Today, in light of 45's aggression toward peaceful protestors, I sent the following email to my Congresswoman. I'm also mailing a copy.
Good Afternoon Representative Scanlon,
My name is Stephen Flemming. I'm one of your constituents and a public school teacher here in Philadelphia. I just wanted to express my outrage at the President's use of force against those who were peacefully protesting the murder of George Floyd and of countless other Black lives by the police. I watched live on CNN as law enforcement on horses and on foot deployed tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protestors and the press!! I was thoroughly disgusted, again, by the President's disregard and blatant violation of my fellow citizens' first amendment rights to peaceably assemble and to redress their grievances with our government through demonstration and free speech! The fact that the purpose of these militaristic tactics was simply for the President to take a picture in front of a church while holding the most sacred book in my life, the Holy Bible, makes his actions even more offensive and repugnant!
I did see your tweet addressing the issue and for that I thank you! Keep fighting on behalf of your constituency, including those of us who are people of color and Black, specifically. Since the "founding" of this country, Black lives have been exploited and taken by the State with near impunity. It is high time for the United States government to reckon with its sins against Black humanity through but not limited to criminal justice and law enforcement reform. One area that needs a discussion and revisiting is the legal doctrine of qualified immunity. Law enforcement communities need to understand that the consequences for capriciously taking Black lives will be severe both legally and civilly. As a member of the prestigious House Judiciary Committee, you are uniquely positioned to represent the people of PA-5, including those of us who are Black on matters related to qualified immunity.
I appreciate your attention and advocacy on this issue in advance and I look forward to fighting with you, somehow and someway!
SRF
No comments:
Post a Comment