Miriam, yes Riverdale is in the Northwest corner of the Bronx just by the
Yonkers border. Even today it is almost entirely white and jewish. It is
actually still patrolled by its own armed security that work in concert with
the NY PD. Lots of NYC politicians have homes there so that they technically
can maintain a NYC address. Let me tell you if you are not white and Jewish you
better not get caught driving through there.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2020 9:06 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Police Told Right-Wing Kenosha Killer "We
Appreciate You" Just Before Deadly Shootings
Your description of the change in population in the Bronx sounds like what
happened in Westbury. When we moved to the racially integrated half of the
village in 1976, the area was pretty much half African American and half white
and the public schools were predominantly black because most of the white
parents had withdrawn their children. When I sold my house in 2006, a large
percentage of the homes in the area where I lived were owned by Hispanic
families. Hispanic people purchased my house. And a large percentage of the
students in the public schools was also Hispanic. But there is a section in the
northern Bronx that has stayed predominantly white, I think. I can't remember
its name. I think that The Jewish Home for the Aged is located there. It isn't
actually what it sounds like. It's a complex containing a nursing home,
facilitated living, and housing for the elderly. Ah, the name just came to me.
It's Riverdale.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Thursday,
August 27, 2020 6:37 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Police Told Right-Wing Kenosha Killer "We
Appreciate You" Just Before Deadly Shootings
Miriam, while you can read anything you want to read or listen to any podcast
you want to listen to, until you have lived it you just ain't lived it. It
doesn't surprise me that the media wants you to believe that blacks are
victimized by cops in higher numbers than Hispanics. The media in all its forms
(left, right, or indifferent) are there to protect the financial status quo.
Can you imagine if the media really reported how many Hispanics are killed in
NYC by cops each year? That would cause an almost instantaneous response from
the city's largest growing population segment that could cripple the economy
overnight. Blacks just don't have the population numbers. The signs on the
buildings and even the street signs in the neighborhood I lived in were in
Spanish, not creole. There really aren't a large population of blacks compared
to Hispanics in the Bronx. As I said previously, I think we are talking about
different eras when it comes to the NYC Police. Queens and Brooklyn in the '50s
and '60s is a very different experience than the Bronx in the "70s and '80s.
During the time I lived there I saw very few white cops. Most of the few white
cops that were there were all older veterans. One thing that was true then and
is still from what I have been told from friends I still have there is that
cops who get caught doing really bad stuff like rape or murder are transferred
to the Bronx to sweep the issue under the table. The Bronx is by far the
poorest borough.
Most of the 2.1 million folks live at or below the poverty level. It is the
borough that almost has no media attention and the people have no voice now
that there is no more graffiti on the subway cars. If it weren't for the
Yankees most folks would never even know the Bronx exists. When the really bad
cops get transferred to precincts in the Bronx, they view that as some sort of
punishment and lash out by punishing the residents of the Bronx right back,
usually by shaking them down for money. When people can't pay, the violence
starts. It doesn't matter how light or dark your skin is, if you are poor in
the Bronx your chance of survival is low. The media's narrative that it a white
versus black thing is a clever means for the corporate elites to divide and
conquer. I know what you mean by joining the mob (not mafia) as a way out. My
mother never wanted that for me. In 1980 I witnessed the cops kill my 85 year
old unarmed grandfather because my mother didn't have any money to pay them,
what we used to call the "dropsies" which is kiddie-slang for a payment to the
cops in poor neighborhoods. I knew that they could kill my mother next if we
didn't have more money for them. I used to go to school crying every day
because I knew I could come home and find her dead or maybe just gone. A few
years later I learned to steal cars from some of my neighbors and I gave the
money to my mother for the cops. She thought I was cleaning bathrooms in gas
stations, which of course, would not have paid enough to keep her alive. I used
to sell the cars to a chop shop at the end of Zerega Avenue just past the old
sanitation department depo.
That is the same sanitation department depot where every other Friday (pay
day) my mother used to hustle the garbage men to earn a few more bucks since
her teacher pay couldn't keep up with '70s era inflation and 5 mouths to feed.
The cruel irony is that the stolen car gig taught me enough technology skills
to advance high into the upper levels of the auto repair industry and a way out
that few folks would have. For both my mother and her parents, who lost
everything in the depression, they knew there was no means for them out of the
South Bronx in their lifetimes. However, they all found it in death as they are
all buried in St. Mary's cemetery in Flushing Queens and not in the Bronx. Of
course, they fared better than my younger sister, who disappeared when I was 5
or my paternal grandfather who fell into a cement vat where he worked in Jersey
and is probably buried under some parking lot or building foundation somewhere.
