of undeserved tragedy. The hard part is finding out who is being honest and who is worthy of an academy award.
So yeah if you’re just trying to put a little paper in your pocket and my sweet tooth is itching, I’ll give you $1.50 for some m&m’s…peanut please. Now let me get back to my Zane book.
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Every time I go to work I pass by the Wakimba Lounge on 8th Ave in Midtown. At first glance it looks like it’s trying to be something it’s not. It’s trying to look like a tropical locale in the heart of one of the busiest parts of the city, an urban oasis. Then after a second look, you can see it’s just like any other Manhattan Dive Bar. It’s not one of those kitschy dive bars that attracts the hipster crowd, and has them thinking they’re cool for going there. Not the Wak, it’s a true dive bar. It’s the kind of place that the smell of stale beer and desperation wafts out even when the doors are closed. The place has a soul, but the soul screams of hopelessness. The Wakimba does have a place in New York history. It is the place where Patrick Dorismond was shot by a New York City Police Officer.
The case of the Dorismond shooting was one of great controversy. The officers involved were not indicted. The Manhattan Grand Jury deemed the shooting accidental. The case drew little fanfare, not as much as you would have though a cop shooting an unarmed man would draw. The fact of the matter is that the shooting was overshadowed by two incidents that happened in the three years prior. Those two incidents which often get lumped together have very little to do with each other than they involved members of The NYPD and black men, immigrants for poor countries as well. But that’s where the similarities end. They are about as close in spirit as the homelands of the two men, which is not at all close.
The first case involves Haitian immigrant Abner Louima and the 1st Platoon of Brooklyn’s 70th Precinct. Louima was sodomized in the bathroom of Flatbush police station when he was taken into custody. The case drew massive protest and outrage, but most of it was knee jerk reactions led by my favorite “Holy Man” Al Sharpton (and you can expect a whole entry on the man I called Al Overtime at a later date.) When I say knee jerk, I mean that people over reacted without knowing all the facts. I actually had a pretty close connection to the case and know some details that most people do not. I knew Justin Volpe, we grew up not far from each other. We didn’t know each other personally, but I knew him from sight. I knew the crowd he ran with and thought he was a punk, a bully, worst of all, a guido. Now you don’t really think that a badge and a gun is going to change that do you? Guns make weak men feel strong, picture being able to carry a gun where ever you want. Talk about absolute power corrupting absolutely.
I did not know Chuckie Schwartz ,one of the other men involved, but I knew people who knew him and well. Everybody I knew who knew him said that that he was not the kind of guy to do something like that, and these were men I trusted, who trusted Chuck. Nobody was surprised that Volpe had done something like this, but at least four people I knew said it was not in Chuck’s character to do something like that. Even Volpe himself cleared Chuck, but it didn’t take much to call Justin’s character into question. I never got commentary on Bruder or Weiss, so I can make no judgment on their deeds or character.
There is another key player in this case that I knew. How I came about to know him was unfortunate. He was just a kid who was doing the right thing, what he was sworn to do. His name Eric Turetsky, at the time it was Police Officer Eric Turetsky the King’s County D.A.’s star witness. Eric had seen parts of the incident and had come forward with what he saw. I had met Eric while visiting my father at work one day at Nazareth High School. My father was Eric’s boss after he came forward. Now if you put two and two together, you can will figure out that Eric was assigned to the Internal Affairs Bureau once he was removed from The Seven Oh. My father at the time was a lieutenant in Group 32 and one of the final cases he worked in his career was the Louima case. When the news broke I asked him about it. His words were that it was bullshit and they essentially were trying to find evidence to clear everybody involved. As the investigation progressed they said there was no way that this did not happen. Louima was sodomized, sexually assaulted by a New York City Police Officer. He wouldn’t give me details but he said that anybody involved was going to do serious time, like the amount that can be measured in percentages of a century.
So we have to look at the facts of the case and we will see that justice was served and pretty well for that fact. Louima was involved in a scuffle outside a Brooklyn nightclub. He is alleged to have sucker punched Justin Volpe. The case was dropped so we will never know the outcome. Louima most likely got his ass kicked on the way to the precinct. I’m not condoning street justice, but I understand it. Sometimes it’s the only message a knuckle head understands, you meet his violence with your own harsher violence. I never participated in it, but the fact is an Assault 2nd Degree (which is the charge for hitting a police officer in New York) arrest is usually a tough case to make stick in this city. If the person does get convicted or cops a plea there’s a good chance there will be no or little jail time. The system sucks in that respect.
So if we fast forward to today, we can see how the lives of four people have been changed by this incident. Justin Volpe took a plea for 30 years with no parole. Chuck Schwartz was convicted and sentenced to twelve years. That conviction was overturned because it was deemed that he did not receive a fair trial. With perjury charges looming he took a plea for a five year sentence. He has since been released and is reported as working as a carpenter. Eric Turetsky did what he perceived as the right thing and is branded a rat for the rest of his career, which is the worst thing possible among police officers. He was an amenable guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and even his actions and motives were called into question while on the stand. I’ve always contended that this was a crime and if any cop had come across this event on the street that he’d think it a great collar. Volpe deserved to be punished, but I’m not sure 30 years was correct. If he had been a civilian and it was a first offense then I couldn’t see him serving more than 10 years and a life time of sex offender status. Does a uniform elevate the severity of a crime, not in the New York State Penal Law to my knowledge, but in the court of public opinion and surely in the Reverend Al’s definition of justice.
Abner Louima a Haitian immigrant who had not seen his family for six years before the event is now a very rich man. He won $8.5 Million in tax free money ($5.8 after legal fees) and now lives in Florida. In 2003 he went back to Haiti to see his family, wow great family man he is. He has since set up The Abner Louima Foundation which form information I obtained listed $1181 assets and $6181 in income as of 2007. He’s a rich man who lives in Florida while the good intentions of his “foundation” seem idle. He has since found a role as The Rev. Al’s pony to trot out when he needs to put a face on police brutality. He’s the victim of a crime who was compensated more than most victims are. He’s no hero in my eyes as some would have you believe. I’ve discussed this case with numerous people and myself included would trade places with him in a second for a pay day like that. Giuliani Time (an allegation he made that the cops screamed as they were sodomizing him, things changed under Rudy but I don’t know a single cop who was a fan of the man, a fan enough to evoke his name anyhow,)paid him very well. Three men’s lives forever changed by the actions of one, and only one being compensated for it.
The other case that often comes under the same umbrella is Amadou Diallo. In this case the four white Street Crime cops were acquitted. This case involves no crime as some would have you believe. This is a very unfortunate tragedy in which a man died. He looked like a wanted man who was raping women in the South Bronx. When questioned in front of his house he did not comply. Call it a language barrier, call it a miscommunication, but don’t call it a murder. Don’t be like Springsteen and write a song about it, till you understand the case fully. In a later entry I will discuss The Sean Bell Shooting and I will introduce some facts and theories that will show that neither of these incidents were crimes but tragedies, bad tactics, yes; but not a bunch of white cops gunning for brothers as certain activists would have you believe. So I ask for you not to have a knee jerk reaction to some of my statements. In a coming blog hopefully you will see where I am coming from. I’m by no means saying not to be mad. I’d never want to take your feelings away, but I just merely want you to know there are two sides to the story.