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My hero for a day

Submitted by Prometheus 6 on May 16, 2006 - 9:54pm.
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Quote of note:

It is telling how mutely we absorb that fact, which gives tacit approval to this means of controlling a population whose mere existence we have historically found threatening and inconvenient.

...it's no accident African-American children are always so well represented in those lousy places.

So our concern for them now feels--well, let's call it belated. And self-deluding.

Those children were right where we wanted them to be. 

Using boot camps, prisons to control black children
By Leonard Pitts, a syndicated columnist based in Washington: Tribune Media Services
Published May 16, 2006

So now we know how Martin Lee Anderson died.

We can forget the original autopsy report filed by Charles Siebert, a doctor so inept he wasn't technically a doctor (he had allowed his license to lapse) when he issued the report. A doctor so inept he once described a person he autopsied as having "unremarkable" testes. The person was a woman.

Siebert claimed that after being hit, manhandled and choked by guards Jan. 5 at a so-called boot camp in Panama City, Fla., the 14-year-old Anderson died of sickle cell trait, a genetic blood disorder carried by 1 in 12 Americans of African heritage. That finding has been roundly hooted by real doctors, who say it is unlikely in the extreme the condition could lead to death. Recently, a new autopsy told a different story. Dr. Vernard Adams, Tampa's chief medical examiner, found that the teen died because guards covered his mouth and forced him to inhale ammonia.

Just so you know, Martin Lee Anderson was an A and B student, good at math. He wound up in the boot camp after he took his grandmother's car for a joy ride.

...It is telling how mutely we absorb that fact, which gives tacit approval to this means of controlling a population whose mere existence we have historically found threatening and inconvenient.

In the Jim Crow years, the institutions of government and society could hardly have been more brazen in pursuit of that goal. White teachers told black students they should aspire to no goal higher than to work as janitors and cooks. White cops turned black suspects over to lynch mobs.

It could never happen that way in this enlightened era, of course. And yet, it happens in other ways. A 2002 report by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University says black kids are labeled as emotionally disturbed or mentally retarded and shipped off to special-education classes at rates of up to four times those of white kids. A 2000 study co-sponsored by the Justice Department tells us that, of people who've never done time in juvenile facilities, a black drug defendant is 48 times more likely to be jailed than a white one with the same record.

The means have changed, but the end--repression, control--remains the same.

Granted, there may have been some white kids in that fetid, flooded prison. There were certainly some in that brutal boot camp. Yet, it's no accident African-American children are always so well represented in those lousy places.

So our concern for them now feels--well, let's call it belated. And self-deluding.

Those children were right where we wanted them to be.

 

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Burns Me Up
Submitted by qusan on May 17, 2006 - 12:11am.
The very first thing that pisses me off about this story is that they tried to use the LIE that this boy died from complications due to the sickle cell trait. I HAVE the dang trait and it doesn't have symptoms and, certainly, doesn't cause death! The only way I knew I had it was from having blood tested before surgery ... when I was an adult. That they would even go there made my blood boil. Second, this child got sent to that camp after joy riding in his grandmother's car. Was his life worth no more than that? There is definitely a trend against our boys - as always. A friend of mine has a two year old son (soon to be three). He was kicked out of his daycare. I've NEVER seen this child cut up or act out. They claim he has a bad temper when he can't have his way! HELLO! He's TWO. Isn't that what they do by default? What daycare doesn't know how to handle that? Tell me no little white two year old does that and I'll go to the grocery store right now with my camera phone and catch one laid out on any aisle! They've got the cause of death - finally. But unless someone goes to jail for murder, this crime is not solved.
"I HAVE the dang trait and
Submitted by Ourstorian on May 17, 2006 - 11:57am.

"I HAVE the dang trait and it doesn't have symptoms and, certainly, doesn't cause death! The only way I knew I had it was from having blood tested before surgery ... when I was an adult."

qusan, your assertion that sickle cell trait (Hb AS) is asymptomatic is incorrect. Persons with sickle cell trait do experience a number of health issues related to the condition, and in some situations it can be a cause of death. The fact you were tested prior to surgery is indicative of a well established medical concern that some trait carriers may experience life-threatening complications when placed under anesthesia. Complications also can occur at high altitudes or when scuba diving at depths below thirty feet. In these particular cases, oxygen deprivation causes the medical problems for trait carriers. But I also should point out that it is common for a significant percentage of the red blood cells of trait carriers to sickle (take on an abnormal shape) under certain conditions (infection, fatigue, compromised immune system, oxygen deprivation, etc.). The sickling in and of itself can cause severe problems in some trait carriers.

