Too Quick On The Draw

Newly-released bodycam footage of the arrest of George Floyd reveals he was in a blind panic when officers drew guns on him. His revelation that he had been shot in the past suggests he was suffering from a form of post traumatic stress, which would explain his resistance to the officers' attempts to detain him.

The following is disturbing to watch, and one wonders what the outcome would have been had the police not been so quick to point their firearms at an unarmed man.

Begin at the 11:00 mark.

When In The Wrong, Go On The Attack

Here is a how-to lesson:

“Everybody’s trying to shame us.” pic.twitter.com/T1ISTiZpEe

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) June 9, 2020

Not A Pleasing Reflection

Yesterday's post revolved around the painful reality of Black people having to tell their children, often at a very young age, the harsh facts of racialized life and the things they must do to protect themselves from state violence. Truly heartbreaking, but it would be a mistake to believe this onerous responsibility falls only to American families.

Dave Feschuk very ably disabuses us of that notion in writing about the violence Orlando Bowen experienced at the hands of police back in 2004 when he was celebrating having signed a contract with the Hamilton Tiger Cats. It is an experience whose lessons he now imparts to his own Black children.

Waiting for friends in his car in the parking lot of a Mississauga night club, on the way to toasting the new contract he had just signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the story goes that Bowen was approached by two men who asked him if he had drugs.

When he brushed them off, they persisted. The men, it turned out, were plainclothes officers from Peel Regional Police Service. An altercation ensued. And in one frightening instant, a night that was supposed to be a celebration of Bowen’s professional success turned into a fight for his survival. The way he remembers it, he eventually found his bloodied face pressed into the asphalt, a knee driving into his back, a forearm pinning his neck.

“I was convinced I was going to be killed,” Bowen said. “I just kept thinking in my mind, ‘Oh my God. This is how my life is going to end.’”

The scenario is familiar to anyone who has seen the murder of George Floyd, but with one crucial difference - there was no video evidence of the encounter,

... which might speak to why, for a long time, Bowen was the one on trial for assault and drug possession (Bowen says police planted cocaine on him during their altercation). After months of personal turmoil and legal entanglement, Bowen was eventually exonerated of all charges after one of the officers was charged and later convicted of a drug-trafficking offence that led to his resignation from the force and a judge ruled the testimony of the officers was “unworthy of belief.”

Bowen sued Peel police for $14 million, a matter that was settled out of court. Still, the officers were never charged in relation to the interaction; a Peel police spokesperson told CTV in 2018 that two internal reviews found “no misconduct in relation to Mr. Bowen’s incident.”

Beyond the emotional trauma, there were physical consequences to the encounter.

The concussion he suffered, which he says still occasionally gives him trouble with his balance, led to his retirement from the CFL.

Now the father of three boys, Bowen makes sure they are well-prepared for the world they must live in:

Always keep your hands where the police officer can see them if you’re ever stopped, lest there be any misunderstandings of your intention. Never wear your hoodie with the hood up, especially when you’re out and about in the United States, lest you be perceived as a threat.

“They’re important things. I never want my sons to come back to me after something painful happens and say, ‘Dad, why didn’t you tell me?’” Bowen said. “We would be doing everyone a disservice if we weren’t honest with them. Painfully honest, sometimes. But honest.”

If you get the chance, read Feschuk's entire piece, as Bowen's life, while marked by that incident in 2004, has not been defined by it. He has accomplished much, and he even eventually wrote a letter forgiving the officers for what they did,

not to absolve his transgressors but to help himself move past the trauma.

“Forgiveness is not for them, it’s for us,” he said. “It’s for us to know that we don’t have to hold onto things that have pained us. We can let go.”

No matter our country of residence, we all need to look in the mirror. In doing so, we should be prepared to see something other than just a pleasing reflection.

A Lesson In Empathy

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch famously tells his daughter Scout, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

That statement, that call for empathy, may sound obvious, but far too many of us have a hard time seeing, really seeing, what others see, and feeling, really feeling, what others feel.

