Last Saturday, Chekhov and I were spreading gravel over the bathhouse area, and just as we had come to the conclusion that we had pulled everything we could out of a pile left over from the French drain project, one of our neighbors showed up with a dump truck full (we had called him the day before but weren’t sure he had received the message) and gave it to me for free because I let him store his extra hay in my barn. He’s a white man in his sixties of the type common in rural areas across the US: a big, jovial, clever-but-uneducated, good-natured farmer. So we chatted for a while, and naturally the protests came up; since very few older, rural white men have ever had a bad interaction with cops, I assumed there was no point in doing anything other than listen politely because arguing with him about it would be useless (possibly even counterproductive). As I expected, he could not comprehend why people are talking about abolishing cops entirely; he has not had the life-experience and/or made a study of the topic, and therefore believes that cops exist to “protect and serve”. But then he said something I didn’t expect: “They oughta lock them killer cops up!” Despite believing the propaganda we’ve all been fed about the goodness of cops, he made no excuses for wanton murder and clearly stated his support for criminal penalties for criminal cops. The cries and protests are being heard by the general public at last, and people are unhappy about the way cops can literally get away with murder. And when you’ve lost ordinary older white rural men like my neighbor, you might as well give up.
When You’ve Lost Them…
June 11, 2020 by Maggie McNeill
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Like your neighbor, I once believed the lie that the police were here for the public good. You can only understand what you know and there is no understanding without experience. The police are experts and ensuring those they treat well never see how they treat those they have decided are vermin. In fact, we have an entire media establishment designed to ensure those who are warm never see the treatment of those who are cold.
Once you see that first dirty cop, however, a pattern soon emerges. Rape, murder, theft and domestic violence. More than that, you notice the entire legal and media establishment is designed to shield the police from accountability.
Soon you start asking where all this criminality came from and you learn about their slave suppression origins that still informs the core of who they are and how they enforce laws.
Your neighbor is at the beginning of a very long journey that will not end well for law enforcement and he is not alone. After you discover that first flaw you are soon left with Dorian Gray.