Hey Everyone!! 😊
I'm back, again, with another peek at Alyce's take on current events. Enjoy... 😉
"Oh, there are lots of ways. One is the drug laws we talked about before. They criminalize normal human behavior and then selectively enforce those laws. People will take drugs because it feels good to them to take drugs, and it doesn't really matter what the laws say. The people in power know this; that's why they make such laws. And they're careful to only criminalize the drugs that poor people tend to prefer; the drugs that are more common among the rich are either not illegal or there are less severe penalties associated with possessing them."
"So, they set up a situation where police feel they have a right to peer into people's private affairs," said Yax.
"Yep. And, let's be honest, just making laws like that is a huge overstep of authority by the government. After all, it's one thing for the government to regulate the manufacturing of goods or to mandate certain warnings be issued about the likely effects of a given substance. But who are they to tell consenting adults what they may or may not put into their own bodies? Why should free citizens allow their personal, private behavior to be controlled like that?"
"So, the laws surrounding these mind-altering substances only exist to create tensions between law enforcement officials and the rest of the community?"
"Pretty much."
"Then why do your people allow these laws to exist?"
"Well, that goes back to the divisions that have been created between people with different skin colors and between people from different parts of the country. Again, the drug laws aren't enforced equally and they don't apply equally to all drugs. The government uses propaganda to make it seem like some drugs are more dangerous than they are and those are generally the drugs that are typically used by people who are poor or who have darker skin or both. Which makes people with lighter skin or people with slightly more money start to think that the people in the communities that are associated with the drugs the government has convinced them are dangerous are dangerous themselves just because they live in those communities. So, they vote for politicians who want to keep the drugs illegal because they think that will protect them from the people who use those drugs. Also, the corporations that manufacture pharmaceuticals want other drugs to be illegal because they are competition for those corporations. And, so, the corporations bribe politicians to keep those laws in place. In other words, there’s more than one reason for the laws."
"But can't the people who live in the communities that are most affected by these laws organize to change them?" asked Squid-boy.
I nodded. "They can, and some of them have started to do that, but it's not easy. Those tend to be the communities that are the most disenfranchised. The laws we talked about before that keep people from voting tend to affect those communities the most. Plus, they are generally poor, which means most of the people who live in them work two or three jobs just to put food on the table, which doesn't leave them with a lot of time or energy for political engagement."
Yax frowned. "That seems awfully convenient for those who are in power."
I snorted. "Of course it is; that's how they designed the system. Also, you have to keep in mind what happens when the people in those communities finally do come together to protest." I pointed at the robots dressed like militarized police in the exhibit we were standing in front of. "This doesn't usually end well for the protesters."
"So, they are protesting because of the laws that keep them from voting," said Squid-boy.
"Like I said, yes and no. That's part of what got them here," I gestured at the scene. "But the specific thing they're protesting is the fact that police have repeatedly murdered unarmed civilians in their communities and then haven't been held accountable by the legal system."
"What?" the two aliens chorused.
I nodded. "Yeah, it's a complicated issue; everything ties into everything else."
"But how can law enforcement authorities be allowed to murder members of the community they're supposed to protect and not be held accountable?" asked Yax.
I shrugged. "Think about it. The system is set up so that police are constantly inserting themselves into the private lives of citizens without invitation or any real legitimate cause. Which, naturally, breeds resentment against them in the community. Being no more than human, the police respond to that resentment with resentment of their own. After all, from their perspective, they're just trying to do their job and enforce the laws. Also, keep in mind that police are often recruited from the communities that have been propagandized by the government into thinking that the poorest communities and communities that people with darker skin live in are dangerous. So, they're predisposed to distrust the people they're supposed to protect. Add to that the selective enforcement of the laws, which tends to reinforce their prejudices, and you have police who view the people they're supposed to protect with fear and contempt."
"But there must be some law enforcement officials who come from poorer communities."
