American is in need of C.P.R. Terence L. Shigg discusses Crime, Policing and Reform. Then he puts all of these topics through the filter of the PIECE Process to stimulate thought and promote action to improve society and begin an infinite game.
American is in need of C.P.R. Terence L. Shigg discusses Crime, Policing and Reform. Then he puts all of these topics through the filter of the PIECE Process to stimulate thought and promote action to improve society and begin an infinite game.
get up in the morning.
Terence Shigg :Hello, and welcome back to the peace project. Today we'll be discussing CPR. And I know what most people think of CPR. And it is kind of like that, but I want to, to kind of put it in the perspective of the United States and it feels to me as I've watched the news and watch the different conventions and, and watch what is being talked about and what's been put into our, into our space, so to speak meaning into our minds and into our environment into our, our, our, our energy, I guess. It's almost as if the United States needs CPR. We need resuscitation, we need a reinvigorate aeration and re invention of what, what it is that we are the water that we are fighting over and fighting for. Because although it seems to be the same thing, the same intentions meaning, the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness and the things that are discussed in the constitution many people have very different ways of getting there and that seems to me we I can't say we but it seems to me that the the prevailing wisdom has lost the the objectivity of paying attention to how we get there. Because how things are done is just as important as what we do. As a friend of mine always says IMO, I just learned that that's a in my opinion. So if you see that I just helped some of you parents to get a little hipper so I am Oh means in my opinion, Yes, it took me a while to learn that too. So I'm just trying to help out, passing it along, as they say, paying it forward. So it seems as though we have lost the the objectivity to determine and consciously choose how we get to where we're going. And I do believe that many, many of us want to do this the right way and want to get there the right way. So today, I'm going to discuss CPR, because it feels like America needs resuscitation.
Dwayne E. Shigg :Anybody can use foundation teaches our youth to step off into life with their best foot forward without cowardice, but with courage and dignity. ABC was founded by legendary Light Heavyweight Champion Archie Moore in 1957. He had a heart and passion for helping the youth. He believed if we went into the business of prevention could save billions of dollars and millions of lives. He started ABC to teach you the basic ABCs of life. Are you concerned about the world today? Do you want to help train our youth to be the change needed in the world? Join us in the fight for equality in the fight for justice in the fight for our youth. If you would like to help, go to www dot ABC use foundation.org. That's www dot ABC use foundation.org be well and be blessed.
Terence Shigg :Okay, welcome back. So what that means CPR, it means I'm going to be discussing crime, policing, and reform. And then what I'll do is I'll take you through the the peace process, and how we're going to affect change in those different areas. So and the overall idea is that we really need to change the culture and change the way that we think of these three things. The way We think about crime and the way we think of policing. And the way we think of reform, because we have many different ideas on what what that is and the In my opinion, I Mo, the two political parties are, are ramping up their their definitions of those things. And I believe that it's almost as if the two different parties give you their definition. And then the other party gives the extreme definition to the other party. is Does that make sense? So the republicans define crime in policing and reform one way. And then the democrats define crime, policing and reforming for the republicans in the extreme of what it is. And the opposite is also true. Democrats described Crime policing and reform one way. And then the republicans come republicans come back and define it to the extreme of what the democrats have said, for them. So we're operating in this alternate reality where everyone's definition is not really their definition. It's the definition given to them by the opposing party. And then we, as the public were stuck in the middle of going, Okay, well, what is the definition? So that's what we're going to talk about. And so what really mean, got me thinking about all of this, it's not just not like I just threw a dart at the wall and said, Okay, today, let's talk about CPR. So, in studying and talking to people and praying and the things that are going on, these days from George Floyd to what's going on in Wisconsin, to the Democratic National Convention, the Republican National Convention, all these things kind of come together in this perfect storm, and saddens me to a certain extent. Well, I guess I can start with what really got me going down this direction. It was a story about a young boy who was executed was murdered in his driveway. And the headline read, and someone posted it on Facebook, and the headline said, black man kills white boy. And the thing that really convicted me afterwards because my first reaction was dread, it wasn't sadness, it was really dread and concerned and my dread and concern was that with that title, and what that event that that would just feed into the stereotypes and the fear The white Americans that already have this preconceived notion and the stereotypes and tropes