The failure of a grand jury to charge the cop or cops
responsible for choking Eric Garner to death in Staten Island for the crime of
selling cigarettes should alarm us all, white or black.
Point is: cops get off. Grand juries do not indict them,
except very rarely, and only after extraordinary and exhausting effort. Families
wanting to press civil suits when grand juries fail to function with regard to
criminal charges rarely have the deep legal or emotional resources necessary.
People of color have a need to be most alarmed but so do we
all.
It could happen to anyone white or black.
The rash of cases of domestic abuse by NFL players is
getting attention, as it should.
But football is for a season only.
Cops are year round, everywhere. The violence they have the
power to inflict is much worse, lethal.
This is not meant to impugn all police. Far from. Those that
murderously, brutally or ignorantly violate the law are a minority. But when
that minority breaks the law it should
not be immune from legal consequences.
Right now it is.
Riots are not the answer. They change the subject.
Most every other response can be of use.
I'm sorry I missed the demonstration in Boston tonight, but
I have been writing this.
No comments:
Post a Comment