Category Politics & Government

(Published in the Op-Ed page, Florida Today, 5/24/2021)

                                                                                DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE ABOUT SYSTEMIC RACISM

                                                                                                                 By Marshall Frank

Americans are often made to believe that systemic racism is widespread throughout our nation, particularly on the part of law enforcement agencies. It has become a constant drumbeat. Purveyors want the public to believe that black people, in particular, are the victims of such attitudes.

     Not only is that grossly exaggerated, it’s simply untrue. Not in 2021. If anything, police today go through a plethora of training and education to ensure such biases do not exist. Yet, the media and some leftists relentlessly invoke fervent assertions that cops are programmed as monsters who seek out blacks for unfair treatment or physical abuse. Some holdovers from the old days, may privately harbor ill-feelings toward blacks, (or other minorities). But to allege that police are systemically biased across America is absurd.

     Cops are among the finest public servants in America. I’ve been immersed in law enforcement for sixty years, half that time an active duty cop in Miami-Dade, Florida, where I served for 30 years, working Homicides 16 years. Police officers, white, black, male and female, or whatever, are all breathing, feeling human beings with needs and responsibilities like all citizens, while raising families and caring for the oppressed.

     Number one priority on a cop’s list is to come home every day in one piece from the streets – mentally and physically.  Police officers pray daily hoping they will not have to engage in any violent confrontations. Thirdly, police (for the most part) are immaculately professional, and protective, as they inch closer to a lifelong pension at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

     There are 800,000 cops in America. It is their job to run toward, not away from, the most dangerous of scenarios to save lives and enforce laws to keep us safe. That’s not a choice, it is required. They risk their lives, not just for paychecks, but to protect you and me, and people of all nationalities and colors. On rare occasions, a cop will screw up. But it is not systemic.

     The 911 system reports roughly 240 million calls a year are dispatched for police, fire and medical needs. Of those, 12 million (or five percent) involve potential dangers for police. That’s a huge number of volatile conditions in a single year. In 2020, 119 officers lost their lives in the line of duty, mostly from firearms. This doesn’t include 145 police officers who died from contracting Covid19 on the job.

     The last thing any cop wants to do is participate in any form of violent action. Sometimes, there is no choice.

     I know about systemic racism. It was around me in early childhood growing up in segregated Miami, until well into my police career. When hired, racism prevailed in Miami-Dade. And, it was definitely systemic. Less than one-percent of the department’s police were black. Rest rooms, drinking fountains and restaurants were unwelcoming to blacks. They weren’t the only victims of racism. Some Miami Beach hotels displayed desk signs that printed, “Gentiles Only.”

     But changes occurred. Eventually, many folks worked jobs shoulder to shoulder with others and schools were integrated. Police agencies also changed enormously. The notorious beating death of Arthur McDuffie by a ring of Miami-Dade cops in 1979 ignited the positive changes that followed. The department modernized rules for hiring and training, with emphasis on treatment of minorities. In the early 1980s, blacks became important members of management teams in police agencies throughout America. Today, 44 percent of the police chiefs amid the fifty most populated cities are black. Systemic racism has evolved into a 180 degree turnaround.

     No cop wants to hurt anyone, black, white or purple. But it’s true that blacks, in general, are disproportionately victimized by violence far more than whites or Latinos. According to the FBI, 89 percent of blacks killed in 2018, were killed by other blacks.

     Racists? I don’t think so.

     Better to say: All Lives Matter.

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Marshall Frank is a retired police captain and the author of 15 books. www.marshall frank.com

Theyrrr herre…

 Patrisse Cullors, mentioned in various published articles about leftist politics in America, is the Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter…well known as a devout Marxist. (easily verified).  Fellow co-founder Alicia Garza, openly admits her alliance as a devout Marxist as well.

These are not secrets. They get support from the highest of levels.  

