What we are doing wrong

No matter the names, places, circumstances, or outcomes, every police shooting, every response, we are all missing the point.

Protestors. Defenders. Apologists. Police. Community. Every single one of us are missing the opportunity.

Recently I wrote in support of Colin Kaepernick and his choice to stand up for what he believes in by what some deem a dishonest, disingenuous, or disrespectful choice. I disagree with that sentiment, but I am a part of the problem; because we are still talking about how and not what.

But first, a word about the ‘disrespect’ angle that apologists for the continuation of status quo continually address. Disrespect. It was, technically speaking, disrespectful for Rosa Parks to refuse to move. It was also considered disrespectful for Tommie Smith and John Carlos to bow their heads and raise their gloved hands at the Olympics.

So what? The purpose of a protest is not to find the manner in which zero people are offended to make a point, because the point will never be made,. This ‘he’s disrespectful’ commentary is nothing more than saying ‘shut up, your voice does not matter.’

Now, though, we need to stop the yelling about how and get to what. How do we move forward to resolve racial injustice in this nation? This is the crux of every protest. Stop trying to deflect away from the existence of racial injustice by looking for excuses for police misconduct.

No. Not every shooting is misconduct; some shootings are justified. The existence of justified police shootings does not negate the existence of unjustified shootings. These are not mutually exclusive concepts. The sooner we accept the reality of racial injustice, the sooner we can begin working to make this nation even better.

Understanding our flaws is hardly a condemnation of our nation as a whole. Being the greatest nation on earth does not mean we stop trying to be better; it means we strive for more. Michael Jordan, when he was the best basketball player in the world, did not simply stop practicing. He worked to become even better.

The world is watching folks, and we need to lead by example.

We need a national panel, a traveling group represented by minority leaders, law enforcement leaders, legislators and community groups to understand the problem; we need to put together a task force which has as its goal to eliminate racial injustice. We need a national hotline for members of the police brotherhood, the good officers who are horrified by the actions of a few, to report racial biases by those members who are hateful and intolerant. The code of silence needs to end. Now. This nation needs to work together to make racial injustice a thing of the past.

We have come a long, long way in the last 100 years; but we have not yet reached our destination. We must stand together, fight for what is right, be accountable for our actions. And we must, must, must put an end to injustice. 

The solution starts with “we the people.”