Another African-American man was killed by police on video and the reaction has once again been dramatic. Peaceful protests and violent riots came to Kenosha, Wisc., after video circulated of police officers shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back in front of his children as he resisted police during a confrontation.
While many media outlets will revisit the conversation of race on a national level, I am increasingly realizing that that each case is different, and ultimately needs to be handled differently. As I write this Blake is still alive in a hospital, though seriously injured, and the language around him is incredibly polarizing. Some characterize him primarily as another victim of police brutality, others describe him as a criminal who should have been compliant with police.
I don’t think it’s appropriate for all of America to pass judgement on Jacob Blake simply because video of him getting shot went viral. There is a justice system in place to determine whether officers used appropriate force in the situation and, in reality, those systems operate with different levels of efficiency and justice in different parts of the country.
The killing of George Floyd just one month ago brought to light that the officer primarily responsible for his death was the subject of numerous previous complaints and that – in retrospect – he clearly should have been removed from his position sooner. The Black Lives Matter movement in many ways is a response to the brutalization of African-Americans by police and a subsequent lack of accountability. While the case of Blake is different from that of Floyd, it’s important to understand that these incidents do not occur in a vacuum and there is still a lot of trauma and frustration carrying over from previous incidents between African-Americans and the police that received national attention.
I have already explained on this site and on social media I believe that racism is a very real affliction that has shaped the development of many communities in the U.S. and throughout the world. The African-American and Native American communities in particular have had to face the effects of racism for centuries in the U.S., and I firmly believe that we need to dedicate special energy to healing these wounds as we try to become a better society. At the level of individuals, institutions and communities we need to be better at acknowledging the existence of racism and learning how to move past its effects.
What I have not explored before is the respect I have for police, and I realize that may be off-putting to those who advocate for police reform. Perhaps part of why I’m able to feel this way is because, although I am half-Mexican, I am of light complexion and most of my experiences with police have been positive. Even being brought in the back of a squad car and after spitting on police, I was treated with dignity and respect.
But to really explain my appreciation for police I feel it’s necessary to diverge onto a related topic: the military. As I have grown older, I have in many ways come to appreciate the ways I benefit from the U.S. Military.
I should state clearly that I am fundamentally anti-war. I cannot see myself ever approving of going to war and don’t see violence as a solution to humanity’s problems, but rather as one of the fundamental problems. People are full of so much potential and when we go to war, we kill each other and completely waste all of the energy that could be used for something constructive. Every soldier could be a farmer and the whole world could eat, if we could just learn how to solve our problems constructively. I have addressed this theme before in previous writing.
Still, I live in the United States of America and pay taxes to the U.S. Government. Those taxes fund a military which has bases all around the world and operates to protect America’s interests. The U.S. government, through its military has used overt and covert force to influence world affairs and keep the U.S. materially prosperous and has in many ways kept other countries less prosperous.
The U.S. has removed leaders and governments operating contrary to its own interests and has used military and economic power to keep the system operating in its benefit, often at others’ expense. And make no mistake, the actions of the military have in some cases been criminal. Yet by paying taxes into this government and voting for the same two political parties, I have supported this state of affairs, very directly. I am on some level complicit in everything the government does, as it acts on my behalf and with multiple levels of support.
Now, some would argue that this taxation itself is a form of violence, and no one should be forced to participate in a system of governance simply for living a place. I think it best to leave that discussion – and the question of whether organized government is necessary – for another time. But even if I am not given a choice in where I am born, I prop up these societal systems with my passive participation.
Ever since the Vietnam War the draft has been eliminated and we now rely on volunteers to join the military and represent our interests. I can disagree all I want with my country’s military and economic decisions, but the same way I am forced to pay taxes I could be forced to join the military. Many other countries still have a draft or require military service from all young people. But I do not have to deal with that because other people volunteer in my place.
Other people go into literal hell-on-earth scenarios voluntarily, so that I do not have to. And some of some of them have been enabled to commit atrocities, and those people should be held accountable. Yes, perhaps some people in the military join because they want to find a way to kill people, but having many friends in the military, I do not believe that is the norm in any way. Most people I know joined because it made sense for where they were in life and they were willing to make a sacrifice. I do not believe they should have to do it, but the reality is that they do, and I will always owe those people some form of gratitude. I live in complete comfort, enjoy tremendous economic and social benefits, because other people – many of whom are friends and family – are dedicating their life to representing U.S. interests. I don’t agree with this state of affairs, in many ways I hate it, but that’s reality.