that are out there of the violent black man. And there's already an in inherent fear already put out there and pushed in society every time something like this happens. So my first concern was, here we go again, this is just going to be more evidence for those people to use against black males to say that they're criminals and murderers. And I really had to take a step back and go, you know, it doesn't matter what the media says it doesn't matter what other people think. I have to be true to myself and recognize that the primary sadness isn't my concern about what people are going to think about. Blacks and black males specifically, my primary concern should be A society where a five year old boy is so executed in the front yard. And I really had to sit with that for a while and recognize that that is that is where my focus should have been initially. And how have I gotten to the point where my initial concern and my initial thoughts are not for that young child in his in his family. So, that's kind of what started me on this train and on this track to start thinking about crime, policing and reform. So, I talked about different definitions of crime. So what is crime? I we put a nice little, little library out in front of the foundation that I work at. And we also put a little camera there. One of those ring cameras and yes, we're looking for commercial. So ring if you want to give me a ring, and you want to put a commercial on here, we'd be more than happy to do that. Okay, sorry, the shameless plug. Anyway. So I'll put a little ring camera out there. And the cool thing about the ring camera is it not only shows you the video from that area from that section, but it also neighbors can give you alerts and police can give you alerts of crime that happens in in the area. So it's almost as if many neighborhood watched watch type of thing. So you get to know if there's a you know, police activity in this area, if there's a fire reported in this area, so those things come up. And, and so I started thinking about what is what is crime and crime is, can be defined many different ways. And I think it really is The the inhibiting or taking away of the rights of someone else, meaning either their property either their, their constitutional right, it's taking something away from someone else without their permission. So you're taking something away from someone else for your benefit. Now that doesn't go into the the, it doesn't go into the rationale behind it, which is something I think gets lost in all these zero tolerance type of policies and thought processes that we have. Because we start to think of crime as an absolute meaning someone commits a crime, therefore, they are criminal, therefore they should be punished. And there is no need to know why they committed the crime. I really don't care. We have these types of dialogues and discussions and we base policies on those. always forget that we're talking about humans and all humans are found We've all made mistakes. And again, don't do not get me wrong in thinking that I am justifying crime. I'm not. I do believe, I do believe that we need to understand and need to take a look at why these crimes are being committed Otherwise, how do you stop it? How do you prevent it? How do you? How do you recognize that there is something that is missing, that this person is trying to get? And therefore, if we could provide that or provide a way for that person to get that in a legal manner, we can prevent that crime. So that's, that's what we're thinking about crime. And so I want you to think, What is your definition of crime and where did it come from? Did it come from your personal experiences did it come from a college class didn't come from a Democrat, Democratic or Republican now convention. Where did you get your definition from? And then how do we? How does that benefit you or benefit society? Whatever that definition is from crime, I'd like to move over to policing. And policing is definitely in the news these days. It's definitely something that everyone is questioning, trying to figure out how to improve and how to reform and revitalize. as I've stated before, in other episodes, I have a background in policing. I've worked in law enforcement for 27 years and worked in jails for four years of that 27 policing. What is it? It is presence within the community that is there to protect and serve and to keep law in order So why is that even necessary? I mean, if you think about it, if we all, you know, obey the golden rule Do unto others as we do as we would have them do unto us, or would that be necessary? And again, it kind of goes back to that, that concept that I talked about before of We are all human and as fallible people, we we need a, a group a, a structure that keeps and reminds us of what the rules are. We need rules, we need structure. So this idea, and again, so one of the things I did want to touch on is the the rhetoric of the idea of defunding the police. And it goes back and forth. And again, it's this idea that one party defines it and then the other party defines it for them. So, policing and as a person that worked in law enforcement for years and talking to and still having friends that are law enforcement. It's not many of them do not disagree with the idea that law enforcement agencies have been tasked with doing more than they were designed to do. And when I say that, I mean that they're doing more meaning they're dealing with mental health issues, they're dealing with homeless, they're dealing with poverty issues, children being not having food, they're dealing with issues that aren't along the lines of dealing with crime. They're dealing with citizens and societal problems. And