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| Listen, Little Man |
WaPo | Repeatedly, it’s a dynamic that has shown itself to be monstrous as
the cameras are rolling. The Bland arrest happened at a moment when
American policing seems too often unhinged. And the ability to alter or
take people’s lives rests in the hands of officers who, when confronted
in a job that requires a deft touch for de-escalation, seem criminally
unable to get a hold of themselves.
I’m the po-lice! I
can do anything I want. You’re nobody deserving of a more thoughtful
interaction. And there’s no societal pressure or apparently internal or
human code that calls me to treat you the way I’d want somebody to treat
my mother or sister or daughter. Even if I’m asking you, you don’t get
to admit to a range of emotions, including, irritation — your job is to endure, or just serve up some of that forgiveness because we can’t get enough of that.
I
wish Bland had put out that cigarette. Then maybe she wouldn’t have sat
in jail. Because these are the margins of life — everybody’s life and,
Lord knows, black life — when you’re dealing with the police.
