I don’t follow the president on Twitter, but I have a friend who does. Every time the president tweets Law and Order, he responds with his own slogan: Biscuits and Gravy! Laverne and Shirley! He sees the president’s Tweet for what it is, a dog whistle that sets his base to barking up the wrong tree.
Attacking mostly peaceful protestors with a private army isn’t law and order; it’s unconstitutional.
Applying different rules to cities and states with Democrats at the helm is the act of an administration that doesn’t believe in democracy.
Legislators who go along with this nonsense wouldn’t be so tough on nonviolent offenders and people with mental health issues, including addiction, if the rules that applied to the disenfranchised applied to them.
Law, whether secular or religious, is a means of control. We need laws, but we also need a fair system. Justice for some isn’t justice. Just laws apply equally to every citizen, from the president of the United States to the homeless schizophrenic.
Ask Roger Stone and Michael Flynn if the laws apply equally to every citizen. Ask the family of Philando Castile.
As the holder of a conceal carry license, Castile told the officer who pulled him over that he was carrying, as he was required to do under the law. The officer panicked, and shot him. Following the law didn’t keep Castile safe.
How do we respond to the inequalities in our legal system? First, we have to admit there is a problem. It’s a fact that the U.S. legal system favors the moneyed, the powerful, and those with white skin!
Attacking the police isn’t the answer. Most who choose this difficult job do so to protect and serve. Militarizing police departments isn’t in their best interest any more than it is in ours.
Law enforcement also attracts those attracted to violence and those who need to exert power. It is necessary to root out police officers who don’t value the lives of the citizens they serve.
We also have to ask if it is the job of the police to address mental health issues. In cities like Camden, NJ, addressing mental health calls with unarmed, well-trained mental health professionals has reduced the number of jail sentences and unnecessary deaths. It protects the lives of the mentally unstable, but it also protects the lives of police officers.
Forget catchy phrases. We don’t want to do to police departments what we’ve done to schools. We depend on them, but we need them to focus on protecting and serving. Leave the social work to trained social workers. Root out racism and racial bias. Identify the power trippers.
There’s a lot of work to be done.