None of this is easy to write about these days.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2020 2:12 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Police Told Right-Wing Kenosha Killer "We
Appreciate You" Just Before Deadly Shootings
Interesting. The news stories about New York City and cops and who gets stopped
and frisked and who gets killed, are rather different from what you describe.
From my work in adoptions, (I had a number of police officers and retired
police officers as clients), and my personal experiences, most of the cops in
the city are white, and they come from Long Island and Staten Island. The
husband of the woman who took me shopping in her car and did errands for me for
more than 20 years, was a NYC cop. He was Irish American and came from Nassau
County. My son-in-law's father was a NYC detective who lived in Levittown. He
was German American. These men and all their friends and associates were white,
not black or Latino or Chinese, although I know that there certainly are black,
Latino, and Asian NYC cops.
My husband was Italian American. He was blind from about 3 years of age and he
was 17 years older than I. He attended a residential school for the blind, then
Brooklyn College, and later, graduate school in Michigan. He told me that if he
hadn't been blind, he would have been a member of the Mafia because that was
the path to success for Italian kids when he was growing up. His family was
Sicilian. He had very fair skin.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2020 1:46 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Police Told Right-Wing Kenosha Killer "We
Appreciate You" Just Before Deadly Shootings
Miriam, the cops don't know I am white. I grew up in a neighborhood that is
greater than 90 percent Hispanic and I speak with an obvious heavy Hispanic
accent and even occasionally throw in a word or two is Spanish without knowing
it. My skin is very dark. If you were to encounter me without knowing me you
would either think Puerto Rican or Dominican, and yes cops in NYC kill
Hispanics too. Even after they would shoot me they would pull my wallet out and
see my last name is "Ventura" which is an Hispanic name. Do you think they
would do a DNA test before they shoot me? So I ask you how do you think the
cops would know that I was Italian? What you don't know that many times during
my 26 years of living in the Bronx I have been at gunpoint and when questioned
by cops I started to reply in English. That usually infuriated them and several
times they cut me off and told me not to speak "their" language. From the '80s
on there are really very few Irish or Italian cops In NYC. The force is very
representative of the cultural makeup of NYC; meaning mostly Hispanic with some
black, Asian and white members.
This indicates that a diverse police force doesn't cure the inherent racism in
policing, because no matter what race, color or creed you are before you join
the force as soon as you do your race now becomes not white nor black, but
blue; hence the racist mantra of "blue lives matter". As far as your question
about cops only killing black folks without provocation; was that made in jest?
If so I don't think it was funny. The majority of unarmed folks killed by
police are not black in NYC. The folks are killed in the same makeup as the
population with Hispanics being the largest group by far.
When I was growing up in the South Bronx neighborhood of Castle Hill, on my
block only myself and Ritchie Castro were the only two male kids to make it out
alive. Both of us knew from a very early age that when a cop car was on the
block we got face down on the pavement, spread eagle, and didn't even flinch.
We survived; however other kids who ran away or opened their mouths weren't so
lucky. Probably the closest call I had was when once I was pulling my cab down
the block after my sift. I pulled my cab into the alley next to the building we
lived. I didn't see the two plain clothes cops wo were back there. That was
unusual for me, I was usually pretty good at knowing when they are coming. One
of the two cops took two shots at my cab, one missed entirely and the other
went through the windshield and missed my head by an inch or so. You speak
about cops shooting folks while being "unprovoked" so in that circumstance were
they provoked or not? The first rule of dealing with cops in NYC is that you
*never* look at a cop or make eye contact. So I looked at the cop; was he
provoked? Let me ask you:
How many times have the NYC shot your relatives to death?
How many times have you had a gun up against your head?
How many times have you been face down on "their" pavement?
How many times has one of their bullets narrowly missed your head?
These are all serious questions and I am very interested in hearing your
answers..
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2020 12:51 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Police Told Right-Wing Kenosha Killer "We
Appreciate You" Just Before Deadly Shootings
Frank,
But you are white. You're of Italian extraction, right? So why would they
police shoot you? A lot of police officers, especially here in New York, in the
city, are also of Italian extraction. It's only black people whom they shoot
without provocation, isn't it?
