Los Angeles NYLM @losangelesnylm - Tumblr Blog

The Half-Assed Apology

Recently, there have been numerous celebrities, politicians, and other public figures issuing what they call apologies, and what the rest of us call, “half-assed” apologies- apologies that aren’t really apologies at all, or simply aren’t good enough, sincere enough, and/or mature enough apologies for the acts previously done. An apology isn’t just saying “I’m sorry”, an apology is saying “I’m sorry” and meaning it. Often, you will see these perpetrators either say everything they can think of except “I’m sorry”, or something that equivocates to the expression, or say “I’m sorry”, and then try to come up with reasons they should be off the hook or it shouldn’t matter anymore. This is seeing the expression as a vocal requirement, and nothing more.

Some recent examples of people making these half-assed apologies are: Serena Williams (famous tennis star), whose blunder came after her blaming the Steubenville rape case on the 16-year-old victim; Chris Brown (rapper/entertainer), who, after semi-apologizing for physically abusing Rihanna, has repeatedly made clear he didn’t really mean the apology by behaving recklessly and going on several rampages (for example, after an interview on Good Morning America where questions were asked regarding the physical abuse, he broke a window, screamed, lashed out on twitter, etc.); Michael Richards (A.K.A. Seinfeld’s “Kramer”), who went on an n-word filled rampage in 2006, and then went on David Letterman’s talkshow and gave a less-than-satisfying apology; Mel Gibson, Paula Deen, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, among others.

Most recent is Russell Simmons, founder of the Def Jam Label. On the 14th of August, Simmons’ youtube channel, “All Def Digital”, posted a video called “Harriet Tubman Sex Tape”. And, thus, twitter exploded- along with every other social large social network- furious at the channel and the man behind it. Russell Simmons promptly removed the video (“after being contacted by [his] NAACP buddies”), and issued an apology.

A half-assed apology.

So, the question I can’t help but ask is, if people keep getting called out for these half-assed apologies, why do people keep making them? Why do people see their peers getting regularly placed on the chopping block for doing something, and then they go out and do it themselves? Russell Simmons has surely seen the fate of Paula Deen and Serena Williams, considering the topics are so recent. So why, then, did he do the same?

I understand the idea of human error- we all make mistakes. We all have our faults, our insensitive moments, the conclusions we’ve jumped to. But we need to admit our faults, and apologize when it is necessary. And with Russell Simmons and his Harriet Tubman Sex Tape, there is an apology that needs to be given. A proper one.

losangelesnylm

What do you think it means to own up to your mistakes?

yaykarimwrites

Take Alvin. Other than what we learn about him from the video, we don’t know who Alvin is, we don’t know if he’s ever done something wrong. And that isn’t the point. The point isn’t who Alvin is the rest of the time, and the point certainly isn’t how good of a person he is, though that isn’t to suggest he is a “bad” guy- we don’t know either way. All we know is, he was minding his own business, and he was harassed by the police, who are supposed to represent justice, fairness, and who are supposed to “protect and serve”.

And then, take Alvin’s situation, and realize Alvin isn’t the first- or the last- person to go through something like that. Alvin is one of many; Alvin is one of thousands. Alvin is one of thousands of innocent citizens harassed physically and verbally by the people who are supposed to be there to protect him. Alvin is just the one who happened to record what happened.

Then, we must ask, what can we do? As a society, we need to make sure there are no more cases like Alvin; we need to work together to speak out for all the “Alvins”, and speak up against groups of people like the officers who stopped Alvin, and watch out for one another. When a group is treated with animosity in the way Alvin was, we are all “Alvins”.

losangelesnylm

Watch the video. Hear the tape. Stand up. The stop-and-frisk is not the only injustice in the world.

yaykarimwrites

RE: The NYPD’s Stop-and-Frisk Program.

Know the facts, know your rights.

According to the NYPD, Stop-and-Frisks are a tactic used to help ensure the wellbeing of citizens by stopping and checking citizens for any form of illegal paraphernalia, etc. In theory, these would be beneficial to society, as weapons and drugs could be removed from the streets anywhere, without a warrant. That is, in fact, a good thing, in some neighborhoods more than others, and in theory could drastically reduce crime rates, assist in keeping kids off drugs, and even remove dangerous people from an environment where they are not welcomed (which is just about everywhere).

And yet, in practice, the stop-and-frisks did not yield such results. They are commonly seen as scare tactics by citizens, and are often just that: scare tactics.

From a racial standpoint, the stop-and-frisk program is horrendous. A collection of injustices which, in idea, would be outweighed by the overall impact on New York’s crime rate. An idea which was grossly inaccurate in result.

First and foremost, it should be explained what a Stop-and-Frisk is, and what it entails.

To be selected for a “stop-and-frisk” means a police officer feels you look suspicious / there is a possibility of you carrying illegal/concealed weapons, drugs, or any other contraband/paraphernalia. Once “chosen”, the police approach you- you are “stopped”. If the police see fit (though they do not always), they will search you for such articles- you are “frisked”. If they find anything illegal/searched for on your person, be it in your pocket, your bag, etc., you may be arrested and fined in accordance to the severity of the crime. As covered above, this (potentially) entails: A) Being Stopped, B) Being Frisked, C) Being Arrested, D) Being Fined. However, there are other, worse consequences which are entirely possible, and affect the victim on a deeper level than a simple stop or even a frisk can. They are, A) Sexual Harassment, B) Assault, C) Degradation by Law Enforcement including (but not limited to) racial and sexists slurs/language, and the al-encompassing D) Public Humiliation.

The NYPD has been carrying out stop-and-frisks for decades. The legal basis- essentially the predecessor to the law itself- was established in 1968, and the law itself went into effect on September 1st, 1971 [Criminal Procedure Law 140.50]. Then, in 1976, a criteria for the stop-and-frisks was established in an effort to ensure the rights of those stopped. Then, fast forward to 2003, when the Manhattan Federal Court orders the NYPD to make an Anti-Profiling Policy, in hopes of reducing unnecessary stop-and-frisks, and causing less trouble for the NYPD due to racism, sexism, etc. This Policy stood until 2007.

The number of stop-and-frisks have increased significantly since the year 2000, with the number of people stopped peaking in 2011, when nearly 700,000 (~685,000) people were stopped. The number of people frisked were approximately 55%, according to the NYCLU, and of those 55%, only 1.9% of the time was a weapon found. Sure, the 1.9% of those stop-and-frisks helped “clean the streets”, but was it worth the harassment and mistreatment of the other nearly 675,000 people stopped? Though they surely were not all cases without reason, we may never know just how many lacked such exemption.

losangelesnylm

Some more writing from Karim! :) He wrote a short series of blurbs on the NYPD's stop-and-frisks.

yaykarimwrites

On July 12th, George Zimmerman was found not guilty in a court of law for the shooting/killing of Trayvon Martin. This decision sparked riots across the country, substantial peaceful protests, and a widespread demand for retrial.

What is frustrating about everything that has happened recently involving this case is we, the people, ultimately cannot determine his innocence or guiltiness, because the only other person who can truly tell us everything that happened is Trayvon Martin, and he is dead. That said, we may choose to have our own opinions, and thus, we may decide what we feel is the proper outcome of the trial, but even if the evidence may be perceived one way to one person, that perception may not be applicable to the person next to them. We also must recognize how specific and difficult the instructions were for the jury- they essentially had to have no reason not to find him guilty (instructions given to jurors viewable in full in the link above).

I will say that I believe George Zimmerman was guilty of murder, but the court has decided otherwise. That does not mean the court was definitely right, but it does not mean I was right, either, and the best way to counter this decision is to make sure something like the alleged-shooting of Trayvon Martin can never happen again.

So, the question isn’t, “Is George Zimmerman really guilty?”, because 1) we may never fully know beyond the shadow of a doubt, and 2) that isn’t up to us- it is up to the legal system. The question is: How can we work to change the world around us? How can we make sure there is never another case like that of Trayvon Martin & George Zimmerman?

losangelesnylm

Some writing from one of our former delegates: Karim! More to come soon!

Blacks are a minority in a nation of majority rule, and the majority has the obligation to stand with them. We must realize that racism is a product of every bystander that either denies the existence of a problem or incorrectly identifies African-American actions or culture as the problem. Racial differences are not the problem – the problem is the set of labels associated with blackness. When stereotypes and unconscious bias go unchecked, outcomes like the death of a 17-year-old boy become more possible. Learn to judge individuals not as projections of what their skin color makes you perceive, but as fellow human beings.

#racism #TrayvonMartin #nojustice #jewish #ally #bystander

#ADL #nylm #stereotype

There's a diversity in our world especially in our city Los Angeles, which is one of the most cosmopolitan in the world and hosts people from Brasil to China, from Africa to Mexico. Every where you go in the city you will find someone speaking a different language than English it can be Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese etc.

#adl #nylm #lanylm