I believe the best way we can honor those servicemen and servicewomen is to value their lives, not send them into combat and not ask them to make these impossible decisions, to find ways for them to promote a better, more peaceful world, rather than a conflictive one. I would argue the U.S. has done a poor job of that up until this point, but that also is a discussion for another time.
We can now return to the discussion of police.
Police undeniably put their lives on the line and are given a monumental task of basically forcing law and order onto individuals, communities and institutions. I have heard voices crying out in the last several weeks that police are given too much autonomy or and not have enough accountability. I do think there should be clear and transparent systems in place to investigate – and when necessary punish – officers whenever a life is taken or an abuse of power is alleged. But we have to acknowledge what we ask of police is unreasonable.
Police are dealing with traumatized people all day and are often not in a position to rehabilitate them so much as to try to control a situation. They have to deal with people with personal and mental health issues more than the average person, have to deal with people lying to them constantly, and have to be ready for tranquil situations to turn violent in an instant. It’s an incredibly stressful way to live and saying “well they signed up for it” doesn’t change the fact that – regardless of why they signed up for the job, as perhaps some take the position to have power over others – many are doing it so that everyone can live in a more just society.
If someone tries to rob you, hurt you or damage your property, you have the ability to call the police, and those police volunteer for this position, which, in my mind, is similar to the military.
Many police departments have failed to provide the same levels of protection to everyone who needs it – which is part of why we keep returning to this issue – but having someone we can call in crisis is necessary in the times we live in. I do not think all of the structures that currently exist are sustainable, and I do not agree with all of the decisions even my local police department makes, but I recognize the role of police and the sacrifices we call for them to make.
But what we ask of police in many ways reminds me of how we organize classrooms. I have worked as an in-class and after-school tutor and substitute teacher over the years, as well as volunteering as a neighborhood Bahá’í children’s class teacher and an animator for the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program, and I have to say that the way students interact with authority in a classroom setting seems to be coherent with what they experience as they grow older.
Children, whenever they have a problem, are taught from an early age to “tell the teacher.” The teacher is this authority figure that is expected to figure out all the problems that arise in the classroom. Having been a teacher, and having many friends who still do the job, even during the pandemic, this dynamic does not always work. While skilled teachers learn how to manage a classroom and develop relationships with students that influence their behavior, I can’t help but wonder if those seeds are planted in grade school, of expecting authority figures to solve problematic behavior from individuals or groups for the collective. Are the police in many instances just treated like teachers with guns? They are given authority and an impossible task and then told to figure it out.
Particularly with young children it is important for the teacher to be an authority figure and to maintain order, I have learned, but as children grow older I think it is important for us to learn how to collectively address problematic behavior, rather than relying on authority figures.
I’ve thought a lot about what I’m going to teach my son if someone tries to bully him, and I think what I’ve arrived at is: “If someone tries to bully you, treat them with kindness but make clear what behavior you will and will not tolerate.” More important, though, is what I hope he and other kids will learn as they grow older about how to treat each other. If they see someone else being bullied they shouldn’t expect the teacher to solve their problems: the kids should be able to know that if one of them is getting bullied the rest of them will stand up for each other. As long as no one allows anyone else to be bullied, everyone is safe, but it requires someone to speak up for others when the rules are being broken. I hope, whenever this pandemic abates and we can start holding gatherings, that I can start a new children’s class and my son and I can learn with our community about these concepts.
I guess one big takeaway I get from all of this is the need for shared collective responsibility. There is institutional racism in the U.S. and those issues should be called out directly, and corrected, but simply pointing out flaws in our institutions and social processes will not lead to progress. Instead of getting dragged into divisive arguments on social media, lets find ways to take action that impacts peoples’ lives in our communities, and find ways to uphold the standards of what we expect in society, not by arguing with people we see as being wrong, but supporting people in need.
When individuals’ mental health starts slipping, we can support them. When families need help, we can provide them with resources. When others are in crisis, we can be there for them.
Efforts like Campaign Zero have given substantial thought about how to move beyond reactive law enforcement and reform the way we police communities, and I think many of those ideas have a lot of merit. But we can never rely on police to solve our communities problems of addiction, estrangement, apathy and violence alone. Right now we lock people up or kill people when they break (or are perceived to break) the law and that’s not cool, but just changing the way money is spent or government is organized will not address these issues, we all have to be part of the solution, just like in the classroom. Everyone needs to know everyone else is looking out for them, we can’t just rely on authority figures to solve our problems.
