People’s Rights, People’s Behavior, and An On-Going Social Issue in America
by Cornell Kimball
Written on a Receipt
On September 7, 2013, at a Red Lobster restaurant in an outer suburb of Nashville, a customer paid for a to-go dinner with a credit card, and on the receipt he wrote “none” for the tip. Later the next day the customer, who was white, learned that a photo of his credit card receipt for that meal, complete with his name and account information, was posted on the Facebook page of the black waitress who’d taken care of that order. And on the receipt, under the word “none” for the tip, was the word “N****r.” Thus, it said “ TIP none N****r .” The black waitress alleged the white customer wrote the n-word and the customer denied that he’d written it.
The waitress was temporarily suspended from her job because she’d violated company policy by giving out a customer’s personal information. The customer, meanwhile, had to immediately change his bank account because his account information had been posted on the Internet. That wasn’t all — because the Facebook post made him out to be a racist, he began receiving death threats.
Two days after that the waitress was back working her shift at that Red Lobster. The corporate media relations unit put out a statement that gave sympathy to the waitress and said that the use of any derogatory or offensive language wouldn’t be tolerated in their restaurants. Management went with the waitress’s side of things.
However… there was no proof of who actually wrote the n-word. A few weeks later, a handwriting expert said that the n-word was written in a different person’s handwriting than the word “none” was (which the white customer did write) and that the handwriting of the n-word didn’t match the handwriting of the customer or of his wife (who was with him).
The customer filed a lawsuit in Williamson County, Tennessee Circuit Court against Red Lobster and the waitress.
My Personal Racial Stance
Middle-aged and elderly black women sometimes clutch their purses more tightly when young black males approach. Black people who are waiting in parked cars sometimes lock the doors when a young black male is about to walk by (or the doors are already locked…).
2% of the money black Americans spend at retail places every year is at businesses that are black-owned. 2%. And blacks make up about 12½% of the U.S. population.
Now there are about how many white liberals in this country? I’d think with so many white people going around saying how wonderful racial integration and cultural diversity are, that by now there’d be many racially integrated neighborhoods, with liberal whites and people of all races living together. But I think of white liberals I know or know about…. and wow, there are a lot of white liberals who live in very white areas. Uh huh.
It is said racism is learned. That’s true in my case. Only I didn’t learn racism from my parents, who learned it from my grandparents, and so on. I’m white and I was raised by my parents, schools, and community with the idea that whites being racist against blacks was wrong. I was raised with the idea that blacks are just as equal and just as able as whites.
However, in so many decades of life I’ve learned to be racist. I’ve learned this based on my own experiences and observations and on the experiences and observations of people I know. I’m a 55-year-old white man and I live in Los Angeles. And as the three items above show, whites such as myself are hardly the only ones who are leery of blacks.
There are many times when I’ve seen young blacks in public (females as well as males) and they’re loud, and sometimes they beat, pound, and kick things. Hardly every time, and no it’s not the majority of young blacks, but it happens too often for my comfort.
I’ve been spit on by blacks for no reason. Blacks have thrown things at me (small things, fortunately) and blacks have “accidentally” bumped into or jabbed me (and I know that’s he-said-she-said, but really, those were not accidents). I’ve had my foot crunched by black guys. And do strangers who are non-blacks ever throw things at me, jab me, or olive press my foot? Uh, no…
Everyone in my family and other white people I’m close to have been on the receiving end of these little physical insults and similar. The sad truth is, that while there are many blacks who are honest, decent people, there’s also a sizable percentage of blacks whose public behavior worries many of us whites. And it’s too sizable of a percentage for us to ignore.
On an average day, what are my experiences with black people who I encounter? They’re good. But at the same time, there’s still a lot of bad blood between blacks and whites in the United States. I don’t know for sure who’s genuinely friendly and who deeply resents me because I’m white. Whites can’t trust blacks and blacks can’t trust whites, and on it goes.
I’m very, very tired of how many times I’ve heard blacks say how racist we whites are (at this point that’s becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, or it’s already become one). And I’m very tired of all the other negative things blacks sputter about America and race. This is not 1955, and it’s not 1855, except in the minds of many black Americans apparently.
