The world wasn’t assembled under clean-cut conditions, and it was only a matter of time before our species would employ the cognitive ability to identify the messy underlying issues which birthed our current culture. The challenge with unravelling this convoluted mess is a procedure of righting four centuries of wrongs. This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t attempt to resolve the damage, however, it seems an appropriate solution might possibly take another lifetime to fully actualize. Properly mending this inherited divide is a process requiring a juxtaposition of both sensitivity and force. Impulse and Destruction:
They say it’s time for another revolution. The words conjure outdated imagery of pitchfork-wielding peasants swarming the streets and vowing vengeance on the looming villains who occupy the castle. I’d rather a more modernized and civil approach, involving less volatile tactics, but we really haven’t got a plan B here. I mean, how exactly do you reason with irrational people who abuse unmitigated power? Under those circumstances, demonstrations have a unique ability to spread awareness for a defensible cause which (in this particular case) requires a magnitude of attention and support. The government's distress over public safety, in addition to another potential COVID outbreak, is a concern that shouldn't be dismissed. However, it seems as if many privileged political leaders have willfully missed the memo, and instead treated these protests as an inconvenient battle, which can be addressed at a "more appropriate" time, rather than a necessary uprising of justice and equality. This is an unacceptable and detached decree, which undercuts the severity of the protester's purpose. The fact that a mass protest of this scale is occurring, speaks volume about its absolute urgency. Consequently, right now is always going to be the best time for action.
Artifacts Of Intolerance: Now, let's talk about the vandalization of defamatory statues.
All those ancestral monuments left behind for us to find were just an ugly reminder of detrimental bigotry and a shameful depiction of what we once resembled. Though in all honesty, we’re not any more beautiful than we once were; maybe just a little bit more mindful of how our children might view our present opinions. In my mind, we have a few options here. The first choice would be to do absolutely nothing, which is an awfully unsatisfactory conclusion which offers no consolation to the victims who have suffered throughout history... so, no... this isn't a realistic option. Secondly, we could tear these hideous shrines down, scrap history altogether and try again with a "crystal" clean slate. Ultimately this would satisfy us for a short moment before we grasp the notion that history is a tale of winners, losers, heroes and villains, who ought to be remembered as a means of education. Perhaps instead, it might be more effective to utilize those hideous memorial statues as cautionary tales. My vote is for option number three, in which we remove these statues and erect them inside a museum, within a designated “international historical hall of shame”. Alas, this museum is going to be one VERY LARGE AND EXPENSIVE facility when it inevitably becomes home to the Lincoln Memorial. While We're Here:
Let’s go ahead and re-evaluate the position of police authority.
Let's make this clear. All enforcement officers aren't heavy-handed monsters and every profession has it's rotten-eggs. The difference between a bad post office clerk and a bad police officer is the amount of jurisdiction both lawfully and lethally. I’m not going to downplay the viciousness and corruption of police brutality. I’m merely going to approach this topic with a sympathetic understanding of human nature; something I believe everybody deserves regardless of their actions. Police are nothing more than regular people and all people require a fair emotional consideration to unravel their unspoken motivation. Rather than simply using broad terms like "all pigs are scum", let's make a collective effort to understand the human nature behind cruelty, irrationality, fear and prejudice. A good number of these issues are typical symptoms of poor education, cultural circumstance, emotional upbringing, traumatic events, mental health issues, peer pressure or squadron mentality. I believe the majority of people will agree that many fundamental aspects of police training are in need of much greater scrutiny. The current system is designed under flawed and outdated methods which provide an open opportunity for corruption. Below are a few suggestions which I believe wouldn't go astray.
1. A system of intense and ongoing psychiatric tests to ensure the police departments are primarily operated by grounded individuals who harbor no preexisting biases. 2. Prior to receiving qualifications, each officer should accompany trained social workers during practical in-field circumstances as a means to gauge a varied scope of situational procedure. 3. Each officer should attend a mixture of emotional, cultural and human sensitivity training seminars in order to understand the diversity of human behavior. 4. Regular anger management and stress relief therapy should be compulsory to equip each officer with the techniques necessary to keep calm under intense pressure. 5. Egg baby parenting programs to guarantee each officer can safely care and prevent an egg from breaking during a two week period. 6. Extensive education in non-lethal force. 7. Extensive coaching in verbal communication. 8. A written exam and essay to identify "how to diffuse tense scenarios without force". 9. Frequent psychology and therapy appointments should be enforced to guarantee all officers are coping with stress in an effective manner. Fear, anger and irrational brutality are often overlooked until they reach a point of crisis. That boiling point has had a long time coming and it looks as if we've reached an opportune moment to act. We're at a very fragile time in history and although the problems we currently face may persist into an uncertain future, I believe our collective strength will lay the blueprint for generations ahead of us. It's no longer a question of "if" things will change, it's a question of "how" and "when".