The Justice System is Us: Let’s Own It, Let’s Change It
Systemic racism and injustice is real and we can change it
Systemic racism and injustice is real and we can change it
When we say that the issue is Systemic and not simply a matter of white men being racist or a few bad apples, this article is an attempt to describe, in part, what we mean.
There is a mentality that has been, for too long, rooted in the mindset of the American justice system, not just police departments, and it’s a mentality that dehumanizes people and blames us for its shortcomings.
It’s a classic case of not owning one’s Shadow, but on the collective level. Call it the American Shadow and it’s been with us ever since we first brought black people in chains from Africa to fuel our economy over 400 years ago, and first started wiping out the indigenous populations already living here 500 years ago.
It’s how you can have prosecutors, judges and even an attorney general in Minnesota, Keith Ellison, who was the first Muslim elected to Congress, who always find ways to excuse inaction, ways that often fall back on cautious legalese so this System can carry on.
And somehow, when they’ve moved the case through the System, in just about every case, the police officers who are accused of and sometimes who we’ve seen commit the crimes they are charged with, somehow the System finds a way to set them free.
NO MORE.
While I won’t ever use my voice to justify violence or burning down buildings, I will say this: Ever since the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, people have been trying various peaceful methods from within the System to make it honor its commitment to “One Nation, with liberty and justice for ALL” that most all of us, as schoolchildren, said or say in the Pledge of Allegiance every morning before class.
The lack of the System to not only live up to that but to, in many ways, get worse in those 50 years, creating two tiers of justice, where a Wall Street looter can be given a slap on the wrist for stealing billions, but a man stealing a pizza to eat in California can be given a third strike and he’s out, imprisoned for life, well, that’s why the People have had enough.
There’s been a lot of talk on social media condemning the actions of the people in the streets, saying that “this is not the way,” but not a lot of answers as to what is the way.
You see, the People have tried, yet the System has not listened, it hasn’t changed.
And when you add to the injustice of the justice system things like the mass incarceration of our fellow citizens, disproportionately people of color, and rising economic inequality, how can you tell people that their rage isn’t justified? Are you really sure about that?
Ultimately, this is about deep, systemic change. The woman in the picture is involved in the shooting and killing of David McAtee, a restaurant owner in Louisville.
LMPD officer in fatal shooting of David McAtee had mocked protester on Facebook
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Louisville police officer involved in the fatal shooting of West End business owner David McAtee had…www.courier-journal.com
She was shown in the photo of the Louisville Courier-Journal article above being offered flowers by a protestor and she went onto her Facebook page, shared the photo and wrote, “I hope the pepper balls that she got lit up with a little later on hurt.”
Crews justified this by saying, “She was saying and doing a lot more than ‘offering flowers’ to me. Just so for it to be known. For anyone that knows me and knows that facial expression tells everything.”
And after mentioning the pepper balls, Crews ended the post with: “Come back and get ya some more ole girl, I’ll be on the line again tonight.”
To state the obvious, Crews is clearly not a white man. Instead, she is the kind of person who the System has willingly employed to justify itself throughout the years.
And get this, while the police are unsure if she was the actual shooter of the protestor (there is one other officer involved as well as National Guardsmen), she and the other officer involved didn’t have their body camera on and yet she was merely placed on administrative reassignment.
(I tried to find out by looking at this Standard Operating Procedure of the Louisville Metro Police Department what that meant but, for whatever reason, I couldn’t find the “binoculars” search section and didn’t have all day to read 830 pages to search for “administrative reassignment.” Maybe you, one of this article’s readers, can do this?)
Still, I really hope it means she is nowhere near any citizens, especially during the protests, considering her actions and words. And while I’m all for second chances, we simply have to have a higher standard when it comes to our police. Because when we don’t, when people like Crews are given the benefit of the doubt and given a uniform and a gun, it can mean someone gets hurt or killed.
(Having said, that, it is good that the Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer fired Louisville Police Chief Steve Conrad in light of the lack of body cameras being turned on and, I’d think, also due to the recent Breonna Taylor killing by the department.)
We can do better. So much better.
Yes, being a cop is a tough job. Especially in a country like America where guns are so prevalent. Still, there needs to be a high standard to be a police officer and, importantly, to remain one.
I mean, really, considering all of the evidence we’ve seen of how it was not merely Derek Chauvin who killed George Floyd, but his three partners who played a role, why are they not behind bars yet? Firing them is not good enough. They all killed a citizen, a citizen whose sacred duty it is for them to protect. The man had his hands cuffed behind his back and was on the ground, people were yelling at you to stop, yet all four continued. It is inexcusable that they remain free. And so long as they do, we simply cannot expect things to simmer down.
Back to Keith Ellison, the attorney general of the state of Minnesota and a man who I’ve much respected over the years. He took over the case on Monday and said he had “every expectation” they’d be charged soon, adding, “We are moving as expeditiously, quickly and effectively as we can. But I need to protect this prosecution. I am not going to create a situation where somebody can say this was a rush to judgement.”
A rush to judgment? It’s been a week. We all saw the videos. Put the three cops behind bars and gather the evidence. That’s what the System does for any of us when we are involved in a murder. It should be no different for police.
Concluding With A Personal Point and Bringing This Home to You
I am a white man, a white man who moved to Japan to raise a family in large part because in the early 2000s I had a bad feeling about where the U.S. was heading. And I’ve used my social media since the late 1990s in America Online chat rooms, as well as briefly being a reporter for a now-defunct alternative weekly in 1999–2000, to frequently speak out against this System, to frequently suggest we need to change as a society, to tell my fellow citizens, my fellow white friends, that we can and must do better.
Ultimately, each one of us has a part to play. But we can all start by recognizing the dignity and uniqueness of every single person. And by recognizing that the U.S. justice system and, yes, justice systems around the world, are not living up to that vision.
We can and we will do better. We’ve run out of time to make these changes. What can we do, what can you do to take ownership of the collective Shadow, what can you do to be an active participant in healing it, and, ultimately, healing us? Whatever your answer is to those questions, let’s start today.
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