The Marxist clan who lead Black Lives Matter have an extreme agenda which is pointed out in the articles linked below.  No surprise, I’ve studied her and her other co-founders, also Marxists. In political circles it is well-known. This is what Communists have been promising for the last half century…divide and conquer. In another few years, we just might be seeing a full-blown revolution.  When that happens, it’s Bye-Bye to the U.S. Constitution. There will be no turning back.

 According to a recent issue of News Break: 

      George Soros has given Black Lives Matter and the Antifa related revolutionary movement more than $100 million dollars. The Soros run Open Society Foundations is on record with giving Black Lives Matter $33 million dollars this year alone. This is in concert with an array of funding for a variety of Democrat and DNC related left-wing groups across the country.

What’s amazing is how certain organizational elements in America, and private individuals, support their agenda without realizing the ultimate consequences if they succeed. I’m sure many people are well-meaning, but they are also being used, exploited and brainwashed.  Here’s a revealing link about their objectives…and they’ve only just begun.

Black Lives Matter founder calls for Biden to abolish prisons – TheBlaze

George Soros gave Black Lives Matter and Antifa over $100 Million dollars | News Break

This is about employing common sense.  

In the presidential race, many feel we do not have great options. But we must still vote, and … like in many other elections…we often end up voting against someone rather than for someone. In other words, many voters are guided by deciding who we think would be least harmful to our nation.

When viewing the election in such terms, it clearly tells me how important it is to re-elect Donald Trump, and why.  I am not his biggest fan. I’m one of those who cringe when he blurts out some of his ego-maniacal comments and other assorted barbs that make me shake my head. But all things considered, America will still be far better off by keeping the country in a democracy mode with a capitalistic government. Preserving those basic tenets are far more important than being guided by personalities.

The hard left in America is rising to the occasion.  Our nation is inching its way to the slippery slope where Socialism is not just an idea, it’s a reality which will come to bear, affecting our kids and their kids for generations to come. Consider also, there is another step to consider in that process.  Hard-core socialists have a mission to see America fall down that slope into a full-blown communist state. This is not a theory. It’s close to a reality if radical  Democrats like Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Pelosi, Schumer, AOC and George Soros have their way.

We all remember Castro, and the Cuban revolution. Many of us were still living in S. Florida then. Fidel fought in the jungles as a die-hard socialist, so he claimed. But it was a deception. It wasn’t until Fidel completely controlled the new government and admitted (surprise) his goals were rooted in communism. 

I spoke to many struggling Cubans back then (being a young Dade police officer). Cuba lost multi-thousands of innocent citizens to “MIA” (missing in action)  status, while thousands more escaped the island bringing with them the clothes on their backs, and nothing else. Sixty years hence, people are still driving pre-1960 jalopies and people own nothing, unless provided by the state.  I remember one Cuban guy selling bananas on a street corner, I asked about his journey from Cuba to the USA.  He said he had been a bank vice president, and his family was living with two other families in one apartment. I remember him passionately telling me, “No welfare. We no take welfare”

Black Lives Matter is a nice cliche’ .. we all want to see equality among all citizens. However, if you look past the smokescreen, Black Lives Matter is co-founded by proud Marxists named, Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza. Check it out. They are an established, unapologetic communist organization, portraying themselves as guardians of black people. And, by the way, very involved in much of the violence and looting in the last seven months.

 PolitiFact | Is Black Lives Matter a Marxist movement?

Communism is a reality, not a theory. It is a hard-cold fact. They’ve been warning us since the 1950s they intend to divide and conquer the west. And, they are inching closer.  Communism is powerful. It is well-funded. It is aiming toward the grand prize. You and me. 

Riots and desperation are everywhere throughout our country like never before.  It is no accident. The movement is organized and paid for via haters of America, behind the scenes.

So let’s vote smart.

If communism comes to the U.S., there will be no turning back. So when we vote, we must not only be passionate, we must be intelligent and well informed or else our grandkids may one day be slaves to the government. When we vote, we must remember that it’s not just about a presidency, or a party. It’s about the movement, and the vast array of management systems, domestic and foreign, that comes with the president we elect.

