USA - LIMA OHIO CASE: Latest example of the class, racist nature of the 'War on Drugs'

[Heretic.Ape.]

THE LIMA OHIO CASE: Latest example of the class and racist nature of the 'War on Drugs.'
By Robert N. Taylor
February 7, 2008

The brutal killing by law enforcement officers of Tarika Wilson and the wounding of her 14-month-old infant is just the latest example proclaiming to anyone with a logical mind and an understanding of history that America's so-called "war on drugs" is on one hand racist and on the other hand unfairly targets the poor.

If you are not familiar with the case of 26-year-old Tarika Wilson, do not be embarrassed because it has garnered scant attention in the national media. This is what occurred: On the evening of January 4, 2008, an ongoing investigation led police in Lima, Ohio to believe Wilson's boyfriend was selling drugs out of the house she rented. That suspicion led to a raid by a highly armed SWAT team. But instead of confronting the boyfriend when they kicked in Wilson's front door, the SWAT team confronted a startled Wilson holding her 14-month-old son Sincere in her arms.

Somehow the supposedly brave and allegedly well-trained members of the SWAT team ended up shooting and killing Wilson and wounding her baby. That's right - They shot and killed a woman holding a baby in her arms! The tragedy occurred even though Wilson was not suspected of any crime and there is no evidence that she in any way challenged or threatened the officers.

Since the first national campaign against drugs began in 1914 with the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act, the targets of the "war" have always been Blacks and members of other minority groups. In 1914, the specific targets were Asian opium smokers on the West Coast and (as the New York Times phrased it at the time) "cocainized Negroes" in the South.

When the modern "drug war" began in the 1970s under President Richard Nixon, the primary targets were (and remain) young, inner city Black males. Anyone who got in the way - be they woman or child - was simply treated as "collateral damage" - a phrase which basically means "you were not our target, but if you happen to get hurt or killed in the prosecution of this war, tough!"

In fact, in the Tarika Wilson case, one white officer had the amoral audacity to in effect threaten Lima, Ohio's Black community by saying, "This is what may happen if you allow someone to sell drugs out of your house." In other words, in the process of catching inner city drug sellers, we just may end of killing completely innocent women and children.

Always remember, it is impossible to declare war on an object or a tactic. When the white, neo-conservative (often racist) mind declares war, he is declaring it on somebody. As indicated above, the "somebody" in the "war on drugs" is young, inner city Blacks. Thus, in addition to being race-based and race-directed, the "war" is also class-based: It overwhelmingly targets the poor.

The Tarika Wilson story is not unique. There have been similar incidents in small and big cities around the nation. But almost without exception the unfortunate victims are Black. I know of only a couple of instances in which a white, suburban resident has been killed in one of these raids. This is even though a study by the Rand Corporation shows that roughly 70 percent of the nation's illegal drug users are white.

The war against drugs (read that to mean "against inner city Blacks") must end. Drug addiction must be treated as a medical problem in which convicted persons are 'sentenced" to six-month stays in drug rehabilitation centers. Further, SWAT team raids on houses in which children are present must be banned. Still further, the next president of the United States must be forced to commit to a strategy of bettering inner city life with jobs and business opportunities so that the number of people who can only find happiness through a chemical high is drastically reduced.

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[jazzmetalguitar]

As a resident of Lima, SWIM has seen firsthand the polarizing effect this event has had on the community. However, more of what I have noticed is the fact that this case is being overmagnified to publicity purposes and shock value. More than mourning of a death, SWIM has seen people exploit the event for their ideological gains. There are a lot of unknowns left in the case and everyone has their theories, but the only ones making it on a national scale are those conveying Lima as a bastion of neo-racism. SWIM doesn't know really what more he can say except that he is upset how issues are often exploited like this...