So. A kind of random thought, that I’m typing out because I need a break from #AliveWhileBlack and #CrimingWhileWhite, and don’t feel comfortable taking my eyes off them, either…
I have talked, before, about how one of the remarkable things about the specfic con-going community is the centrality of a bunch of really good writers, who are able to communicate their experiences very effectively. And while there are of course terrific writers who are doing terrific writing about the black experience with police, the thing about #alivewhileblack is that it’s not for the most part well-written, it’s not for the most part effective story-telling, and yet its cumulative power is tremendous. I would not give up the good writing for all the world, and I heartily wish there were more of it, but I ought to keep in mind the power of writing even if it isn’t good.
Other than that, Your Humble Blogger has nothing much to add.
Well, no, I’ll say this—I find myself hoping that my local chief-of-police is meeting with the whole constabulary of my town and saying something like this:
You all know what’s going on in this country. It’s not going to go on here anymore. I have already talked to three officers that have a history, and I’ve put them on desk duty. If you know about any more that shouldn’t be on the street right now, tell me privately and I’ll pull them—and if I find out you didn’t tell me, I will come down on you like a ton of bricks. I am not taking any chances.
Brothers, I have always said that I have your back. And I have always had your back. But I’m telling you this now: if a black man dies in this town at your hands, I will not have your back. I will hang you out to dry. Do not think I will protect you. I will not. I will serve your head up to the prosecutors, I will serve your ass up to the media, and I will serve your nuts up to the fucking mob. You know the thing in movies where the one guy is shoved in the other guy’s face and told “if he dies, you die”? That’s true of every gd-damned black man in this whole fucking town from now on.
I don’t know if it would do any good, but I’m sure as hell hoping.
Tolerabimus quod tolerare debemus,
-Vardibidian.