List of Previous Titles

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Professor and the Police


A Very Good Friend to Have!

Topic “A” this week is that unfortunate incident in Cambridge, Mass, in the United States which blew way out of proportion. To summarise, the police were called to attend what a member of the public thought was a possible break-in in progress at the home of a Harvard professor. In fact, what the witness saw was the professor trying to force open the door to his own home, as the door had become stuck. The professor is black and the police officer who attended is white.

What appears to have happened is that the officer approached the professor as a suspect, and the professor became outraged and saw things that simply were not there.Fundamentally, this was a most unfortunate incident, and past events formed the basis of a bad reaction.

America’s history involving black men and white officers, and even some black officers is very bad. Perhaps even now black professionals find themselves being stopped and harassed if they are driving top of the line cars, just because they are vulnerable. There is a lot of resentment that goes back over many years. If you are a black man going about your business carrying a music case and it’s late at night, the police may well stop you and demand an impromptu mini concert to satisfy themselves that you are a musician on your way home from a gig.

Professionals resent it; and the common man resents being profiled as a possible wrong doer without any basis other than his colour. The Harvard professor had no idea that a call had been made, so he apparently thought that this white officer had taken it into his head to rough him up, for fun. He reacted, as I might have reacted myself. I would have been wrong, and I think that the professor was wrong.

Here we had a distinguished man who had worked hard and who deserved to be respected. But, he was being treated like a common criminal, and I imagine he thought, “How dare you! Don’t you know who I am? I am a respected professional and I will not allow you to treat me in this manner!” And it appears that everything that the officer said only added fuel to that fire, to the point where the officer felt that as a police officer he would not stand for a member of the public treating him and his office in a disrespectful manner.

So the stage was set for a disaster. Two bull-headed men determined not to blink. So, after warnings that went unheeded he arrested the professor for at least disorderly conduct.

I understand the motives of both men and sympathise with them both. The professor was standing up for the dignity of all black men, and the officer was simply trying to do his job under very trying circumstances.

What a mess, you might be prepared to say. Yeah, a real mess, but it gets messier. The professor is a personal friend of the President of The United States, and when the lopsided story got to him he stood before the cameras and opined that the Cambridge police had “acted stupidly.” The entire world sucked in its breath because we could see that the man who chooses his words wisely had put his foot firmly in the muck up to his ankles.
I understand his emotions but why he would have chosen to speak on a matter of local law is beyond me. President Barak Obama took the sucker punch and his supporters around the world could not believe it. He is, after all, a human, not necessarily a Superman. However, having realised his mistake once he calmed down has tried to correct his faux pas by making a statement that says, in so many words, the he used an unfortunate choice of words, and he phoned the officer and they chatted, and he confirmed that he believes that the officer is a good man. He said that he now believes that both men over-reacted during the incident, and that he did not intend to malign the police department.

Good!

Now I hope that the professor has also calmed down and can see the officer’s point of view, and can accept that in the line of police work black men will arrest white men, and vice versa, and the same thing for women who will arrest both men and women, and it need not necessarily be anything other than law enforcement in progress.

Unfortunately, there are still those rogue cops out there who give policing in America a bad name. I hope that this acts as a wake-up call to such prehistoric creatures that the days of harassment of black men for fun are over. It has been an embarrassment to all the players involved, but if the message gets through to those who need to hear it, that would be a good thing.


Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

Sunday, July 19, 2009

What Sort of Crime is This?


Man's Inhumanity to Man taken to a new an Frightening Low!

There is a case currently before the courts that I would like to write about, but I have to be careful as the matter being sub-judice, my words might influence the justices. The essential facts being alleged are as follows: A man and his female passenger while driving came upon a young motorcyclist lying in the road after having been involved in an accident with another car. Accidentally, they drove over the man and immediately stopped. At this point, I doubt that the suspects have committed any offence. What has happened to the motorcyclist is very tragic, but I think that none of the blame for anything that has happened can be put on the suspects.

Many things take place in the course of the driving day that are peculiar. We can only avoid becoming involved in tragedies if we are vigilant and if we anticipate what could happen, so in order to try to avoid them happening. For instance, many people drive as though they are the only people using the road. That is the completely incorrect assumption, of course, so it is our responsibility to be in the correct position in the road at all times. The other thing that is in our own interests is to choose a speed at which to travel that is safe and comfortable.

Continuing with the story: our suspects are in a situation in which any driver might find himself. We have come upon a young accident victim lying in the road and we have been unable to avoid running over him. We have stopped with the young man trapped under our car. This is horrible! What should we do next? I hear you say get out of the car and give as much help as you can. That makes sense to me, and is mandated by law, especially to drivers and their passengers who are involved in an accident.

