This morning’s guest writer goes by the pseudonym of Sharon Lee for reasons that will become obvious. Here is her story.
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I’m gonna step in a vipers nest here but oh well.
I was on the train at Broadway Lafayette today and there was a huge protest about Jordan Neely (who was accidentally killed after being so erratic 2 NYCers felt they had to restrain him). He died after being placed in a choke hold. The man who initially grabbed and held him was a 24 year old marine, as well as another strap hanger who stepped in to help him, because Mr. Neely was so erratic they felt they were all in danger.
I’ll link the full story in my comments.
No arrests were made following the death of Jordan Neely, and now BLM is going nuts saying his “murderer” is “a vigilante” who should be prosecuted for murder.
Yet no one talks about the fact that “Jordan Neely had been arrested more than 40 times on the subway for crimes like public lewdness and assaulting a senior citizen.”
“According to sources, witnesses to his final moments told police Neely was erratic and hostile — but it’s not clear if he was threatening violence.”
Now, I’m not saying what happened was right, but I don’t think anyone intended to kill him. And I think his actions caused others to believe he could and may be a danger to other riders, so much so that 2 mem stepped up to prevent that. Jordan Neely died in the process. Sad story, but…
I saw the protest first hand, and the cops showed incredible restraint whilst having insults hurled at them (including a black officer who got called a “traitorous Uncle Tom house negro”, spittle hitting his face from a protester screaming not 5 inches from it. Credit to him, as I couldn’t have handed it so well, but I digress.
Jordan’s death sucked, but in this specific case I think BLM just jumped immediately into turning this into an opportunity to make a martyr out of someone, while calling for a marine to be charged with murder, when Neeley was screaming about how he didn’t care if he died and acting aggressively towards others (and records show this was a pattern of his, including assaulting a senior citizen). God knows what he wasn’t caught for.
That is a simple truth people won’t wanna hear but there it is.
This story really highlights a few different issues.
One is the desperate need for more places to treat and house unstable, mentally disabled homeless people (not to mention what to do with those who have records of assaulting people).
Then we have the issue of treating and rehabilitating drug addicted homeless (who have and are posing serious public safety hazards to everyday commutors). I don’t mean all of them, but there is a huge increase in assaults and murders on the subway committed by quite a few of them.
Next is the fact that NYCs justice system is completely overwhelmed, and allowing people who have violent records to go back onto the streets regardless of how many times they have repeatedly committed both violent and non violent crimes, over and over, time and time again.
No one should have over 40 charges in just a few years’ time and still be allowed back onto the streets, especially when they are unwilling to get help and unwilling to change their criminal behavior.
Which leaves everyday New Yorkers at risk of being harassed, harangued, threatened and assaulted, with a feeling of utter helplessness. Not to mention the police, who have finally begun arresting and charging people with quality of life crimes, at a loss for what to do when our system simply isn’t capable of dealing with the humongous amount of those who need help, let alone those who refuse any help.
Many homeless are unwilling to utilize any help offered by the city, and are completely opposed to even talking to the scores of social workers (putting their own lives at risk) who are going into the community offering help with housing, treatment and food. I live in the Bronx. I am a witness to this.
The fact is NYC is in crisis, and has been for a while. The Mayor’s office has pumped a lot into housing, treatment and building affordable homes and programs to help those who want it. Yet there are those who will not, who continue to pose a serious threat to public safety. Which leaves us ill equipped to deal with this in any realistic capacity, as we have no options but to utilize an already over burdened justice system.
The amount of assaults (and public health and safety hazards) caused by the mentally unstable, sometimes drug addicted, homeless have reached an all time high (and if you ride the subways you know this). I have never felt scared until these past few years to ride the subways as I am now, and I am really glad the police are back out in force and arresting people again.
We cannot continue to allow repeat offenders, especially violent offenders, to get off without any consequences. The fact that Neely was arrested over 40 times in recent years, and for assaulting a senior citizen, is a perfect example of this.
What happened to him is unfortunate, but I for one, feel a bit better knowing he won’t be a danger to anyone, including himself, anymore. The marine who held him down is probably traumatized as hell and believed he was protecting his fellow NYCers. Doubt he cared if Jordan was black, white or purple.
This was not a racially motovated attack. It’s just a very sad, very fucked-up story. And there will probably be more stories like this as New yorkers take their safety into their own hands as we have been forced to.
This marine was not a vigilante. And, unfortunately, Jordan was no innocent.
So let’s stop making martyrs out of criminals.
There are plenty of people for BLM to stand up for. Jordan, unfortunately, is not one of them. And the cops don’t deserve the amount of hatred and nastiness being spewed at them. Not this time.
They’re the ones putting on a uniform that makes them a target, while getting treated like garbage, knowing the state of the city right now. They do their jobs anyway. God knows the NYPD isn’t perfect, but this tragic tale is just being used as an excuse for more division, and made into something it never should have been.
If we spent half as much time actually addressing the underlying causes, and working on real solutions to them, as was taken to organize and rally this protest, which isn’t worth a protest anyway, we’d all be better off.
I am a proud liberal, Democrat, civil, womens and LGBTQ rights activist and supporter. Always have been, always will be. I will always stand for equality and against injustice. This case, however, is just the sad result of a conglomeration of much larger, systemic issues that need addressing.
In my opinion, instead of fighting each other and causing further divisions, we should be making moves to prevent another tragic tale such as this one from happening again. It starts with us not being overreactive and using every excuse as a reason to further divide us. And it’s a damn shame that this story is being twisted into anything more than the absolutely sad situation it is.
We have bigger fish to fry. And we can’t fry them unless we stop being reactionary and twisting stories like this into something they aren’t.
That’s my two cents, anyway, as a woman born and raised in NYC, who rides the subway, and has watched our city turn into what it has. Take it for what it’s worth, or don’t. I just felt this needed to be said.
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Sharon’s story has two after notes. The medical examiner who posted the body later concluded the death a homicide because the decedent’s neck had been compressed.
Sharon was also personally attacked by BLM protesters who asked, “Where’s my forty acres, you white bitch? You need to make reparations!” He added that he also wanted a mule.
The coroner’s report changes things. But it’s at most an accidental death: these men had only the safety of others in mind. Will they be prosecuted? Of course they will. The state fears what will happen if they don’t a lot more than they fear doing an injustice to two men who acted to help, not to kill. Their lives are now forfeit; anywhere they go, they will be hunted. One or both will turn up dead. Because a mob yelling obscenities to police who weren’t even involved is madness. Couple that with outrage, and you only end up with trouble. It’s unavoidable.
Memoirs of an American Asshole 