I think a key to solving whatever problems disproportionately affect blacks in the U.S. is looking first at black male-black female issues. How do the two people who created a child get along with each other? That’s a key matter. In this video blog, a person named Yvonne Chase talks about men and women and working toward a relationship and avoiding the negatives that create the friction and separation. I think what she says is a good basic start (the video’s a little over 2 minutes long — and just fyi: Ms. Chase says “Becky” a couple of times between 0:32 and 0:35 in this video — “Becky” is a slang for “white woman”):
Some Numbers: Police and Civilians
“Civilian,” as used in this article, means anyone who is not a member of a police force.
Here are a few pieces of data regarding New York City police in various years:
Incidents in which NYPD officers fired a gun —
In the year (above), and the number of incidents in which a gun was fired (below)
1972 1982 1992 2002 2012
994 375 279 119 105
People shot and killed by NYPD officers —
In the year (above), and the number shot and killed (below)
1972 1982 1992 2002 2012
66 33 24 13 16
There isn’t an official set of data that gives the number of people killed by law enforcement officers in the U.S. as a whole. However, there are some numbers that have been ascertained that give us some idea.
These next figures, for 2011 and 2012, cover many, but not all, of the cases of civilians being killed by police — people who were killed by being shot.
In 2011 – People shot and killed by police officers in U.S. . . 607 (±)
This number’s from a blogger named Jim Fisher, and he determined the number in this way:
“ In 2011, according to data I collected, police officers in the United States shot 1,146 people, killing 607. Between January 1, 2011 and January 1, 2012 I used the Internet to compile a national database of police involved shootings. The term ‘police involved shooting’ pertains to law enforcement officers who, in the line of duty, discharge their guns. When journalists and police administrators use the term, they include the shooting of animals and shots that miss their targets. My case files only include instances in which a person is either killed or wounded by police gunfire. My data also includes off-duty officers who discharged their weapons in law enforcement situations. They don’t include, for example, officers using their firearms to resolve personal disputes. ”
In 2012 – People shot and killed by police officers in U.S. . . 426 (±)
This number is from information passed down the Internet, just fyi…
The total of 426 breaks down as:
Blacks shot and killed by police officers … 137 – 32%
Blacks shot & killed by white police officers . . . 96
Blacks shot & killed by black/Hisp/Asian ofrs … 41
Whites shot and killed by police officers . . . 224 – 53%
Hispanics shot and killed by police officers . . . 51 – 12%
Asians and other non-blacks/non-whites/non- Hispanics shot and killed by police officers . . . . 14 – 3%
In 2012 – FBI statistics: Civilians murdered by civilians
People murdered in the U.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,018
Blacks murdered in the U.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,648
Blacks murdered by other blacks in the U.S. . . . . 2,412
I wasn’t able to find data for weapon used/method of murder broken down by race for 2012. However, overall 60 – 80% of all murders in the U.S. are by shootings. I’ll use a low ball estimate and calculate that the number of blacks shot and killed by other blacks (black civilians) in 2012 was 60% of all blacks killed by other blacks. Then, 60% of 2,412 = 1,447:
Blacks shot and killed by black civilians in U.S. in 2012 . . . 1,447 (+)
The data for people killed by law enforcement officers in 2012 isn’t 100% corroborated, that’s true. However, the numbers are likely within the range. From the table above:
Blacks shot & killed by white police officers in U.S. in 2012 . . 96 (±)
The actual case, then, is that somewhere around 96 blacks were shot and killed by white police officers in America in 2012 while 1,447 or more blacks were shot and killed by other blacks.
A bit above here, a few screen scrolls up, the data shows that 16 people were shot and killed by NYPD officers in 2012. An additional 5 people were killed by New York City police officers by other means that year, 21 in all. 15 of those people were blacks and 6 of them were non-blacks.
Then, 203 blacks were murdered by other blacks in the city of New York in 2012. And in 2012, 31,328 black babies were aborted in New York City.
So, 15 blacks were killed by police officers, 203 blacks were killed by their fellow black citizens, and 31,328 black fetuses were killed by abortions in New York City in 2012. (Data on New York Police Department shootings)
General site for FBI statistics for 2012 and a site with statistics on cause of death from the Center for Disease Control:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6106a1.htm
Myrtle Beach Bike Weeks
There’s been an annual motorcycle rally in or near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for over 70 years. For the past 25 years there have been two bike weeks — one in mid-May (“White Bike Week”) and one around Memorial Day weekend (“Black Bike Week”).
The number of attendees at each has been in the hundreds of thousands in recent years. There have also been a number of assaults and acts of theft and vandalism during Black Bike Week. Rooms and common areas of hotels and city streets have been left with piles of trash during that week. Some black patrons have walked out of restaurants without paying.