"Yes. And they're inducted into the culture that's fostered in the police force to protect each other at the expense of the communities they're supposed to serve. Add to that the training that most police receive that teaches them to automatically regard other people as threats and to always take action to protect themselves and not take any risks, and police officers who come from the communities that tend to have an adversarial relationship with police usually either shift their loyalties to their fellow officers or they quit."
"Again, that seems like a system that has been set up specifically to cause trouble," observed Squid-boy.
I shrugged. "It has. And it's succeeding admirably. Again, most people who become police officers are good people who only want to help. But the way the system is set up, they're almost guaranteed to find themselves at odds with the public. And, of course, law enforcement is a dangerous job; there are a lot of people who have bad intentions and who are violent. It's not unreasonable for the police to want to protect themselves from harm when they have to deal with the most vicious members of society on a regular basis."
"Logically, it seems as if members of law enforcement would do more to protect their own safety if they formed good relationships with the communities in which they work. They would be far more likely to receive assistance and information about threats if the people they worked amongst didn't fear them more that they fear the predators."
"Yep. That would make sense, Squid-boy, and it would result in those communities becoming safer for everyone, not just the police. But that wouldn't serve the interests of those in power, so it's not likely to happen."
"And, so, this," Yax pointed at the exhibit, "is because people are angry that police have murdered members of their community?"
Sighing, I rubbed my temples. "Yes, that's the immediate reason people are marching. But it's all part of a larger picture."
"Please explain," said Squid-boy.
I sighed again and sank down to sit on the floor. Taking off my shoes, I rubbed my aching feet. "Ya know, y'all should install some chairs or benches or something."
"It would be difficult to design a rest station that would be suitable for all the occupants of this station, but I will make a note of your suggestion," said Squid-boy. "In the meantime, will you explain the 'larger picture' that this," he pointed at tentacle at the exhibit, "is a part of?"
Rolling my eyes, I put my shoes back on and crossed my legs over each other. "I'll do my best. Where was I?"
"You explained how the dynamic was set up that pits law enforcement against the communities they are supposed to serve and that the people of those communities are upset about the number of unarmed civilians who have been killed by police," reminded Yax.
I nodded. "Right. Well, that's a problem that has been going on for a really long time. It goes all the way back to before the Civil War, when some police forces were formed just to chase down slaves who ran away and return them to the people who owned them. After the Civil War, there was a long period of time when people with darker skin weren't slaves anymore, but they were still not treated equally under the law. Not even officially, never mind in practice."
"You've explained some of that, already."
"Okay, well then, like I've said, the details changed over time, but the basic, underlying inequality didn't change that much. And it still exists now, though there are people who like to claim that it doesn't, and one of the manifestations is police brutality. Now, don't misunderstand, police have certainly abused people of all colors of skin, though they generally limit themselves to poor people, but the abuse has disproportionately affected people with darker colored skin."
"And all of your law enforcement officials do this?" asked Squid-boy.
"What? No! Of course not. Haven't you been listening? Most police officers are good people and they just want to help others. The majority of police never abuse anyone and they help a lot of people and do a lot of good. Unfortunately, there are some police who¾either through malice, or bad training and immaturity, or because they're lazy and don't want to put forth the effort to do better¾do abuse people in the communities they're supposed to serve. And, the way the system is set up, the rest of the police force tends to try to protect those bad police officers rather than admitting to the crimes and aiding in their prosecution."
"Which just makes the community mistrust law enforcement that much more," said Yax.
I nodded. "Exactly. And, then, if by some miracle the bad police officers are prosecuted, which doesn't happen often, they are usually not convicted."
"Why not?"
"It's a combination of the way the laws are written and how the cases are prosecuted."
"What do you mean?" asked Squid-boy.
"The laws are written so that almost anything a police officer does can be excused if they just say that they felt that their life was, or the lives of others were, in danger. So, in order to convict them, the prosecutors have to prove that they're lying if they say that. And it's kind of hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt what another person did or didn't feel."
