I'm back at it with my morning coffee, and my mission to bring everyone to the realization that we are actually all in this together. You ready for some.... (cringe) togetherness?
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| On my desk today: a collection of stones and shells, a painting of George Floyd I'm working on for the online shop, coffee with cream and a breakfast I've gotten used to here in the Netherlands - bread with peanut butter (pindakaas) and chocolate sprikkels on top. |
Today, let's talk about the responsibility we have to our fellow Americans.
I think we're all getting a little lost in the argument and we're ignoring the real issue here. People from both sides are quick to discount the opposition's opinions about the state America is in and what we should do about it, if we should act at all. Well, I use the word opposition here not because its an accurate description of the relationship between two Americans, but that's one way to look at it when you see some of the dialogue that is happening right now.
But if we are not actually on opposing sides, then what are we? And why are we fighting? Well, a lot of cops are shooting Americans and asking questions later, and the numbers show that it happens disproportionately more to Black Americans, which points to prejudice. You see, when you kill, restrain, tase, and take down based on suspicion or self preservation and not on the premise of innocent until proven guilty, you have a very large opportunity set for making a mistake. After these incidents occur, the waters are muddy. The policeman was scared, he thought the citizen had a gun, he feared for his life, he acted out of self defense, etc. But any way you skin it, unarmed Americans are being shot first and asked questions later, which is dangerous for all of us. To be clear, we're not talking about an unfortunate accident here. We're seeing it happen more and more, and that's why we're seeing such civil unrest here. (For the real numbers, visit https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed)
For most of my friends and family, it's easy to chalk this all up to inner city living. I came from a very rural place. We value honesty, simplicity and practicality. We like to think that a person's life is a direct reflection of their actions, and we have a tendency to assume that if someone died at the hands of a police officer, it was the result of some poor choices they made. Just a couple years ago, we all watched a small militia group take up arms against the federal government over the rights to some land out in boonies. The whole thing ended with the leader of the group dying at the hands of the police force, but only after he fled, led them on a pursuit involving road blocks and a helicopter, and reached for his weapon. It's easy to see situations like this and try to make a comparison to other Americans that police officers kill. Sometimes we read about the lives of the people that were victims of police brutality and we think, Well, maybe society is better off now that they're dead... Don't feel bad. It's human nature to try to make sense of things like this.
The thing is, we all enjoy the citizenship of America, which means we are all bound to its values and rules of conduct. And we decided long ago that this situation where cops have the power to decide who dies and who doesn't is not how we do things. Think of how police officers are represented in our children's cartoons: they are there next to firefighters, EMTs and other groups that are supposed to help our communities. American citizens are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Justice should not be carried out by the police officer, and in the case of an accident where he does, it should be very seriously addressed, because we have an entire justice system for a reason. Americans have a right to be lawfully detained, treated with respect, and appear in front of a judge to receive the fair punishment for their actions, based on rules that we've all agreed on as a society. To cut out that process is an abuse of power, accident or not. And when we see it, no matter what the victim's skin color is or what circumstances are around it, we should be scared. A police force that is desensitized to the weight and severity of killing American citizens, especially citizens who are unarmed, is one that is dangerous for the entire society.
I'm not at all saying that all police precincts are evil or that all cops are bad. I disagree with a lot of the BLM protesters because of this. Someone on twitter argued with me that a good cop could not survive in a corrupt culture like the American police force, so they must not exist. This is almost laughable, but this mindset is gaining traction. It's harder and harder to see a group of people originally designed to protect and serve killing those its sworn to help without losing hope in the whole outfit. But yes, even cops that have done racist shit in the past want to help their communities and by and large, don't believe in genocide, homicide, or any other atrocious act.
I think what has happened is that the modern American police officer is surrounded by the suggestion that they are on a noble mission to catch the bad guy. I think they focus more on that than serving and protecting, although I'm sure they believe that they are serving and protecting by preventing more crime from happening later. But I have a vision of a police force that is ready to help, easy to find, can be trusted by the American people, and leaves it to the justice system to decide if someone is a good guy or a bad guy. I have a vision of a police force that does not hide around the corner, plan in secret, and hunt down the American criminal.
