I've got some things I want to get off my chest. These days I've taken to writing to exorcise the demons that sometimes attempt to creep up on me. Writing truly is food for the soul.
Earlier today I saw two videos on Twitter. In one video police violently assaulted a Black man in an IHOP while his horrified wife looked on. The man committed no crime and it was clear from the video that the police escalated a situation which could've easily been resolved without conflict. At one point the police screamed and shouted in the distraught woman's face as she begged them to stop and not to shoot her husband. In the other video I watched as an officer violently attacked a Taravella high school student. A child. The child was sprayed, slammed face first into the ground, and punched in the back of the head. This is AFTER police attacked another child. Now it goes without saying that I am outraged by this videos and the despicable behavior of these corrupt law enforcement officers. I must say though that these days when I see these videos I'm a bit more outraged than usual. I'm a bit more angry. I'm a bit more frustrated. I'll explain why.
Black people, marginalized people, and PoC are no strangers to police brutality and systemic injustice. We've been dealing with this literally since the founding of this country. We have been fighting and resisting corrupt law enforcement since there has been law enforcement. Not only that but over the last two decades many people like myself have been warning that corrupt behavior by police has been on the rise. We've been warning that white supremacists have been invading and infesting police departments all across the country. We've been warning that the continued militarization of the police represents a clear and present danger to the community. We've been screaming these things for years at the top of our lungs to anyone who would listen.
Unfortunately though, our voices have been drowned out in favor of gas lighting apologists who continue to cape for the police. That's what has me more outraged than usual. The fact that there are STILL people who, after everything we've seen and continue to see, seek to protect and make excuses for corrupt agents of the state. These people are infuriating. I can't stand them. I won't lie. They are the worst kind of enablers. They are enemies of justice. They are enemies of progress. They lend validity to our oppressors. They make excuses for wicked behavior. They are the absolute worst and I can't stand these motherfuckers.
I mean what more do we need to see? We've seen corrupt officers attack children, attack the elderly, attack the disabled, attack the homeless, murder innocent people, and engage in some of the most heinous acts one could conceive. We've seen officers riding through neighborhoods in hummers in full military gear armed with weapons of war as if they are soldiers of fortune in some action film. We've seen them completely disregard the civil and constitutional rights of the citizens they are supposed to be serving and protecting. We've seen them almost gleefully engage in such behavior without any fear of repercussion.
Yet despite this, you still have people attempting to justify or dismiss corrupt behavior. You still have people who pretend that there isn't a problem with policing in America. You still have elected officials who act as if it's just a case of a "few bad apples" and not a nationwide systemic issue. If you are one of these people I hope you realize that you are a huge part of the problem. I hope you realize that you set us all back. I hope you realize that you cripple the efforts of those who are genuinely trying to make things better.
It's hard not to say "Fuck you" to you gaslighting apologists who continue aiding and abetting corrupt law enforcement. So I'll say it. Fuck you. Every last one of you. You do a disservice to the public. You do a disservice to the average citizen. You even do a disservice to law enforcement officers who may not be corrupt. You're in the way. You're holding us back. Your gaslighting fuckery makes all of this shit possible and I want all of you to know how I really feel.
I feel a little better now. Thanks for reading.
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