Write-up... WHAT I THINK...

What I Think……


In this country people are divided into various groups. The three I would like to focus on are the people who “matter”, the people on the fence and the people who don’t matter.

Now society deems people who don’t matter as poor, typically non-Angelo Saxon of varying age groups, minus babies who are generally pitied. The middle ground is people who ride both sides of the fence. They typically have more money and some connections. I say that they are on both sides of the fence because in the matter of our unethical justice system they are, though not as likely, still victims of profiling and wrongful prosecution.

I don’t think anyone can disagree with me when I say the unfair and biased nature of our justice system is geared towards the wealthy. It is a well known fact that, on percentage base, the severity of sentences for poor minorities is astronomically higher than that of their white counterparts and there is an even bigger disparity among affluent whites. This is not new. There are a number of people across the nation who have personally felt the sting of this reality.

Most of us sit in our comfortable chairs in our offices or homes looking at the television saying “what a shame” or “they should learn their lesson,” what many of us never think about is, are these people being sentenced, to outlandish sentences, actually the perpetrator? We sit around and many of us are to apathetic and individualistic to even think that there is the possibility that the statement innocent until PROVEN guilty is a rouse.

In the African American community and the Latino community, we are acutely aware the innocent until proven guilty, for us, actually means guilty and you better pray that your public defender can prove your innocence beyond a reasonable doubt.

All it takes nowadays is for someone to say you are guilty. The police then attain a warrant, arrest you and hold you with out bail. Now, here is where the categories come in if you a person who “matters” this will never be your situation, congratulations you have won the justice system lottery. You get to stay in the comforts of your own home and possibly questioned before the ridiculous statements that are a black fly in the perfection that is your character has the opportunity to tarnish even the smallest portion of it.

Now if you are a person who “doesn’t matter,” they will pick you up so quickly you wont even have an opportunity to blink and once you realize what happen they have conveniently lost the key to your cell and buried your case file so far under the jail you wind up spending a year or more imprisoned before the possibility of you being exonerated for the ridiculous charges occurs.

If you are in the middle or “riding the fence” as I like to call you get the worst of both worlds. Not only will they arrest you so quickly it makes your head spin but then they attack your very character long before they ever check facts to your guilt or innocence. By the time you have made through being processed on your arrest and long before you ever have a bail hearing (which, for those of you who don’t know, that generally happens the next day) the media as well as the police department have turned your image into one that is far more frightening to society than that of Bin Laden or George Bush. (See even I have a sense of humor).

So, forget everything that you had worked towards. Your stellar record and commitment to community activism and improvement, now everyone thinks you are a criminal, locked away for good reason, before you have even had the chance to render a plea. This is worse than being picked up without a mention in the papers and far worse than not being picked at all. Those in the middle lose more than just their freedom in this unjust society but they lose themselves. All that they have accomplished is lost to false accusations and trumped up charges because our justice system is to lazy to find real criminals. It is much easier for them to pick up randoms, “those who don’t matter” and those on the fence because who fights for their rights?

We are all so apathetic and individualistic, reminding ourselves that one voice is meaningless and “little ole me can’t enforce change,” but the constitution was written that the people, I repeat, the people police the government.
This is our Bill of Rights

Bill of Rights

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.


We have to stand up and make our voices heard these are our rights! Most of the people reading this fall into the second two categories. This could be you. Your daughter, your son, your husband, sister, mother, father, brother, neighbor, whomever. The point is it could be your life. Everything you work towards in your daily grind taken in an instant. What would do? We have slowly but surely released the rights we fought so hard to attain over the past 400 years. We have forgotten that we are people who matter when we band together, why? Because we matter to each other. We account for each other and that allows us to protect our communities.

Where did the African American community go. How can we be so caught up in ourselves that we don’t even realize that we are the ones destroying our futures and our chances for survival. By thinking only of ourselves we allow society to deem people as “not mattering.” The people most of society would like to forget are OUR people. Maybe they have not fully assimilated into acceptable American etiquette standards but they are my people, we are your people. And if you forget them you are saying that you don’t matter. When that is the case it is only a matter of time before they come for you. Now you can live in fear constantly looking over your shoulder, holding on for dear life to the position you so crave, that puts you in this apathetic, materialist, individualist situation in the first place.

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