I’ve been staying in Union Square recently and have been overwhelmed by the protests. The unity and solidarity of New Yorkers in peaceful protests has been inspiring. Today I marched along 5th avenue towards Washington Square park where thousands were gathered to support black lives and rights, and to protest police brutality and the murder of those with black skin. The protests were peaceful and were comprised of a cross section of New York — all races, ages, and genders. For over a week I have witnessed thousands of New Yorkers gathering every day for peaceful protest. This is true of the overwhelming majority of these protests.
I’ve also witnessed multiple garbage cans set on fire (which while striking is likely safe given it turns into a fire barrel) and an NYPD van set ablaze, which was probably the most shocking and definitely not safe. I’ve seen graffitied and shattered storefronts, and I witnessed one instance of looting by teenagers. And while I disagree with and dislike the violence, I cannot judge it.
The inherent bias against black Americans permeates every sector of our society — from pitiful public education in black neighborhoods, to bias in the healthcare system or lack thereof, bias in hiring, in promotions, in pay, and of course in policing to name just a few. Ben & Jerry’s (yes the ice cream) has a great short article on it: https://www.benjerry.com/whats-new/2016/systemic-racism-is-real
So who am I to judge the right way to demand a right to life and equality when peaceful protest has been ineffective for over half a century. When black lives are disproportionately targeted, beaten, incarcerated, and killed time and time again. And while I do not believe in violence, and do not believe it is productive nor fair to innocent shopkeepers, I can certainly understand the position that when all nonviolent means have failed, and violence is being perpetrated daily against someone, that they might choose violence as a response.
To be clear though. The vast majority of the protests I have seen or been a part of are not and have not been violent.
And being in the heart of this I cannot help but wonder where does this all stem from? I do not believe that most people enter the police force wanting to be racist. Nor that the job itself somehow attracts racists. Digging further led me to a few hypotheses.
Are police perhaps just as racist as society at large? This alone is quite extreme given the systemic racism and inherent bias we have in American culture that’s continuously propagated on television, film, the news, and just daily life in the US. Combining systemic racism and inherent bias with a police culture of aggression and immunity, and the ubiquity of guns resulting in potentially lethal encounters, on its own, would be enough to explain disproportionate targeting and aggression towards black Americans.
Or is police culture simply racist and somehow when becoming a police officer a racist culture is adopted?
Or perhaps police policy, policing itself, and policing strategy results in an acquired racism? NYC had a stop and frisk policy which unfairly targeted black communities, and many other American cities and states have had similarly racist policies.
Vox has a great article discussing this very question: https://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8562077/police-racism-implicit-bias
Ultimately it seems to be a combination of all three, but much of it is driven by the last hypothesis. Policing policy, and policing strategy is racist in that it unfairly targets, enforces, arrests, fines, and charges black Americans in higher proportions than white Americans committing the very same crimes. For example, drug use is just as prevalent among white and black individuals but policing, enforcement, and arrests are disproportionately higher for black people and in black communities. While this alone is racist and unfair, the worst part is that in executing racist policies, police officers, of all races, become even more racist because they consciously or subconsciously associate crime with the individuals and communities they’re sent to police.
So if we take the inherent bias we all have by virtue of the inherent bias and racism in American culture, we add to that policing policies which are racist and then further exacerbate the racism of police officers, and then we add to that a police culture of aggression and immunity instead of de-escalation and community engagement, and we add to that the potential for guns to be in any given police encounter, we’re left with a pretty fucked up situation.
I believe there’s much to be done about systemic racism and inherent bias, but that’s a tougher and longer fight. What we CAN and SHOULD be pushing for now, is immediately reversing racist policing strategy and policy, and changing the policing approach from one of targeting, ticketing, controlling, and enforcing, to one of de-escalation and community engagement.
Someone giving a fake $20 bill should not be killed in any circumstance. How about letting them off with a warning? George Floyd
Someone selling cigarettes on a corner should not be killed in any circumstance. How about letting them off with a warning? Eric Garner
Cops should never enter someone’s home with lethal force without announcing themselves, let alone the wrong house killing an innocent EMT in her own home — Breonna Taylor
The punishment for jaywalking should not be death — Darren Wilson
The list goes on.
Policing should be about improving a community’s quality of life, not destroying it.
I’m well aware that these are sensitive topics, and I apologize if I’ve caused offense here, such was not my intention. Would love to start a dialog if anyone is interested.
