On Dealing with Racist White Cops [learn to meditate & become the 'Center of a Cyclone']
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Racism is Black people's kryptonite. It is external phenomenon that renders most Black people incapable of helping themselves.
Instead of responding to racist conduct Black people simply react to it. 'To react means you are acting unconsciously. Somebody is manipulating you. Somebody says something, does something, and you react. The real master of the situation is somebody else. Somebody comes and insults you and you react, you become angry. Somebody comes and praises you and you smile and you become happy. Both are the same. You are a slave and the other knows how to push your buttons. You are behaving like a machine. You are an automaton, not a human being yet. A plaything in the hands of others.' [MORE] and [MORE]
Racism is conduct designed to provoke you and it is one of the most powerful motivating forces in the universe. White people are the most provocative people on the planet. As explained by Neely Fuller, "most white people hate black people. The reason that most white people hate Black people is because whites are not Black people. If you know this about white people, you need know little else. If you do not know this about white people, virtually all else that you know about them will only confuse you." [MORE] In hating, whites feel superior, they become separate and in hating they become defined. In hating they attain a certain identity. In this system of racism/white supremacy all white people should be suspected of being racist. This includes white cops.
This article is about dealing with racist cops. Of course from time to time white cops also mistreat other white people [MORE]. But for the most part white folks treat each other humanely. White folks do not execute drone strikes, drop bombs, torture, starve children or otherwise act genocidally towards other white people. White suspects/defendants (George Zimmerman) have different relations with cops and the criminal justice system, which is controlled by whites.
In their relations with non-whites, however, whites function as psychopaths. Racists understand the concept of right and wrong but choose to ignore it when race is a variable. [MORE] In general, white cops have the overwhelming support of white people and the decisions they make concerning their encounters with non-whites, especially Black & Latino men, are consistently upheld by white politicians, the white media, prosecutors, jurors, judges and other white police. [MORE] Recent events have taught us that you if you are Black or Brown then you can be legally executed by a white cop anytime, any place. Racist cops practice racism against non-whites because they have the white collective power to do so.
What is the difference between a racist white cop and another overly aggressive, bad cop? A racist cop is an overly aggressive cop that also has the following goals when he provocatively interacts with you;
1. He wants to take your life, or
2. He wants to cause permanent or substantial injury, or
3. He wants to injure you, or
4. He wants to place you in greater confinement by 1) arresting you 2) helping to prosecute you (get the case papered by prosecutors, lie in police reports) and 3) convict you (offer perjured testimony if necessary) or
5. He wants to mess up your time by detaining you as long as possible, or
6. He wants to harm your property, or
7. He wants to do psychic violence to you to scare the shit out of you and leave you in a permanent state of fear, trauma or inferiority. He wants to put 'that look' on your face.
To a racist/white supremacist cop there is no innocent Black or Latino male, just non-white male criminals who have not yet been detected, apprehended or convicted. [MORE]
Understanding that you are in a system of white supremacy/racism and therefore expecting racism from white cops is a good start to mentally prepare yourself to deal with them. But this only minimizes surprise. Unlike other interactions with racists, a police stop may be prolonged and unavoidable.
During an encounter with a racist cop your mind is generating a constant stream of remarks and judgments. "Why the fuck did this cop stop me? this is some bullshit; I did not do anything wrong, I am sick of this shit, Is there anything wrong with my license, my car? What is this fool going to do now? What the fuck! Why am I still waiting? I have rights!" This deep monologue or "thoughting" prevents you from paying attention to the present moment.
Reacting, most Black people simply freeze their minds and try to stay under complete, forced control. That is how most of us have been taught - pretend like this bullshit is not bothering me. There is no such thing as forcing yourself to be calm. You are not really conscious in this state of repression, you are also not alive - you are a walking corpse in a very provocative situation. Folks who suppress anger are dangerous; calm like a bomb. "Anger needs a vomit." It is not natural to suppress it, you must let this poisin out, forcing it back in will eventually harm your mental and physical health. [MORE]
Other Black folks allow their anger or fear to burst out and take over their minds. Expressing and thinking only emotions, like an animal. You may say or do anything in this unconscious mind state. The racist knows the seeds of anger/fear and hurt are right below the surface and is steady probing to see if he/she can uproot them. A provocative white cop is clowning you, controlling your reactions.