The City of Myrtle Beach has put in temporary traffic ordinances for the bike weeks in the past. Some restaurants have closed off portions of their establishments or reduced the services for Black Bike Week. A few restaurants have completely closed for that week, and one hotel had a special guest contract just for Black Bike Week.
The Conway, South Carolina chapter of the NAACP filed lawsuits against several restaurants and that hotel and against the City of Myrtle Beach, claiming these actions were racially discriminatory. The first suit was filed in 2003 and got underway in 2004.
The NAACP chapter has won a few settlements. The hotel agreed to pay $1,200,000 in 2004. One grill-style restaurant agreed to pay $125,000 and another grill-style restaurant (with two locations) agreed to pay $100,000 in 2006. However: The settlements did NOT decree or in any way prove that the businesses had discriminated against anyone. The settlements were simply agreeing that each establishment would pay a certain amount. Settlements have included agreements that an establishment’s hours would be the same during the week Black Bike Week takes place as they are during the other weeks in May and early June. An NAACP lawsuit also got the special bike-weeks-only traffic laws removed.
Even though no discrimination was proven, the NAACP has acted as an overlord and has closely scrutinized Myrtle Beach businesses during that week and has closely logged how even-handedly the police and city officials enforce things.
Still, sometimes the city needs beefed-up enforcement and, if necessary, additional restrictions for that week. Three people were killed during Black Bike Week in 2014. In addition, several people were assaulted during that week and there were many instances of vandalism and theft.
For Black Bike Week 2015, the City of Myrtle Beach put in temporary traffic restrictions (“no turns,” for one) and ordinances regarding personal behavior were readily enforced. Sure, some people claimed the city’s having special restrictions and tightened enforcement was “racist.” Still…. Nobody killed anybody during Black Bike Week 2015. And the number of assaults and the number of other problems were way down compared to 2014.
Back and Forth Racial Comments, Then a Boycott
In December 2011 a black customer went to make a purchase with a debit card at a Korean-American-owned gas station – convenience store in a South Dallas neighborhood. The total amount of the purchase was $5. The owner told the customer there was a minimum purchase of $10 when using a debit card. The African-American customer asked the Korean-American owner to lower the minimum but the owner said he wouldn’t do so. Then the customer told the owner to go back to his country, and the owner told the customer to go back to Africa. The black customer next called the Korean-American owner an Asian racial slur, and the owner called the customer the n-word.
A boycott was launched against the gas station-convenience store mainly because the owner had called the customer the n-word and had told the customer to “go back to Africa.” There’d already been complaints among some residents of the area about price-gouging on the part of the station owner. And there was a second incident in December 2011 involving a dispute between the Korean-American owner and a black customer. That second incident and price-gouging were additional points for having a boycott. A thief of the business had been killed in 2010 and that added issue book-ended the set of reasons.
Leaders and sympathizers of the boycott stood in front of and near the station – convenience store, picketing with signs. One demand was that the owner of the gas station – convenience store close that business and move out of the area. The demand then increased to call for all Korean-Americans who owned businesses in the South Dallas area to close up shop and relocate.
A call for all Korean-American-owned businesses in the area to close up shop……
Pressure to Drop the Charges
Three black children attacked a cat by hurling rocks and a chunk of brick in Paterson, New Jersey on May 7, 2014. A Hispanic teenager intervened and stopped them from further attacking the cat. The teen’s younger brother then came and they attended to the cat. However, the cat had to be euthanized a week later. The children who attacked the cat were charged with the juvenile equivalent of animal cruelty.
Groups of blacks in Paterson pressured to get the charges dropped. The local chapter of the NAACP issued a statement saying the three children were being “railroaded” because of their skin color. (For the record, the children were 6, 10, and 12 years old at the time.)
A vigil was held on June 7 (of 2014) as a memorial for the cat and for the purpose of raising awareness about animal abuse. A couple of hundred blacks, who wanted the charges against the children dropped, also showed up and held a “counter rally” to the vigil. People in the counter rally chanted, with some shouting angrily (one person used a bullhorn) and holding signs, and disrupted the vigil.
On a positive note, the Hispanic teenager who stopped the attack was recognized for being a good citizen and doing the right thing and was given a civic award.
