What, then, of police violence targeting blacks more than whites? Is it true? What are your thoughts? I wish this were a format in which I could get your opinions before proceeding. I do think, though, in light of what has transpired the last few days, this is an issue we should again be taking up in earnest.
It is the root of the problem. Football players are taking a knee in protest of police violence against blacks. Are blacks more prone to receiving ill treatment? We should want to know. If it is true, then it is a grave injustice, and we should want to change it, and we should, perhaps, thank those who are bringing it to light and demanding change.
Is it wrong to think of those who bring about justice as heroes? I guess before we give them such distinction, we should consider whether their cause is, indeed, just, whether there is discrimination in our land that yet needs to be taken away.
My thought is: Is it impossible to fully root out the ill will towards and discrimination against blacks? You can have 10 million and one who treat the blacks equally with whites, but if just one person holds enough contempt for them that he goes out and hurts them, you have a problem.
And, you have someone going down on one knee during the national anthem.
And, so it is with our police. If they are predominantly pure and honorable, but if, the same, there remains here and there an officer who has any ill feelings towards blacks, you have the potential for unjustified police violence.
Or, more accurately stated, the probability.
What do you do then? Just thinking off the top of my head, I'd say there are a number of things you can do.
Begin by setting in place policies to avoid the unjust shooting of anyone. Do not train your police to take lives too easily. Train them not to harm another soul unless it is absolutely necessary, with no real choice to the contrary. Train them that life is sacred. More than that, we need to train all of our country in these things. I fear the sentiment that you shoot anyone who trespasses your property is a dangerous one. Their being on your property -- especially if they are there to rob you -- is wrong. But, no, it does not justify your killing them.
Train the officers that just because a person does not stop from fleeing, that is not cause to kill them -- unless his getting away will clearly and imminently jeopardize the lives of others.
If you have policies in place against anyone being shot and killed unjustly, that will go a long way towards avoiding that blacks are killed unjustly.
But, do address the race issue. In your hiring, ask questions to determine if racial bias exists. Weed out those with bias. What could be worse than a white supremacist becoming a police officer? But, I will tell you, it is not the white supremacist you should fear -- for perhaps those are all being weeded out -- but it is the person who has ill feelings towards blacks that are not easily discerned. Be the careful questioner, as a hiring person, and weed out these.
Then, train in race relations. On regular, scheduled occasions, sit all the officers down and verbalize how all people are equal, how blacks are not to be held in contempt, or discriminated against. Although I do believe in such a thing as false accusations -- I do believe there are times when blacks falsely accuse whites of being racist -- do not dwell too much on this, as it can stir up feelings against the blacks. Acknowledge it happens if someone brings it up, but warn that this is not an excuse to operate against the blacks with malice in any way.
When someone points out that people should not be burning down their cities in racial protests, acknowledge this as well. But, again, warn them well that such things should not engender in them feelings of malice towards black people. Remind them that people of all races, including whites, engage in such behavior.
And, if they are suggesting blacks are more inclined, take note. Follow up by trying to find out if there is a deep-seated resentment of blacks in your officer.
The war against racism is a difficult one. As I said, it only takes one bad officer for things to go wrong. But, the same, you must do everything you can to root out racism. If you do not at least try, you most surely will fail.
One parting thought: If in your reflections, you find that you have been guilty of having thoughts that it is the blacks who tear up their communities, do not fault yourself too much. I will confess I do not know what statistics say in this regard, to know whether there is justification for such thinking. I know, however, it is a dangerous thought, the same. If you will, then, remove that line of thinking from your mind, or at lease resolve that you will not let it be an impetus for ill feelings against black people.
We must root out, as much as we can, any discriminatory thoughts, any ill-will towards others. We should probably confess we probably all have some such feelings. If we are pure in our feelings toward black people, then we probably have someone else -- whether it is a class of society or not --that we have ill feelings toward. If each of us, and all of us, strove to find such things in ourselves, and root them out, what a difference that would make.
Hail the nation that makes racial equality a cherished goal, that is not satisfied with what has been achieved, but seeks to root out racial inequality entirely.
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