Let’s get a few items off the
plate before we get into the core of our problems:
- · Yes, the riots were the wrong response to the problem. Violence is never a good solution to anything.
- · Yes, police protect life and property at great personal risk, and as such deserve respect.
- · Despite the two preliminary statements above, there are serious and systemic problems in society that have contributed to the unrest in our cities. In the current climate of distrust, and in the absence of extraordinary leadership and proposals, the unrest will continue for some time.
I’m glad those matters are done
with. It is time to unpack what the
problems are, and how we might constructively engage in solving them.
First, the proximate cause for
the unrest is police brutality. I have
no problem with saying that Freddie Gray was murdered. Receiving a broken neck, and a crushed larynx
prior to being thrown into the back of a vehicle, unrestrained, do not
constitute reasonable force or self-protection.
Gray’s criminal activity and character have no bearing on these facts. Eric Gardner’s death in New York was
identical in many respects. Michael
Brown’s death in St. Louis was not as clear cut. We can only draw circumstantial
conclusions. The injustice in St. Louis
is that no legal proceedings excepting a summary dismissal by a grand jury were
brought.
It would seem that a quick remedy
for police brutality, however rare or common, is a system of reporting and
accountability, and the addressing of urban police tactics. Unfortunately, an accountability system,
while an important part of the solution, treats the symptom, not the disease.
The underlying problems which
give rise to the instances are much more challenging: Those underlying problems are:
- · Endemic urban violence, fueled by ready access to firearms, distrust of police, and most importantly, lack of social mobility, or lack of opportunity if you prefer. Sadly, these issues victimize both urban people, and police. Police brutality and anger at police, ironically, are two sides of the same coin.
- · A broken and dangerously flawed justice system that makes an enormous amount of people felons. The mechanics of how this happens are very complex, but are driven by the legal system that follows up where the policing problems end. Two important components of this injustice are mandatory minimum sentencing, and the stripping of civil rights of former felons who have completed their sentences.
- · Bigotry. This is the biggest and ugliest part of the problem, perhaps the ultimate source of all of the problems.
One quick word about bigotry is
that bigotry encompasses more than racism.
Racism directed at people of color is perhaps the most disturbing aspect
of the problem, but intensifying social stratification, and an utterly
suppressed underclass have also emerged.
I am gratified that in the
immediate aftermath of the Baltimore riots, peace rallies have emerged. It’s a great start. There is a danger that if left to photo ops
for CNN, and calls for bland dialogues, the attitude of emerging peace will
burn off in the heat of a dangerous summer, but we have cause for hope.
I should stop here tonight. I think that’s enough to digest. Each of the points above can be and have been
the subject of entire books. We have a
lot more to discuss on this, and some other burning issues about peace, So, let’s
stop here. Pray and/or meditate on
behalf of everyone in Baltimore and beyond.
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