This week on "Analogies To Help Understand Basic Concepts" we have Bari and the Police. Let's read on and see how our story unfolds.
Now not every family believes in corporal punishment but in my experience its super effective. Outside the context of the law corporal punishment is physical punishment in response to a wrong. Here is an example that may or may not be based on a true personal experience.
Our character (we’ll call him) Bari is in middle school. He's a student and his hobbies include cutting class and hanging out with his friends in the hallway. He has a GPA in the 70’s but he’s never failed before. One report card Bari isn’t so lucky and happens to fail two classes due to lack of attendance and class disruption. When his parents (who strongly believe in corporal punishment) find out they begin to, in layman’s terms, “light his backside up.” This continues for about a week or so and when it is finally over Bari is faced with two choices:
- Either Bari wants to cut class and hang out with his friends so badly that he gets sneakier.
- Or the consequence of an impending a** whooping outweighs the benefit of cutting class and hanging out with his friends, so he decides maybe he shouldn’t do it anymore.
THIS IS BASIC PARENTING!
Now lets replace some of the characters in our narratives with characters in America’s justice system.
We’ll replace Bari with the police in our country.
We’ll replace cutting class and hanging out with the injustices done to the black people.
We’ll replace his parents with our justice system/government
We’ll replace GPA with the relationship between the police and the black community.
Now, not every country believes in corporal punishment but throughout the United States history, we see that it is super effective. Within the context of the law, corporal punishment can include all forms of imprisonment and it even extends to the death penalty. Here is an example that may or may not be based on a true experience.
Our character (we’ll call him) The Police is responsible for the well being of a community and on a larger scale the country. The Police’s hobbies include enforcing a systematically vicious and oppressive structure against the black man/ woman. The Police have a tentative relationship with the black community, but they have always in some form worked to promote a safer environment. In the past few years (thanks to the evolution of camera’s) The Police have not been so lucky and happen to further destroy the relationship between the black community and The Police due to unjust killings and abuses of power. When the justice system/government (WHO STRONGLY BELIEVE IN CORPORAL PUNISHMENT) find out they begin to, in layman’s terms, “crack down on police brutality more and more with each incident.” This continues for about a week or so and when it is finally over The Police are faced with two choices:
- Either the systematic oppression of the black community by The Police is so important to them that they get sneakier with unjust killings and over exertion of powers.
- Or the consequence of an ACTUAL PUNISHMENT outweighs the benefit of unjust killings and over exertion of powers and The Police decide maybe we shouldn’t do this anymore.
THIS IS BASIC PARENTING!
The truth is cops don’t have to be racist, they don’t have to be white, they don’t have to be republican, but as long as they follow a systematically oppressive regime they are apart of the problem. It’s easy to get lost in the narrative that all cops are not bad or that cops have a scary job, because it's true. The problems faced by cops everyday are tremendous, but that narrative does nothing to address my reality. IF a cop sees another cop over exert there power to subdue or even kill a black man and does not see any consequential consequences following it; THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO OVER EXERT THERE AUTHORITY! Why is this so hard to understand?!
If A sees B steal from C’s store, and C catches B but doesn’t punish B, then A becomes more likely to steal.
If A sees B speeding, and C catches B but doesn’t punish B, then A becomes more likely to speed.
If A sees B kill, and C catches B but doesn’t punish B, then A becomes more likely to kill.
We apply this logical analysis in literally every facet of our country except for when policing our police. It doesn’t take a college degree to see that something is wrong.
Lastly, and this is a little off topic but if I can’t use my platform to rant then why have it right? I get that cops have a hard job. I respect that it's a dangerous job. I respect that they have families, too. I do not respect when a cop uses "I was scared" as an excuse for an injustice. Just the other day a cop shot an unarmed black man in the leg while he was laying down with his hands in the air. Not only did he shoot this man, but he fired multiple times. When the black man asked the cop why he shot him the cop replied, “I don’t know.” This isn’t acceptable; you are trained to be an effective force in society. You learn how to handle a gun, a taser, you even get training on how to handle pepper spray. You wear bullet proof vest and carry a badge that has a mandatory 5-25 years in prison attached to it. You do not get to succumb to fear. As a black man I face danger every day, and all I got growing up was my mommy’s lessons and my dad's temper. Danger is just a job for you, and you won’t see me shedding any tears or expressing any love for your fallen until you start respecting mine.
