Something That I'm Used To, Part Two

Just got off the phone with Sergeant Silta... Trying to make complete sense of our conversation, but the gist of it is I didn't like it. I went in unbiased as fuck, but he doesn't get it and that bothers me. He brought up black on black crime when the subject was police vs civilian violence and lack of trust in authority. Like I get it... We're a broken people. But I didn't call him to compare apples and oranges I was legitimately attempting to make a connection with not just an officer, but the Sergeant of my district. It failed. He repeatedly and in different ways let me know I could call him with information on drugs, drug houses, guns and shady characters, but when I asked about prevention methods, police outreach, and programs and organizations that could stem the problems before they start all he could tell me was that there were a million of them, he can't name them, but made it clear that he didn't necessarily believe in their power to change anything by telling me about his single mother childhood and the fact that he reached out to neighborhood guys for a father figure to stay out of trouble... basically saying these guys could do that if they wanted to, but they choose not to. I was inspired to reach out to the Sergeant by the fact that Tom Metzger, a notorious KKK member, gave a speech to the Nation of Islam decades ago. He didn't do it because he gives a damn about black people, but because they shared a common goal. I let the Sergeant know that I grew up with a deep dislike for police as many where I come from do, but as an adult I wanted to change that. The following is the mission statement of the Boston Police Department: The Boston Police Department is dedicated to working in partnership with the community to fight crime, reduce fear and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods. Our Mission is Community Policing. Despite how I might feel about the police, their mission spoke to me. I want all of that. But, after the phone call I just had I don't buy it. At all. Here's a resident trying to do something, attempting to connect and help and the only resource you'll give me is the proverbial "snitching" method. I don't know who the king pin is in Boston or where the boys on the corner stash their guns. I wanted to know about what police are doing in my neighborhood, what was out there so that offenders don't re-offend, whether our authority figures were reaching out to kids to seem less threatening. I'm pretty disappointed.