Hip Hop Patriot Bill Passes

Looks like the House and Senate have passed the Hip Hop Patriot Act and sent it to Gov. Easley to be signed into law.

I'm not really surprised.

Never under estimate the power of paranoid politicians who prey on the fears of the public during an election year nor the poverty pimps and Hip Hop Hustlers who are lining up to get their grubby hands on some of that 10 million dollars in "prevention money" in order to get new state of the art expresso machines put in their offices.

What is disturbing is the lack of media coverage of opposing voices. If you remember at the beginning of the Iraq War, the left complained about those that were opposed to the "War on Terror" were silenced by media outlets such as Fox News.

With the "War on Gangs" we see the same suppression of opposing ideologies. I guess the new rule of thumb for journalism is why confuse the people with facts ?

Why no discussion of things like constitutional violations and racial profiling? Why not poll the people in the communities most affected as to whether their child's name might be on some mysterious "Gang net" without their knowledge.

I wonder how much hush grant money it took to make the local child advocacy and anti prison groups to look the other way while this bill was being pushed.

For many ordinary citizens, the impact of this act will not hit home until their child is accused of being a gang member because of his style of clothing.

Beware the dawn of the Police State.

Yes, we must fight against death and destruction in the community but to quote the late great Black Panther leader Fred Hampton Sr. who was murdered courtesy of COINTELPRO in 1969.

"Nothing is more important than stopping fascism because fascism will to stop us all."

Meanwhile...While Black Folks BBQ

According to a side bar in the Charlotte Observer today (6/25) the NC General Assembly will vote on the "Hip Hop Patriot Act" (OK , the Street Gang Suppression Act) as early as next week.

http://www.charlotte.com/breaking_news/story/684889.html

My thought is that they will probably pass it through while most folks are at the cook out chillin' with the homies for the 4th of July...

Remember, as they say, "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance."

AND THAT INCLUDES HOLIDAYS!!!!

The 2003 Street Gang Terrorism Act

Below is a link to the NC Street Gang Terrorism Act that they tried to pass in 2003.

http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2003/Bills/House/HTML/H732v2.html

As you can see, the politicians are once again trying to use fear to push a bill that will disproportionately affect black youth.

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

News and Observer Letter to the Editor 5/31

Dear Editor, ]

As a community activist who often deals with Durhamyouth, I am concerned about the pending Street Gang Suppression Bill that is scheduled to go before the NC House of Representatives. Although, there have been incidents of youth crime in the state, this issue hasbeen blown out of proportion by politicians.

Frankly, I think that many politicians have watched old gangsta movies like Boys in the Hood, too many times. The main failure of the bill is that it fails to clearly define what constitutes being in a gang. This lack of clarity leaves the possibility of "Hip Hop"profiling wide open. Since the typical Hollywood portrayal of a "gang" member is a young black male,the proposed law will, disproportionately, effect the black community.

This is especially troubling for a community not too far removed from Jim Crow Laws that made it illegal for black people to gather on street corners. The community must not cave into a bill that is based more on fear than reality.

To borrow from an old song by Buffalo Springfield"paranoia runs deep, into your life it will creep.