In the middle of the chaos engendered by COVID19, we have found ourselves presented with another viral attack.
The virulent
epidemic of violent Racism arose again, this time in Minneapolis, awakening
protests that spread throughout this nation and the world. The killing of black men by white men for no
reason other than color appears in this nation’s entire history over at least a
240+ year period, and perhaps longer (since 1619?). As he was being asphyxiated by a rogue
policeman, George Floyd gasped “I Can’t Breathe” much the same as Eric Garner
had done in Staten Island 6 years earlier.
It has
become more than a cry for personal help – it has become the angry cry of an
historically oppressed and repressed people – the protestation of a beleaguered,
disrespected people-- speaking to all of us – echoing across the centuries--
reminding us of an immense truth: the
loss of the inalienable rights of one human or of one human group threatens to
bring the same loss to everyone.
Therefore, we must support each other when rights are violated. That is what we are witnessing as
multiracial protests continue throughout our land and in other cities of the
world.
History is
happening before our eyes. Not only is a
pandemic viral attack taking place that puts us at the mercy of a corona virus,
but we are clearly witnessing the bending of the long arm of Justice toward
greater equality. Reform is in the air
and on the streets, confronted by forces of oppression that have always been a
part of our history in this country. Because events have moved so quickly that I
have had some difficulty keeping up, I can do no little more than to comment on
what stood out today and for several days past, letting you in on a sort of
stream-of-consciousness related to these historic events.
1)
Protest
and Dissent are as American as apple pie.
It is a first amendment right and was the very tactic used by our
forefathers to oppose and to throw off the oppressive British yoke that was
choking their efforts to produce a just and prosperous colonial presence – and
eventually an independent country.
- The protests involve a new generation stepping up
to declare some things that need to be said, and giving very serious
attention to things that must change.
They said it before about gun violence; about LGBTQ rights and now
in regard to Civil Rights; more particularly the rights of African
Americans. They are again saying: ENOUGH is ENOUGH! The justice
system must change!
- Those who fault these protestors for violence, claiming
they are organized by revolutionaries on the Left or Fascists on the Right
to burn and loot, are nowhere near the essence -- the true nature -- of
this Movement. They are definitely
living in the wrong Time Zone.
- And, by the way, those voices who blame the majority
of protestors for the violence have no right to make such judgments until
they are working to rid our society of the injustices that violently
disrupt the dreams and lives of persons of color. As The Rev. Al Sharpton said in his
eulogy for George Floyd: violence extends to the denial of good
healthcare, housing, education, environmental cleanliness, and especially
equal justice. It’s something like
what that prophet (some called him ‘Messiah’) had in mind when he declared
to the law & order folks of his day “don’t point out the speck in
someone else’s eye until you tend to the mote in your own.” (loosely
translated)
2) It is the violence – and the acceptance and protection of
violence -- within police forces of this country that is at issue here. As well, it is the violence against black men
in particular that is at the forefront of the protests. There is a pervasive sense that there are two
standards of justice: one for white folks and a separate system for black and
brown men (and women). That was evident
in the case of George Floyd and in many similar cases just in the past 6 months
referred to so forcefully in the list enumerated by the Floyd family’s Attorney
at the celebration of George’s life.
- What do these protestors want? That question needs an answer, and not a
few veteran protest leaders and others from the Civil Rights Movement have
been saying that the hardest part lies ahead in making change happen. Barack Obama and Congressman John Lewis talking
a bit about protesting and organizing, and how they must complement each
other. Others, like former UN
ambassador, Andrew Young, spoke of his concern about leadership at the
next step of bringing about change.
- Hopefully, the young leaders will not forget to
call on their elders who actually brought substantial remedies to some of
the abuses that were so glaring and were strangling the black communities
all over the country in other eras.
Don’t forget the victories in the 1960’s represented in the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; the Office of Economic
Opportunity, the Legal Services Corporation, and so on. (See my blog on
reviving the Kerner Commission Report of 1968 at 12/7/2014 and that on Sir
Robert Peel and his fundamental policing principles of mid-19th
century England at 8/17/2014)
- So where does the Movement go from here? I would suggest that the protests should
continue with very specific goals and outcomes in mind. Congress, and more particularly the
cowardly, violence-supporting, afraid-of- truth-and-justice Republicans need
to feel the censure of crowds of protestors for their inaction, their repressive
and abusive bills that ignore the special needs of the most vulnerable
among us, as well as those who need relief right now from that other virus-
COVID19. Most of all, do-nothing members of Congress need to feel strong
opposition to their positions on issues that are harming, hurting and
strangling the working families in this country.
- Specifically, it might not be a bad idea to begin
by picking up where the Obama administration left off. Did you know that
President Obama left a full Report for the Trump administration on 21st
century policing with suggestions for improvements? Of course, Trump shelved
it and ignored it, right along with his disregard for the Obama report on
handling of a viral pandemic!
- Here are some excerpts from the October 2015
Obama report on “21st Century Policing” that just might be
worthy of some consideration for “what comes next?” (underlining is mine)
RECOMMENDATION 1.1:
Law enforcement culture should embrace a guardian mindset to
build public trust and legitimacy.
