Today’s piece for The North Star is free for everyone, but we need your support. Please consider becoming a member now to help fund grassroots liberation journalism that speaks truth to power. We are fully independent and only exist because of the generous support of good people just like you. America, The Country of ContradictionJoe Biden asks Congress for $33 billion to send to Ukraine for the Ukrainian Army while the MTA goes to war with fare evaders.
Europeans go to war like it ain’t nothing. There was the 100-year war. Two Word Wars. There was the war on Black Africans and the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. Now the Russians have invaded Ukraine and for some bizarre reason, the American government is shoveling money overseas to help shed more European blood. On Thursday, Joe Biden asked congress for $33 billion to send to Ukraine for weapons and other war accouterments. Meanwhile back at the ranch, the MTA in New York City is cracking down on fare evasion in the name of safety. It is true that there have been a number of notable violent crimes that have taken place on the subway this year. In January a woman was pushed on tracks by a houseless man in Manhattan, she later died. Earlier this month a man fired several rounds inside a Brooklyn subway station injuring many people. Four days ago a dispute between two men inside a subway station in Jamaica Queens ended in one man being shot dead. The question is, how will writing citations and incarcerating people for fare evasion end any of the violence?   I remember about six years ago I was talking on the phone in front of a turnstile in Brooklyn, just close enough to the stairwell to not lose cell phone reception when a stereotypical bag-lady was standing by the door asking to be let in (all New Yorkers are familiar with the ‘You got a swipe?’ gesture). I dipped my metro card for her and she opened the door and went to her train. A moment later I was tapped on the shoulder by a uniformed NYPD officer. I told whoever I was on the phone with that I would call them back. I looked at the officer who asked me, “Do you know what you just did was illegal?” We had some words back and forth about the legality of swiping my card for another rider. It turns out it was illegal to swipe someone else through on the train if they ask. He wrote me a $35 citation. I threw it in the garbage. A couple of months after this incident, the city announced that they were changing that law and it would no longer result in arrests or fines for asking for or giving out swipes. Getting around in New York is extraordinarily expensive when you don’t have the means. I remember the times when I did not have enough money to get to and from my restaurant hosting job, and I had to evade the fare. Usually by taking the long way, by bus, and hopping in through the back door. Up until a couple of years ago, I would never buy a MetroCard, I would just slide two singles to my neighborhood swipe man, a young Black gentleman who had the height of an NBA player and stood faithfully in front of my subway station in The Bronx selling $2 swipes. (He would later be arrested for selling swipes in early 2020, he’s out now and follows me on Instagram.) In a place like New York City where the locals are battling with living costs going up every week, rents skyrocketing, and low-paying jobs, the very last thing we are concerned about is who has a ticket on the train. Considering how many riders the MTA has lost in the past two years because of the pandemic, one would think they would show a little more gratitude for the riders they have left. Who wins when war is waged against the poor? When I found myself standing in the subway arguing with an NYPD officer over a swipe (and he was not a traffic cop, he certified law enforcement with a firearm and everything) I remember asking him, “why are you so invested in collecting a ghetto tax?” That statement pissed him off and undoubtedly is what got me the citation. However, my point was that people being able to get around in New York City is what makes the city go round. Money being exchanged from borough to borough, cultures being mixed and residents who are experiencing unsafe homes having the opportunity to leave for a better environment. Moving around New York is paramount to our livelihood and under no circumstances should anyone who lives in New York be deprived of everything the city has to offer.  The American government, law enforcement and the powers-that-be, in general, are so ass-backward it’s impressive that we can survive day today in this country. For example: A massive group of white people storms the United States Capitol with the help of law enforcement, yet a single Black motorist can be killed for petty violations. The wealthiest Americans evade taxes every year, yet poor and middle-income earning Americans pay the most in taxes. Our sports teams are dominated by Black men, yet the audience that supports sporting events and the sports industry bigwigs are all categorically anti-Black. Our President is asking to send $33 billion in war aid to Ukrainian armies while New York citizens are being targeted for a $2.75 subway fare. Anyone who can be born on, or step foot on, American soil has the freedom to follow their dreams yet we are the most incarcerated nation in the world. Why are American laws and policy values so contradictory? Are there two sides to every story or can we not decide on what’s wrong and what’s right? ABOUT THE AUTHOR Branden Janese is an artist. Her writing is published in The Wall Street Journal, Complex, Greatest, Flaunt and more. Her research appears in several documentary films and t.v series. She wrote and recorded two seasons of the podcast, Sick Empire. She lives in the Bronx. |
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