"That seems like a poorly designed legal code," observed Yax.
"I agree. And I think it should be changed, but that's the way things are now. You also need to take into account that the lawyers prosecuting bad cops are the same prosecutors who have probably worked with the cop they're supposed to prosecute for years. It's not uncommon for them to know each other, or at least for the prosecutor to be friendly with the police department, in general. So, there's plenty of incentive for them to not prosecute as aggressively as they might prosecute someone else. And the same can often be said for the judges who preside over the cases, who often also have the same biases as the police when it comes to the people who were murdered.
"In fact, there was one case where the police officer who murdered a man was recorded on tape saying he was going to kill the man he ultimately murdered because he was angry that the man was running away, which forced him to have to chase after him. After the police officer murdered the man, he was prosecuted, but he claimed that the man he killed had a gun. The gun that the man who was murdered was supposed to have had was tested. His fingerprints weren't on it and only the police officer's DNA was detected on it. But the judge found the police officer not guilty because he didn't think it was likely that a drug dealer wouldn't have a gun."
"That seems like a gross miscarriage of justice," said Squid-boy.
I gestured at the scene behind him. "Lots of people agree."
"But won't things like this just deepen the schism between law enforcement and the communities they're supposed to serve?" asked Yax.
"Yep. The people in the community are angry because they're not being treated fairly and they feel like their lives are in danger."
"From what you've described, that seems like an accurate perception."
I nodded. "And when they protest, the people in power send the police out to 'control' them, which really means stop them. The police already feel like the protestors are against them, and so they aren't usually inclined to be tolerant towards a protest they feel is criticizing them. So, they're already on the defensive, and then they're told to keep the protestors from getting out of line. Guess how often their interpretation of where the line lies tends to be less than liberal?"
"Under those circumstances? I'd say most likely quite often," said Squid-boy.
"And this dynamic is manufactured solely so that the powerful can use the police to control the rest of the population?" asked Yax.
"Not solely, but that's a big part of it. After all, if all the poor people begin marching in the streets because they can no longer afford to buy food, who do you think the powerful will look to for protection? It's in the interests of the powerful to keep the police divided from the communities they're supposed to serve."
"How does all this tie back into the laws that keep people from voting?" asked Squid-boy.
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, it goes back to how laws get passed and who decides what policies will be enforced and how. The people in power want to stay in power and they know that people who have been disenfranchised by them would most likely vote to get them out of power. So, they try to make it difficult for those people to vote. Which means, of course, that those people are denied a voice in choosing their elected representatives. And that means that the methods by which those people are able to effect change is limited." I pointed at the exhibit next to us. "This is the most peaceable of those means. But when the government uses the police to disrupt peaceful protests, and the people who are suffering get angrier and angrier, things can get ugly, fast."
"And when that happens, it just gives your government the justification it was looking for to suppress dissent," murmured Yax.
I nodded. "Almost 60 years ago now, we had a president, named John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated while he was in office. During one of his speeches, he said, 'Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable'.* He was talking about other countries, but it's a universal truism when it comes to human beings."
"Who killed him and why?" asked Squid-boy.
I shrugged. "Ostensibly, a man named Lee Harvey Oswald, though there are several theories that either he didn't do it or he didn't act alone or of his own volition. As for why, no one really knows for certain. Oswald was murdered, himself, only two days after he was arrested. And a lot of what he said while he was in police custody sounded crazy, so who knows what was true and what was just in his head? Or maybe it was all true and we just lack the context to make sense of it. Or maybe he didn't do it at all, I don't know. No one really knows, except maybe some government spooks somewhere."
"Do you have an opinion on the matter?" asked Yax.
Sighing, I shook my head. "Not really. I haven't looked into all the evidence enough to really have formed an opinion; I just know the basics that everyone knows."
"Not even a guess?"
