In the light of the continued violence, and the coincidental (or is it?) fact that while given time to work on dissertation proposal stuff today, I can't get into my school's library website (you know, where I have all of my articles saved), I feel the need (and have an extended amount of time) to discuss the police violence.
It is a problem. It has always been a problem and likely always will be without systemic change. Power corrupts. Regardless of who you are, how you are. There is a lure in the power over other living things. This is clear when my kids pull legs off of a bug "just to see what happens" or when I feel a sense of relief and mightiness when I finally shove our dog into his cage after 10 minutes of tussling. I am not saying this is morally right or okay, but it is. It is fact. It is human nature. And, it is nasty, troublesome, and worrisome. And, it is costing lives and the stability of our most precarious communities.
It is also innate and, often, unnoticed by those who succumb to it. Almost like the slippery slope we often discuss in ethical dilemmas--power is a slippery slope. It can be used for so much good, but one misstep, one power/fear based response leads to the ease in making more of these responses. This is true no matter what other factors are present. It was true in the Stanford prison trials, it is true in wars, it is true in the dynamics between parents and children, correctional facilities, schools....the list goes on. It is true in any power dynamic where one individual is implicitly more in power and in control.
Then we add culture and things get even messier! Add a culture of "us" vs. "them" and that power differential becomes even clearer. Add years of media in which cops are depicted as dirty, out to get the little guy, and untrustworthy assholes AND in which Blacks, particularly Black males are depicted as gang-bangers, thugs, noncompliant, shit starters that are loud and blatantly ignorant and unreasonable AND in which young men (White or Black--though the black ones are often also depicted as described above) are depicted as mouthy, disrespectful, drug abusers. And the fact that this media is not incorrect in some, maybe even many cases, and that each culture (the police departments and the Black communities) are teaching their new recruits/their children to be aware of these unfortunate realities that may exist in interactions with another.
And we have this absolute mess. We have police, who should be level-headed and calm, approaching cars containing Black men already making judgment calls about the kind of person they are pulling over. There may be fear, there may be hatred, there may just be a well honed sense of othering as a "fact" of life, which if we are being honest may be the worst possible scenario--this imbedded othering that is not even slightly conscious. We have Black men and women, and young men of all races, who see the police and are scared and/or angry. Who immediately know they were pulled for demographic reasons. Who have to attempt to assuage the officers by being overly polite. Who can't be "too nice" because that is suspicious and who have to be aware of every single word, movement, and expression they make because anything can be taken as a sign of resistance, of refusal to give in to the inherent power of the police.
Are all police this? Probably not. Do all Black men/young men experience this? Probably not. Does it occur? YES. More than we know. Social media has opened our collective eyes to this, but it is nothing new. It's just more visible now. And for those of you who say it happens to everyone--you're right it does. However, there is no doubt it happens to Blacks in disproportionate numbers. They are pulled over and involved in altercations with police at nearly twice the percentage of that which they represent in the population.
So, what do we do? Before the nation erupts into an all out race war. Because though race is a driving force in this issue, it is not the only one. The racial differences provide fuel to the fire. The othering provides all the opportunity to turn this into an "us" vs "them" issue...but it's deeper than that. It is an abuse of power. It is cultural responses to years of systemic abuses. It has started with Black men, but it won't stop there...it never does.
We need to stop. We need to reevaluate. We need to examine the values, culture, and roles of the men and women in charge. They are the ones with the power. They are the ones who need to show change....they need to earn the respect of the citizens whom they protect--not through violence and power. That doesn't work--at least not long term, as the shootings in Dallas suggest. Fear based power is not viable for the long-term. Go back to the basics. Treat people with respect. If you pull over someone and they are being an asshole, no need to be one back. No need to climb on a public transportation bus to reprimand a teenager who smiled at you! This is not how you gain the respect of the people you serve. This is how you ensure another generation of cop haters and cop killers. This suggestion won't make much of a difference right now, but it can make such a difference for the next generation. Training programs for incoming cops, regular re-evaluations, scenario based practices, self-care and diversity programming, daily interactions with the community that are not power-based, town halls, empowerment of the community. They all can make a difference. This doesn't mean the communities have the right to be disrespectful or hateful, it doesn't mean cop-killing is justified. It means things need to change, and those with the power need to do the changing first, because if they don't, the change initiated by the ones without the power are often, historically, violent and shattering.
What are your thoughts, reader? How do you discuss this with/around your children, if you have any? Do you teach your children to fear the police? Do you teach them to fear you?
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