Tragedy and Confusion

The killings, whatever name you call them by, in St. Paul, Baton Rouge and Dallas are horrendous. The overload of the killings occurring on successive days boggled the mind and made it very difficult to express oneself without allowing prejudices to play a part. If you will look and examine each incident you will see that the relevant issues are few and they are the same issues that we have been struggling with for several years now.

Firstly look at “Black Lives Matter.” The name does not suggest that only black lives matter but that they matter as much as others. The incidence of police assaults and killing of African-Americans is statistically much higher than with Caucasians. The assertion that there is a different standard of treatment for African-Americans seems to be obvious. This proven fact is the central point of conflict in our recent violence. We have seen African-Americans stopped, manhandled and killed. Even when the person is guilty of a crime the level of violence used to subdue the suspect is over the top. In many cases it seems clear that a deescalation of violent maneuvers was possible and the choice was made to use force and even when force has been used it has culminated in deadly force. In some cases it appears that deadly force was applied when there was no actual threat.

It has to be made clear that police are the protectors of the people and guardians of a civilized society. They should be part of that society and not enemies of it. The people should be able to look on them with respect and appreciation and most, by far, do just that. But the police are thrust into situations that causes them to act in a fraction of a second and make the right decision. Is that decision influenced by a miscalculation of racial threat? It seems to be just that.

In the use of deadly force the police are held to a standard that seems ridiculously low. In most jurisdictions it is only necessary that the officer genuinely fear for his life. In Cleveland, St. Paul, Baton Rouge, Baltimore and other cities it appears disingenuous to claim that standard was a reality. But the perception of fear by the officer seems to be the linchpin. The bar should be higher than that. It is a rare occasion that a police officer has been held to have responded illegally. Yes, it's a job fraught with danger. Yes, decisions must be made in a split second. But those decisions must be right. If the police are perceived by the people as using one standard for Caucasians and another for African-Americans then the relationship between the police and the people falls apart.

The shootings of the police officers in Dallas weren't caused by Black Lives Matter except as it existed in the mind of this one African-American ex-soldier. In his mind, however deranged it was, it was time to take the battle to the streets. Black Lives Matter has been a largely non-violent movement focused on gaining equality of treatment under the law. What we saw in Dallas was murder but in the mind of the murderer it was revolution against the oppressive white society. What we see with the Black Lives Matter movement is revolution also but one that expresses non-violence.

So, the goal of the Black Lives Matter movement has been clouded by the actions of a black man in Dallas. What he did was no service to the movement, rather it has harmed it by inciting more hate of the African-American community. They are not to blame. In Dallas the police surrendered their lives to protect those participating in the Black Lives Matter march and that is as it should be. They gave their blood and lives to protect the people. They deserve great honor but it must not cause us to be lax in our pursuit of justice for all.

If we can put away our spite and dangerous rhetoric long enough it is critical that we, as a people, discuss and determine what kind of force we are going to accept to keep the peace and protect the people. Angry voices and racial bias must be put aside in an effort to come up with some usable and enforceable standards for proper use of police force. The inequality of the application of force must not be allowed to continue to exist. This is not a battle between conservatives and liberals, law enforcement and crime or cops and people. It is a matter of public justice and equality for all. It is serious business and we must deal with it without the usual partisan clownishness that we so often see.

It bears mentioning that the weapon used was not an assault type weapon as we currently think of them. It did hold 10 rounds and it would be better if the limit was 5. But we have to recognize that without that gun those people are still alive. All of them. But, in addition to this there is the matter of using a robot to deliver a bomb. No matter how you color it this was the use of a drone to kill an American citizen on American soil. How long before some agency flies a little helicopter in the window to kill someone? Lots of people say we must have guns in order to be able to revolt against an oppressive government. My Take is this. This is what revolution looks like.