Thought He Heard a Teacher Make a Racist Remark
A black student thought he’d heard a white teacher say something racist —so the black student (a male) punched and beat the white teacher (a middle-aged male) until the teacher was bleeding from the face and head. This occurred on January 29, 2015 at one Forestville High in a heavily-black suburb in Maryland, southeast of our nation’s capital.
School authorities didn’t reveal what was allegedly heard or said. However, from off-the-cuff reports, it appears to be the case that the teacher didn’t say anything racist, and the student misheard things.
What’s just as disturbing as this incident, or even more disturbing really, were comments made to various African-American-oriented sites on the Internet saying the teacher got what he deserved.
At least one black student came to the teacher’s aid after the attack, showing there are always some good people in this world.
A Fireman Who, Well, Doesn’t Fight Fires
There’s a black fireman in the New York Fire Department who works in Company 257 in the southern part of Brooklyn. He wasn’t hired because he ranked the highest on the qualifying exam or for any reason of merit or proven ability.
A lawsuit had been filed on the grounds that the New York FD had discriminated against “minorities” when hiring firefighters. The judge in the case was District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis who ruled that the city’s fire department did discriminate by race when hiring. The judgment was later reversed. However, the case was brought again and the New York FD then agreed to a settlement. After that, the fire department aggressively recruited “minorities” and gave them great preference in hiring. First preference went to specific minority individuals who’d earlier applied to be firemen in New York but were not hired.
With that hiring program in place, a new crop of firefighters were hired on with the New York Fire Department in June 2014, including the subject here, the black fireman who basically doesn’t do his job. As an example from April 2015, a crew of three firemen (supposedly) were carrying a fire hose into a burning building — only there ended up only being two firemen carrying that hose. The black affirmative action hire was supposed to be one of the three, but he skipped out while the other firefighters were going into the building and manning hoses.
For now, New York City and the residents and business owners in the southern Brooklyn community of Canarsie are stuck with this non-working fireman.
Roving Mobs
At the end of the first night of the Wisconsin State Fair on August 4, 2011, groups of black people taunted and attacked dozens of fair-goers. Some of the blacks punched other people, knocked them over, or threw objects at them. A few in the rabble pulled or knocked people off of motorcycles. Other blacks pounded on vehicles slowly exiting the area. One of the people who got knocked off of a motorcycle and ten others were seriously injured.
On a Tuesday afternoon in Philadelphia in April 2013, more than 200 young blacks spilled onto a street in the downtown financial district. None of them physically attacked any other pedestrians or did anything to anyone in vehicles, but some of the “youths” fought each other. When police arrived, the group of blacks held their ground and wouldn’t move out of the street and move along. Some people in the crowd threw bottles at police. It was 30 minutes before police could get the scene fairly contained, and another hour before police were able to get things completely under control.
Mobs created mayhem and violence on the 4th of July in 2015 a little after the end of the All-Star Game in downtown Cincinnati. One set of young blacks threw glass bottles, burning firecrackers, and other objects. Some people in that group committed little acts of vandalism, while some fought each other. Two police officers were injured when police responded to the scene. One officer was assaulted by someone in the mob and the other officer was injured when a glass bottle struck him just below the eye. Then a couple of blocks from there, several of the males in a mob of 50+ young blacks wantonly beat a white man. Many in the rest of the mob stood by, cheered it on, and/or laughed while the man was being beaten.
Those are three of many incidents where groups of blacks, made up of anywhere from 25 to 300 individuals, suddenly begin swarming an area, blocking people’s flow, and committing acts that can be destructive and turn violent. You might not hear much about these events (or maybe you’ve never heard about them) but this activity occurs.
The Final Comments Here
…are on a 3½-minute-long video. This commentary was made after a rally/protest that took place in 2012. What the guy in the video, David M. Carroll, says is a good overall statement of the pointlessness of many rallies/protests/marches, and about how wrongheaded they are when you stand back and look at who’s really killing who.
There’s a little story about the store in this shopping center that you see in the background on the video. The store is, or was, a supermarket. 15 or more years ago, the neighborhood around this shopping center didn’t have a real supermarket. Most of the residents of the area were black, and community leaders begged and begged supermarkets to open a store in their neighborhood. A supermarket finally did locate there, the one you see in the background on this video. A supermarket owned by a black person, by the way.
The guy in the video (David) makes comments a couple of times that many of the people who are rallying there don’t even shop at that store. Well guess what? That supermarket went out of business in May 2014. Not enough people in the community shopped there.