Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went
and beheaded him in the prison… Mark 6:27 (NRSV)
It wasn’t until recently that it became easy to find a
number to go with the gruesome reality that black people—and black men in
particular—live with every day: the ever-present threat of police violence.
Police officers fatally shot nearly 1,000 people last
year, according to The Washington Post’s ongoing count. Halfway through 2016, police
have shot and killed 506 more. “Unarmed black men are seven times more likely
than whites to die by police gunfire,” the Post wrote
last year.
(from: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/07/monitorial-citizenship-technology/490286/
).
Two more police shootings that resulted in the death of
black men in just the last few days. Both
men had guns but from everything I have seen and read neither of them had drawn
their guns and in one case had told police he had a permit to carry it. Now I
don’t own guns and I don’t want guns carried around by people near me but as I
understand things both men legally had their guns and had the right to carry
them and in the one case did what he was supposed to do when confronted by
police. And still these law abiding citizens who happen to black were killed by
the police.
I am not anti-police. I firmly believe that of the nearly 1
million (this is an estimate as I am not able to find a reliable source that
gives an accurate count) sworn law officers in the United States the
overwhelming majority are good people, doing their job with integrity and as
fairly as possible. I believe that most police officers use deadly force only
when absolutely necessary. I believe that the job of law enforcement officer is
hard, very hard and that they live in a space of uncertainty and fear for their
safety. I firmly believe that the vast majority of cops are just like you and
me, they want to do what is right and just and good. I also believe that there
are some law enforcement officers that are troubled souls, that are vindictive,
that are callous, that are prejudice, and that are the “shoot first ask
questions later” type people. In other words, I believe that cops as a group
have as many good people and bad people as any other group in our society.
So what is wrong? It may be over simplification but I think
two things are the primary problem: one is the ease of access to guns by
citizens and cops alike and the other is the racist nature of our society. If
people were not able to carry guns in public, then cops would know someone was
a criminal when they had a gun. You know my take on the 2nd
Amendment – it is for an armed militia and since we have a standing volunteer
army there is no need for a militia. But let’s say we still want citizens to be
able to arm themselves in times of need or for hunting, shooting competitions,
and for recreation then armories make sense and mandatory gun safety training
should be the rule. I just don’t see how having open carry laws and permitting
for concealed weapons and it being legal to own assault rifles and high
capacity magazines fits the stated purpose of the 2nd Amendment.
Armed citizens mean the police have to be weary that whomever they are
interacting with might be armed. This leads to police being worried about their
own safety, the safety of their partners and of others. This means that when a
law enforcement officer has to engage the public in a potentially dangerous
situation that in that officer’s mind is the very real possibility that guns
will be involved. This stress and anxiety means that an officer has to be ready
to use their weapon.
When it comes to law enforcement I think having lethal weapons
on their hips, easily accessible and ready to use means that this is the
primary method of responding to a dangerous situation. I just don’t see why we
cannot come up with less lethal means as the primary protection and response
tool. The argument that having the potential of lethal force works as a deterrent
just isn’t true. And if Tasers are not that effective then let’s develop something
that is.
You cannot look at the situation in our nation and ignore
the racist nature of our criminal justice system and our society in general. As
an example, our drug laws are written in such a way as to make drug related
crimes have stiffer penalties for drugs that are cheaper and more prevalent in
poorer and therefore non-white communities. Look at the laws about powdered
cocaine verses crack cocaine and the statistics about who uses each, and the
arrest and conviction rates associated with each. Guess who primarily uses
powdered cocaine and gets arrested for it? Whites, and crack cocaine? People of
color. This is just one example but it shows how racism is built into are legal
system. So cops are naturally predisposed to view people of color as suspicious
since our laws are written in ways that make people of color more likely to be
criminals. If position of cocaine is illegal, then the type doesn’t seem
important. If our legal system is really intended to be fair and equal, then we
need defenders and prosecutors who are paid the same by the government and not
have a system where money, status, privilege, and patronage means some get
better defense than others.
I want guns to be far less accessible. I want our systems to
be fairer. I want fatal police shootings to be so very rare that we are shocked
when they happen. I want us to ferret out the racism in our institutions and
legal systems so that we have to the greatest extent possible systems and
institutions that fair and just for all people. I know that this is a dream but
as Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it you can do it.”
Dear God, I pray for the law enforcement officers across
this land. Keep them safe, guide their decisions, and help them do their jobs
with compassion and integrity. I pray for the victims of police shootings and
for their families. Bring them comfort and healing. I pray for our society that
we can find a way forward that leads us out of our bent to violence and racism
and into a world that you wish for all your children. Amen.
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