Let Us Call Evil By Its Name

History serves as a reliable witness to tragedies which put to rest any philosophical or rhetorical back and forth about whether there is in fact good and evil in our world. The impressions left by the presence of these essentially opposite forces throughout the course of our experience are indelibly impressed on our consciousness and on battlefields all over the globe. The substance of those impressions is an unmistakably gruesome mix of the blood, sweat, tears and brutalized flesh of warring factions.

The spilled guts, broken bones, and the haunting screams of mutilated souls deny us any retreat into some specious academic comfort zone regarding this matter. The massacre of innocents will not allow it. The body bags from battlefields near and far containing the remains of our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, our neighbors and their children, rankles our convenient stoicism. Those who would resort to their rhetorical acumen to deny the existence of these opposing forces are rudely aroused, and kept awake by the cacophony of war and its foul stench.

The heroes we celebrate in our individual and corporate lives are those who stood in firm opposition to the forces of evil. Those who have represented the expression of evil must bear the eternal rebuke reserved for them. There are those among us who even now would salute Hitler; but they are in reality a fringe trying to survive against the moral tide of History. There are those who would resurrect the fascism of Mussolini; but they inevitably find themselves marginalized and eventually swept aside by the thrust toward a more equal society and a better world. The putrid stench of slavery lingers in the air we breathe. The Ku Klux Klan still has its disciples, but they appropriately still hide their faces... In shame?

The forward march of History gains impetus when we identify and call Evil by its name… That which seeks to destroy the will to achieve the common good. The establishment of the common good is the goal of our civilization. It is a foundation of the kind of Peace which issues from the triumph of the forces of good over the presence of evil. We understand civil society to be a function of the recognition of each other’s right to the pursuit of our highest human potential regardless of circumstances of race, gender, sexuality, religious persuasion, or the socio-economic circumstances of one’s birth.

When we appropriate to each other as a human right the ability to thrive in ways that are non-obstructive to the strivings of our fellow persons, we regard that as a good thing. To live at peace with each other by the establishment of equity among us is good. We know beyond equivocation that there have been, and that there remain among us persons and influences that do not share the values implicit in these notions. They foster in their own lives, and seek to foist upon others, the inequity that serves their twisted sense of being. They create misery. They are agents of chaos. We call such persons and their intentions and influences... evil.

How China Is Treating Migrants

The following is an article from chinadaily.com.cn (December 5, 2014)

Residence permit reform to give migrants equal rights

China unveiled a plan to reform the country's residence permit system on Thursday that would grant migrants equal access to more public services. Residence permit holders would be able to get benefits such as medical services and education for their children like urban dwellers, according to the plan released by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council. Public opinion on the reforms is being solicited before the formal plan is released.

Migrant workers who stay in a city for half a year with a stable job and residence may apply for the residence permits. China plans to phase out its hukou, or household registration system, and help about 100 million people settle in towns and cities by 2020. Currently, citizens without urban hukou do not enjoy equal access to public services in cities.

The reform to allow migrants in China to enjoy basic welfare and services is "a big leap forward" as it could help eliminate regional discrimination and improve the free movement of labor, said Liu Hongbin, a professor with People's Public Security University of China, the Beijing News reported.

A Brief History of Slavery and the Origins of American Policing

An article by Victor E. Kappeler PhD
(Victor E. Kappeler is Foundation Professor and Associate Dean of the School of Justice Studies in the College of Justice and Safety at Eastern Kentucky University.)

The birth and development of the American police can be traced to a multitude of historical, legal and political-economic conditions. The institution of slavery and the control of minorities, however, were two of the more formidable historic features of American society shaping early policing. Slave patrols and Night Watches, which later became modern police departments, were both designed to control the behaviors of minorities. For example, New England settlers appointed Indian Constables to police Native Americans (National Constable Association, 1995), the St. Louis police were founded to protect residents from Native Americans in that frontier city, and many southern police departments began as slave patrols. In 1704, the colony of Carolina developed the nation's first slave patrol. Slave patrols helped to maintain the economic order and to assist the wealthy landowners in recovering and punishing slaves who essentially were considered property.

Policing was not the only social institution enmeshed in slavery. Slavery was fully institutionalized in the American economic and legal order with laws being enacted at both the state and national divisions of government. Virginia, for example, enacted more than 130 slave statutes between 1689 and 1865. Slavery and the abuse of people of color, however, was not merely a southern affair as many have been taught to believe. Connecticut, New York and other colonies enacted laws to criminalize and control slaves. Congress also passed fugitive Slave Laws, laws allowing the detention and return of escaped slaves, in 1793 and 1850. As Turner, Giacopassi and Vandiver (2006:186) remark, “the literature clearly establishes that a legally sanctioned law enforcement system existed in America before the Civil War for the express purpose of controlling the slave population and protecting the interests of slave owners. The similarities between the slave patrols and modern American policing are too salient to dismiss or ignore. Hence, the slave patrol should be considered a forerunner of modern American law enforcement.”

