Police vs Minority Happenings—a non Musing
I am not going to write any musing on the current police vs minority happenings. Right now, feelings—not reason are running rampant. Eventually, in the long run—if not the short run, reason prevails. What are all forms of prejudice, if not an admission that feelings prevail over reason. That’s why falling in love and all personal relationships are so difficult—they are based on feelings more so than reason. There is no reason why we have to like everyone, since understanding human nature dictates that different personalities will not always mix. But that does not mean people, of whom I am not fond, should be denied any kind of fair treatment by law or not have any of the rights and privileges that I have. Diversity is an essential ingredient of the evolutionary process—this process cannot work without diversity. Our personal challenge is always to find ways to let diversity reign in such a way that all ‘God’s children’, if we want to word it that way, have equal justice, equal rights, and level playing fields to the extent we can, collectively, make playing fields more level. Violence always breeds more violence, so using that to solve conflict simply ensures everyone involved loses.
Anyway, I am not entering into this fray. I think Obama says the right thing. That is his strength—an appreciation of all kinds of races, religions, cultures, economic class, whatever. He pays a political price for this as most of us don’t feel the same way to the same extent, and it becomes an irritant when he seeks to right injustices for those whom we have little compassion. Every time he gives minorities a bit more justice, the same rights others already have, a little compassion, a concerted effort to level the playing field a bit more for them, he loses the support of those who have no use for the group in question. We haven’t had a President like that since Lincoln. It was the same back then. Some loved Lincoln for his honesty and appreciation for diversity, and others hated him immensely for his sympathy with those less fortunate. There was no good vs evil involved in that many good people hated Lincoln. Accepting diversity as a valuable part of life is just difficult. I solved this with classes I taught by making it clear the first day that I have no prejudices, I HATE EVERYBODY. How’s that for leveling the playing field”
Obama’s take on all this:
“To admit we've got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day. It is to say that, as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement.”
Obama makes it clear that calling attention to police brutality does not mean officers are being disrespected. It reflects a frustration we saw yesterday when New York radio host Peter Rosenberg berated an officer who called into his show to discuss the Alton Sterling incident but couldn't admit that the officers had done wrong.
From Warsaw, Poland, Obama also gave a speech echoing his Facebook post and expressing condolences for the families of Sterling and Castile. "We've seen tragedies like this too many times," he said, adding, "All of us Americans should be troubled by these shootings because these are not isolated incidents." He cited facts that he said reflect the racial disparities that exist within our criminal justice systems: African-American are 30 percent more likely than whites to be pulled over; after they are pulled over, they are three times more likely to be searched.
"When incidents like this occur, there's a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if, because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same. And that hurts. And that should trouble all of us. This is not just a black issue . . . this is an American issue. All fair-minded people should be concerned.
The president also addressed the those who criticize the Black Lives Matter movement, saying, "When people say black lives matter, that doesn't mean blue lives don't matter — it just means all lives matter. But right now the big concern is the fact that data shows black folks are more vulnerable to these kinds of incidents. This isn't a matter of comparing the value of lives; this is recognizing that there is a particular burden that is being placed on a group of our fellow citizens and we should care about that — we can't dismiss it. We can't dismiss it."
Obama ended his speech by asking those who doubt the problem to ask themselves: "What if this happened to someone in your family? How would you feel?"
