*Disclaimer: This post is very political. I understand if you don't read it. I respect the fact that we might not agree. But I cannot stay silent on these matters. Silence is complicity.
This past Friday, Chuck, Bennett, and I had the privilege of protesting police brutality alongside hundreds of others in Old Town Square in Fort Collins. I was moved to tears with the incredible sense of unity, outpouring of support for Black Lives Matter, and the positive effects of peaceful protest.
This is not the first protest/march I've attended. This is actually only my third. Each time I have felt that I am a part of something bigger than myself and it is so empowering and humbling. To be able to stand with others and show solidarity for whatever group of people or cause that needs justice is something I don't take lightly.
I was devastated to my core to hear the stories from those directly affected by the ugliness of police brutality and racism in the very town I live in. I'm so encouraged that peaceful protests are happening in cities all across our country and world. Hopefully, it produces positive change in the systemic injustices that are embedded in our society. At the very least, it has brought about a change in consciousness for white people to the reality of racism that African Americans live with on a daily basis. More white people are becoming enraged, our eyes are opening, we are learning to see the waters we're swimming in. The system can only change if white people stand in unity with black people and work to dismantle our broken, inequitable systems.
Thankfully, the Constitution guarantees the right for us to peacefully protest unjust laws, systems, leaders, organizations. But I also echo the sadness that many have voiced when protestors turned violent. Fighting violence with violence is counter-productive and ineffective. It only serves to prove those in power right (in their minds) and then they are able to justify violence being used on the protestors. Part of me understands where so much of the anger is coming from. If you get more angry that a building is burning or business are looted than you do when the police kill somebody in broad daylight, on camera, then your priorities are out of whack. People are infinitely more important than things. Things are always more complicated than either/or mentality. When children, students, people in general act out, it's usually because of an underlying reason.
Police brutality is not a new thing. It has been a serious problem for years. Now it's turned into the militarization of police. Our police are no longer peace keepers, but law enforcers. I have read and heard too many horror stories. This is more common than we would like to think. Just because it might not be happening to you, doesn't mean it's not happening. And the people it's happening to do DO NOT DESERVE it! I do not want to speak in generalizations. I realize there are many good police out there. But the loyalty of brotherhood in the organization is a dangerous mentality. The good police need to stand up to the bad ones. The excuse floating around is, "it's only one bad apple." But the rest of the saying goes, "one bad apple spoils the bunch." It is apparent that police reform is necessary, but it will be a very hard fought battle. Especially since the police union will fight it every step of the way since they feel justified in their use of deadly force.
I recently listened to a fantastic podcast by Malcolm Gladwell who wrote "David and Goliath." This particular episode dealt with The Troubles in Ireland from 1970 - 2000. It describes how the minority and lower-class Catholics felt when extensive use of unbridled force was used against them. This oppression was coming from the police, military, and Protestant society who felt justified in their actions and righteous indignation. In it he explains The Theory of Legitimacy as how it relates to
oppressed groups of people who feel they have no voice in society. He says: "When people of authority want us to behave, it matters first and foremost how they behave. This is called the Principle of Legitimacy. Legitimacy is based on three things. First of all, the people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice, that if they speak up, they will be heard. Second, the law has to b e predictable. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the rules tomorrow are going to be roughly the same as the rules today. And third, the authority has to be fair. It can't treat one group differently from the other. When the law is applied in the absence of legitimacy it does not produce obedience, it produces the opposite, it leads to backlash." It is good to think on how that aptly applies during our present social upheaval.
Lastly, I can no longer stay silent about the pathetic "Christian" response that so many evangelicals are touting as the answer to all our racism problems: "Jesus is the answer". Really?! To me it's a copout. That is making several inaccurate assumptions: 1) If everybody would just pray, Jesus will miraculously fix it all (doesn't work that way - Jesus works through humans). 2) It assumes that those being affected by racism are 'bad' and somehow not 'good' or the 'good' police wouldn't be after them so much, so the black people need Jesus. (I can't even go there right now - that argument is so twisted. It is a complete 'us' vs. 'them' mentality. What they really mean is 'If you believed like we do, you wouldn't be having these problems.') 3) The police are always good and questioning them is unpatriotic. The nationalist religion that is now being called 'Christianity' has substituted The American Flag, Military, President, and patriotism for the actual message of Jesus. Jesus never aligned himself with power or the powerful. He was always and only for the outcast, underdog, marginalized, the have-nots of society.