It is alleged that the suspects in this case did not do that. Instead, they drove off, dragging the man, and it had to be obvious to them that he was being dragged. It is further alleged that they drove on for two kilometres with the body still attached to their car. At the end of the two kilometres, according to an eyewitness, they turned off the main road onto a side road, and inside that side road the car was driven backwards and forwards until the body became disentangled

The suspects deny that any of these things happened involving them, but the driver is charged with murder, and his passenger is charged with failing to give assistance to the victim. It seems that eye witness reports and cctv cameras do place them where they don’t want to be placed.

So, if the facts are as the prosecution allege, I have three questions: Why? Why? And Why?

Why would a driver, finding himself in the predicament of having collided with a person in the road, and now stopped, drive off instead of getting out of his car to offer assistance?

It might be because he had no driver’s license and insurance; or was drunk; or was carrying something in his car that would cause great difficulty.



Why drive on dragging a person, who, it is alleged, had life in him?

This is the one question that no one else other than the driver can answer, if he knows. I can believe that his passenger is as horrified as I am, and judging by the body language of the photo taken of the two of them in court, (he is sitting at one end of a bench, and she is at the other), he cannot expect much help from her.

Finally, why, after dragging a man’s body for two kilometres could a person be so heartless as to drive his car backwards and forwards until the body became dislodged and then drive away? This is a statement of man’s inhumanity that makes me very uncomfortable. I know that in war times, particularly involving the nazis, some things were done that are simply impossible to believe, and I find it beyond my own comprehension that I, or anyone whom I know, could stoop so low.

So, I end this with another question: What crime has actually been committed? Prosecutors have charged this man with murder, but that seems to me to not properly reflect the gravity of the crime. No one else should feel free to do the same thing because they will be free again after serving a few years behind bars. The judge in the case, if finding the man guilty as charged, should be able to throw the whole book at him. Most importantly the family of the young man must gain the satisfaction of believing that justice has been properly served.

I have a son about his age who rides a motorcycle. Were I in the shoes of that most unfortunate family, it would take a whole lot more than the standard sentence for murder to convince me that justice was well and truly done. Of that you can be sure!

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Family Visits


Family


I will state right up front that this will be a very short blog. The title will give a clue as to why that is. I presently have family visiting us from Bermuda, and I’m as excited as can be that we are all together under one roof.

I have read from many people of family and friends who come to call, and there can be problems adjusting. However, when there has been a long time between visits, or as in my case it’s the first ever visit since we have been here, the value is beyond computation.

We have been here ten years and we have been talking about this visit all along, however, there have been some serious terrorist activities, two wars involving America and to some extent Europe, and a very weak euro. I have been back to Bermuda a couple of times and it was good to be with everyone. Now I get the chance to show my family “my Spain”, and they get to see what is keeping me here. Strictly speaking, a weak dollar with which we have been living is telling us to quit the euro zone, and I know that we should. There is quality of life here that we are unwilling to part with so we live from day-to-day.

We are in the midst of fiesta time and there is so much to partake of, so I am busying myself with being tour guide and putting all my knowledge and experience to good use. So, that is just what I will do, but I promise to write a blog detailing the virtue of family together in peace, harmony and enjoying life to the full.

Stay tuned!

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Goodbye! Michael Jackson

Goodbye! MJ
One of a Kind!

First, there was the announcement that Michael Jackson had died of a heart attack. Fans around the world said I don’t believe that. Surely that’s a publicity stunt ahead of his big concert series!

Then we saw what appeared to be his body wrapped in a body bag being taken from his home in California. Fans said that they didn’t see any body. How were they supposed to know who, if anyone was wrapped in that bag. It was all just part of the stunt, they said.

Then it was reported that there had been conducted two autopsies on his body. Fans said, remember Thriller. This will be bigger than Thriller when Michael walks out with a massive posse behind him.

Then there was a reading of his Will before he had even been interred. What’s wrong with these people, have they no dignity or shame? They said that he had left his father out of his will. In other words he did not give any of his debts to his dad. That was decent of him. Something that is supposed to be private has been splashed around the world. Fundamentally, what Michael has said is “Being of sound mind and body, I’ve spent all my money, and a lot of yours as well.!” Good on yer Mike!

Then came the funeral and the internment, and Michael didn’t get up from the coffin with “Thriller II” playing in the background, and fans said, You know what, even for Michael this would have been one off the wall, over the top, way, way out there publicity stunt. We had better believe that physical Michael has gone on to do a gig on the Big Stage in the sky.

So, it’s time to face the facts and let go. We will always have his music to play when we wish, and we can choose to remember him as we would like to. It can now be seen clearly that he was unique. No one like him, no one equal to him. This is life happening, and sometimes life sucks. But, it’s real and not even someone as big as Michael could beat that system.
Now comes the contest between Elvis and Michael to see who can sell the most memorablia while being "retired".

So, Rest In Peace Michael, and thanks for the memories!

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael