“The Biggest Tree”

“Shoot slow down will you?!” I yelled as I ran down the streets of the small town.  

The man I was chasing was smaller than me but he was lean and had great stamina. I’d never had trouble chasing people down as a child but this guy was something else. He cleared about 3 fences and then side stepped past several civilians who were confused by the entire situation. Eventually he ran into an old abandoned building and ran up the stairs.

“Dammit!!” I yelled.

I dug into my pocket and pulled out my amphetamines. This was the first time that I had ever pulled them out and at the Academy they told officers in training to only pull them out in dire situations.

“There is no point in running!” I screamed trying to sound as intimidating as possible.

A few seconds after taking the drugs things got very clear. After climbing to the top of the building I shortened the gap between us in half. The criminal jumped from the current building we were in to the next but I was able to jump at the same time and in midair I tackled him right to the ground.

“GRC (Governmental Resistance Control) bitch” I yelled into his ear.

The guy was still struggling trying to wriggle his way out and get out so I picked him up off the ground punched him in the gut knocking him out. Officers stopped getting issued handcuffs standard a long time ago and the reasoning behind it was that handcuffs were not needed when there was no reason to commit crime. I did however have a standard issue pistol which I was guess was for shooting at pigeons but for now it was a means of keeping this guy in place for when he woke up. I carried the guy back to my car in discretion as to not alert any civilians and drove off to the station on my way.

“Did anyone see you apprehend him?” the Señor Custodian officer asked.

“People saw me chasing him but for all they knew I could have been trying to ask him a couple of questions is all.” I retorted

“Did you use your firearm?” He asked.

“No sir I used it to suppress him incase he tried to get away.” I replied.

Without asking further questions walked away talking to someone on his police walkie talkie but I couldn’t make it out. The drugs had weared off and all my senses began to deteriorate. All I could remember was a few Guard Officers all surrounding the patient who had just woke up and everything else after that went black.

I woke up the next day at my house. I was still feeling bad and couldn’t seem to get my vision back in check. I really should stay away from those drugs, the after effect is just too much. I slapped my work uniform back on and I went back down to the station and addressed the clerk.

“Where is the man I captured yesterday?” I asked.

“Yesterday? What are you talking about, you weren’t hear yesterday…” the lady said back to me.

“Check your damn files,” I angrily retorted.

“Alright officer” she said is a calm but patronizing voice.

She busily checked her computer and got back to me relatively fast.

“There is no record of any such events happening on our system records” she said.

“That contraption is full of shit, I very clearly chased down a man and apprehended him” I angrily said.

“Sorry I don’t have it...” she replied.

I left after that and began talking to my fellow officers in the building.

“Excuse you do you remember me capturing a criminal yesterday?”

“Sorry I didn’t see anything”

Again and again I asked everyone and anyone if they saw anything and I got nothing. I ran down to the Chief Officer’s office and bribed some security guards to let me in.

“Sir I caught a criminal yesterday why are their no records? Officers I know saw me capture the criminal are denying seeing anything.” I said.

“Do you know what we do for living?” He asked?

“We suppress any incoming threats to society?” I replied.

“Suppress… That is the key word, we seize, detain and erase and threats, anything that ever so slightly alters the morale of our fair people is a threat.” He said.

“What are you trying to say sir?”

“I’m not trying to say anything. I can’t talk that which no longer can be deemed a threat.”

“But all threats are erased how can we learn and grow?”

“Why grow when we are the largest tree in the forest?”

“The tallest tree is the most likely to fall” I retorted.

“Good bye Officer Kelly.”

“But wait!” I yelled.

Armed guards came and roughly escorted me out. So many questions erupted in me. What is my government? What is crime? Can we exist in a world where crime isn’t addressed as crime? My head began to hurt. My vision began to get blurry again. I tried my best to get my grip back on reality. I remembered the wallet I picked up that the suspect dropped. 4556 North Spooner St. I had something left of this mystery man.

The cab driver refused to drop me off directly at house. The area was too high class. Each house was a stand alone and was at least four stories high. They paint of each house glistened in the sunlight and the lawns were lush and green. The house of the mystery man was very nice just like the others. I carefull knocked on the door. Someone quickly responded. It was a woman at least 35-40 years old.

“Excuse me Madam how are you today?” I asked.

“I’m doing fine, may I ask why you are here?” She replied.

“Well I’m here on behalf of the GRC now don’t get alarmed I was just wondering if anyone you know has gone missing?”

She gave me a very blank stare and didn’t respond.

“I know talking when your back is against the wall is hard but its time like these when words are the only express yourself.”

“Why are you here?” she finally said.

“To find what shouldn’t be findable. I’m guessing this man was your husband?” I said as I showed her the wallet with the ID.

“He is my husband, he died 12 years ago why are you bringing him up now?”

“The expiration date on the drivers license expires next year, no point in lying now”

“Why should I tell you anything?”

“Because people seek closure, and it seems that I’m the only man who is trying to get it for you at the moment”

“Can I trust you?”

“Who else can you trust?”

“Come inside.”

I sat down on a couch in the living room as she brought forth some coffee and some papers.

“My husband was a doctor, specifically a surgeon. He cared deeply for his fellow man and it pained him to see that they were dying. Lack of organs for transplant was a rampant problem. So he began dabbling with the wrong people, they supplied him with organs for transplants. He saved many lives… There was a rat who sold him out. And then the GRC “dealt” with him.”

“Do you have any idea who the Rat was?”

“A coroner who worked at the morgue, only person with the evidence against him.”

She exchanged what little information she had for me and I was off on my way. I grew up trusting the government and the GRC. They were keeping us away from anarchy. Keeping us safe from chaos and allowed children to have a safe bright future. I still had faith in them. I arrived back at the station and I proceeded to confront the Chief Officer. I made it down to his office. But something hit me on the back of the head and everything went dark again.

I woke up in a poorly lit small room. I was tied down to a chair and there was something metal slapped across my wrists. Probably handcuffs. Two men walked in the room. One of them started punching me in the face presumably leaving my face swollen as I could barely open my eyes.

“When Adam and Eve ate the apples from the garden of eden do you know what happened?”

“Pigs started shitting gold bricks?” I said trying to be smart.

The man punched me in the face. He was wearing a gold ring making things all the better.

“They were cast out from paradise. What we have here is paradise. No crime, no hate, no disdain for anything.” He said.

“Utopia’s are not real” I quickly said.

“Well I can tell you that we are as close to a utopia as humanly possible, what holds us back is people like you. Words are mans most powerful tool. A single man could an uprising. You never truly believe in the GRC, you believed in the image they posed of a society where everyone could co exist.” said the Chief Officer as he looked me in the eye.

“Isn’t that a world everyone wants to live in?” I asked.

“But its unattainable, someone is gonna mess up the perfect society no matter what we do. I’m trying to suppress those people, that is the GRC’s goal, to ensure that peace stays” He replied.

“Well then I don’t want to live in this word anymore, But just remember that for everyone of us naysayers that dies two more of us will rise to fight your cause,” I said as my final words.

“Duly noted, we shall see if your beliefs out survive mine”

Even though I didn’t live to make as much of a difference as I wished I could have I’d like to believe that others will inherit my will and try to abolish dystopian thinking and establish true peace between all men and women.

Back in 2004 was the first time I heard “Get em’ High” on satellite radio. From there I was hooked onto Kanye just from the interesting and very unique sound that seemed as if it was never done before.

In Ye’s second album “Late Registration” he had a song by the name “Crack Music” and he had a few lines that set a lot of people off. He said “We, invested in that, it's like we got Merrill Lynched And we been hangin from the same tree, ever since”. In these lyrics Kanye is trying to say that when you invest or use money to invest in Merrill Lynch the investment bank, then you will be basically screwed over and the way he compared it to the Lynchings of back then. It is very revealing that Kanye has a bias against White people. The way he used lynching in there let him get leverage on the audience.

People ask me all the time why I still listen to Kanye or like him after he goes out and puts these lyrics out there and all these “stunts” that he pulls. Well my answer to all them is “Because he is not scared to say or do anything”. I personally give props to these people who can go out and say these kind of things. Kanye West definitely has a bias against Caucasian people. He has a little bit of a sense that the white man is putting him down and in some ways he is right. Although I am white and can recognize and come out to say that sometimes in todays time caucasians put down people of color and don’t give them the same opportunities. I do not think it is right, but it happens and its out of my control. This bias of Kanye is what draws my attention to him.

He has a way to get at the listener though. In his most recent album “Yeezus” and in the song by the name of “New Slaves” Kanye said “Ya’ll throwin’ contracts at me, you know that niggas can’t read!” With the use of the whole stereotype of Yeezy saying “African American people cannot read” shows that white people are the ones that are “Throwing the contracts at him”. With the use of the african americans not being able to read, he really threw out his Bias into the world. He recently said in an interview with BBC that “the white man is holding me down and not letting me do my thing. I cannot design any clothing without someone letting me do it.” Then he went on and on and on about this. To me, I really started to like him more and more once he started talking out about this because he is not scared to say anything about people putting him down. Yes it is expressing his bias, but he is doing what he wants and that is why I still like him.

Kanye West has been known for using some very provocative samples of beats in his songs just like in the song “Blood On The Leaves” from the album “Yeezus”. He used the song “Strange Fruit” by “Billie Holiday” which was written in the 1920’s. It was about the Lynchings with the Blacks. The lyrics are "Strange fruit hanging from the poppy trees, blood on the leaves". It means that the strange fruit are the slaves hanging and they are hanging from the poppy trees. Blood on the leaves means that their blood is on the tree. Since Kanye used this sample he expressed his bias against the whites. In some ways it can be interpreted as racist. Through out the album "Yeezus" he displayed some very touchy subjects that had set some people off. I personally was expecting this from him because I know that he is known for doing this kind of stuff. Just like for the Hurricane Katrina Relief broadcast where he said “George Bush does not like black people” and everyone was just completely shocked. It really shook the world and that was one of the first times he has spoken out like that on Live Television. Before that he had never pulled a stunt like that. In his previous albums he has mentioned his Bias against white people, but never on TV.

Throughout his album “Late Registration” he had a number of Skits in there about a black cult in a college that resembled a type of “Black Brotherhood” in a way. In one of the skits the man said “ This was founded years ago By broke slaves, years ago Who did not have, years ago By broke brothas in the 20s, years ago Who did not have when we could not eat Hmm, remember that? Eating all of our cereal with forks because we wanted to save the milk, do you remember that? Hmm? Do you remember all those Christmases when your Mama walked in the room and pretended she was the tree, huh? Remember that? “ This quote from the song points out another one of Ye’s Bias which is that the “African American community is poor and they do not have the proper resources to live a ‘normal’ life”. Kanye likes to use this Bias of his to show the world the unfairness in todays society.

Greta Haskell

After watching “The Central Park Five”, “West of Memphis” and “A Thin Blue Line” I have come to a conclusion; the court system has a huge bias against young males especially African Americans. In all of the documentaries young men are convicted for crimes they didn't commit simply because the police are too lazy and ignorant to find out what really happened. The justice system only hears what they want to hear and if they have to manipulate and lie to get what they want, they will.

While watching these documentaries one thing in particular stuck out, the police seemed selfish. No matter what anyone else wanted, they just wanted to hear what they thought was right and get it over with. If someone brought up a different option suggesting that they were wrong or they had the wrong person, they would get angry and find a way to make their decision correct.

The justice system’s bias is what caused so many wrongs and injustices. If it's called the system of justice why is so much going wrong? Something else that I thought of reminded me of some of the things we did in class. Most of the people such as the police, the judges, and the jury were white upper middle class males. As we saw in class we usually have a bias towards people like ourselves. If the people they were trying to put in jail were different than them, they would find a way to have a bias against them just because they were different.

In the Central Park Five is when the bias stood out to me the most, most if not all of the people involved in the case were white except for the young men who were being charged with the murder. The police arrested them simply because they wanted to get someone and those boys were the easiest to arrest. It really shows that the police were too lazy to try and find who really did it just because they wanted to lock someone up.

While watching these documentaries I really got angry and I guess I discovered a new bias of my own. I feel that people should have their rights and police and other workers should do their absolute best job to see if the person is guilty or not. Imagine being locked in jail for five or even more years of your life that you can never get back for something that you had no part in. That has to be the worst thing I can imagine and I would wish it on nobody. I kind of thought of going into the justice system when I got older, but that would be a heavy load to bear so I decided against it.

Bias is a subconscious decision that can't be controlled but it can be so serious that it can change someones life forever. This really shows that peoples bias can sometimes be even more important than fact. There are a few exceptions but overall people stick with what they believe and subconsciously want to believe. People are not always fair but sometimes it's hard to change because we can't really do anything about it.

Gender: Female

Race/Ethnicity: Black and slightly mixed

Nationality: American

Sexual Orientation: Hetero

Age Group: 16

Hometown: Philadelphia Pa

Social Class: Middle Class

Religious Preference: Not really religious, but spiritual

Political Leaning: Progressive Liberal

Physical Appearance: I am tall, long hair, thin and athletic, easy to smile

Personality Characteristics: I am very shy at first, but after a while outgoing. I think I am very fun to be around. I am a little indecisive, which is a struggle I have to deal with sometimes.

Role in Life (ie. mother, father, daughter, occupation): student, daughter, sister, friend.

https://abagond.wordpress.com/2009/05/29/the-clark-doll-experiment/

I am a young Black heterosexual female. I was born into a middle class family in the West Mount Airy neighborhood in Philadelphia, and have lived here my whole life. West Mount Airy, is one of the first fully integrated neighborhoods in the United States.  It is an example of a progressive neighborhood that was the focus of many sociological and anthropological studies over the past few decades.  When my mom was growing up in West Mount Airy it was very similar to how it is today, there were strong liberal populations, a vibrant Jewish synagogue, upwardly mobile Blacks and progressive Whites, (some people called them hippies).

I attend Science Leadership Academy which is a public high school in Philadelphia. Living in Philadelphia, I have been exposed to many different types of people and different types of cultures. All of this exposure has brought me to realize that someones biases are formed through the stereotypes and cultures that they have experienced. All of the different parts that make up who I am have helped me create my own perspective. Through taking a couple Implicit Association Tests(IAT), I have come to realize a couple of my own personal biases.

Admittedly, I was a little surprised at the results. When taking the sexuality IAT, it was revealed that I had a “slight automatic preference” to straight people rather than gay people. That is not the way that I view myself, or the world. I had always been around different people growing up, and to see this result puzzled me. Being straight has always been considered a “social norm” and even though in my immediate life I didn’t have people telling me that it was the right way, there is so much that I hear around me in the media that influences my opinions. I don’t consider myself to have a preference to straight people. When I thought a little deeper about this, I figured that I could have gotten this result because I am heterosexual. I know more about being heterosexual and can relate to other people that are heterosexual and I think that is why I might have responded to the heterosexual pictures faster. While that may be the reason, or one of the reasons, it was still very surprising to me because someone’s sexual preference has never been, and will never be notable to me. Obviously, I can tell when my friends, acquaintances and classmates are gay, but it has never meant anything to me. To me they were just a regular person. It is no more notable than if someone has blue eyes or brown.  My friends aren’t my ‘gay’ friends, they are just my friends, it has always been that way and will always be that way.

In class one day, we started talking about our own biases and I went over to a friend of mine.

“You went to private school and then you want to public right?”

“Yeah, I was raised in a private school, but I then transferred, I feel like I fit in with both types of people.”

“Yeah I agree, you’re like an urban girl but you’re also like a private school girl. I think that you fit in more with us and feel more comfortable with us though.”

We talked about how growing up, I went to a predominantly white Quaker school. I then went to a public school where there were people that were so much different than the people at my old private school. When I took the Race IAT, I was also a bit shocked to see that I had a slight preference to European Americans. I am friends with all different types of people who come from all different types of racial backgrounds. I was expecting to get “no preference” but that is not how it turned out. My Quaker education was really helpful in the way that I view people that are different from myself. I wouldn’t say that it is good that I have a preference for European Americans, but I would say that maybe it has helped me with my view on other people. I think that it is really common to have a preference to European Americans rather than African Americans. In the media, the white people are shown with power, and all throughout history they have been shown with power as well. As shown in Dr. Kenneth Clark’s experiment; when kids were asked to pick between an African American and an European American doll, most children picked the European American doll, even the African Americans. He did a couple different tests, and in each test, the majority of the kids picked the white doll. He asked them questions, about which looks nicer, which looked worse, When that is what we hear around us, it is easy for a person’s opinion to be changed. It isn't exactly a coincidence that my bias is like a lot of Americans. Many possible causes for this can be how people are portrayed on the internet, books, and other sources in the media. Even though my answers were not as I expected them to be, I have an understanding of why.

Through researching and taking implicit association tests, I have found out so much about myself. I was very surprised and would have never thought I would have the bias that I have. Even though I was very surprised, I can understand why I got this answer. Through this whole experience, I have begun to figure out my own personal bias.

http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/01/24/actualidad/1390546702_943222.html

Lauren Thomas & Andrew Roberts         Q2

Senorita Manuel

El terrorismo golpea el cuartel general de la seguridad en El Cairo

El viernes pasado, una grupa de terroristas atacó mucho ubicaciones en el ciudad de Cairo, Egipto.  La primera ataque era el Dirección de Seguridad.  Este ataque lesionó sesenta y seis personas y mató cuatro otros.  Los principales complejos fue el sede de policía y seguridad en Cairo.  Un terrorista suicida condujo un carro en el edificio, y se pudo oír también en los barrios adyacentes.

El segundo ataque era tres horas más tarde. El explosión mató un policía y heridas a una quincena de personas. El explosión era cerca una estación de metro de la capital. Entonces, otro explosión ocurrió. Este ataque era minutos después. Este explosion era en un suburbio de El Cairo. Etsa ataque fue sin víctimas. Pero el explosión era cerca un estación de policía en Giza. Las piramides son aqui.

El cuarto y final ataque era varias horas más tarde, cerca un cine, matando una persona. Este es un de las series de los ataques a la ciudad. Los ataques son un grande problema. Todos los ataques son antes del aniversario la revolución que depuso al dictador Hosni Mubarak.

Nadie ha reclamado responsabilidad para los ataques, pero hay un sospechoso: Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, o “partisanos de Jerusalén.”  Eso grupo es un organización yihadista basada en Sinaí.  Ellos han reclamado responsabilidad para otros ataques cómo este ataque, pero el gobierno quiere culpar los Hermanos Musulmanes, su enemigo.

Nosotros aprendimos nueva vocabulario de este artículo. Nosotros aprendimos que  islamista es “islamist” en Inglés. Nosotros aprendimos que fachada es “facade” en Inglés. Nosotros aprendimos que motociclistas es “motorcyclists” en Inglés.

Nosotros decidimos escribir sobre este artículo porque este artículo es un evento actual.

Gracious por su tiempo.

Lauren Thomas & Andrew Roberts        Q2

Senorita Manuel

El terrorismo golpea el cuartel general de la seguridad en El Cairo

El viernes pasado, una grupa de terroristas atacó mucho ubicaciones en el ciudad de Cairo, Egipto.  La primera ataque era el Dirección de Seguridad.  Este ataque lesionó sesenta y seis personas y mató cuatro otros.  Los principales complejos fue el sede de policía y seguridad en Cairo.  Un terrorista suicida condujo un carro en el edificio, y se pudo oír también en los barrios adyacentes.

El segundo ataque era tres horas más tarde. El explosión mató un policía y heridas a una quincena de personas. El explosión era cerca una estación de metro de la capital. Entonces, otro explosión ocurrió. Este ataque era minutos después. Este explosion era en un suburbio de El Cairo. Etsa ataque fue sin víctimas. Pero el explosión era cerca un estación de policía en Giza. Las piramides son aqui.

El cuarto y final ataque era varias horas más tarde, cerca un cine, matando una persona. Este es un de las series de los ataques a la ciudad. Los ataques son un grande problema. Todos los ataques son antes del aniversario la revolución que depuso al dictador Hosni Mubarak.

Nadie ha reclamado responsabilidad para los ataques, pero hay un sospechoso: Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, o “partisanos de Jerusalén.”  Eso grupo es un organización yihadista basada en Sinaí.  Ellos han reclamado responsabilidad para otros ataques cómo este ataque, pero el gobierno quiere culpar los Hermanos Musulmanes, su enemigo.

Nosotros aprendimos nueva vocabulario de este artículo. Nosotros aprendimos que  islamista es “islamist” en Inglés. Nosotros aprendimos que fachada es “facade” en Inglés. Nosotros aprendimos que motociclistas es “motorcyclists” en Inglés.

Nosotros decidimos escribir sobre este artículo porque este artículo es un evento actual.

Gracious por su tiempo.

Lauren Thomas & Andrew Roberts         Q2

Senorita Manuel

El terrorismo golpea el cuartel general de la seguridad en El Cairo

El viernes pasado, una grupa de terroristas atacó mucho ubicaciones en el ciudad de Cairo, Egipto.  La primera ataque era el Dirección de Seguridad.  Este ataque lesionó sesenta y seis personas y mató cuatro otros.  Los principales complejos fue el sede de policía y seguridad en Cairo.  Un terrorista suicida condujo un carro en el edificio, y se pudo oír también en los barrios adyacentes.

El segundo ataque era tres horas más tarde. El explosión mató un policía y heridas a una quincena de personas. El explosión era cerca una estación de metro de la capital. Entonces, otro explosión ocurrió. Este ataque era minutos después. Este explosion era en un suburbio de El Cairo. Etsa ataque fue sin víctimas. Pero el explosión era cerca un estación de policía en Giza. Las piramides son aqui.

El cuarto y final ataque era varias horas más tarde, cerca un cine, matando una persona. Este es un de las series de los ataques a la ciudad. Los ataques son un grande problema. Todos los ataques son antes del aniversario la revolución que depuso al dictador Hosni Mubarak.

Nadie ha reclamado responsabilidad para los ataques, pero hay un sospechoso: Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, o “partisanos de Jerusalén.”  Eso grupo es un organización yihadista basada en Sinaí.  Ellos han reclamado responsabilidad para otros ataques cómo este ataque, pero el gobierno quiere culpar los Hermanos Musulmanes, su enemigo.

Nosotros aprendimos nueva vocabulario de este artículo. Nosotros aprendimos que  islamista es “islamist” en Inglés. Nosotros aprendimos que fachada es “facade” en Inglés. Nosotros aprendimos que motociclistas es “motorcyclists” en Inglés.

Nosotros decidimos escribir sobre este artículo porque este artículo es un evento actual.

Gracious por su tiempo.

WORD COUNT: 278

We all have biases. Unfortunately, sometimes our biases distract us from what is right. In the recent  past, there have been several criminal cases in which justice was disrupted due to law enforcement’s bias against or towards a certain group of people. Whether it’s racial profiling by law enforcement or stereotypes held by the jury, bias can turn the entire justice process inside out. Racial bias affects criminal cases to the extent that the criminals often get turned into victims.

Professor Jerry Kang from UCLA calls them “schemas”. He goes on to explain that we often associate these schemas to larger ideas. When our mind categorizes simple things into larger concepts, and we associate them with larger ideas. “Automatically, we categorize individuals by age, gender, race, and role. Once the individual is mapped into that category, specific meanings associated with that category are immediately activated and influence our interaction with that individual”. This means that when we have an experience or simply learn about a category of people, our minds automatically influence our judgement.

In 1989, there was a case in New York City that sparked a lot of controversy in America. The case involved 5 African-American/Hispanic teenagers that were convicted of raping an upper class white woman, Trisha Meili- the “Central Park jogger”. On April 19, 1989, Trisha was attacked and severely beaten. The 5 young men convicted at the time were: Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise. Once the police got the the crime scene, they bought them in for questioning. The boys were giving little to no information that can give the detectives a lead. The detectives told the boys that all they needed to do was give a story, confess and they can go home. Each of them did thinking that it was it. The prosecutors and detectives used the confession tapes to convict. However, 13 years later the real rapist, Matias Reyes admitted to the crime.

The two main prosecutors in the case were Elizabeth Lederer and Linda Fairstein. The detectives investigating the case were Det. Humberto Arroyo and Carlos Gonzalez. When the boys were brought in for questioning, they were intensely, almost violently questioned. Such treatment led the boys to essentially confess.  It is understandable that a detective trying to solve a case, will get inpatient and upset, but it is unacceptable to carry it as far as the did. The detectives split the boys up and tricked them into admitting to a crime they didn’t commit just to get a confession. The details of the five boys’ stories didn’t match what was found at the crime scene, but these inconsistencies were ignored. Elizabeth Lederer , the lead prosecutor didn’t even bother to put the boys on the stand.

The documentary, “Central Park Five”, was released in 2012. It focused particularly on the differing stories of the boys. . The prosecutors, police, and jurors involved didn’t choose to participate in the film. Identifying the bias of the law enforcement agendas is obvious. specifically wasn’t hard at all. Implicit bias is the certain stereotypes that affect our decisions, and understandings. Implicit bias is being studied in the judicial decision making. This means making a decision based on your current understanding or even stereotypes that we are familiar with.  During conviction, all the boys went to juvenile detention centers except for Korey. He was the eldest and was sent to Riker’s Island. This was simply unfair being that just because he was 16, he was sent to an adult facility. This is age discrimination, treating someone less favorably because of their age.  Racism was and still is an issue today in many ways but it is only discussed when something like this happens. When the racial bias of law enforcement is publicized. When a rape case of an upper class white woman hits the air, all of a sudden everyone is interested. Sometimes, the subjects of the case determine whether the case will be covered as severely or publicized. Example, the previous rape recently in New York that got little to none because the attacker and the victim were of the same racial background. A test of our “justice” system. Donald Trump contributed to the storm by saying, “You better believe that I hate the people that took this girl and raped her brutally. You better believe it.” Not only did he openly voice his opinion, but he added it in 4 local newspapers saying that the death penalty should be brought back. Would Donald Trump care and have commented if this woman were to be found in an alley or in Harlem? Wasn’t hard to find either. A woman, the same night of the jogger attack, was rapped and thrown off a four-story building. Sure, teenagers have a reputation to always be under some sort of mischief, but African American teenagers? Guilty without question; but it wouldn’t be fair at all to bring the death penalty into play without even testing DNA and hearing their statements. In the documentary, there was a connection to Emmett Till. Young black males, white woman as victim. Harsh punishments. The racial bias was obvious to this point that a connection can even be made! Emmett Till’s punishment doesn’t fairly compare to a prison sentence but at a minor extent, they are similar. Justice wasn’t served in either case.

The goal of the prosecutors were clearly to put these boys in jail. To punish them for a crime that they knew that they didn’t commit. There was no evidence. The DNA from the crime scene didn’t match any of the boys. When Trisha woke up from a coma, she was not able to recall anything from that night of the attack. A white journalist says that it was a good thing. Maybe because she could have sent these boys home.  ⅗ of the boys family’s were able to afford to bail them out. Raymond and Korey remained imprisoned. The truth still hadn’t come out yet. Social psychologist, Saul Kassin stated that once we form a strong belief that someone is guilty of a crime, all the details that can prove us wrong, we tend to ignore them. This proves that original goal of the prosecutors. Once they associate “guilty” with these young men, it was impossible for them to steer off and let them walk. Can perhaps their bias be against African-Americans? I think it is safe to conclude that this was a racial hate crime.

The bias within this whole case is clear. Little to nothing was fair. Terrorizing and pressuring these young teens to admit to a crime they didn’t commit. Sending Korey to an adult facility! Adding extra time to Raymond’s sentence when caught with a drug charge just because he was apart of this case prior. It seems that some people are comfortable with their bias within society, that is, if we identify it. Implicit bias, is not limited in the judicial system and it must be something that the system is comfortable with. Sometimes it is a bad thing but it becomes a personal thing because then we’d sit around and judge everyone because of their bias but if they are fine with it, who are we to judge because we have blind spots of our own. My personal bias attracted me to analyse this case. My reaction watching the documentary was like many, “Wow, that’s unfair!” and “What kind of “justice” system do we live in?” but my reaction may be different of someone not within my “category”. I am a African-American teenager. The subjects of this crime were African-Americans. We are within the same “category” so my understanding and sympathy may be stronger than an “outsider” who might not understand but I have a connection with the boys that the “outsider” wouldn’t. The way I viewed the case is okay being different than someone else.

Citations:

1. Gove, Tracey G. "Police Chief Magazine." Police Chief Magazine. N.p., Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. <http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch>.

2. "Central Park Five." NY Daily News. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. <http://www.nydailynews.com/services/central-park-five#trial2>.

3. Central Park Five. Dir. Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon. Perf. Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, and Yusef Salaam. 2012. Netflix.

4. Press, The Associated. "Woman Is Raped and Thrown From a Roof." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 May 1989. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/04/nyregion/woman-is-raped-and-thrown-from-a-roof.html>.

5. "Age Discrimination." Age Discrimination. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. <http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/age.cfm>.

Jonas Bromley

1/22/14

Bias In Police Force

When making arrests police officers in the United States are unfairly biased towards minority races. During 1995-1997 in Maryland, there was a court mandate for a poll to be taken on interstate ninety five, counting the number of african american drivers pulled over versus the amount of white drivers pulled over. Only twelve point seven percent of drivers on the road were african american and sixty percent of the drivers pulled over were african american. This means that even though the ratio of black to white drivers was almost nine to one, even though three fifths of the drivers pulled over were black. This shows how biased american police officers are. There are many more cases in our society that demonstrate the same results.

In the documentary Central Park Five, five teenagers, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson,  Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise,  ranging in ages from fourteen to sixteen were out in Central Park one night with a bunch of friends. These five teens were with a group of people who were harassing pedestrians and beating up random people. These five are only guilty of these crimes by association. On the same night a jogger got brutally raped while jogging in central park. The police arrested a bunch of the teens who were out that night including the five who this documentary is about. They made a bunch of the teens say that certain people had committed these crimes just because the police wanted people to blame. These five teens were forced by the police to turn themselves and each other in, giving false testimonies. When telling these testimonies they were told to put themselves in the scene to make it more believable. They were told by the police that they were just going to be witnesses, but they were convicted and put on trial.

This case and trial were all over the news, but strangely enough a rape case that had happened just before this one had had gotten next to no publicity. In this case a woman was raped and then thrown off the roof of a building! The reason that this case had almost no publicity was that, one reporter speculated, both the victim and the perpetrator were of the same race. So in a city where there was, on average, three murders a day why did this case get so much publicity? The reason the Central Park Five case got so much publicity was because the victim was a white, upperclass, investor, and the rapists were lower class African American and Latino teenagers. This case was completely about race and not actually about the person who had been abused and raped, or the teens who had been wrongly accused and convicted.

In an article on Pbs four people involved in Santa Clara County’s justice system talk about racial unfairness in the judicial system District Attorney Kurt Kumli talks about the differences in treatment between races. He gives a hypothetical example of two teens, from different backgrounds who have committed the same crime. One of the teens is white, upper class and has a mom that doesn’t work. The family says, “I will always be at home and watch him, we will provide for all of the services that he needs, we will make sure he goes to a personal counselor.”  and the judge then says, “Sounds good to me. I will take advantage of these resources. It will not drain on the system. You are out of custody.” You take another teen who does not come from a privileged family, and cannot provide all of these services. These circumstances create the racial disparity. This is a good example of what can happen in cases when there are differences in economic class.

In an article entitled New ACLU Report Finds Overwhelming Racial Bias in Marijuana Arrests, the ACLU report states that in counties with racial disparities people of color are thirty times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than whites. These disparities were apparent 10 years ago but are much more pronounced now. Ezekiel Edwards, a member of the ACLU states that, "The war on marijuana has disproportionately been a war on people of color." Ezekiel also states that, "State and local governments have aggressively enforced marijuana laws selectively against Black people and communities, needlessly ensnaring hundreds of thousands of people in the criminal justice system at tremendous human and financial cost." This shows that people think that the government tries to target people of color for some arrests. Which can not be true. This makes things worse because if people believe something is a certain way then they will act on it.

According to another study by the ACLU in Oakland, California: seventy three point five percent of arrests made by the police between 2006 and 2012 are arresting African American boys when they only make up twenty nine point three percent of the population. Also the Oakland School Police Department, over the last two years, has arrested 85 students. Seventy three percent of students arrested were black. None of the students arrested were white. These statistics prove that there is racial bias in arrests in the United States. These arrests are also harmful to the communities they are conducted in because if a person is falsely arrested or arrested for something they should not be arrested for then if it happens to them again it is a longer sentence. Furthermore it will make it harder to find work and get into colleges in the future.

When making arrests police officers in the U.S. are negatively biased towards minority races. Racial bias in the U.S. makes it harder for many people in this country to proceed with their everyday lives. It also contributes to the countries already crowded prisons and wastes the time and money of everybody. Furthermore it could spiral upwards because police officers who are biased towards minorities have more of a reason to be when they see the numbers in jails. This could make them arrest more minorities for unfair reasons which would make higher numbers of minorities in jails and the whole thing would keep going.