Not everyone is a racist, but the very laws protecting minorities also protects racists. Freedom of speech, of religion, prohibitions on discrimination based on color, creed, or religious affiliation protects liberals and racists alike. Our society is woven of these disparate elemental threads. The question no one wants to address is how do we evolve into a more ideal society where people are not judged solely on their appearance without destroying the whole cloth? Blaming the men and women who are trying to keep the peace without the use of deadly force is not fair, but turning a blind eye and being supportive of a broken system is not fair either.
If we had no violent criminals, we would have no need for a violent police response is not a valid argument. I have, as an inspector and a private citizen had to talk my way out of difficult situations. It can be done but only if you are willing to give up the tough, macho guy image. Not so easy to do for many. The use of force must become the exception and not the rule.
Here's an analogy from OSHA. Once a worker willfully and knowingly disregards a safety protocol and behaves in a dangerous manner at work, the law no longer protects that worker. This is not fair and sets a bad precedent for work place safety!
Once people break the law in the presence of a police officer, that person is subject to some type of enforcement. All the media is ever showing is the enforcement of the law, not the breaking of the law. Are there are folks intentionally trying to provoke the police into scenes of violence? Are there bad cops? Or are we allowing violence to continually dictate how we shape our world?
Obey the law. If you don’t like the law then change the law is simplistic and impossible with the deck stacked against us. The bottom line: when the people summon the police, we want them to help, not hurt.
Beliefs in a broken system has cost so many more lives. Re-reading the linked article from WP today is heartbreaking. Maybe from my vantage point at the time I could not see the problem. Or did not want to see. It is time for me to confront and identify my own racism. Long overdue. I can’t even begin to call myself “woke” until I explore this in myself and shed light on the facts. The changes made to this post represent the start of that journey. 6/5/20
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