Alot has been said by about how to deal with foul cops. Think of these different methods as different playbooks to execute the way an NFL quarterback would. The positions of counter-racist and civil libertarian advocates can be synthesized into the following general rules about dealing with cops:
1. If you are dealing with a white officer presume that you are dealing with a racist cop,
2. Assert your rights but comply with cop orders
3. Do not incriminate yourself by word or action [do not respond to statements]
4. Do not consent to any searches.
In reality the above map (gps) is not be the actual territory. Interactions with cops vary and cannot be scripted. The above rules cannot be robotically applied, in fact they could get you killed, injured or placed in greater confinement if misapplied. In practice;
1) As stated, if a White person or cop is able to be a Racist (White Supremacist), he or she may be one and should be presumed to be Racist. [MORE] Nevertheless, a cop may not be racist or a racist cop may not be practicing racism when he is interacting with you. Racism is carried out through deception and/or violence. Racists seek to keep their racism concealed - it is more effective that way. Why do you think KKK wear hoods? or KKK become cops? Do you think Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) wanted Black voters to know he was racist when he campaigned in Ferguson and St. Louis for their votes? The victims of white supremacy cannot always tell who is racist and who is not. Unless non-racist white folks starting outing racists we may never know who is racist and who is not. This is not likely to happen because all white people benefit from the operating system of white supremacy. Racists do not practice racism all day, everyday and they take on many appearances -this is part of the deception. Also a racist cop wants the interaction to appear as normal or legal as possible.
2) You cannot 'always comply with a cop's orders.' For example, what if you reasonably believe the cop is going to kill or substantially injure you or a loved one? Or what if compliance with a cops request would furnish incriminating evidence against yourself - like complying with a field sobriety test? It may be stupid to comply with police requests under some circumstances.
3) Some advocates say 'do not answer any incriminating questions.' But which ones are those? If you do not know what the cops are investigating you will have no way of knowing whether a question is incriminating or not - cops are under no obligation to inform you and are legally permitted to use deception and lie to you to investigate crime.
4) We consent to searches all the time (if you consent to a search you are precluded from legally challenging the search and any fruits obtained from the search in court). For instance, have you been through a security check point in a public building, stadium or airport lately? You are consenting to a search in a highly public area under circumstances where you know you don't have any contraband and there are several officers around. If you have this same level of confidence and you are in public with witnesses around it may be ok consent to a search.
There may be a lot to evaluate during a police stop. Whether you are a Black judge or an experienced street hustler in the heat of the moment of a street encounter with a racist cop if your mind is caught up in attachment all of your knowledge will be useless to you. It is like falling out of a tree; will rules or a code help you to deal with the many branches coming your way? The moment is too fast to analyze. Only you can know what to do in the actual valley of decision. Your mind must be together.
The only way to deal with racist cops is through the practice of mindfulness. Anything else is nonsense, mindgames. You must be conscious and able to observe and listen in order to spontaneously respond to what is going on. Only in a state of mindfulness will you have the wherewithal to apply any learned methods or knowledge. Even still you must generate enough mindfulness to deal with this moment. That is, your mindfulness must be strong to deal with racism. If mindfulness isn't fast enough as forms, feelings perceptions and thoughts arise into consciousness that will take over your mind.
Mindfulness simply means awareness of reality or awareness of what is going on in your mind, body and surroundings in the present moment. The officer, his racism and the incident are occurring in the present moment. If you are seized by anger or fear then your mind is in the past or in the future - your body is there on the street with the cop but your mind is not there and you are truly helpless.
First recognize that you are angry or fearful. What is wrong with being angry in this situation? Nothing. You have become angry/fearful over some unjust, racist bullshit from cops. A racist cop with a belt full of weapons, a radio and the legal power to execute you is here playing games with your life.
If you can recognize or observe that you are angry you will actually stop getting angry and you will observe the anger begin to gradually de-escalate. When you become aware of your anger, understanding penetrates. Just watching with no judgment, not saying your anger/fear is good, not saying your anger/fear is bad, just watching your own mind.