part of this whole thing when people talk about different police, their original concepts from my research and what I found, the idea wasn't to a limit. In the police, it was to make priorities and fund what police should be doing, which is protecting and serving, and then finding other avenues for those jobs that honestly police are not suited to do. Police not suited and not trained to deal with homeless and mental illness. And I think most police would agree and say that that's not something that they want to specifically deal with it, they would prefer to spend their time preventing crime as opposed to dealing with the ills of society. And again, that's, that's my phrase. That's not something that law enforcement says that's my phrase, meaning dealing with mental illness dealing with drug addiction dealing with homelessness, there should be other entities that are able to be in the The street, so to speak and deal with these types of issues. So the idea of the funding is redirecting those funds that are being paid to law enforcement agencies to do jobs that other groups can and should do and can do better. And they're already examples of this around the country. So it's not a new idea. It's just an idea that is being pushed forward. And so in order to have that discussion, we have to really be able to admit that our police forces are doing jobs that they're not suited to do. One of the other aspects of it is what do we do with policing? meaning how do we make it so that the police forces are there to protect and serve and that they are fair, just an equal so that it's done in every community that way, not just in the the more fluent communities I would say. So that that level of police thing that is in the fluent communities is the same level of policing that is done in the communities that don't have that same those same economic resources. And those are the discussions that need to be had. And that's something that I put to you that I want you to start thinking about, is that more oversight is that more community involvement is that more private police departments? Because one of the things, as I said at the beginning of this whole process is that I want to find ways for our communities. And I usually say African American, but now I'm just gonna say, black communities. And I'll explain that in another episode, but basically, the ideas how do we make it fair, just an equal and there are lots of reports out there, but I want you to To start thinking about that, and how do you how do you do that? How do you change what is a very, very entrenched system into something that is more encompasses more of the public and encompasses more of the the communities that that it is sworn to protect that it would be more look like them would act like them more and would be a part of them more. So the question I want you to really ponder and to start thinking about is how do we make our policing fair Justin equal. Now I know that that causes some discomfort for some because that gives you the assumption you have to assume you have to recognize you have to agree with the premise that Sometimes it is not fair, just and equal. And I know that may be an uncomfortable truth for for some or or a non starter for some, but I'm just asking you to, to ponder it, to think about it from from the aspect of those who may not have the same policing police force that you do might not have the same community involvement that you have may not have the same level of justice that that you have, and whether or not you again, whether or not you believe that is due to systemic racism or systemic problems is really irrelevant. If the policing is not fair, what ever the reason for it, then there should be something done about it correct. And let's just even go a step below that and say okay, Can it be improved? You can still improve it even if you believe it is fair, just and equal. And so then my question to you would be, how do we make it better? Where is it faulty? Where are the problems that you see? And the problem in policing? Again, with the definition, it can't be an individual problem, meaning it can't be the community's problem. If the police force is charged with protecting and serving that community, they are intertwined, they are connected, they are part of cause and effect they have to work together. So you can't say we don't need to improve, improve policing, we simply need to have criminals stop committing crime. We don't need to improve policing we simply need for people in those communities to take responsibility and make better choices because One and the other both exist and coexist together. And the ideas, the best ideas and best practices around the country and I would even say around the world are when those two entities work together. When the group that is charged with policing a community as part of that community, and is intertwined with that community and is vested in that community, and vice versa, when that community is intertwined with that police force, and is vested in that police force, then those two work hand in hand, and that creates a just and a, an equal system. So, again, my question to you and what I want you to start thinking about and part of this, this podcast isn't going to be passive. This isn't one of those podcasts where you listen to and it makes you feel good. As my pastor says, I prefer to make you're uncomfortable, I prefer for you to have some things that I say cause you to rethink what you think and cause you to, to go out and find out. If what I'm saying has any basis, even if it's you prove me wrong, even if your opinion is different. But if you take the time to do the exercise to find the information to even