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Militarizing the police: A long legacy of state violence is what brought us here
Militarizing the police: A long legacy of state violence is what brought us here
Police have come to resemble occupying armies, turned against their own people. It's time for a new vision
RICH WALLACE
SEPTEMBER 13, 2020 10:00AM
(Salon) Jacob Blake was doing what any responsive dad and neighbor does: stepping in to break up a fight before leaving with his children. But police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shot Blake in the back seven times, with his three young sons watching from the car. Yet again, instead of meeting this moment with any empathy or understanding, Donald Trump sent federal law enforcement into Wisconsin in an effort to silence a community in mourning. Throughout this summer, our communities have risen up in defense of Black lives, only to be met with state violence from a militarized police force that has no interest in helping us.
The patterns are there if we look for them.
It goes like this: People around the country rise up to protest police brutality and injustice. Instead of listening and focusing on solutions aimed at the root causes of violence, the government consistently responds with additional violence and federal force. It's as if to say: You may be strong, you may be loud, you may be a movement of the people, but we have more weapons.
This is a time to keep our memory sharp.
Remember: Following the heartbreaking 2014 murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, families and community members living in the area came out in the streets to protest police brutality. What ensued was the deployment of a police force resembling an occupying army. Sniper rifles, armored vehicles and tear gas were turned on Ferguson protesters, onlookers and the media. Journalists reporting on the protests were arrested. ..........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2020/09/13/militarizing-the-police-a-long-legacy-of-state-violence-is-what-brought-us-here/
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