What the Hell?...Breaking News

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Dispensing with my usual attempts at humor, this morning a little after nine a verdict was delivered regarding the detectives involved in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell in November of 2006, the day before he was to be married. They were all acquitted of all charges and in the eyes of the NYPD Law justice has been served. I knew they weren't all going to get slammed, but I figured some level of penalty would be levied on Detective Oliver --- the one who emptied and reloaded and kept on shooting.

It's no longer precedent in NYC to be a young adult black male in the wrong place at the wrong time and get shot to pieces by The Law for whatever reason they offer up, real or imagined. It's just standard operating procedure. Fear and misunderstanding is what convinces someone who has sworn to serve and protect to become suspicious, assume and unload. Shoot him in the ass, shoot him in the leg, shoot him in the arm, shoot him in the stomach, disable him and arrest him if he's done something wrong so he can be charged. Shooting a man long after he's dead is just mind boggling in this day and age, but as much as things change, things stay the same. My father was born in 1933 and based on his stories, I can say not much has changed. What hope does the future have when they see that it's legal for men who look like them to be killed when they've done nothing wrong, regardless of their past?

Honestly, I didn't expect much. But I didn't not expect anything. I'm staying away from the news for the rest of the day.