just think about what I'm saying, then I've done my job. And I think society is better when we think for ourselves, when we base our opinions on facts that we have ascertained when we evolve and when we take responsibility and have a, a foundation from which we are thinking from. That's something I want you to think about. So now, reform, let's get into the definition of reform because we have this same problem with this one. Democrats define it one way republicans define it one way and then the democrats define it for the republicans and the republicans define it for the Democrats. And there's there's four different definitions. One, two by each party, one for the other party one for themselves. And I hope that sounds confusing because it is confusing. And I believe it's confusing by design because the, the weather the weather, the The intention is confusion is again, irrelevant. That's what it produces. And it also goes to produce overload. And I think that's part of this process that our two political parties have done have gotten to is that we know as humans and again, I mo you have to listen to the beginning to know what IMO means IMO. I believe that this overload this information overload is done intentionally. And let me tell you why. I believe it's done intentionally. Because if you overload someone with information, if you continue to say what the extreme of that party is and what they're going to do, rather than research that and come up with your own opinion, you will start to defend what is closest to your opinion. So if you're a Republican, you will defend republican thoughts all the way to the max no matter what, if you're a Democrat, you will defend no matter what, rather than and then shut down any cognitive thinking process that goes okay, let me take that. Let me process that through my filter, not through a democrat filter or republican filter, and I know this is crazy talk, that you actually don't have to always be one or the other. No, this mind blown as much as my little girl would say. But I really want you to consider that this overload is what is occurring because to process all of that information into battle against that extreme that the other party or the other, the contrary thought or idea is giving you is a lot of work in a lot of energy. And rather than expend that energy, finding the truth, the real truth, we take what we already know, find what is closest to that clamp on to that and defend that. And that's dangerous, because now you've backed yourself into a corner, defending something you may not even really believe in. But knowing that you're going to defend it because it is more comfortable and it's easier for you. And that's what I don't want us to get caught into what is reform reform. IMO is the idea of taking something, an entity, a institution, an organization, and re inventing it, making it into something evolving into something that is better, that is more efficient. And that is closer to, to doing what it was created to do. Now, there are lots of ways of thinking of that, even that simple definition. One of my, one of my favorite authors, and I'll talk about him periodically is a man by the name of Simon Sinek. And Simon Sinek wrote a book called The Infinite game in one of the tenets of it and one of the ideas that he expresses in there is the idea of these goals that we set these finite goals that we set up Are they are damaging, they are not necessarily destructive, but they they inhibit the process of growth, to the the full potential of how things can grow. And so the idea of the infinite game is that you, you have a goal that is unattainable, meaning, world peace. That is not something that in your lifetime, most lifetimes will be attained. The Infinite game is setting a goal that is beyond just you in your lifetime, but working towards it in such a manner that the next generation or the next person that you hand the baton off to, is forward further than you were when you started. The Perfect example is the civil rights movement. The people who fought that fought those fights, who sat at those counters donors who rode those buses who boycotted those buses, who marched and went to jail. That was an infinite game. They didn't do that thinking that tomorrow, this whole thing was going to change that racism was going to go away, even after the victories that they received. If you listen to Martin Luther King speeches, even after the victories, he knew that there was still a battle to be fought, there was still things that need to be done needed to be done. And that's where we are now. So to me, that's what reform needs to be redefined in such a manner, that it's not only Now I'm not saying we don't have goals that we're looking for right now, such as crime reduction, increasing wealth and communities, poverty reduction, better schools, those are those are goals, but they're also infinite goals because improved In schools isn't saying, okay, you're going to improve them to this level, then that's good enough? No, we're going to continue to improve them so that they continue to get better. We're gonna do and continue to increase wealth in the communities so that it continues to get better. So and why is that necessary because as we talked about at the beginning in America being in a safe state that it needs resuscitation, part of that CPR process and that reform goes to the idea of making America and Americans have the opportunities that are guaranteed to them by the documents that this country was founded on. And I believe that the those people who wrote that document knew that it wasn't an infinite game, meaning new and Knowing that that document was not perfect, but that it was a