Thoughts on Eric Garner

This weekend Eric Garner, an unarmed  Black man was killed by police officers using an illegal choke hold. And the response from the Black community was the same since, Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Patrick Dorismond and Amadou Diallio and countless other brothers who were killed by the police: Call up Reverend Al Sharpton the pimp pastors of their communities and go march and protest.

And while the activists and Pimp pastors make the evening news and all the political TV shows making their glib speeches and soundbites, the Black masses go back home to continue being oppressed by the same racist and White Supremacist political polices.

Unfortunately, in the aftermath of all the protesting, rallying by Black people, we get the usual result: Officers get indicted, but a jury always acquits the police officers. And after the verdict, Black people get outraged for a moment and then go back to doing the usual amount of nothing they did before.

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the exact same thing and expecting a different result. And protesting, marching and rallying hasn’t worked in over 40 years to stop police brutality in the Black communities across this country.

It’s insane to continue doing the same things and expecting change. But this is how Black folks have been conditioned to think since the Civil Rights movement.

I believe it’s time for Black people to move on from that era. The 21^st Century requires a different strategy to ensure further social change in the Black community. 

Black folks need to understand when something doesn’t work, then it’s time to try something else. Black folks been marching and protesting police brutality for over 40 years. And for all the marching, protesting and rallying, all Black folks got were sore throats and tired feet. Not a single cop has ever been convicted using this approach.

Black folks need to understand America is a business. It’s a consumer based economy. And two-thirds of the money in the United States is spent on consumer goods and services. The only way to get the attention of White and nonblack businesspeople in those businesses is to show them the power of Black dollars. It’s time to show big business in America where $3.3 tillion dollars of their profits come from and who 14 million of their consumers are.

White and nonblack People treat Black people badly because Black people don’t value themselves. They take Black people for granted because they know how easily distracted and how noncommittal Black folks are when it comes to matters of politics. Black folks will get outraged for a day, but won’t dedicate themselves to taking serious ACTION to rectify a problem tomorrow.

Unlike the Civil Rights generation, today’s Black people don’t have the discipline or resolve to boycott American businesses across this country to make a political statement about police brutality. To say to businesses across the country “I don’t feel safe due to police brutality and racial profiling. And if it’s not safe for me to go out, then it’s not safe for me to shop. And if it’s not safe for me to go out, then I don’t feel safe enough to participate in the American Economy. And until policies regarding Police brutality are changed, and these officers are terminated, we will not go shopping, or participate in the nonblack parts of the American economy.”

That kind of statement would put people all over the world on notice. Especially if Black folks backed it up with serious action. It would lead to CEOs putting pressure on the Police departments all across this country. When they saw where their money was coming from, heads would roll because their flow of $3.3. Trillion dollars in cash and credit would be threatened.

Most Black people don’t understand the economic paradigm in America’s consumer based economy. Businesses sell goods and services that get taxed. Tax dollars pay for police officer salaries. Businesses need police officers to protect their business and pay their taxes. And if businesses can’t get money from customers for profits and to pay the municipalities taxes, the entire paradigm fails.

Unfortunately, most Black folk don’t think this deeply or critically. When the new Air Jordans come out for Back-to-school, Most of the Black folks will forget about this latest Black man killed by the police and go back to camping outside sneaker stores at 2AM to get them. Some will even say forget that n*gger.

Because social currency is more valuable to Black people than their own human rights.

Economic power is what gets a people political power. Businesses follow the money. And when they see where their money comes from, Businesses put pressure on politicians. And that’s how policy is changed and how laws are enforced. Back during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, White businesspeople who were hurting from the economic upheaval from Black folks NOT riding the bus that they forced the politicians they paid to concede and change their racist policies regarding where Black folks rode on the bus.

Back then a message was sent that was heard loud and clear by White businesspeople. You can hate the Negro, but you can’t force him or her to spend their money. For all their court orders back then, it no one could force anyone to ride a bus in a country where people had freedom to do whatever they wanted with their money. 

And Black folks also need to research what happened during the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s. When Americans saw the total disruption of their economy due to them not being able to get gas for their cars, America didn’t try to bully OPEC again.

Moreover, Black folks need to take a look at the kid gloves America handles China with. China controls two-thirds of all the factories where American goods are produced. The Chinese hold most of the debt in the United States. There’s a reason why China has “most favored nation trade status” with America No businessman in America wants to screw up the flow of money.

American business follows the money. And I believe it’s a time Black people sent another message to American businesses regarding the Black dollar. If Black people can’t have something as valuable as human rights then nonblack businesses in America shouldn’t have the right to a Black dollar.

But Black folks are too SCARED to send that message. Many of the pastors and activists depend on racism and White Supremacy for their mealticket. So they play the obsolete march n’ protest’ shuck n’ jive blame n’ shame game in the hopes of getting some crumbs from the table instead of fighting for a seat there. And by their actions theyMake a pitiful statement about how codependent and dysfunctional Blacks and Whites are on each other in America.

It’s sad to see yet another Black man killed by the hands of police. But the only way to get serious change is for Black people to change their approach to social justice. Economic power is the only way to get the political power that leads to social change. And until Black folks come to understand the concept of Group Economics, no one on earth will value Black life in America.

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