The legacy of slavery and racism did not end after the Civil War. In fact it can be argued that extreme violence against people of color became even worse with the rise of vigilante groups who resisted Reconstruction. Because vigilantes, by definition, have no external restraints, lynch mobs had a justified reputation for hanging minorities first and asking questions later. Because of its tradition of slavery, which rested on the racist rationalization that Blacks were sub-human, America had a long and shameful history of mistreating people of color, long after the end of the Civil War. Perhaps the most infamous American vigilante group, the Ku Klux Klan started in the 1860s, was notorious for assaulting and lynching Black men for transgressions that would not be considered crimes at all, had a White man committed them. Lynching occurred across the entire county not just in the South. Finally, in 1871 Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act, which prohibited state actors from violating the Civil Rights of all citizens in part because of law enforcements’ involvement with the infamous group. This legislation, however, did not stem the tide of racial or ethnic abuse that persisted well into the 1960s.

Though having white skin did not prevent discrimination in America, being White undoubtedly made it easier for ethnic minorities to assimilate into the mainstream of America. The additional burden of racism has made that transition much more difficult for those whose skin is black, brown, red, or yellow. In no small part because of the tradition of slavery, Blacks have long been targets of abuse. The use of patrols to capture runaway slaves was one of the precursors of formal police forces, especially in the South. This disastrous legacy persisted as an element of the police role even after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In some cases, police harassment simply meant people of African descent were more likely to be stopped and questioned by the police, while at the other extreme, they have suffered beatings, and even murder, at the hands of White police. Questions still arise today about the disproportionately high numbers of people of African descent killed, beaten, and arrested by police in major urban cities of America.


Bio.
Dr. Victor Kappeler is a Foundation Professor and Associate Dean of the School of Justice Studies. Dr. Kappeler is a three-time EKU graduate whose textbooks are commonly used by universities worldwide. He is recognized as a leading scholar in policing as well as media and the social construction of crime, among other related fields. Among many other honors, Dr. Kappeler received the 2006 Cabinet for Justice and Public Safety Award for Academic Excellence, the 2005 Outstanding Criminal Justice Alumnus Award from Sam Houston State University, where he earned his doctoral degree, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Critical Criminology for “sustained and distinguished scholarship, teaching, and/or service in the field of critical criminology.”.

A Man Like Me

A man like me…the black man you see
Standing here in front of you…
In your eyes…but out of view
Always knew…
What its like to be
A man…a black man like me

Can you tell me…
The black man you see
Standing here in front of you
Face to face…but out of view
Something new…about what it’s like
To be a man…a black man like me

Now look at me…stare deep into the mirror of my soul
And see yourself…
In my pain
In my degradation
In my crucifixion
In my resurrection…
Know me as I am
And receive salvation…
From a black man
Like me

Spain Has An Empty Prison Problem

While we have a thriving prison industrial complex...

http://fortune.com/2014/12/02/spain-empty-prison-problem/

Following Through After Ferguson... A Letter From Attorney General Eric Holder

Following Michael Brown's tragic death, millions of people across the nation and around the world have focused their attention on unfolding events in Ferguson, both grieving together and making their voices heard.
In recent days, many have been captivated by ongoing developments, anguished emotions, peaceful protests -- and, too often, deeply unfortunate images of unnecessary destruction. And this tragic incident has sparked a necessary, national conversation about the need to ensure trust and build strong relationships between law enforcement officials and the communities they serve.
Events in Ferguson have revealed a deep distrust between a community and its police force. But this reality is not limited to one location. Other communities around this country know this struggle all too well. And it's abundantly clear that every single one of us has a role to play in tackling this problem together, as a nation -- to identify those things that bind us, and to be honest with one another about the things that continue to divide us.
In August, President Obama ordered a review of federal funding and programs that provide equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies. Yesterday, the Administration released that review's findings -- and announced key next steps to strengthen the trust in and effectiveness of the policing of our communities.
Learn more about yesterday's announcements, and the findings of the Administration's review.
Here are the next steps we're taking:

1. Creating a new task force to promote the expansion of 21st century community-oriented policing.
2. Reforming how the federal government equips local law enforcement, particularly with military-style equipment.
3. Advancing the use of body-worn cameras and promoting proven community policing initiatives.

I know this has been a difficult time for people in Ferguson, and for many others across the country. It will take time for things to get better. But as I assured Ferguson residents during my visit there, in August, the Obama administration is firmly committed to making the progress we need -- and that all of our citizens deserve.
The changes that the President announced yesterday are exactly the sorts of programmatic steps that will bring the right people together to engage in a constructive, national conversation -- so we can build trust, address persistent concerns, and protect public safety while respecting the rights of every American.
Last Tuesday, addressing the public, the President said, "[to] those who are prepared to work constructively, your President will work with you." I am committed to answering the President's call to see this through -- as are the men and women of the United States Department of Justice.
Learn more about yesterday's announcements here -- and spread the word to anyone who wants to know how we're moving forward as a nation.
Thank you,
Eric H. Holder, Jr.

America Beyond Ferguson, Missouri

A picture worth a thousand words. It tells the story of that other America that now retired officer Darren Wilson who shot and killed unarmed teenager Mike Brown is totally ignorant of. It shows police Sgt. Bret Barnum hugging and being hugged by twelve year old Devonte Hart during the Ferguson demonstration in Portland, Oregon on November 25, 2014. The picture was taken by freelance photographer Johnny Nguyen. Look at this moment and let it sink in. I have no more words about it.