What do Apollo Brown Jr., Christian Glover, and Apollo Brown Jr. all have in common?
They were black children who were struck and killed in separate hit and run accidents in 2014, in inner cities like Miami and New Orleans.
But where are the protests about dangerous drivers on the roads?
That's what I should direct that question to that ostrich, Rev. Al Sharpton, who has made famous to himself and the nation for his rant about cops killing black men, armed or unarmed. Yes, no doubt, Sharpton may have a point - - the Ferguson and Staten Island incidents show why it is unacceptable for cops to kill an unarmed man. But Sharpton and the protesters ignore the real problems which affect black people, black on black crimes. First, before I address the automobile deaths, I should point out some violent crime statistics. In New York City, there were 333 killings in 2013, of which 62.9 percent of the identifiable victims were black. The percent of blacks who were arrested in connection with any of the 333 homicides was 54 percent. That means even if 46 percent of all suspects and 36 percent of all victims were non-black, you will have a statistical 17 percent of black on black killings or approx. 50 such murders. But that is only statistics, the reality over 90 percent of all shooting victims and suspects in NYC are black. The reality is the perception of living in East New York, South Jamaica or Mott Haven is not safe for the majority of working class black families when shootings occur.
Let's go back to the original question about the 3 children killed in hit and run accidents and bring this issue closer to home - - in the 5 boroughs of NYC there were 173 traffic fatalities in 2013 of which 9 of them were classified as homicides and 19 other deaths were hit and run related. To wit, there were 505 people killed in NYC, either by homicide or from a vehicular accident. Where's the outrage over these deaths? When was the last time Sharpton and his cronies visited Queens Blvd, aka the Boulevard of Death? Why is nobody addressing the issues of black on black crime and dangerous driving. You can call me a racist and/or pro-police if you want to (I have friends coming from different racial and ethnic backgrounds) but I would be more afraid of the majority of drivers on the roads than a police officer. And most drivers disobey STOP signs, fail to yield, don't bother using turn signals and worst of all, text while driving. We can empower ourselves to peacefully assemble and protest against cops killing black men but we do nothing when it comes to black citizens committing violent crimes against other blacks. On top of this, most of the same protesters (and non-protesters alike) break traffic laws - - the very same laws to prevent deaths. Why do people attend church services to pray for they lives then turn around and blow past a STOP sign at the next intersection? Then there are the pedestrians who act like their lives are not important when they cross streets while look at their cell phones with their headphones. No wonder that the top 5 counties with the highest insurance premiums in NY State are all 5 counties that comprise NYC.
It's not "Black Lives Matter", it's "All Lives Matter" which should have been the motto. What if a white cop shot and killed an unarmed white? Would Sharpton and the protesters come out in full force or would they remain silent? Would Sharpton mention anything about the execution of two officers, Jian Liu and Rafael Ramos, in Brooklyn if the events at Ferguson and Staten Island never took place? Why nobody is protesting against the proliferation of aggressive unlicensed "gypsy" cabs who hound customers as specific outlying subway stations in the Bronx? Many of these so-called cab drivers are not licensed the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, a good number don't posses valid driver's licenses and their vehicles may be unregistered and uninsured so if the passenger is involved in a vehicle accident he/she may not be able to recover any damages from the unlicensed individual.
Not only that, you might be taking your chances with your life if you ride one of these unlicensed cabs as this unidentified woman found out when she was raped by Jonathan Wallace who posed as a "cab" driver. Again, no protests and outrage against these hustlers. I do know people need to get home late at night when bus service may not be available,, however people should exercise their best judgment in calling for a licensed car service so they can make arrangements in having a cab ride home from a licensed driver. Make sure the license plate on the front and back of the vehicle has T (for NYC) or W (for Westchester County) followed by 5 to 7 digits in NY State plates. This will tell you that it's a licensed cab driver.
When black people protest about cops killing innocent people but ignore aboud more exponential problems with black on black violence and unsafe driving, then the racism , hypocrisy and ignorance will continue. If you want to end racism, then take some advice from Morgan Freeman, a brilliant actor who I remember from the Electric Company days in the 1970s. Mr. Freeman was asked by the late 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace (another brilliant person) in a 2005 interview about how to end racism. Freeman's response was simple and direct - - "stop talking about it...".
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