I disagreed with President Obama, and then I agreed with him #BLM #StDDs

Well, not disagree, exactly, but I do believe that we cannot let the record stand as the President left it.

Last month, President Obama sat down with Time Magazine to talk about a whole range of issues — issues like women body types, beauty standards, his daughters, and race relations. It was a beautiful interview. I tell ya, we are gonna miss him when he’s gone.

The President touched on the subject of Black Lives Matter, about which he had this to say:

You know part of what I think is sometimes difficult, but I think absolutely necessary for black activists like those who are engaging in some of the protests around Ferguson etc., is to try to also get yourself in the mindset of a police officer who is scared.

And who is trying to figure out how to navigate a really challenging job and wants to get home safe. And may make a split second decision. And how are they being trained? And are they being provided enough guidance from their bosses that will steer them in a better direction than the worst direction? That’s hard to do because it’s easier to just kind of say, be angry and frustrated. And part of what I think successful social movements have involved is having a certain righteous anger about injustices being done to you, but also understanding that people who are on the other side of this, they’ve got their own history and their own circumstances. And you have to understand that, and you have to recognize that each of us has some good and some bad in is. And that’s not an excuse, but what it does do is it gives us an opportunity then to have a conversation and to reach across the divide. And that’s not something that always, at a time when so much of communications is sound bytes and tweets, cable news, it’s hard to have that kind of conversation. It’s easier I think to just make everything very black and white. But I think that when you look at how social changes happened throughout history, including in our country, it’s been because we can project ourselves into the circumstances of other people.

In that excerpt from the interview, the President is displaying all the qualities I love about him: He’s calm, thoughtful, nuanced, empathetic, has a command of the subject under discussion, and he knows that there are imperfect humans at the heart of the issue. He was present for the conversation, listened attentively, and was fully engaged. Loved all that. But I wasn’t comforted. 

It  seems to me that the President was attributing police brutality to lack of training and fear, and certainly, those are important contributing factors, but there is so much more to this vexing issue. 

Do you really think that fear had anything to do with Darren Wilson murdering Michael Brown? Was it fear that motivated Daniel Pantaleo to choke Eric Garner to death? Was it fear or lack of training that prevented the paramedics from doing their jobs as Mr. Garner lay dying? Was it lack of training that led Michael Slager to murder the fleeing Walter Scott? While one may get away with arguing that lack of training contributed to the murder of Tamir Rice, what was it that prevented the cops from rendering assistance to the mortally wounded child? No, I think it was neither fear or lack of training, but something far more insidious at play in those and so many other cases. And why is the distinction so important? Because there’s no solving the problem without first identifying it. Fear and lack of training can be handled within the police force.  Hatred rooted in racism is a whole ‘nother kettle of fish. 

Recently, San Francisco cops were caught exchanging racist emails; take a look at some of the messages quoted below and tell me which were motivated by fear and which by the lack of training. 

In the messages, Lai makes a disparaging joke about President Barack Obama and says he hates basketball player LeBron James.

"F--- that nig," he says.

"Sprained my ankle over these barbarians," he says.

One of the suspects "went to the hospital after he got shot lol," the officer texted.

"Too bad none of them died," he added. "One less to worry about."

Miami Beach cops had a similar problem; that of showing their true, unvarnished selves to each other. No evidence of fear and having nothing to do with lack of training. 

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said about 540 cases in which the officers were witnesses are being reviewed to determine if they are tainted racially. Some charges could be dropped as a result, or prisoners could be freed from jail[...]

One of the racially offensive emails depicted a board game called "Black Monopoly" in which every square says "go to jail."[...]

Oates said the probe revealed about 230 emails demeaning to African-Americans and women or pornographic in nature. Many were depictions of crude racial jokes involving Obama or black celebrities such as golfer Tiger Woods. One shows a woman with a black eye and the caption, "Domestic violence. Because sometimes, you have to tell her more than once."

I see no fear in the video below...from the cops, that is.  I see cruelty, heartlessness, murderous intent, and unlawful behavior. 

 Regardless of causation — fear, lack of training, hatred, racism — the net effect remains the same. Other than asking for understanding and empathy from the potential victims, I didn’t hear even a hint of a possible solution from the President. I am willing to give him a pass this one time. Maybe that interview was not the time or place for the presentation of policy papers on criminal injustice and police brutality. I get that. But I’m watching and waiting over here, Mr. Prez. 

Well, I didn’t have to wait long

 

In a powerful speech to graduates of Howard University, the President showed the way forward.

But to bring about structural change, lasting change, awareness is not enough. It requires changes in law, changes in custom. If you care about mass incarceration, let me ask you: How are you pressuring members of Congress to pass the criminal justice reform bill now pending before them? (Applause.) If you care about better policing, do you know who your district attorney is? Do you know who your state’s attorney general is? Do you know the difference? Do you know who appoints the police chief and who writes the police training manual? Find out who they are, what their responsibilities are. Mobilize the community, present them with a plan, work with them to bring about change, hold them accountable if they do not deliver. Passion is vital, but you've got to have a strategy.

I was particularly impressed when he said this:

In 2014, only 36 percent of Americans turned out to vote in the midterms -- the second lowest participation rate on record. Youth turnout -- that would be you -- was less than 20 percent. Less than 20 percent. Four out of five did not vote. In 2012, nearly two in three African Americans turned out. And then, in 2014, only two in five turned out. You don’t think that made a difference in terms of the Congress I've got to deal with? And then people are wondering, well, how come Obama hasn’t gotten this done? How come he didn’t get that done? You don’t think that made a difference?

And isn’t that what we have been trying to say here in our little group? Isn’t that why we are currently fighting to get the MBOPRA on the ballot in California?

So, are we ready to pick up the gauntlet thrown down by the President? 

1) What criminal justice reform bills now sit gathering dust before the Congress?

2) Who is the District Attorney for your judicial district?

3) Who is the Attorney General of your state?

4)  Who is the Police Chief of your City/Town?

5) Who writes the police training manual?

Let’s discuss in the comments.

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UPDATE ON OUR CALIFORNIA BALLOT INITIATIVE

We are rapidly approaching the signature collection phase of our campaign to get the Over-Policed Rights Act on the California ballot. We will be needing your help.

This is a screengrab of the Summary and Title of the Ballot Initiative sent to us by  the California Department of Justice:

 

We await word from the Secretary of State who will be sending us a schedule with the maximum filing deadline and the certification deadline.

More awesome news!  Our law has been submitted as a Resolution to the NAACP. That august body will now discuss and then vote on whether to adopt The Michael Brown Over-Police Rights Act (MBOPRA) at the Legislative Session of the NAACP’s Annual Convention. 

Stay tuned!

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IN OTHER NEWS…

1. Trayvon’s Murderer Back in the News

2. Walter Scott’s Murderer to face Federal Charges

 

Michael Slager, the former North Charleston police officer who fatally shot Walter Scott, an unarmed African American man, in ​South Carolina, has been indicted on federal charges by a grand jury.

The white 34-year-old, who joined the North Charleston police department in 2010, already faces a state murder charge, but the federal indictment, a rarity in officer-involved deaths, provides authorities with another avenue of achieving a conviction.