(ThyBlackMan.com) I learned long ago that there is a sizable population of people who are willing to do whatever it takes to increase their power quotient. Trust me when I say that the alluded to individuals know no ends regarding their will to accomplish some goal; unfortunately for mankind, their pursuit is usually not a worthwhile endeavor.
Those that I am alluding to will make a Faustian deal (a deal with the Devil) to achieve the selfish desires of their hearts. Persons of this ilk have compromised their principles for so long that they no longer have any understanding of what it means to stand for something due to moral principles. It appears that former New York City Mayor and now Presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg fits this description.
Anyone who has spent significant time in New York City understands that “the city that never sleeps” is filled with unprecedented racial/ethnic diversity. In this regard, New York City has not failed to live up to its reputation as an international city. Yet, the alluded to diversity can be a double-edged sword that is appreciated during good times and wielded as an Excalibur during not so good times. Even the simplest conversation with a New Yorker will arrive at some discussion regarding the unwanted presence of “burdensome others” that are seemingly perfectly positioned to serve as a constant irritant to their personal comfort.
It should not be surprising that the most likely population to develop angst toward the alluded to diversity are New York’s class of rich and powerful. Any American can tell you that when politically powerful sectors of any city have grown tired of what they readily term undesirables that exist beneath their station in life, definitive action is taken to eradicate the problem.
White New Yorkers who long ago tired of troublesome Black and Brown populations understood that Michael Bloomberg possessed the will and determination to deal address such groups in a definitive manner. From his political perch, Mayor Bloomberg directed New York Police Department (NYPD) officers to implement a deplorable “stop and frisk” policy against Black and Brown people.
The “stop and frisk” policy mandated that law enforcement officers searched New Yorkers for no reason beyond their racial identity. Neither the outcries from minority communities nor court orders ceased Bloomberg’s stormtroopers. Wealthy Whites preferred to view Bloomberg as a tough Sherriff and the NYPD as his posse executing a mission to rid the city of desperados. The realization that the embracing of such an image was the most assured path to unconscionable popularity and power among the “in-crowd”, Bloomberg embraced the image.
After a recent appearance at Brooklyn’s Christian Cultural Center, a Black Mega-Church in East New York, Bloomberg apologized for the “stop and frisk” policy that both New Yorkers and Judges roundly criticized. One would have to be unbelievably naïve to believe that Bloomberg has had what our people term a “coming to Jesus meeting” and seen the error in his ways. Not even the following admission should impact the perspective of those whose lives were impacted or endangered by Sheriff Bloomberg’s change of heart. According to Bloomberg,
I can’t change history, but today, I want you to know I realize I was wrong, and I am sorry.
Over time, I’ve come to understand something that I’ve long struggled to admit to myself: I got something important wrong. I didn’t understand the full impact that stops were having on the black and Latino communities.
It is one thing to damage people via poor decision-making and racist policy, however, it is another level of insult to go before that same population and insult their intelligence because you now desire their support in your current political endeavor.
If nothing else, Michael Bloomberg’s “flip-flopping” on this issue reveals a man who is devoid of a moral compass and an understanding of what it means to possess principles other than one’s aimed at enriching oneself politically or monetarily.
The entire nation should shudder at the prospect of having another man occupying the Office of the Presidency who stands for little beyond what benefits him. It is for this reason that I hope Black America is not naïve and kind-hearted enough to forgive Michael Bloomberg for the damage that his policies have done in the lives and communities of Black and Brown people.
Staff Writer; Dr. James Thomas Jones III
Official website; http://www.ManhoodRaceCulture.com
One may also connect with this brother via Twitter; DrJamestJones.
