(ThyBlackMan.com) Although simplistic in terminology, gangsters personify some of the most dualistic, complex, intriguing characters of American life. Many of them wrap themselves in an assortment of dangerous cloaks of thrilling, nail-biting existences–despite how fleeting–in order to obtain self-serving objectives.
The oddity of these individuals is that they can’t be defined by race, gender or age. They don’t ascribe to a particular politic, social class, or educational background. Their only distinct commonality is their means to their ends, which is usually, but not confined to, a volatile nature.
As a youngster, I recall watching Michael Corleone in a movie called The Godfather. His rise to power was mesmerizing. A part of me was enthralled by Mr. Corleone. However, it was simply a movie. Corleone was a fictional character portrayed by a great actor, Al Pacino.
I remember hearing tales about a notorious drug lord named Nikki Barnes. He is a non-fictional character who had supposedly monopolized the drug trade in Harlem, NY. His story piqued my interest. After further scrutiny, I discovered that he had been spiritually deputized by the federal government and became an informant.
As I grew older, I abandoned my fascination for gangsterism. It had lost its authenticity. It became pop-culture. Everyone wanted to be a gangster: musicians, poets, painters, writers, etc; but, none of them appeared genuine. That is, until now.
Many may describe it as reality TV. All I know is that recently I’ve viewed countless, unfiltered video clips–short films–of New Yorkers being murdered, robbed, assaulted, molested, and violated by a mob of marauders, all proxy to NYPD. Some of them in uniform, some in plain clothes; yet, all of them were sporting sparkling NYPD badges. Wow! These guys really are The Untouchables, I thought, thinking of an old gangster flick.
In Brooklyn, there were two different women physically maltreated by officers from separate precincts. Both women were pregnant. One woman lived in East New York. She was draped in an unlawful chokehold, and violently removed from her residence. The other lady was in Sunset Park. She was forcibly shoved to the ground, belly first. I was sure that a slew of domestic violence advocates teamed with ACS workers would swarm into action. No such luck.
In Staten Island, a man was strangled to death by a cop applying a lethal neck lock. The unremorseful murderer then waived his hand, tauntingly, at the camera. By now, I would’ve thought the man would’ve been headed to death row. He has yet to be indicted. Also in Brooklyn, a Coney Island resident was detained by an officer who dug his hand into the man’s pockets and unearthed wads of cash. He then roughly shoved the victim, and briskly be-bopped away, filching the man of his funds. In the Bronx, I saw a video of an armed white officer hunting a Black teen-ager at his grandmother’s abode. The hunter cornered his prey inside of a bathroom and slaughtered the child. Even today, the cameras continue to roll.
In a recent lecture, the former police Commissioner, Mr. Bratton spoke about the lawless crooks who are gainfully employed by the NYPD. He tried to minimize the plaguing problem by placing the onus of these and other atrocious acts on a mere 1% of the department’s 40,000 officers. Therefore, I do applaud Mr. Bratton for openly acknowledging his inability to contain, manage, control or account for the “one percenters”.
Nevertheless, it is imperative that this writer passionately suggests that the people of this great metropolis be acutely aware that, daily, there are at least four hundred heavily armed, criminally motivated bandits, masquerading as peace officers, using decorated blue uniforms as costumes to disguised their crooked intentions and sadistic purposes of terrorizing and pillaging countless poor, unsuspecting citizens; yet, simultaneously being indirectly encouraged by pointed impunity.
Beware, New York! Nypd’s “one percenters” are the new American Gangsters!
Staff Writer; Saint Solomon
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