And now - Tyre Nichols. May he rest in peace.
It's not just systemic racism. It's not just 'a few bad apples'. And it's certainly not new.
Police brutality has existed as long as there have been police. You're talking about a pre-selected group of people capable of pounding people on the head with night sticks, spraying pepper spray into eyes, and/or shooting people for fleeing. People capable of murder.
Could you pound a woman on the head with a night stick? Spray pepper spray into peaceful college protestors eyes? Shoot someone? I couldn't.
Psychopathy has been a part of policing pretty much forever. What's new are the cameras capturing the brutality for all to see, making it difficult for police to do what they always have done after using excessive force or murdering someone - lie. When was the last time you even heard about a police officer owning up to what they had done in the heat of the moment?
When one of the officers heard they had recaptured Tyre after he had fled in panic from the original traffic stop, he was heard saying 'I hope they pound his ass.' Why? It was a simple traffic stop. Tyre had hurt no one. Why? Because defying a psychopath's control and power is a capitol offense, according to psychopaths.
It's not just racism. Bullies pick on weakness. In this society many police officers assume minorities can't effectively complain or fight back.
What is needed is an entirely new model of policing. A model that does not attract psychopaths and those seeking power through the uniform, clubs, tasers, and guns. A model focused on community unity and peace, on deescalation, on caring and not on power and control through intimidation and abuse.
No comments:
Post a Comment