Reminds me of that little girl in the Sci-Fi movie saying “They’rree  Heerrreee!.

In an article, columnist L. Todd Wood, Washington Times, 2018, wrote:

“Yes, this is the goal; it is slowly being propagandized by the corrupt Marxist media. The communists lost the Cold War in an economic and military collapse. Since then, they have sought to re-establish their power by embedding themselves and their ideology in our universities, to corrupt the younger generations, and the media, to control the thought processes of the low information voter.”

I’m a gun owner, and a 30-year career police officer, though I haven’t fired a weapon in over 30 years. It’s just not my shtick. But I sure feel safer knowing a weapon is within reach if an unforeseen and dangerous incident occurs within my purview.

     In every national election, the anti-gun brigade emerges with demands that gun-laws be more restricted, citing violent crime as the number one objective. The problem with that argument is that legally purchased guns, with background checks, have very little impact on the crime rate. Most guns used in violent crimes and/or gang activity are acquired by private sales, thievery or the black market. Thus, gun “control” is not the answer. Rarely do legally purchased guns surface in violent environments.

     Those who would overturn the 2^nd Amendment would be making a horrible mistake, all in the so-called interest of reducing crime and violence.

     I do not mean to suggest that some revisions to gun laws might be in order. I totally understand the comparison about the 2^nd Amendment being passed in 1791, when rifles were long and single-shot only. If that amendment was passed in today’s world, it would read much different.

     No private citizen needs to own a machine gun, cannon, or homemade bombs for that matter. I’ve also heard arguments from folks in other parts of the world, where violent crime is much lower, ostensibly because gun ownership is more tightly restricted. Yes, Sweden, France and Amsterdam and most countries in Europe have stricter gun laws which gives American naysayers justification for proposing tougher laws, or yet, abolishing the 2nd Amendment. Bear in mind, also, that our country is far more multi-cultural and multi-ethnic  than other nations in the world.

     The sad truth is that criminal gun activity is a product of the streets, mostly illegal. In a special report issued recently by the Department of Justice, state and federal prisoners who had used firearms in their crimes obtained them in the black market, while other guns were gifts from friends or relatives. Only 7 percent of guns used in crime were purchased guns from dealers and less than one percent were bought at gun shows. So much for background checks.

     The most serious problem producing violent crime in America, which we hear little about, is the dilemma of “Mental Illness.” Whereby seriously deranged individuals could be remanded by court order to mental institutions until the late 1970s, more than 90 percent of those institutions are now closed due to court decisions, leaving prisons as housing centers for the mentally ill. Prison studies have determined that roughly 20 percent of inmates (out of 2.3 million) are deemed seriously disturbed.

     Successfully fighting crime is more doable than people think. All we need to do is search for the best examples, where many problems were actually solved. In the largest city in America, murders in New York City rose to over 2,000 per year in the early 1990s. Along came Mayor Rudy Giuliani who initiated a myriad of programs to successfully reduce violent crime. When he first took command of the Big Apple, between 1600 and 2000 annual murders were tabulated. By the time he left office, those murders dropped to under 600 a year. In his first three years as mayor, over 56,000 guns were impounded from the streets. Other violent crimes dropped as well. Why? Mayor Giuliani initiated several programs, the most controversial being Stop and Frisk. With specific restrictions and training, police officers were given the green light to stop and question hundreds of thousands annually.

     Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who succeeded Giuliani, maintained the same process with results of lowering crime rates. Some folks thought it was an overreach, others screamed racial profiling was too common. But the facts support both the mayors, having saved many lives in New York City. What’s more important than saving lives and making citizens feel safe?

     The problem is not just guns. The past six months of unrestrained city riots, unprecedented throughout America, indicates how too many Anti-American people in our communities are under orders by a hidden enemy to destroy America. That’s another topic.

Marshall Frank

www.marshallfrank.com