Bill O'Reilly, sitting "reared back" as the elders used to say, in his FOX News television studio, arrogantly, ignorantly, and without hesitation, articulated his idiotic view of the Ferguson, Missouri, protests. O'Reilly attempted to negate the legitimacy of any outrage against Michael Brown's murder by pulling out his smoking gun - the "Black on Black" murder rate. You've heard it several times already. "Why are they complaining about a police killing when they kill themselves at a much higher rate! No one's making an issue of that?" O'Reilly's ill-logic (along with everyone else who share's this stupid perspective), and the arrogant way in which he articulates his ignorance, brought to mind the words of Malcolm X after his Hajj to the Middle East. Malcolm, speaking to reporters, explained the difference between the "White man in America and the White man in Islamic countries." He went on to express that when White men in the U.S. say hello they are "really saying, I'm a White man. I hold higher value than you and I hold power over you." O'Reilly's arrogance was exactly what Malcolm was referencing, but we actually couldn't care less about what O'Reilly and anyone of his mindless minions believe. Our concern is for the African masses who are impacted by these poison anti-African theories and sentiments. We know that we are influenced because you can hear any number of us repeating this tired analysis everywhere we exist. So, our purpose for writing this piece is to provide African people, and anyone interested in justice around police terrorism and state repression, a scientifically based narrative and analysis to confront the racist and ill-informed analysis of O'Reilly, the people you work with, live near, and hear spewing ignorance in coffee shops, public transportation and events, and supermarkets.
In case people don't know it, the Department of Justice - the FEDS - produce statistics on murder every year and they have done so for decades. We are no friends of the DOJ, but this fact further lends credibility to us using their statistics. In their 2013 annual report on murder in the U.S., they report that 84% of White people murdered in 2013 were murdered by other White people. The report indicates that 91% of Africans murdered in 2013 were killed by Africans. This trend carries through all ethnic groups where the overwhelming majority of people killed of any socially constructed race are murdered by people who look like them. Sociologists have long ago explained this phenomenon by pointing out that social groups tend to aggregate with people from their same background. What this means is African people, like every other people, tend to live around other African people. This is especially underlined if you throw in systematic housing discrimination, redlining, etc. The trend follows for who people socialize with , and yes - have conflict that leads to a violent end with. It's overwhelmingly people the same as you who will kill you. So, for O'Reilly and others to point to African on African murder rates as an excuse designed to negate police terrorism against the African community is stupidity. Especially as previously indicated, we factor in racism - the institutionalized system of discrimination against African people - that creates the poverty trap that Malcolm X spoke so eloquently about that more than explains the negligible difference between the percentages of Africans who kill each other compared to Whites who do the same. The point is if eight out of ten white people are killed by other whites, it's insane to suggest and/or infer that because Africans kill each other nine out of ten times that something is culturally or biologically wrong with African people without applying the same ill-logic to White people. On top of this, the suggestion that no one is concerned about African on African murder is a statement that only a person who is completely ignorant about African people can make. In fact, there is far more evidence that there are many forces at work trying to channel African energies in positive directions in African communities around the world than there are in White communities. There are a number of African organizations from the Universal Negro Improvement Association in the 1920s to the Nation of Islam today that regularly patrol African communities encouraging people to respect one another. On the flip side, so-called progressive White people seem determined to consistently run down to places like Ferguson to participate in our struggles while staunchly refusing to organize in White communities. Pick any African community from Los Angeles, California, U.S., to Accra, Ghana, to London, England, and you will see organizations like the All African People's Revolutionary Party, and others, organizing to change the reality of African people. I myself remember being a youth in inner city San Francisco. I always had older people prodding and encouraging me to stop being destructive and take responsibility for my people's plight. So, if one understands this situation on the ground, the suggestion that there is a lack of attention on African self-destruction is very dishonest, ignorant, or both.
Going forward, our close comrades from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement gave us a sterling and meticulously researched report that illustrates that racist police kill Africans at such a consistent pace that they have done so every 28 seconds for the last seven years...THE LAST SEVEN YEARS! This evidence is so clear and overwhelming that people like O'Reilly who keep repeating the lies have to know better. He's stupid, but not that stupid. This is a part of a carefully coordinated campaign to keep the African masses, and everyone else, confused so that no one will have sympathy on the actions of racist police and therefore won't engage in any action to stop them. Or better yet, won't connect police terrorism to the real culprit - the capitalist system that police are sworn to protect. If you understand that last statement, then you will know why it's important to refer to uprisings like Ferguson as slave rebellions and not riots.