Comment: if it is not clear to America by
now, it will have to be brought home time and again – police departments are
not military units fighting a war with community members. They are not troops deployed on city
“battlegrounds.” They are not warriors fighting
a war with military equipment and tactics against community members. It is incredibly discouraging to observe on
television that police individuals and units could not even restrain their
violence and militarism in front of the cameras. Watching Buffalo NY police
knock a 75-year-old man to the cement sidewalk, and then leaving him there
bleeding profusely from his head made this viewer shutter in disgust. As one commentator lamented: “so many police
are so immersed in this warrior culture that they can’t help themselves”.
And here are
a few action steps from the report that need national attention:
o
Involve
employees and the public in formulating policies and procedures
o
Establish
a culture of transparency and accountability:
o
Make
all department policies available for public review
- Regularly post on department website information
about stops, summonses, arrests, reported crimes, and other data
aggregated by demographics
- When serious incidents occur, including alleged
police misconduct, communicate swiftly with citizens, openly and
neutrally
RECOMMENDATION 1.5: Proactively promote public trust by initiating
positive non-enforcement activities to engage communities that have high
rates of investigative and enforcement involvement
RECOMMENDATION 1.6: Annual community surveys, standardized across
jurisdictions, to measure how policing affects public trust
RECOMMENDATION 1.8:
Create a workforce that represents a broad range of diversity including
race, language, gender, life experience and background
- Recognize and celebrate successful agencies in
promoting diversity (and other matters)
- Consider discretionary federal funding for
departments that make improvement efforts
RECOMMENDATION 2.2: Agencies
should have policies on training for use of force that should emphasize
de-escalation and alternatives to arrest or summons, where appropriate
- These policies should mandate external and independent
investigations in cases of police use of force resulting in death,
officer involved shootings resulting in injury or death, or in custody
deaths
- Agencies should establish Serious Incident
Review Boards comprised of sworn staff and community members to
review cases involving officer-involved shootings and other serious
incidents…in order to identify any administrative supervisory, training,
tactical or policy issues to be addressed
RECOMMENDATION 2.7: Agencies should create policies and
procedures for policing mass demonstrations that employ …managed tactical
resources designed to minimize the appearance of a military operation, and avoid
using provocative tactics and equipment that undermine civilian trust
RECOMMENDATION 2.8:
Some form of civilian oversight is important to help strengthen
trust with the community.
It is my
opinion that it is this latter concept that is an important key to a turn-around
of many of our governmental structures.
Civilian oversight (and partnership) is skewed and often missing in our ‘representative
democracy’ because we have taken “representation” in several erroneous
directions, i.e. special privileges, exemptions, attention to sponsors rather
than constituents, and acting without input from those represented (read
further by looking at “Representation” posting at 2/26/2017).
Unlike the
coronavirus, the Racism virus does discriminate, always picking out those with
dark skin. Like the COVID19, no cure (or
vaccination) is currently available, but both can be partially controlled and reduced
in terms of their devastating effects by following certain standards and
applying certain rules and values.
However,
that can only happen if people care about each other, believe in each other, trust
each other, encourage each other, respect each other and follow common sense
rules and standards that can protect and enhance one another.
It is much like
in a family where such standards and values are the foundation for caring
family interactions, loving relationships, a sense of identity and protection
of one another.
It’s now time
that “police service” be built not on “battlegrounds” but in families and
neighborhoods and communities. While one
of those services may of necessity be law enforcement, that should be focused
on the small percentage of people who choose to live outside the law and not used
to harass others by means of racial profiling.
If we don’t change our perceptions and our language, we will not change
the atmosphere and the attitudes of war and militarism that now appear to
control our major metropolitan police departments.
This does
not mean that all police are bad cops, but it does mean that there is an
atmosphere and modus operandi that pervades the work environment helping to
determine how an individual acts or reacts. For instance, the on-going protection
provided by police unions for members of the force who are known from numerous
civilian complaints to be abusive and overly militaristic has to stop. It is not the function of unions to protect
members who abuse and harm other people.
That is nothing but a denial of what union brother/sisterhood is about,
and equates to unions protecting criminal behavior in some cases.
From
Minnesota via the New York Times comes this Breaking News:
“After more
than a week of protests against police brutality and unrest that left parts of
the city burned, a growing chorus of elected officials, civic leaders and
residents in Minneapolis are urging the city to break up the Police Department
and reimagine the way policing works.
‘We are
going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department,’ Jeremiah Ellison, a
member of the City Council, said on Twitter this week. ‘And when we’re done,
we’re not simply gonna’ glue it back together,’ he added. ‘We are going to
dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response.’ Minneapolis
is not the only city asking the question. Across the country, calls to defund,
downsize or abolish police departments are gaining new traction.”
The season of scrutiny and accountability has
begun, and any local police authority that doesn’t seriously examine its
mission, purposes, standards, protocols, policies and procedures—and the terms
it uses to describe its guardian services—could end up regretting the kind of
publicity and attention brought upon it.
Envision
what can be and should be; then organize to make it happen!