You should also be aware that trait carriers generally are anemic. This can be more of a problem for females than males, but it is not something to be taken lightly. Of course not all trait carriers have the same experiences with the condition. You are probably one of the lucky ones. But it is my experience--having worked in the past for nearly a decade with individuals and families affected by sickle cell anemia and other hemoglobinopathies--that the literature and counseling related to sickle cell trait tends to minimize the potential symptoms associated with the condition. This is primarily a matter of politics, given the frequency with which sickle cell trait appears in the African American population (1 out of 10) and the stigma historically associated with sickle cell disease.

This article provides an excellent overview of the medical complications associated with sickle cell trait.

Anemia
Submitted by qusan on May 20, 2006 - 8:29am.
I am anemic but then I have also been battling chronic problems with fibroids (that grow into baby sized intrusions) for a couple of decades  and, needless to say, lead to issues that make me anemic. That boy was choked to death - PERIOD - and to think that they were trying to say that if he didn't have the trait they could have choked him a little harder is absurd.

I will, however, be mindful of Mt. Everest (afraid of heights so won't happen) or deep sea diving (can't swim anyway).  I am sure that is an issue with most inner city blacks - NOT!

Other than that,  my sister and I have been lucky - for 40+ years.
"That boy was choked to
Submitted by Ourstorian on May 20, 2006 - 11:16am.

"That boy was choked to death - PERIOD"...

No doubt. I too believe he was brutally murdered and sickle cell trait had nothing to do with it.

"I will, however, be mindful of Mt. Everest (afraid of heights so won't happen) or deep sea diving (can't swim anyway). I am sure that is an issue with most inner city blacks - NOT!"

I made my comments above because I felt it was important to correct a common and potentially dangerous misconception that sickle cell trait (Hb AS) is completely benign and asymptomatic. You may disregard my remarks, as is your prerogative, but that doesn't alter the serious problems that face some sickle cell trait carriers. They don't have to go up in the Himalayas or explore the Mariana Trench to become sick, as the linked article above points out.

I'm glad to hear you and your sister have been among the fortunate many in your experiences with sickle cell trait. Others who carry the trait, and there are millions among us, need to be fully informed.

 

 

Well Taken
Submitted by qusan on May 20, 2006 - 1:25pm.
I've looked for information to see if the trait had any impact and couldn't find any. My anemia is an issue but when you are otherwise Jada Pinkett sized with a lower tummy that makes you look pregnant and keep growing fibroids that press on blood vessels every month, I don't need to get graphic as to why I am anemic. The blood test was routine prior to surgery and my first one was cancelled until they could further research the trait to see if it would have an impact. I will definitely pass info on the trait along but simply will not accept that they didn't kill that child then try to use the sickle cell trait excuse.
Sickle cell anemia doesn't
Submitted by Ourstorian on May 20, 2006 - 2:37pm.

Sickle cell anemia doesn't seem to get much press these days. But in the past it often was used as an excuse to deny jobs and other opportunities to black folks. Now it seems some folks are willing to stoop so low as to use sickle cell trait to cover up a murder. Given the vast numbers of incarcerated blacks and Latinos (also a group affected by sickle cell anemia), I imagine this wasn't the first time sickle cell was used to cover-up a case of police brutality and abuse.

Also note that the young man was sent to boot camp for "stealing" his grandmother's car to joy ride. I wonder how many white kids get locked up for doing the same thing? Most, I imagine, probably get a finger wagged in their face by a judge, then probation, and then their records expunged.

Cover ups
Submitted by himitsu on May 23, 2006 - 5:41pm.
Cover ups are common for the government. It does not matter which way it goes, there will always be cover ups of situations they do not like. Like this one, the boot camp want way too far out and a tragic death was the result. I have seen in the past white kids deaths being covered up as well, when the government is at fault. We must unite to fight all kinds of cover ups, because if we allow for some cover ups it will surely bite you.

Yes he is
Submitted by himitsu on May 23, 2006 - 5:42pm.
It is quite true. There is work that needs to be done in order to get things back straight. But the question is it too late? WIll we be able to turn the tide?
Cover ups are common for the
Submitted by Prometheus 6 on May 23, 2006 - 7:05pm.

Cover ups are common for the government.

For the record though the local government was responsible, such "boot camps" tend to be privately run.

That doesn't improve the situation at all, of course.