Next mindful breathing will bring about your true presence. To create mindfulness breathe in and out at least four times before you speak to police. Breathe inhaling through the nose and out the mouth. This will help to calm your mind. Follow your breathe in and out four times. While breathing, watch your mind, check out what it is doing and you will transform your anger into pure energy. Only now is it even possible to consider what tactics to use when dealing with cops. You have expressed your anger by transforming it - through your awareness of anger, transformation happens spontaneously.
Meditate
Mindfulness is cultivated through the practice of meditation. Through meditation you can become "the center of a cyclone." [MORE] No matter what chaos is going on, you can remain centered.
There are different methods of meditating. Some enlightened masters suggest meditating to music, dancing or changing or trying various styles of meditation once a higher level of awareness is present. Whichever you try it is important to be in a relaxed state, just watch with a relaxed awareness of whatever is going on and without any judgment of what you observe. "Even if for a single moment you are not doing anything and you are just at your center, utterly relaxed - that is meditation. And if you have the knack of it, you can remain in that state as long as you want." [MORE] The following from Walpola Rahula is a traditional Buddhist technique to create the situation where meditation can occur - but no technique is meditation. [MORE]
"For cultivating mindfulness of in-and-out breathing, one should sit, 'cross-legged, or sit erect in a chair, but not stiff; his hands placed comfortably on his lap. Thus seated, you may close your eyes, or you may gaze at the tip of your nose, as it may be convenient to you.
You breathe in and out all day and night, but you are never mindful` of it, you never for a second concentrate your mind on it. Now you are going to do just this. Breathe in and out as usual, without any effort or strain. Now, bring you mind to concentrate on your breathing in and out. When you breathe, you sometimes take deep breaths, sometimes not. This does not matter at all. Breathe normally and naturally. The only thing is that when you take deep breaths you should be aware that they are deep breaths, and so on. In other words, your mind should be so fully concentrated on your breathing that you are aware of its movements and changes. Forget all other things, your surroundings, your environment; do not raise your eyes and look at anything. Try to do this for five or ten minutes.
At the beginning you will find it extremely difficult to bring your mind to concentrate on your breathing. You will be astonished how your mind runs away. It does not stay. You begin to think of various things. You hear sounds outside. Your mind is disturbed and distracted. You may be dismayed and disappointed. But if you continue to practice this exercise twice daily, morning and evening, for about five or ten minutes at a time, you will gradually, by and by, begin to concentrate your mind on your breathing. After a certain period, you will experience just that split second when your mind is fully concentrated on your breathing, when you will not hear even sounds nearby, when no external world exists for you. This slight moment is such a tremendous experience for you, full of joy, happiness and tranquility, that you would like to continue it. But still you cannot. Yet if you go on practicing this regularly, you may repeat the experience again and again for longer and longer periods. That is the moment when you lose yourself completely in your mindfulness of breathing. As long as you are conscious of yourself you can never concentrate on anything.
Another very important, practical, and useful form of ‘meditation’ (mental development) is to be aware and mindful of whatever you do, physically or verbally, during the daily routine of work in your life, private, public or professional. Whether you walk, stand, sit, lie down, or sleep, whether you stretch or bend your limbs, whether you look around, whether you put on your clothes, whether you talk or keep silence, whether you eat or drink, even whether you answer the calls of nature – in these and other activities, you should be fully aware and mindful of the act you perform at the moment. That is to say, that you should live in the present moment, in the present action. This does not mean that you should not think of the past or the future at all. On the contrary, you think of them in relation to the present moment, the present action, when and where it is relevant." [MORE] and [MORE]
Reality vs. Belief
In the present moment of a confrontation with a racist cop you have no power - who will settle your roadside legal debate with the cop? the white cop. Who are you calling out for help to- more white cops? other victims of white supremacy? Who is the one with the discretionary authority to arrest you? the cop. Who is the one authorized by statute to shoot to kill? the cop. Did you know that even in the most so-called "liberal" places such as "Washington D.C. just slightly touching an officer with your hand constiutes an Assault on Police Officer or Resisting Arrest charge?
