As if police brutality wasnt enough, we had to militarize those we trust to protect and serve. Sadly, these are just symptoms of a deep cancer in our society that cant be simply explained away with tropes of individual responsibility. This is what extreme economic inequality looks like. And itll get much worse, unless WE take our civic responsibilities seriously and actively participate in our self-governance. Why is police brutality so prevalent? Good question. Been there (as a cop when integrity meant something, and on the other side as a victim). Its as natural as the social experiment between prisoners and guards. All it takes is the absence of strict civilian oversight. Weve gotten away from protecting people and valuing communities. The police and judicial systems are now much more concerned with protecting property. Once -- not so long ago -- we received a death threat on the phone (idiots didnt think about caller id). Police asked if they planned to burn down / blow up the house (THAT would have been a felony because the bank holding our mortgage would lose several hundred thousand dollars). No, the callers didnt threaten the house. And the cops didnt follow up because threatening my familys lives was just a Class 2 misdemeanor - and not admissible without a recording and voice print analysis. Like most things these days, our government institutions protect banks and investors over people. You have to be able to afford a good attorney and investigator to protect yourself. Benign neglect is all it takes. Class warfare at its finest. The best justice system money can buy. Even if one doesnt care about inner city police brutality -- even if one confuses this as a racial or moral issue about who deserves justice -- one cannot escape the reality that this cancer has already spread to the middle class. At least care because youre only one random act of violence away from learning that the system no longer protects you, or civil society. As a priority, neither exist any longer. Its simply not worth it to the rich to return to the reasonable tax rates it would take to protect us. Were just cheap labor. Were on our own. And police departments clearly have their priorities set for them. Those departments that still value communities do so because they have strong civic participation perpetuating a culture of integrity. Marginal communities are at the highest risk. Their police forces are already strained, lacking the necessary funds and personnel it would take to run comprehensive crime prevention programs. Younger officers have never participated in community outreach. Empathy and discipline are just theories taught at the academy that evaporate quickly on the streets. The bar lowers over time, until anyone not living in rich suburbs (with HOAs, private security, and good lawyers) are derided as undeserving. They become the other -- like the prisoners in a social experiment, somehow responsible for any injustices that may befall them. They -- and anyone around them -- are treated like a cancer to be removed with extreme prejudice, regardless of guilt. Just ask the MO state senator protesting with them, who was gassed on Tuesday, and arrested on Wednesday. Much like the civil rights movement in the 1960s, where middle class northern liberals marching with southern blacks were treated as fair targets by the police and KKK, youre given no quarter if you pick the wrong side. But today, one has to be the lucky lottery winner in life, born to a wealthy family, and in good standing with the highest social circles in order to be truly safe -- where justice can assumed to be default state of things. Ultimately, WE are responsible for this: For growing apathetic, letting go of the struggle for civil rights, and slowly transforming from involved citizens to preoccupied materialist consumers. Its up US to pick up Dr. Kings banner and fight the myriad of social evils that place wealth above people. He understood there could be no racial justice or social justice without economic justice. Thats even more true today, now that racial and class lines have become blurred. The clock Is ticking down a time when well have no power to effect change: When money alone determines ones ability to participate in self-governance. This affects ALL of us. This cancer is REAL, and metastasizing throughout our democratic institutions. Were not safe. Our environment isnt safe. The stakes couldnt be higher. We just dont see that yet. -Guy Crumpley
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 20:21:34 +0000
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