"A guess? Well, if I was going to guess, and if JFK wasn't just shot by a crazy person who got his hands on a gun, then I'd guess that it might have been because he was trying to change things. The speech I quoted was about other countries, but JFK had been championing changes in the US, too. Particularly with regards to how people with darker colored skin were treated. He also supported economic policies that helped the poor, so it's possible he pissed someone off who had enough power to do something about it. But I don't know if that's actually what happened."
Yax nodded. "A mystery."
"The convolutions of your history are fascinating," interjected Squid-boy, "but did you mention that quote because you believe your people are headed for violent revolution?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I hope not. But this," I pointed at where the robots dressed like police wielded their batons and shields and faced off against the robots dressed like protestors, "just makes the people who are disenfranchised more desperate. If the government won't give people room to express their discontent peacefully, then it's pretty much guaranteed they'll do so less than peacefully. That's what people who are angry, frustrated, and scared do. And that's how revolutionary wars get started."
"Might that be for the best?" asked Yax. "Wouldn't it allow your people to restructure your political system into something that works for more people?"
I shook my head. "No. I don't think it would be for the best; I think it would be a disaster. Violent, undirected change? Who knows what we might end up with? Who knows if the disenfranchised would even win that war? Yes, there're more of us. But the people in power are the ones with the fancy weapons and the trained military. The underdog rebels always win in the movies, but things don't always work out that way in real life. In reality, the government calls those who take up arms against it 'terrorists' and it wages a propaganda war against them and villainizes them in public opinion before exterminating them while the rest of the world sighs in relief. And then it passes laws to 'protect the public' that makes it even harder to express dissent. We might end up with something far worse than what we have now. And, no matter who won or whether or not the government we ended up with was better or worse, a lot of innocent people would be dead. I hope with all my being that we can be smarter than that."
Yax nodded. "That makes sense. Though, I'm not sure what means that leaves you with for effecting change."
I gestured at the exhibit again. "This. Eventually."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, this will work, eventually, if the protestors are persistent in both their protest and their non-violence. When videos of police beating up unarmed, non-violent citizens go viral on the internet, it makes for a far better narrative with regard to public opinion than if the government is able to post videos of protestors destroying property or hurting people."
"Ah," said Squid-boy. "I see. The protestors will publicize examples of abuse by your law enforcement in an attempt to sway the opinions of enough people that eventually your government will not be able to ignore the matter or refuse to fix it."
I nodded. "Yes. Though, the government will still use misdirection and disingenuousness to attempt to obfuscate the matter."
"That is when they'll pretend that the problem is something other than what it actually is, like you said before," said Yax.
"Yes. Or they'll try to blame the victims or create a lot of hoopla about some other issue to try to distract everyone. They have a lot of methods for deceiving people, and the public tends to have a short attention span. That's why it's such a battle to get any meaningful change. But it has happened before, so with hard work and persistence we can make it happen again."
Squid-boy wrapped his arms around his head and clacked his beak a few times. Looking at Yax, he said, "It seems as if we may have been mistaken in including this exhibit. Though the logic is somewhat circuitous, it seems as if the humans are behaving rationally here. Or, at least, as rationally as their irrational system of government allows them to behave."
The big alien nodded. "I concur. I think we will need to remove this one."
Squid-boy turned to me. "Will the laws that keep some of your people from voting be changed once the protestors are successful?"
"I hope so. That's one of several changes I'm hoping for, sugar. But the only way to find out is to keep fighting."
He turned to look at the protestors and, even with his squid face, I thought I saw compassion in his expression. "I hope so, too," he murmured. "It's important for people to have a voice in their government."
"I agree. In fact, that's one of the primary principles our country was founded on. It's just that, somehow, we seem to have forgotten that fact."
Yax stepped forward and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Hopefully, your people will start remembering soon."I reached up to cover his fingers with my own. "I hope so."
*The quote by John F. Kennedy regarding revolution was from his March 13, 1962 Address on the First Anniversary of the Alliance for Progress speech.
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