Friday, July 8, 2016

2016, You Really Are Something

Dallas Police Officers Killed By Snipers: What We Know Friday : The Two-Way : NPR

Image via NPR
A coordinated sniper attack in Dallas killed five police officers Thursday, in a bout of violence that didn't end until the last of at least two snipers who had fired on police died in a parking garage. Police say at least four people were involved in the attack; they have three suspects in custody.
I'm afraid to read the comments, or look at twitter. The hot takes must be flying.

This was inevitable though, wasn't it? Not justifying, not endorsing ... just observing. The police have been waging a war on dark skin since ... forever? ... and if they can't solve their racial issues, if *we* (white people, generally) can't solve *our* white supremacy problem, then shouldn't we expect violent opposition from the oppressed?

It feels horribly old-fashioned, and perhaps inadequate, but I still cling to the idea that the Rule of Law is the answer. Yes, there is a problem with the law: there are too many low-level offenses that basically criminalize the state of being poor, of being black, and that needs to change. But even with bad laws, the fixes would happen if applied equally; if white parents had to deal with their kids going to jail for pot smoking, for example, the way black parents do, you can bet your ass things would change.

If police crack down harder now, because of this, I fear these won't be the last police to be hunted down and killed.

So, yeah, I guess I have a hot take: serve and protect, or there will be more blood.

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