When accountability isn’t held (part I)

When Accountability Isn't Held (Part I) Frederick Mason USP Tucson Tucson, AZ 85734 Let's start with this somber note: tonight, July 7th, 11 officers were shot in Dallas. To this point, 4 are dead. The shootings were planned, and executed by at least 2 snipers, which last I heard, are in custody. The shootings took place during a protest against police officers, killing two black men, one in Louisiana, the other in Minnesota. From evidence and video, it seemed the deaths were clearly unwarranted- thus the protests and outrage. I watched with mixed emotions on the TV here in the dorm, holding in feelings of retribution for the lives ignorantly taken by abusive officers- but tempered with the idea that not every officer is that wicked. I saw the video of the officers who killed the man in Louisiana... looks like murder to me. The intent to take a person's life, for hatred, is murder. I don't care if the guys wore uniforms or not. So when I saw the reports in Dallas, the carnal, vengeful side of me wanted to say, "Good! That's what they deserve!" But did they? Those officers in Dallas had nothing to do with what happened in Louisiana. Yet, I was clearly in the minority. Most inmates were quite joyful in that 11 police officers were shot, and 4 are dead. But is this justification? Is this justice? Yet, the argument is just as strong against this. Police officers simply do NOT have a right to take a man's life, especially based on color, simply because they have authority. Where's the justice for those killed by bad officers? How do we deal with this? What can be done, when accountability isn't held? This strikes home to prisons too. There are THOUSANDS of stories of prisons who abuse inmates, some physically, some ending in fatality. This MUST be addressed too, because we're entering an age where the authority has been warped in justice. Bad authorities are developing their own set of values, to establish their own agenda, which includes execution. So somehow, I've got to make sense of it- not as an inmate, but as a person. I certainly cannot condone what happened tonight, yet when is enough simply enough? Surely history tells that abuse prolonged will result in revolt. You abuse a person long enough, he WILL retaliate. You abuse a PEOPLE long enough, they will retaliate. And in that retaliation may well be, to those who revolt, a sense of retribution for the innocent lives taken by bad officers. Does this justify the action... right now, I don't know. Will peaceful demonstrations stop police brutality? I don't know. And let's add this too... what we're seeing isn't new... it's been going on for decades. We're seeing this only because we're in the Information Age. 30 years ago, (1986) people didn't have the instant technology we have now. Police brutality was easily covered up because up until now, there was little to no accountability. So a bad cop COULD kill an innocent person, and get away with it. And all the protests would mean little with no proof to counter a "righteous" authority. All the protests would be a a funeral march for an innocent life lost. But today, it's different. Everybody's got a camera. Any event in public could easily be recorded by a dozen people - then put online to the entire world. It's Rodney King 101. What do we do? How can we heal? CAN we heal? There is now a clear indication that police officers have lost the trust of African American, because the trend of innocent blacks being killed shows a devalue in African American lives. If we can't trust officers to not abuse their authority, and use that very authority to TAKE lives, how then are we expected to trust or respect them? My fear tonight, is that this action triggers a domino effect. Tonight it's Dallas. By tomorrow morning, there could be riots in Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, Miami... and dozens of other places across the country, ironically after our Independence Day. Again, it's Rodney King 101. Haven't we learned ANYTHING? Apparently not. Look at the pattern here; Public officers abuse their authority with physical violence on a helpless man, who is African American. The footage is captured for all the world to see, and judge. Yet, the justice system shows mercy on those who abused their authority. In an outrage, the public shows their discontent, which results in riots, showing the justice system that they were severely lacking in accountability, and underestimated society's impatience with injustice. That sounds about right? History has kinda proven this over and over again. So, why haven't we gotten it right? We can't be that stupid to go through this over and over. At some point, officers must RESPECT the authority they have, because if they don't, sooner or later, people will get fed up, and take matters into their own hands. Simply put, enough will be enough. And we don't need another Dallas situation. But if the authorities take no accountability... eventually society will. Part II comes after this