#triggerwarning #victimshaming #ableism #sexism #suicide #policeviolence #sagonpenn #communityaccountability #theresnoexcuseforabuse #trauma #ptsd #ABELISMANDVICITMSUPPORTDONTMIX #traumaandpoliceterror #trauma #victimblaming #uaptsd #policesexualassault #abuseintheleft #abuseinactivistmovements
Part of me is scared still, because I don’t know what the outcome will be but this is needs to be called out!
As quite a few people know now, we have been coming out publicly about this for we have been dealing with very bad behaviors in the activist community
As many folks know,Committee Against Police San Diego; CAPB www.facebook.com/capbsandiego has consistently tried to undermine the work that we do; telling (or manipulating) folks they want to work with us -however never calling us- organizing a rally a half hour before ours in the SAME spot and place, while encouraging folks to keep their rally to “1 hour” to possibly take away from ours, although we have put a call out to them many times for folks (everyone) to join. to still organizing a block away from where I live, silencing me in community meetings-MONTHS later after I left the group, was personally discredited by CAPB and been told I should “get help” “see a doctor” and that I “play the victim role” on top of that “should kill myself” ironically from working with a group for TWO YEARS who state they “advocate for victims “of police violence.” ESPECIALLY WITH ME BEING SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY COP. it’s all very disturbing, and shaming that I even started to do activism about something so personal and close to my heart. Above all, being told its disheartening to even bring up the fact the abuse happened and the call out to potential support and make the group accountable.
I’ve tried for people to see the toxic contradictions of this group, I still don’t feel like I’m being heard, now#Imdemandingit
Emails directly from #capbgsandiego#CommitteeAgainstPoliceBrutalitySD#SDCommitteeAgainstPoliceBrutality
– Forwarded message ———-
On Feb 6, 2014 4:00 PM, “Zola Rices Muhammad” <zkrm71@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Cathy you need to either get help or kill yourself!
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Catherine Mendonça <kittaycat80@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2014 14:11:23 -0800
Subject: Re: Fw: CAPB – Who Are We?
To: Zola Rices Muhammad <zkrm71@yahoo.com>
Cc: “jdmesser83@yahoo.com” <jdmesser83@yahoo.com>, Carl Rices
<carl.rices@gmail.com>, Gloria Verdieu <dadji@aol.com>, irate leaf
<irate420@gmail.com>, “celticwomanwicklow@hotmail.com”
<celticwomanwicklow@hotmail.com>
Okayyy,zola that was abelist bullshit and funny
On Feb 6, 2014 1:52 PM, “Zola Rices Muhammad” <zkrm71@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Cathy:
> I am going to say something to you that needs to be said. I might be
> stepping over a line, but seeing how many lines you have crossed with all
> of your emails at this point I don’t care. My hope for you is for you to go
> see a doctor and a psychologist. There are very obviously some manic issues
> going on with you and a lot of passive aggressive behavior. You have been
> on a narcissistic rant for the past couple of weeks and quite frankly I am
> fed up with you.
>
> Do you understand that you have sent a horrible, disrespectful, immature
> email and then right after it you send an email about CAPB business? Then
> expect us to do what you want us to do. Does that normally work for you?
> Honestly, not from what I have witnessed. You seem to have agitated your
> way through many groups in San Diego. Then do you understand how many times
> we all have defended you against people who have spoken ill about you from
> groups you were once a part of? How many people have told us not to
> organize with you, because you do nothing but disrupt? No, you don’t
> because we never said anything to you about it. Until now.
>
> You have accused us of being homophobic and you have called into question
> our integrity. You have disrespected all of us, but Mary Lou in particular.
> I sincerely hope that you deal with your issues and come back as a better
> person. I hope that all of us will be better for going through this, but as
> for the CAPB I think it would be best for you to take a leave (not a step
> back) or if it’s your choice, to move on. This has nothing to do with *how
> the left treats women *or how everyone *gaslights *poor Cathy or any
> other reason why you choose to play the victim role. You once told me Cathy
> that you studied *The Origin of the Family, private property and the
> state by Frederick Engels, *but there is no way that you studied that! If
> you had you would not be saying all this bullshit! I know you have a
> disdain for us talking about the past, but we do that in hopes of you
> understanding political analysis. Maybe even picking up on the fact that
> none of this is about you.
>
> Please get yourself together so that maybe in the future we will be able
> to work together, but as for right now I personally think it would be best
> if you not organize in the CAPB. Please know that I am very unhappy that I
> had to sit here and say all this. I believe everyone agrees with me. I
> guess we will see, but I’ve said all I got to say.