I find the following quite powerful; although I have watched it more than once, it continues to break my heart. People, especially those who are parents, will find a hard time not being moved by the painful reality that black children must learn about far, far too early in their lives.

A Modern-Day Prophet

If you know anything about Old Testament traditions (and I confess to knowing only a little about them), you may be aware of the role played by the prophets. Contrary to popular belief, their main function was not to predict the future but rather to serve as a conduit for God's messages. And those messages were often rebukes of the people of Israel.

As with the prophets of old, people like Cornel West and Chris Hedges today offer up critical mirrors to society; their messages are harsh, unsparing, and uncompromising. The following indictment of the U.S. by West, the link to which was sent to me by my dear friend Dom, amply demonstrates this:

As thousands across the country and around the world took to the streets this weekend to protest the state-sanctioned killing of Black community members, professor Cornel West says it signals the implosion of U.S. empire, "its foundations being shaken with uprising from below." He says the U.S. is a “predatory capitalist civilization obsessed with money, money, money,” and says the uprisings are a direct result of a system that prioritizes profits over people both domestically and abroad. While the nation faces its largest public health crisis in generations and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, protesters came out in droves to verbalize their discontent. "What we need is … a fundamental transformation of this American Empire," says West.

As in days of old, modern-day prophets are often ignored, ridiculed and despised. Now more than ever, however, we ignore them at our collective peril.

America's Broken Contract

Trevor Noah certainly has a way of putting things into perspective.

H/t Marie Snyder

(2/2) Trevor on George Floyd and the Minneapolis protests:

“If you felt unease watching that Target being looted, try to imagine how it must feel for black Americans when they watch themselves being looted every single day. Police in America are looting black bodies.” pic.twitter.com/oO6s8sNY44

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) May 30, 2020

An Abysmal Nation Led By An Abysmal Racist

Whenever I post something about racial injustice, I feel some unease. By what stretch can I, as a white person who lives a comfortable existence, truly feel the murderous oppression that others experience? What right do I have to comment upon something that I will never experience? It is not as if aggregating and commenting upon such egregious crimes will make any difference in the world.

Is writing about it from my position simply something I do to feel better about myself?

I don't know the answers.

But I also know that the inaction of silence can never be the preferable alternative.

The repercussions of George Floyd's murder at the hands of Minneapolis police continue to unfold. Pouring fuel on the flames that have erupted, Donald Trump, true to form, unleashed an abysmal dog-whistle Tweet heard loud and clear by his baying, salivating followers:



He knew precisely the origins and implications of that Tweet:

Twitter said early Friday that a post by President Donald Trump about the protests overnight in Minneapolis glorified violence because of the historical context of his last line: "When the looting starts, the shooting starts."

The phrase was used by Miami's police chief, Walter Headley, in 1967, when he addressed his department's "crackdown on ... slum hoodlums," according to a United Press International article from the time.

Headley, who was chief of police in Miami for 20 years, said that law enforcement was going after “young hoodlums, from 15 to 21, who have taken advantage of the civil rights campaign. ... We don't mind being accused of police brutality."

Miami hadn't faced "racial disturbances and looting," Headley added, because he let word filter down that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

The phrase was considered to have contributed to the city's race riots in the late 1960s, according to The Washington Post.

Headley, who died only a few months later in 1968 and had been denounced by civil rights leaders, was described in an Associated Press obituary as the "architect of a crime crackdown that sent police dogs and shotgun-toting patrolmen into Miami's slums in force."

And now America is led by a racist rabid dog intent on totally destroying whatever shreds of credibility remain in the first part of his country's name.

Requiescat in pace, oh moribund nation.

So Painful To Watch

George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police is very difficult to watch. I suspect the aftermath will make for equally painful viewing, yet turning away can hardly be the answer.

Decide for yourself: