Hands Up Don't Shoot

Hands Up Don't Shoot

Adult nonfiction
In 2014 Michael Brown was shot in Ferguson, Missouri. Accounts
differ on the circumstances leading up to his death. But the fact
that his body was left out in the hot sun for four hours is
indisputable.
In 2015 Freddie Gray was arrested in Baltimore. Police ignored
his requests for an asthma inhaler. After receiving no medical
attention he was loaded unsecured into a transport van. After a week
in a coma he died of spinal injuries.
They were Black men. None of the police officers involved with
their deaths were convicted. At their times of death they were the
latest in a litany of murdered Black men and women whose police
officer killers served no time and in many cases weren't even
indicted. Long, heated protests flared up in both cities.
In Hands Up Don't Shoot criminal justice professor Jennifer
Cobbina examines the factors that led to those two cities flaring up
while public reactions to police murders of Blacks in other cities had
fizzled out. Her research team interviewed almost two hundred
Baltimore and Ferguson residents on a number of dimensions such as
experiences with and perceptions of local police and reasons for
protesting. They discovered that their data fit well with the
flashpoints model with its seven interconnected levels. This shows
why simple solutions, such as hiring more Black police officers, are
doomed to futility.
If you really want to understand and help solve the complex,
intermeshed problems the book covers you'll find Hands Up Don't Shoot
to be a must read.
On a purrrsonal note, Eugene went hunting Saturday so that made it a
work day for me. Sunday was amazing. Pastor Mariah incorporated a
poem I wrote into her sermon and people loved it. That filled my
heart with joy. Tobago cat has now started hymn singing in her own
language. When a hymn starts she jumps up near my laptop and begins
melodiously meowing. I managed a trip to Goodwill and got shirts and
other good stuff. And I had phone chats with all three of my kids.
Can't ask for more.
The temps are dipping. I'm now needing gloves if I do my walking in
the morning. (Jules)
I do have a most melodious meow. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Pastor Mariah and our church family.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway




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