>
> *Footnote: I also really hope that we can begin to act like grownups and
> not rant all over the internet and seek sympathy through facebook, etc and
> remember that the movement is the most important and that it’s not about
> us.*
>
> *Footnote: I am not sure due to the confusion of my emails who said that
> they would take the website, etc. My vote is to take down the website and
> the facebook pages OR give more people administrative access instead one
> person or 2 people on it. In the end, the website is a useful tool, but we
> can make do without it.*
>
>
> *Zola~*
This was shared among comrades as far as our concerns regarding working with them in the future.
“Needless to say, the emails we found very disturbing, but mostly problematic as far as as advocating for marginalized groups affected by police violence. Not only the assumption that it is alright to write someone off (a woman in particular) and also a victim of police assault as “mental”’ when raising valid concerns, but with Police terms used such as NHI (No human involved) often to describe folks who are houseless (who are at a higher risk of having an untreated mental illness) as well as folks who are disabled, prison expansions for the mentally ill and disabled, the psychological effects of solitary confinement-with suicidal being the 3rd leading cause of death, as well as individuals who are mentally ill are 4 times more likely to be killed when interacting with police (ie. Kelly Thomas) which another harmful police term; “suicide by cop” is used as well, along with the rampant misogyny by law enforcement and systemic and violent sexist victim blaming carried out by law enforcement both in procedure and in paperwork when reporting assault. Not to mention Police sexual assault and DV being substantially higher than the general population which many victims of DV are often gas lighted to think the abuse is something they do to bring it on, or just “believe in their head” Furthermore, as we all know, police do not prevent crimes anyway, and in fact commit the same crimes with impunity.
I would also like to add, that trauma, inflicted by imperialism and the militarized police state (committed by both the US and Israel) severely affects those in our neighborhoods as well as abroad; causing mental illness, as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A group I am also a part of, Af3irm, has recognized this, and will raise funds for Palestinian self determination for the Gaza Community Mental Health Program Women’s Empowerment Project.
So, Aaron and I both left CAPB, since Aaron, my life partner, really wanted to advocate for me coming out as sexual assault survivor by police, which leaving was actually great for us emotionally, and even physically. We’re not trying to start anything and our intent is to maintain good relationships with everyone and we do want comrades to do mobilize everywhere in San Diego and we will do everything we can to help. We’re open to folks endorsing and speaking at our event as well as mobilizing in other parts of the city or in different cities. We just find not only their political theory to be problematic, but the oppression they perpetuate and abuse they display in meetings is counter-productive to the work that needs to be done and actually very disturbing since they still approach us at events.
We do understand we cannot tell anyone who to organize with, though there are comrades who have stated they have our support in publicly coming forward with an official statement regarding the split, because of the continued hostility and harmful behavior.
All that we ask is that our distance and boundaries are respected, and anyone’s available to contact us at anytime to meet with us. I would like to request this information is not shared with members of CAPB, for they still organize meetings a block away from my house and it could potentially lead to an unsafe situation given the hostility…“
Here’s an excerpt from – The Mental Health Impact of Rape by Dean G. Kilpatrick, Ph.D., National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center
Medical University of South Carolina.
“The National Women’s Study produced dramatic confirmation of the mental health impact of rape. The study determined comparative rates of several mental health problems among rape victims and non-victims. The study ascertained whether rape victims were more likely than non-victims to experience these devastating mental health problems. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
The first mental health problem examined was posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an extremely debilitating disorder occurring after a highly disturbing traumatic event, such as military combat or violent crime.
Almost one-third (31%) of all rape victims developed PTSD sometime during their lifetime; and more than one in ten rape victims (11%) still has PTSD today.
Rape victims were 6.2 times more likely to develop PTSD than women who had never been victims of crime (31% vs 5%).
Rape victims were 5.5 times more likely to have current PTSD than those who had never been victims of crime (11% Vs 2%).
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are approximately 96.3 million adult women in the United States age 18 or older. If 13% of American women have been raped and 31% of rape victims have developed PTSD, then 3.8 million adult American women have had rape-related PTSD (RR-PTSD)”
From an article in the Nation “The Police Violence We Aren’t Talking About” by Zoë Carpenter published on August 27, 2014
http://www.thenation.com/blog/181365/police-violence-we-arent-talking-about
“According to the Cato Institute, more than 9 percent of reports of police misconduct in 2010 involved sexual abuse, making it the second-most reported form of misconduct, after the use of excessive force. Comparing that data to FBI crime statistics indicates that “sexual assault rates are significantly higher for police when compared to the general population.”
Many cops arrested for sexual misconduct are, like Holtzclaw, repeat offenders. Stinson said that multiple victims of the accused often come forward once a case against an officer is publicized. Others never report the crimes against them, making justice elusive. “Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes, and against police officers it’s probably even less reported,” said Jen Marsh of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. In Oklahoma City, several of Holtzclaw’s victims were only identified once investigators began tracing his contact with the public while on street patrol.