There is nothing inherently wrong with African people. The only real problem we have is the international capitalist/imperialist network. Our task is to organize our people wherever we are through constant, mass, political education that is designed to make us commit to relentless revolutionary organization. This relentless organization will include - yes - organized revolutionary violence that will wipe out those who would think they can kill us in cold blood without justice. And, before you respond by saying "the police have all the guns" we beg and implore you to gain a comprehensive understanding of revolutionary violence before you continue the ignorance marathon. Most Africans know the police are put there to oppress us. So, these ideas about "community policing, hiring more Black police, etc." are simply distractions designed to keep our focus away from the real and only solution - revolutionary organization. So, the next time some idiot attempts to tell you our problem is us, please tell them to stop being parrots for the capitalist system. Tell them that the largest problem we have is our unwillingness to accept the necessity for us to take responsibility for our reality by organizing for a better one.
In case people don't know it, the Department of Justice - the FEDS - produce statistics on murder every year and they have done so for decades. We are no friends of the DOJ, but this fact further lends credibility to us using their statistics. In their 2013 annual report on murder in the U.S., they report that 84% of White people murdered in 2013 were murdered by other White people. The report indicates that 91% of Africans murdered in 2013 were killed by Africans. This trend carries through all ethnic groups where the overwhelming majority of people killed of any socially constructed race are murdered by people who look like them. Sociologists have long ago explained this phenomenon by pointing out that social groups tend to aggregate with people from their same background. What this means is African people, like every other people, tend to live around other African people. This is especially underlined if you throw in systematic housing discrimination, redlining, etc. The trend follows for who people socialize with , and yes - have conflict that leads to a violent end with. It's overwhelmingly people the same as you who will kill you. So, for O'Reilly and others to point to African on African murder rates as an excuse designed to negate police terrorism against the African community is stupidity. Especially as previously indicated, we factor in racism - the institutionalized system of discrimination against African people - that creates the poverty trap that Malcolm X spoke so eloquently about that more than explains the negligible difference between the percentages of Africans who kill each other compared to Whites who do the same. The point is if eight out of ten white people are killed by other whites, it's insane to suggest and/or infer that because Africans kill each other nine out of ten times that something is culturally or biologically wrong with African people without applying the same ill-logic to White people. On top of this, the suggestion that no one is concerned about African on African murder is a statement that only a person who is completely ignorant about African people can make. In fact, there is far more evidence that there are many forces at work trying to channel African energies in positive directions in African communities around the world than there are in White communities. There are a number of African organizations from the Universal Negro Improvement Association in the 1920s to the Nation of Islam today that regularly patrol African communities encouraging people to respect one another. On the flip side, so-called progressive White people seem determined to consistently run down to places like Ferguson to participate in our struggles while staunchly refusing to organize in White communities. Pick any African community from Los Angeles, California, U.S., to Accra, Ghana, to London, England, and you will see organizations like the All African People's Revolutionary Party, and others, organizing to change the reality of African people. I myself remember being a youth in inner city San Francisco. I always had older people prodding and encouraging me to stop being destructive and take responsibility for my people's plight. So, if one understands this situation on the ground, the suggestion that there is a lack of attention on African self-destruction is very dishonest, ignorant, or both.
Going forward, our close comrades from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement gave us a sterling and meticulously researched report that illustrates that racist police kill Africans at such a consistent pace that they have done so every 28 seconds for the last seven years...THE LAST SEVEN YEARS! This evidence is so clear and overwhelming that people like O'Reilly who keep repeating the lies have to know better. He's stupid, but not that stupid. This is a part of a carefully coordinated campaign to keep the African masses, and everyone else, confused so that no one will have sympathy on the actions of racist police and therefore won't engage in any action to stop them. Or better yet, won't connect police terrorism to the real culprit - the capitalist system that police are sworn to protect. If you understand that last statement, then you will know why it's important to refer to uprisings like Ferguson as slave rebellions and not riots.
There is nothing inherently wrong with African people. The only real problem we have is the international capitalist/imperialist network. Our task is to organize our people wherever we are through constant, mass, political education that is designed to make us commit to relentless revolutionary organization. This relentless organization will include - yes - organized revolutionary violence that will wipe out those who would think they can kill us in cold blood without justice. And, before you respond by saying "the police have all the guns" we beg and implore you to gain a comprehensive understanding of revolutionary violence before you continue the ignorance marathon. Most Africans know the police are put there to oppress us. So, these ideas about "community policing, hiring more Black police, etc." are simply distractions designed to keep our focus away from the real and only solution - revolutionary organization. So, the next time some idiot attempts to tell you our problem is us, please tell them to stop being parrots for the capitalist system. Tell them that the largest problem we have is our unwillingness to accept the necessity for us to take responsibility for our reality by organizing for a better one.
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