Dear Pat Lynch of the NYC Police Benevolence Association,
I have a few pressing questions;
If NYC police officers are now only making “necessary” arrests, were the numbers of arrests being made prior to the virtual work stoppage unnecessary?
If the military scaled back on their duties as a result of losing fellow soldiers, wouldn’t that be a victory for the enemy? If you believe that to be true, wouldn’t that rationale be applicable for police officers also?
If active military personnel turned their backs on the president, wouldn’t that be considered one of the highest forms of insult for authority and the body that governs? If you believe that to be true….
Has there ever been an instance where you believed a police officer was actually liable for any wrongdoing?
If the citizens for whom you provide a service are not content with the service being provided, shouldn’t the quality of service be revisited?
Should the citizens of Gotham be concerned than you seemingly have more control over the police force than the mayor and police commissioner combined?
You do of course realize the nut job that gunned down those officers is not representative of the masses in any capacity? If so, we would have regressed into anarchy long ago.
No one in their right mind is anti police. Truth be told, most people are pro justice. By that virtue alone, it would be wholly unjust for any society that champions equality to remain reticent when disproportionate numbers of any demographic is adversely afflicted, white, black, police, sanitation or otherwise. No one of sound mind wishes loss of life upon another. Is there anyway then we can at least agree on that and progress from there?
Dear outraged citizens of every race, color and creed,
If the grand jury would’ve indicted those officers, would that mean that the justice system works? Would that have brought solace and change to minority communities? The issue is not what we do or how we react after someone has been unjustly murdered. The issue is the mindset that sees African-Americans as a threat in the first place. The issue is the lack of repercussion for talking the life of an unarmed teen. Burning the city to the ground won’t do any good because that has been attempted already. Let’s not kid ourselves however. Singing “We Shall Overcome” and mass protests wont do anything either because we’ve tried that already also. Things will never change with the continued application of failed strategies.
While we lament about a lack of indictments, multiple unarmed teens have been killed since. While we discount precedent and continue to ask those that have historically oppressed us to be more just, we negate the only true means we have for change and equality; media and economic empowerment. Until and unless we decide to harness our intellectual property for our own benefit and invest our human capital in ways that truly effect change, we are all wasting energy and outrage.
Almost every year for the past 6 years and on the same day, I’ve posted the same pic of me in the hospital during my temporary and untimely demise in 2015. A few weeks after I was back to “normal”, I asked Eric “Why’d you take the pics?” And he said, “I knew you would want to write about it if you lived.” Eric was right. Eric was often right and Eric always had my best interest at heart. I am going to miss my friend.
You ever meet someone and become friends immediately?! Well this was not the case with Eric. Before he was my manager at Morgan Stanley, I would often see this 6’4″, giant white guy walk up to the only black woman at work, say something then walk away without any hint of human emotion. Naturally I thought he was a jerk until I asked her “Yo, is that dude bothering you?” She laughed and proceeded to tell me he was a great person, which I ultimately got to experience first hand. Little did I know this Italian from Staten Island was more Brooklyn than most Brooklynites.
Eric was not with the shits!! If there were ever someone who lived their life in direct, honest and no uncertain terms, that would be Eric. He would ask me questions at work like “Why are the other consultants making more money than you?” I knew the answer to that question and so did he. Eric then proceeded to increase my salary by 15K. After arguing with all our managers that “You need to hire Alfred!”, they eventually did 1 year prior to the 2015 incident. In the hospital, one of my friends asked me, “What if you didn’t have health insurance when this happened?” I would be in debt for the rest of my life is the obvious answer. I still am in debt for the rest of my life but at least, it is to those who made sure I had a more enjoyable life and for that, I will gladly repay.
My mom loved to tell me the story of how she met Eric. After they told her I was going to be in the ICU for some time, she told the doctor “Well I’m not going anywhere.” She then hears a voice from that back of the room that says “Well I’m not going anywhere either!” That was Eric and in true form, he was at that hospital every single day until I was discharged.
Eric passed away in December 2021 of stage 4 cancer. After feeling faint on his way to my bbq, he went to get checked out and was diagnosed. During the past 5 years, Eric lost his mom, twin brother and dad. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like but I’m glad that pain he was feeling is no more.
It’s been a bit difficult to deal with it to be quite honest and I’ve been writing this in my head for years but never had the bravery or grace to accept that my friend wouldn’t be here soon. I also can’t imagine what it must be like to lose your entire family nucleus unexpectedly. In true Eric fashion however, I would like this to not be about me but whomever has lost someone and has been coping. I’ve always intimated that my life would not be as enriched as it was were it not for the people in it. The problem with that is there is also no way to deny that it feels empty without those who helped craft your path. Rather than focus on the negative, I would rather focus on the examples of duty, family and emotional intelligence. All concepts reinforced by Eric that have led me to have successful relationships since I’ve put them into practice.
From being my manager to my business partner, writer, book editor, artistic director, and most importantly, my friend, I am going to miss you MC Krispy E a.k.a “Enrique Pollazo!” And although you told me Enrique means Henry in Spanish and not Eric, it was too late!
Sidebar. The day I was discharged, while everyone was deciding what was best for me, no one had remembered that I would need clothes in order to leave the hospital. Eric shows up (unasked) with all the clothes I had on the day I coded, laundered and ready to go. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve friends like this but i need to keep doing it! Sidebar complete.
I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a panel discussion on writing your first book, presented by the Harlem chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Alongside Jim St. Germain, Author – A Stone of Hope: A Memoir and Dr. Keneshia Nicole Grant, Author – The Great Migration and the Democratic Party:Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics in the 20th Century. We opined on pain points, benefits and strategies regarding our inaugural voyages into authorship. Feel free to watch for your self and I hope this provides some insight to all those looking to make the same voyage. Enjoy!
On March 11 this year, the digital artist Beeplesold a collage of digital images from his “Everydays” series for nearly 70 million dollars as an NFT, or non-fungible token. And if that sentence confuses you, you’re not alone.
A non-fungible token is a unit of data on a digital ledger called a blockchain, where each NFT can represent a unique digital item, and thus they are not interchangeable. NFTs can represent digital files such as art, audio, video, and other forms of creative work. While the digital files themselves are infinitely reproducible, the NFTs representing them are tracked on their underlying blockchains and provide buyers with proof of ownership.” – Wikipedia
Still confused? Let the artist himself explain it, and learn how he went from NFT newbie to making the third most expensive artwork by a living artist in three months. Not to suggest Beeple is an overnight success. The “Everydays” series alone involved creating a piece of art every day since May 1, 2007 – and he hasn’t missed a day.
Check out some of Beeple’s amazing and controversial work below.