One thing I want to point out is that it's not just African Americans that feel they cannot trust the police. Lots of other citizens have had very unpleasant encounters with officers. What do we do when we see lights in the rearview mirror? I don't know about you, but I start cursing under my breath, my heart rate quickens. I start wondering how completely screwed I am, what hoops I will have to jump through if a ticket or citation is written, and how this will affect me financially and otherwise. My white privilege means I've never viewed this situation as a threat on my life, but I'm still usually scared, anxious or unsure in this moment. Other times, too.
I remember a time when I was living in New Jersey and I didn't get off work until after midnight. I worked in the mall, and we had spent hours of gruesome panty restocking in the type of hell that is unique to Victoria's Secret stores. When I finally left the building, the busses were no longer running and I was going to have to skateboard down 5 miles of highway to the nearest train station in the dark and cold if I didn't find another option. I didn't know any of my coworkers very well, and since New Jersey is the worst state to drive in in the country, I didn't feel comfortable asking anyone for a ride. I saw a police officer parked and patrolling across the street. I asked if he could give me a ride to the station. I was tired, cold and a little nervous about making the trek, but he said he couldn't leave his post and was unable to give me a ride. Nor did he help me out in any other way besides giving me directions. He was working on catching the bad guy, I assume.
I know there are so many more stories where Americans have been shafted by police. Generally speaking, it's not a culture of support, contrary to every Paw Patrol episode I've ever seen. A friend I went to high school with complains that once they get you into the system, they want to keep you there. He had troubles with drug abuse a couple years ago, and has since dealt with years of checking in with condescending probation officers, giving pee samples, required weekly check ins that make it hard to maintain a regular working schedule, and all of it costs him hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. One little slip up earns him years more of expensive moral babying from the government.
Millions of women don't report cases of domestic abuse or sexual assault, because as it turns out a lot of cops don't listen, can't help and don't have answers. I guess most of the time it seems pretty hopeless for us females, and there are a lot of police officers out there who have actually sexually assaulted Americans in their custody. Woah, what???? Yes. The relationship between police officers and women is shaky at best. A woman who's never had to contact the police over a sexual assault charge is lucky. Maybe I'll give this topic more attention in the future. It absolutely deserves it.
So the question is not whether or not to reform our policing system, the question is how to do it. And if you still don't agree with me, I'm going to argue that just because you don't have an issue with the police yourself, doesn't mean you are not a part of the conversation. If you live in America, you fight for freedom for your fellow man. You fight for domestic tranquility, you fight for equal opportunity and real justice. You cannot and should not want to silence your fellow American, especially invalidate their claims against a government that governs over you as well, lest it come back later to bite you in the ass. Just because your life is not on the line right now does not mean that this issue does not concern you.
We should all expect the same thing out of our police force: to be first responders, to treat those it detains with respect, to provide community support when they can, to be the brawn and not the hand of justice in our communities, to take those who are acting in a way that doesn't align with our values and safely place them into custody until the American public can decide what to do with them, through the avenues we've been using and refining since our union formed. We should all expect them to serve and protect, not hunt and suspect. I think even police officers will benefit from this relationship. Imagine if there were less killing. Wouldn't that be nice?
And this is basically where both my military friends and I all came to agreement. Which brought on the next questions... How do we fix it? Where do we go to work?
My cousin and I decided that a good place to start is in dialogue with our local police precinct. A few of the questions I can think of to ask them are listed below, and I'm hoping that others will add to the list.
What are the police forces core values?
Do you feel that the culture you portray is generally adhered to?
Do you feel that the core values you hold lift up the community and serve the American citizen?
What is the procedure for handling a complaint against a police officer?
What disciplinary actions are involved?
Is it common to have a complaint against an officer? If so, what are the common ones?
Do you currently employ any officers that have unresolved complaints filed against them?
Have you had any incidents in the past few years? If so, what was done to address them?
What are your views on the current issue?
Which changes are you going to make to bolster the relationship between officer and citizen?
In which ways can we abandon stealth and suspicion for support and service?
Has the current Black Lives Matter movement changed your mind or made you see your procedures differently? Which ones?
How can the community support you in supporting us?
I look forward to reading your thoughts and additions.
Be well,
Alison
