While the world is protesting against racism Indianapolis’ 1075 TheFan is allowing it to flourish as Big Joe Staysniak keeps his job after insulting the entire black community. Last week ole boy jumped out of the birthday cake butt naked foamin’ at the mouth talking reckless and crazy and he was only suspended for a week without pay. And we wonder why racism is still alive and well in America.
While on air this cat said that black people need to stop being victims, kneeling in front of the American flag is treason, the Confederate flag is not racist and he finds it hard to believe black people are being targeted by police. This is the foolishness that it allowed on Indianapolis radio.
Let’s break it down play by play shall we. Black people are victims because we’re targeted with overt and systematic racism every day of our lives. He wouldn’t know that because he lives in a world that was designed for him by people that looked like him. When the constitution was written and signed in 1787 the authors of it considered people that looked like me 3/5’s of a man.
As a matter of fact, black folks were slaves when it was signed just as a reminder. All of that language in the Declaration of Independence that was signed in 1776 about holding these truths to be self-evident that ALL men are created equal didn’t apply to people that looked like me.
Even after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation we still weren’t free because the system was still designed to keep us from the American dream. It was called share cropping and Jim Crow. We couldn’t vote or own property either. By the time we could own property there were laws in place that only allowed us to buy it in certain areas. It was called “Redlining.” Look it up. So it didn’t matter how much money a black person had he was forced to live in only one area of town. Rich or poor we all lived in the same neighborhood. That’s just the housing piece playa. Joe and families like his have been free to live and flourish in America with a 401 year head start. Many of those same antiquated systems are still in place.
Don’t even get me started on the criminal justice system. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “At current levels of incarceration a black male in the United States today has greater than a 1 in 4 chance of going to prison during his lifetime, while a Hispanic male has a 1 in 6 chance and a white male has a 1 in 23 chance of serving time.” Black men are 6 times more likely to go to prison that their white counterparts for the same crimes.
However, Joe said in radio that black folks need to stop being victims. We would if we would stop being hunted.
Routine traffic stops become road side lynching. How many times have we seen unarmed black folks killed by the police while sitting in the car? George Floyd was handcuffed on his stomach and a man leaned on his neck for nearly 9 minutes. He was unconscious and lifeless for almost 3 minutes and the officer continued.
Ahmaud Arbery was jogging down the street and was blown away. Breanna Taylor was sleeping in her own bed at 1am when the police broke into her house and shot her 8 times. Her boyfriend was arrested on attempted murder charges for defending his home because he shot back at plain clothed officers that did not identify themselves. Those were just the recent incidents. This foolishness happens daily in America and on camera.
No.2 kneeling in front of the American flag is not treason its respect for the flag because it represents all of the freedoms that the constitution affords us as American citizens. The First Amendment gives us ALL the right to peaceably protest. Joe would know that if he stayed awake in U.S. History class. That’s U.S. History 101.
No.3 the Confederate flag represents the side that loss the Civil War. They were the idiots that were fighting to keep the slaves in bondage. Therefore, it’s 100 percent racist because anything that represents holding another race of people as property is wrong. That’s America’s original sin. The fact that he doesn’t see that as a problem is ridiculous.
News flash Big Joe and everyone else in Indiana riding around with Confederate flags. Indiana wasn’t part of the Confederacy. It was a free state that fought against the Confederacy. Ignorance is bliss. You can’t even use the excuse that it’s part of your heritage like people in the south because Indiana wasn’t a confederate state.
No.4 Joe says that he finds it hard to believe that the police are targeting black people. It’s hard to believe it because he’s never lived the experience of being black in America. I’ve been pulled over at least 40 times in my adult life and I’ve only been given a ticket maybe 4 times.
Most of those traffic stops were because I was traveling while being black. I’ve had officers pull me over drawing guns and threatening me only to ask “Who’s car is this?” Not “Sir I pulled you over because you were doing 50 in a 35. No it’s “Who’s car is this?” with guns drawn. One slight move or sneeze and I could have been killed. Why? Because I was black and they wanted to know who’s car did I just steal?
I worry about my children every time they leave the house. Not because I live in a dangerous area because I don’t. I worry about the police pulling them over. I worry about driving the speed limit and still getting shot and killed like Philando Castile for telling the officer that he was reaching for his wallet.
Joe went on to say that we need to get an education and a second job. Having an education doesn’t excuse us from being black bruh. I’ve got an education (IU Class of ’90) and most of the people I know have an education but our experiences are the same. I know doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, CEO’s etc. that still get the police called on them by white folks that use it as their way of keeping us in our place. Did you not see the woman just a few weeks ago call the police on the guy while he was bird watching?
She was weaponizing the police and could have easily gotten that man killed just because they would take her side. That’s racism at its core. That’s the reality that we live daily. We can’t even bird watch without having our lives threatened.
However, Big Joe lives a life of privilege based on his skin color alone but he refuses to acknowledge that.
It’s blows my mind that Jeff Smulyan, CEO of Emmis Communications, the guy that owns the station, issued a statement that said Emmis does not condone or endorse viewpoints that diminish the injustices facing the black community in America. It goes on to say that the company stands firmly as an ally with the black community in its fight against racism.
If that’s the case then why was Joe Staysniak only suspended for a week? Why does he still have a job? So what Emmis Communications just told black America and especially those of us that live in Indianapolis is that we’re only worth a week to them. This is reason why racism continues to flourish in America. You shouldn’t be allowed on the air spitting that foolishness. Stop me when I start lyin’!