As Samuel Walker wrote in his 2002 report “Driving While Female,” officers who commit sexual crimes are often considered “rogue,” in contrast to officers who engage in department-sanctioned forms of racial profiling like stop and frisk. But the Department of Justice was sufficiently concerned about “recurring accusations of sexual offenses implicating law enforcement officers,” that it underwrote an executive guide with policy recommendations for stamping out sexual misconduct in police forces. Though the guide was completed in 2011, it’s not clear if it actually led to changes within individual police forces. The International Association of Police Chiefs, which created the guide, did not return a request for comment. Last year the director of IACP’s research center told The American Prospect, “We think there’s a good-faith effort by police departments out there to be more accountable,” but offered no supporting evidence.
Meanwhile, sexual misconduct is a persistent problem in some police departments. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining a variety of allegations against officers from the San Diego Police Department, many of them having to do with sexual abuse. One officer is accused of coercing sexual favors from women he’d stopped for driving while intoxicated. Several women accused another officer of groping them while conducting pat downs.
According to U-T San Diego, many of the alleged victims of San Diego police officers were sex workers, homeless, intoxicated, mentally ill or had criminal records. On a national scale, the lack of data makes it hard to track the demographics of victims of sexual misconduct by police. Stinson’s research suggests that about half are under the age of eighteen. According to a 2007 report prepared for the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, “rape and sexual abuse by police [in the United States] are primarily reported by women of color.”
“What we’ve seen in sexual assaults committed by law enforcement is that they’re targeting victims seen as vulnerable or ‘less credible,’ whether they’re engaged in sex work or are committing a crime. A police officer uses that as a way to control the victim,” said Marsh.”
Here is yet another hypocrisy I have to call out
Committee Against Police Brutality still to this day gaslights me, while other folks express to me that me bringing up these issues is such a buzz-kill I would like to highlight a story of a person who they often highlight as the cataylist for forming a cop watch group in which they named after them, #SAGONPENN
An excerpt from “Sagon Penn ‘couldn’t have a life’ Suicide freed man acquitted in cop killing, godmother says” By Anne Krueger on JULY 6, 2002
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2002/jul/06/sagon-penn-couldnt-have-life/
“Tired, his family said, of what he considered police harassment more than 15 years after he was acquitted of killing a police officer and wounding another. Tired of not being able to land steady work. Tired of being seen by many as a lightning rod in the community.
“Sagon was angry, very angry, because he couldn’t have a life,” his mother, Peggy Richmond, said yesterday.
“It was no coincidence, family members said yesterday, that Penn committed suicide by an apparent drug overdose on Independence Day.”
“It represents freedom. Nobody can hurt him anymore,” said Tracy Gunner, Penn’s godmother. “He said: ‘I’ll die a free man. I’ll never go back to prison again.’ ”
What this group is doing is not only perpetuating the same torment Penn endured BY THE #POLICESTATEuntil he felt (or had) no other option to free THEMSELVES from the pain, but to tell anyone they should end their life, especially after experiences traumatic events is so toxic and counter revolutionary, you silence those who could be are part of the revolution to end such violence.
For more information on the topics of mentalism, abelism in our society and how capitalism and the police state perpetuates harmful able normative supremacy, I encourage everyone do to research on their own, but here are a few in particular pertaining to police and prisons
October 22 Speech Against Police Brutality, Emma Rosenthal, MacArthur Park, Rampart Division-LAPD, Los Angeles
http://emmarosenthal.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/october-22-speech-against-police-brutality/
A family whom we support for an incident that happened locally https://uaptsd.org/2014/03/02/justice-for-shane-anthony-hayes/
Exposing a national crisis in Black mental health behind bars September 10, 2014 by Mark-Anthony Johnson
http://sfbayview.com/2014/09/exposing-a-national-crisis-in-black-mental-health-behind-bars/
PTSD in the Inner City Needs a Name That Respects Its Victims
No one should trivialize the post-traumatic stress disorder that affects people living in the inner city.http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/05/let_s_rename_hood_disease_to_signify_what_it_really_means.html
In Oakland, California’s inner city youth are reportedly suffering from a deeper and more complex version of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) called “Hood Disease,” which is affecting 30% of its kids, according to a report by the local CBS affiliate in San Francisco.
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-California/2014/05/17/Hood-Disease-California-s-Inner-City-Youth-Suffering-from-New-Form-of-PTSD
UAPSD.org and Black and Pink’s statement at speak their names
http://reportingsandiego.com/2014/09/07/editorial-by-cathy-mendonca-community-leader/
TOXIC GROUP
Email directly from #capbgsandiego#CommitteeAgainstPoliceBrutalitySD#SDCommitteeAgainstPoliceBrutality
