Correcting an Error

I have been thinking about writing this article for a long time. Even as I write it now, I know I should have written this earlier. I should have written this after Samuel DuBose. I should have written this after Sandra Bland. I should have written this after Walter Scott. But I didn’t. So I am writing it now, following the tragic deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

In December of 2014, I wrote an article for WUPR about the shooting of Michael Brown and the media coverage of the incident entitled “False Narratives in Ferguson.” You can find it here. I would like to clarify that that piece no longer represents my views on the issue of police brutality. To be clear, I’m not doing this because I’m under any illusion that people are dying to hear my take on the issue, or even care at all about what I have to say. But the idea that someone could read that article and think that it is an accurate representation of my thoughts is horrifying. Some of the arguments I put forth in that article could most charitably be characterized as “misguided,” and more accurately described as “flat out wrong.”

There are small parts of that piece that I still agree with. Based on the Department of Justice report, it’s clear the situation was more complicated than the media led us to believe, and the “hands up don’t shoot” story was untrue. But that’s about it. Looking back on that piece now, I am quite frankly embarrassed to have written it. There are sentences and phrases that make me cringe:

“Of course black lives matter, and no one knows that fact better than the people in uniform who risk their lives every day to protect them.”

“Progress will only come if people are willing to work with the police to make things better.”

And it’s more than just those specific phrases. The basis for much of my argument, I now realize, is totally wrong. I seemed to have been under the impression that the Black Lives Matter movement didn’t care about anything other than high profile shootings. I gave the police way more credit than they deserve. To put it bluntly: I was wrong.

So now, I would like to correct my error: police brutality is a serious problem in this country, and it disproportionately affects people of color. The problem is deeper than just extrajudicial killings; it’s the indignities that police inflict upon minorities daily. It’s the fact that for many, the police, the very people supposed to stand for justice, inspire feelings not of safety but of fear. And those feelings of fear are more than justified. The police treat minorities like second class citizens. It is not on minorities to work with police to make things better, as I suggested two years ago. What exactly should they be doing that they aren’t doing already? What should Alton Sterling have done differently? What about Eric Garner? The list goes on for far too long.

While writing for WUPR, I have often criticized the political left for its flaws. While I believe the left still has work to do on the issue of police brutality, it is undeniable that the right has miles to go on this issue. A nice start would just be recognizing that the problem exists, something that seems to be a bridge far too many do not cross. It’s truly unreal that in a debate, Donald Trump not only proclaimed that police were the most discriminated against group in America, but that it was also an applause line. To agree with such a statement is to be totally divorced from the reality that we live in. To see the right be so wrong on this issue is incredibly frustrating, especially because it should be a right-wing issue. Those who claim to believe in the Second Amendment should be outraged that Philando Castile was shot for exercising his constitutional right. We conservatives always warn of the dangers of giving the government too much power and preach a healthy distrust of authority. But apparently, when authority takes the form of an officer in a badge, we abandon our principles and instead practice slavish devotion to those in power. It’s time for us to admit our mistake so we can finally do something about this blight on our nation.