It is true you have rights. But forget belief for a minute. What do you know? Assert your rights, over and over. If a racist cop chooses to ignore these rights what will be your remedy in the present moment? Nothing. On the street your so called rights are just words in the air. Think of a protective order - an order from a Judge written on a document ordering an individual to stay away from you or your property. Despite the order, the individual breaks down your door to assault you - in that moment what will the document do to stop him from putting his hands on you? A paper cut maybe! Your rights are like this too - they exist only in books and are brought to life in courtrooms - no other place. In fact, your so-called rights only exist if someone who works for the Government, like a cop or judge, says they exist. Your rights are not really with you the way you think, in your possession, you are alone.
You must use mindfulness to spontaneously deal with this conventional, white-man made reality. A racist cop is playing a survival game with you. He views himself as being on another team. This you know is racial stupidity. If you are dealing with a racist cop then you are right; he probably pulled you over because you are Black, he is asking you or telling you questions because you are Black and he is insulting you because you are Black, you are being detained or arrested because you are black and yes he is lying in court because you are Black.
There is no substance to racism. The only purpose of race is to practice racism. Race is not real but racism is. [MORE] Having little biological validity, the term "race" is better translated to mean organization, frictionalizing non-whites into various made up groups for the purpose of white domination. 90% of the world is non-white! Yet everywhere one finds Whites and Blacks in close proximity to each other, whether it is Ferguson or Zimbabwe, the Whites are in control. White people practice racism to survive -- the operating system of white supremacy functions to keep them alive. As stated by Dr. Welsing, "indeed, if white people had not created such a global system in which they established power over the world's non-white majority, the white collective would have been genetically extinct a long time ago." [MORE].
If you can create a state of mindfulness you will see racism but stop carrying it as much and you will not take it for something real. 'Like dealing with a small child who says, "Mom, this happened. Dad, I need that. Hey, look at me." The parent says, "yes sure, ok. But doesn't take it too seriously - your mind is not caught up in the kid's story, because you don't think in that way.' Would you really argue with the ridiculous statements made by children? It is racial stupidity so do not get caught up in the substance of the story/illusion. If you do, then you are just playing yourself like Martin Bashir! Understand what whites are doing (provoking you) so that you can neutralize it.
A warrior came to the Zen master Hakuin and asked,
“Is there such a thing as heaven and hell?”
Hakuin said, “Who are you?”
The warrior replied, “I am chief samurai to the emperor.”
Hakuin said, “You, a samurai? With a face like that, you look more like a beggar.”
At this the warrior became so angry he drew his sword.
Standing calmly in front of him Hakuin said, “Here open the gates of hell.”
Perceiving the master’s composure,
the soldier sheathed his sword and bowed.
Hakuin then said, “And here open the gates of heaven.”
Bhagwan Rajineesh explained, "Hell and heaven are within you, both gates are within you. When you are behaving unconsciously there is the gate of hell; when you become alert and conscious, there is the gate of heaven.
What happened to this samurai? When he was just about to kill Hakuin, was he conscious? Was he conscious of what he was about to do? Was he conscious of what he had come for? All consciousness had disappeared." [MORE] and [MORE]
Your main goals in the present moment of a police stop should be to avoid death, injury and greater confinement. You cannot do this if you are unconscious, under the influence of anger or fear.
Mindfulness is not about judgment. If you are being mindful you will simply scientifically observe what your mind is doing, breathe to summon mindfulness and calm and then you can transform your anger/fear into pure energy.
If you truly have no reaction or don't have the reaction racist cops are looking for, the racist will feel impotent before you. Amos Wilson explained that 'power ultimately has to do with a relationship between people and the white man’s so-called power, is to a great extent based upon the nature of the relationship he has with the Black man. We empower him by the nature of our own behavior and attitudes as a people. He cannot be what he is unless we are, what we are.' [MORE] White people will have to change when our consciousness changes. Such a response or change will be another Rosa Parks moment.
And just reading, discussing and thinking about racism will not help you either. You must also go internal to deal with this mess. This revolution is in your mind first. Learn to Meditate regularly. There are many styles - try it.