start, that it was a foundation, it was a backbone, it was something that could be looked at as a structure to go, Okay, this is this is where we, this is where we start. So, the next part of this is how do we start? So how do we start? reform? How do we start to get change things for the better? What we need to do is to take this issue and we're going to put it through the peace process. Because everything that we're going through as I talk about them, that model, that theory that I'm going to be that lens that I'm going to be putting everything through is the peace process. As far as the the P for politics. One of the things that I'm going to do Talk about throughout this is we're gonna need data. There are several institutions that are starting to collect data on crime on policing. More, we need more. And not only do we need that type of data, and I'll talk about it later, but we also need that type of data for schools. And I'll explain that when we get to the education piece. But so we need data demographics. We need demographics and data on police stops, on police use of force, on arrests, on sentencing on all those things in the community. As far as policing, we need to start grabbing, grabbing that data and so that we can see in real time, what's going on. Also, from a politic standpoint, we can create, we can create oversight committees. And we can write laws that mandate these types. Things mandate some type of oversight committee committee mandate, some type of group groups that work together, meaning the police and the community leaders. So that information is passed in real time and answers are gotten are given in real time. And so that questions can be asked in real time. So and these things can be legislated either at the local state or federal level, or at all three. So meeting with representatives in your community and asking, okay, what are we doing to ensure that our policing is fair, just and equal? What data do we have to show that it is fair, Justin legal and equal. We can also focus on prevention, meaning organizations that provide mentors that provide athletics that provide after school programs, anything that provides a, a positive influence and opportunity for our youth so that we can keep them out of that pop pipeline, that prison pipeline that exists in so many communities that will allow them to make better choices. And so now we go to the AI the individual, in again, that data is important. And we'd also like to be able to get poverty reduction, increase jobs, economic development, and wealth, all those things are for the individuals and the politics of it. And the individuals kind of kind of bleed together because we're really looking at, at working with working within within the political system to create resources for the individuals So that we can avoid them getting into that prison pipeline. And if they have already been in that pipeline to rehabilitate them in a way that gives them some vested interest in the community, and thereby creates more opportunity for positive being positive members of society and less likelihood that they will commit a crime or take something as we define crime take something away from someone else for their benefit. So now let's move on to the education piece. So in the education piece, we also would need to get some data and the data as far as how we're doing in education, breaking that down by by race, by gender, by social economics, all that data needs to be gathered and then also looking at discipline practices. Are these schools actually actually being are these schools part of that prison pipeline? Are our disciplinary practices in our communities feeding into that pipeline? And are they disparate, meaning our children, our black children being disciplined more than other students? And that's something that we need to look at. We need to look at having police in the schools, is that a benefit? Or is that a negative? Do we need to create a another type of of enforcement method of doing that? Is there citizens that we could hire? Are there retired police that we could hire, are there more social workers and and they're in counselors needed in the schools. So that's something else that we could look at from the education standpoint. Now going to the the community standpoint, what needs to happen in these communities, meaning, we've already talked about getting the data we've already talked about creating a group that connects the community and connects the the law enforcement arm of the community, the policing form of that community. And then is there something in the community that and again, I want you to think about this, is there some way in these communities that we can create a way to take the burden off of the law enforcement that they should not and are not equipped to do? Do we need more homeless services? Do we need more mental health services do we do we need more youth services? So that we can we can circumvent some of these problems that police are dealing with that is taking them away from doing their initial job, their priority, the job that is their priority, which is to protect and serve and finding entities that can do that within the communities that can do That better, probably for less money would be an idea. Now, here's another extreme idea, but it's still an idea. And these are the things again, in my opinion, are the things that we need to start thinking about. Do we need to start creating private, law enforcement and policing entities that reflect the communities in which they serve? In other words, instead of having a police department that is in control of an entire city, or sheriff's office that is in charge of entire county, and is paid by