Last night’s PBS program on “Slavery by Another Name” was very good and a coup for the Minnesotan’s who produced it. We are far removed from those times. As this story makes clear the police, however ham handed, are getting closer to even handed justice.
But boy howdy, were they ever ham handed when a white Grandfather was walking his black granddaughter home:
As soon as we crossed the street, just two blocks from my house as the crow flies, the police car that just passed us hit its lights and wheeled around, with five others appearing almost immediately, all with lights flashing. The officers got out with tasers drawn demanding I raise my hands and step away from the child. I complied, and they roughly cuffed me, jerking my arms up behind me needlessly. Meanwhile, Ty edged up the hill away from the officers, crying. One of them called out in a comforting tone that they weren’t there to hurt her, but another officer blew up any good will that might have garnered by brusquely snatching her up and scuttling her off to the back seat of one of the police cars. (By this time more cars had joined them; they maxxed out at 9 or 10 police vehicles.)
I think our police would be well advised to learn the making art of genuine apologies. Everyone would be well advised to learn the art. Newspaper editors for instance.
