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The Greater Conversation

We need to start having a greater conversation. A greater conversation looks at a particular problem and solves that problem, from where the problem originates. Still don’t get it? Let me explain. A young black man named Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, MO. This sparked a conversation.

The conversation was mostly about whether or not police should have the power to make extreme decisions. While that is a topic of conversation that needs to be discussed, it’s not the greater conversation. The greater conversation that should be held is “Why do we only have one option, or entity to call when it comes to handling situations”? What I’m saying is that no matter what, you name the situation, the police are the only people that you can call to take care of your problems.

Having problems with your wife? You call a lawyer, and they tell you to call the police first. Having issues with your children running away? You have to file a missing person’s report, with the police. You see, no matter what, the police are the first and only option you have when dealing with any kind of situation. Who else can you call when your neighbor is building a new shed on your property? Your HOA? Unless you live in an HOA, you have to call the police. Even when you do live in an HOA, the odds are that the shed would be built before the HOA handled your situation. Do you see why we need to start having a greater conversation?

Playing my own devil’s advocate

The problem with what I’m purposing is simple to understand as well. Without the police, we would be back in the wild west. So it’s not a simple problem to solve. Also, our laws were struck down when cities were much smaller. Less than 250,000 residents. Maybe even smaller. Hell, most cities were not around when the majority of laws went into place. So the idea’s of having a single unit (entity) called “The Police Department” made sense in the 1700’s and 1800’s. In today’s society, I think we need something better. What exactly? I have no idea. Note: The police have been around longer than the 1700’s. I’m referring to the police as we know them to be, in The United States of America founded in 1776.

Do you remember the citizens arrest?

We used to have this thing called a Citizens arrest. Say someone is breaking into a house and the neighbor is witnessing the act in real time. The neighbor could run over, grab the suspect and hold them down until the police arrived. I believe that you still can arrest someone as a citizen. However, you wouldn’t dream of performing a citizen’s arrest today. Why? There is so much fear that goes along with it. Not fear in the sense that there is a degree of danger to making a citizen’s arrest. It’s a fear of being sued, by the person that a citizen is arresting, for accessive battery or racial profiling and discrimination. Now does it makes sense why the police are the first and only entity you call when a problem comes up? The police are the only people that have the authority to arrest people and use some force with it.

Greater Conversation about quick decisions

Remember when you were little and you had a problem with a bully? Maybe you were the bully. Whoever was being bullied would say “I’m telling the teacher”. That’s because we were told the teacher is the person who handles problems inside the classroom. If they can’t handle it, you would be moved up the chain to the assistant principle. As adults, there are not teachers to call. The police become the teachers. There are only so many police officers in each city. Here comes the shocking news.

According to a Google Search, New York City has 34,000 police officers. According to a Google Search, there are 8.46 million residents in New York City. If 1% of New York City’s population called the police every day, that would total to 84,600 calls. If every police officer is on duty, which is never the case, each officer would respond to 2 calls. Usually, the police will ride with a partner. So now that is two cops per car answering 4 calls a day. That’s not a bad number when you think about it. Here’s the scary part. More than 1% of the population calls the New York City police department every single day. Way fucking more. Let’s just assume it’s 5%. That’s 423,000 calls. Divided by 34,000 police officers equals 24.88 calls per car containing two police officers. Do you get why there needs to be a greater conversation yet? I do.

The police like to tell you that you’re safe. They will protect you. That’s not the case, however. Let’s say that you are the 4 call in line for one of the cars with two police officers. Let’s say that the first three in front of you consist of a murder, domestic battery, and an armed robbery. It’s going to be a long while before you see the police. Yes, I know that other cars can be assigned to a call. But think about this. In the early 1950’s, murder was not a big concern for the police. It still happened, but it was not what the majority of the calls coming in were about. Today, in Las Vegas alone, there have been 3 “alleged” murders. It’s not even fucking noon yet. You see where I’m going with this? You see why there needs to be a greater conversation? I’m not the guy to solve this problem. I’m just saying that there is a problem and our country needs to solve the actual problem that is occurring. There is simply not enough money to hire more officers to match the rate in which crime is rising. Crime organizations realize this and it’s a 70% chance that you’re going to get away with whatever crime you are planning to commit. Again, that’s just me playing devil’s advocate to get you thinking about the dangers of a greater conversation. It’s important to realize.

We bring it on ourselves

When I say we, I mean the citizens of The United States of America. Every four years, we get to elect a President. We could have elected the President who fought against crime and poverty. Instead, everyone decided that they would vote for a Black Man so they wouldn’t be considered a racist. Did he have the best idea’s on how to handle the countries problems? No one can know for sure.

We could elect the local officials that would improve our communities. Instead, we don’t pay attention and we end up voting for the person who’s name we recognize. We bring it on ourselves.

We also decided that the police will be the people that we call when there is a problem. That decision was made a long, long, long time ago. In a galaxy far, far away. Since that’s the law in place, no one fights it. It’s going to take a very serious action in order to change that law. Young, unarmed indivuals are being killed by the thousands. The law has yet to be changed. Imagine what needs to happen in order for congress to look at this problem and decide a new course of action. That’s scary to think about.

In conclusion

This is not the only problem that needs to have a greater conversation. Global warming, clean drinking water, and jobs in America come to mind first. All I’m saying is that we’re being told that our problems are being worked on. The fact is, our problems are not even being addressed. It is a problem in our country when young people are killed. But the greater conversation is that we only have one entity to call when problems occur. What could we do to solve this? Let’s have a greater conversation. Let’s start today.


Fact’s & Sources

Michael Brown: NY Times.
New York City Population – Google Search.
New York City Police Force Total – Google Search.

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