incorperate, because some of these, some of these sheriff's departments are contracted to be the law enforcement in the policing arm of certain communities? Well, if if needed, is it possible for some of these communities, some of The black communities to hire their own police that reflect their communities that are hired from their communities, and that have the enforcement powers of law enforcement. Again, something to think about, is that a way that will make it fair just an equal. Now going to the economic part of this, the economic part of this really is about looking at the poverty aspect of it, because remember, we define crime is somebody taking someone something away from someone else, for their benefit, decreasing the likelihood that someone would do that would be increasing the ability of someone to do that for themselves without taking it from someone else. So the old adage you teach a man to fish that idea. So the economic part of it is investing in these communities. Create jobs in these communities creating opportunities and training in these communities that allow members of the community to be lifted up out of out of poverty. One of those ideas has come up and been touted pretty recently is the opportunity zones. And what that is is there will be there are tax breaks given to organizations, corporations. wealthy investors, I guess I would say that are willing to invest in poverty stricken communities. So, what that means is a group of wealthy investors will say okay, we will invest $200 million in this community, and we will build a shopping center we will build elderly housing, we will build whatever they want. Build, as long as it is something that will enhance that community. Now, for that they get a tax break and they will the monies that they invest there, they will won't have they had keep that money invested for 10 years, the ideas they won't have to pay tax on. So it is I like the program. I do believe that it needs to be improved, because even with that program, many times, the investors are coming in, they still own the property. They've still invested but they have not provided jobs for people in the community they have not insured or guaranteed that the people that are even building these facilities are from the community. There's a likelihood that the actual improvement will displace those in the community that it was meant to help. I believe that part of that opportunity zone should be an obligation a qualification a requirement, that minorities that blacks that Latins, Asians, that minorities, people in that community, individuals that live in that community must be contracted in and must be given priority on those contracts. So that you are not only increasing the property value, but you're increasing the income level and decreasing the poverty in those communities. So that's something to recognize that there's, there's more to it when when we say okay, we're gonna give tax breaks and we're good. We're gonna give tax breaks and we're gonna increase investing in these areas. Well, yes, that's great. But there's been ample examples. If you go around and you look at gentrification, that the term that is gentrification That's what's happening. They're, they're investing in these communities, but then you're pricing out the people in the communities that you're supposedly helping. So there has to be a balance, there has to be a balance and going, Okay, we're going to come in and invest, but at the same time, we're going to ensure that this investment is going to benefit the people that are in that community, not just the people coming in and investing. And so that's what I think should be part of that whole economic piece. Okay. With all that said, again, I want you to take the information and not just use it as talking points, not just use it as something to rail against or rail for. I want you to actually take the information, consume it, make it your own, and then act upon act upon what you have decided, if you've decided that you think everything is fine, and that the United States is, is doing well, and there's no need for improvement. And all you need to do is keep other people from taking over your slice of the American Pie, then, so be it. I can't, I can't take that away from you. But I will tell you that part of being part of being an American part of being a human being is evolution. And when I say evolution, I don't mean the evolution of Darwin and all that I mean, the evolution of your mind, of growing up of not thinking as a child anymore, but thinking as a mature We're aware, human being who cares for yourself and cares for others who wants better for their children than what they had? Who wants society as a whole, to be its best. And I think that's, that's part of that infinite game. That's part of that idea that you can't do it on your own. It's not going to happen in one lifetime. But you're sure gonna try. You're sure we're going to do something because that feeling in the pit of your stomach won't go away. If you just ignore it, you have to act. Once again, I present to you the peace project, I present to you CPR, America needs CPR and resuscitation and reform. And these are the tenants of the the peace project. I hope that you enjoyed it. I hope that you take this information, you consume it and you act upon it. And if you'd like to get in touch with me, please, please send me an email at original peace project@gmail.com that's original peace project@gmail.com Thank you, be well and be blessed
Unknown Speaker :at a moment's
Unknown Speaker :notice.
Unknown Speaker :To get up in the morning, I got a jewel for
Unknown Speaker :me. I know. I'm going to take you Transcribed by https://otter.ai