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2020 6:09 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Police Told Right-Wing Kenosha Killer "We
Appreciate You" Just Before Deadly Shootings
Well lets see if I walked in front of cops carrying a gun I don't think they
would shake my hand. I would die of a led overdose. This is going to sound
paranoid but for a long time I have felt if Trump doesn't win this November's
election he will call upon his right-wing militia buddies to use force to keep
him in office.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2020 6:59 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Police Told Right-Wing Kenosha Killer "We Appreciate
You" Just Before Deadly Shootings
Police Told Right-Wing Kenosha Killer "We Appreciate You" Just Before Deadly
Shootings Coordination between police and far-right groups is far from abnormal
but as yesterday's killings show, it is becoming much more dangerous.
by Alan Macleod
August 26th, 2020
By Alan Macleod
Three people were shot and two died last night in Keshona, Wis, as right-wing
militias hit the streets, shooting demonstrators protesting the police shooting
of Jacob Blake on Sunday. After two nights of angry demonstrations, Wisconsin
Governor Tony Evers, who originally described the event as a "merciless" act of
police cruelty, called in the National Guard and declared a state of emergency.
However, along with the National Guard came large numbers of right-wing militia
groups, existing relatively harmoniously with law enforcement. Far-right news
organizations and websites had earlier signal boosted the Kenosha Guard
militia's call for reinforcements to come to "protect lives and property."
Last night's killings were filmed and immediately posted on social media. In
one video, protesters fight with an armed militiaman, who fires at three people
at point blank range, killing two. He then hurries from the scene, "repeating
"I just killed someone," retreating back towards police lines, still carrying
his rifle. Even as the crowd shout to the police that the killer is coming
towards them, they ignore him, instead instructing the protesters to get out of
the way.
The shooter has been widely identified as a 17-year-old boy. From his public
Facebook page, it is clear that he idolizes the police, his profile picture
being a "Blue Lives Matter" logo with him in the center, holding a rifle.
Virtually every post he made is about either the police or guns. As of
Wednesday morning, he is still at large. Footage taken earlier in the night
shows the teenager bragging that he and his crew "don't have non-lethal"
ammunition with them.
Another video shows them fraternizing with heavily militarized police, who
offer them water and tell him "we appreciate you guys, we really do,"
evidence which might explain why he was neither shot nor even arrested after
killing two people right in front of dozens of law enforcement officers.
Speaking about the shooting, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Wisconsin,
Mandela Barnes said that "we can't even act surprised that this happened."
Barnes said that it had become normal to see heavily armed militia in public,
adding,
In many instances, these people have been led on by various conspiracy theories
that have ruminated on the internet, and these people are demanding to have
their country back. And to assume that nothing bad is going to happen, to
assume that these people are up to - or, have the most fine intentions, is
completely ridiculous."
Not an isolated incident
Coordination between police and far-right groups is far from abnormal.
During the George Floyd protests, Oregon police associated with groups such as
the Proud Boys, video showing one officer asking the group to hide in a
building because they were about to start gassing protesters, but to do it
"discreetly," as they did not want to be seen as "playing favorites."
Another Oregon officer was caught on camera flashing the "White Power" hand
gesture at right-wing counter demonstrators.
In June, a Seattle man drove his car at high speed into anti-racist protesters,
opening fire at the crowd. He then calmly leaves his vehicle and walks over to
police lines, where they shield him, turning their backs on the armed killer to
face the crowd. That they appeared totally unconcerned at this is a sign of how
confident they were that they were in no danger. As activist news outlet It's
Going Down noted, "Such a relationship allows the police to use far-right
groups as an auxiliary force against social movements."
A study published last year by Injustice Watch found that 20 percent of police
officers nationwide have shared egregiously racist material or content
glorifying police violence against protesters on their public Facebook
accounts. This figure rises to 40 percent of retired cops. Rarely is any action
taken against officers sharing this content. On the other hand, a Massachusetts
officer was recently fired for sharing a pro-Black Lives Matter social media
post.
The shooting of Jacob Blake
The events of last night were sparked by an incident on Sunday, where an
unarmed black man, Jacob Blake, was shot from point blank range in the back at
least seven times by police officers, the shooting occurring in front of his
friends and children. Miraculously, Blake survived but is now paralyzed after
one bullet severed his spinal column. Blake's father, also called Jacob, wept
as he described the incident as "senseless attempted murder,"
and said he had no faith that the police officers involved would be held to
justice. The suspects are currently on administrative leave, a status which
amounts to a paid vacation.
The shooting was denounced by a great number of human and civil rights groups.
The American Civil Liberties Union, for instance, described it as a "disgusting
act of police brutality." "With each of the seven shots fired, police made
their intent clear-they believed they had the right to kill an unarmed Black
man for the crime of walking away from them," said Jeffery Robinson, director
of the ACLU's Trone Center for Justice and Equality.
Seeing as the teenage militiaman has not even been apprehended, it appears
far-right groups might also be able to kill with impunity in Trump's America.
Feature photo | Police in riot gear clear a park during clashes with