Taking stock of the events of the last two weeks

Let’s get our priorities right

In light of the massive protests and attention the cause of police reform has gotten over the last two weeks, it is important that we not get sidetracked by anything else. The obvious takeaway from the last two weeks should be this: we have systemic problems with racism in this country. Law enforcement is one area where it is a problem, but it is pervasive in many other areas such as housing, education, employment, etc. This is the result of hundreds of years of oppression suffered by black people in this country.

We can argue over how much progress has been made in the last 50 years, but that does not change the fact that we have a long, long way to go towards addressing our problems. What the best policy answers are is certainly up for debate. What should not be up for debate is that we have a major, systemic racism problem. One of the most encouraging developments in the last two weeks has been a sharp rise in approval for Black Lives Matter. It took time, but public opinion is now firmly on its side in believing racism is a systemic problem. This has extended to widespread support for the protests as well and separating them from the rioting and looting.

What is significant here is the sharp increase in people saying that police abuse is widespread and not a few isolated incidents. This will make needed police reforms much easier to accomplish. What has also been encouraging is seeing Republicans begin to speak out on racism and the gross inequities in law enforcement treatment of black people. How far they will go remains to be seen, but it was not long ago that the prevailing view on racism in the GOP was that it barely existed.

On substance, the most immediate change federally is likely to be the renaming of military bases named for Confederate leaders. An amendment added to the defense bill was approved on a 25-2 vote and will likely be adopted. Trump is almost alone in opposing the renaming of bases. He is also trying to appeal to racial grievances at a time when public opinion is firmly against it. He is increasingly isolated and is alienating all but his most hardcore fans.

It is also encouraging to see the doctrine of qualified immunity get re-examined. This has been the dominant law because of a Supreme Court decision in 1982. The idea was to sharply limit the ability to sue public officials for making decisions in their capacity as public officials. This includes police officers and in practice has shielded them from some severely egregious abuses. The Supreme Court may re-examine the doctrine soon. There is a bill now from Representative Justin Amash to eliminate qualified immunity altogether. It is unlikely that the bill will pass and I am not sure if I would go that far, but the fact that it has multiple sponsors and is being discussed at all further shows how far things have come.

Looking beyond the political realm, it has been great to see statements from corporate America. Yes, they are just statements and there are many things companies could do beyond that. Hopefully, they will take more concrete steps to improve their workplace practices. Still, that they feel the need to issue statements and articulate the phrase “Black Lives Matter” is a sign of just how far the movement has come so quickly.

The same is also true of sports leagues. Most notably, NASCAR has banned the display of Confederate flags at any of their events. It has been great to see so many athletes and coaches speak out. It has also been great to see so many people recognize that players kneeling during the anthem is not about the flag and even to see public opinion shift in its favor. While these actions are symbolic, that is a necessary step in getting concrete measures passed. It is absolutely crucial to have public support and momentum to be able to address via policy the systemic racism issues that plague us.

Even on the issue of substantive reforms to police practices, progress is already being made on the state and local level. New York just outlawed chokeholds by police and repealed a law that kept police disciplinary records secret. Louisville has banned no knock warrants in light of the shooting death of Breonna Taylor. Nationally, House Democrats have proposed legislation that would ban chokeholds, establish a national registry for police misconduct, limit the transfer of military equipment to police and require body cameras to be on, among other things. Measures like what have passed and is being debated previously would have been unthinkable. Police unions, which have long called the shots on police matters even in blue states, are now on the defensive.

Needless to say, these are all first steps. While necessary to deal with systemic racism issues, they are not sufficient. Solving the problem of systemic racism will likely take decades and I certainly do not have all the answers. There is simply no way to quickly undo hundreds of years of injustices. The Civil Rights Act was immensely helpful to ending legal segregation, but de facto segregation still persists. Laws alone are not likely enough. Changes in attitudes and culture will need to happen. Still, it is great to see so many people finally realize how extensive the problem is and that it needs to be addressed.

Don’t get distracted

Sideshows inevitably will come up that will distract from the real matters at hand. Examples now include empty slogans like “defund the police” and “abolish the police.” Thankfully, these sentiments are largely confined to activists on the fringes. Elected officials are almost uniformly opposed, including Joe Biden and the Congressional Black Caucus. While I support all kinds of measures aimed at police reform, including banning police unions and curtailing, if not eliminating, qualified immunity, defunding the police is a dumb slogan at best.

Another distraction, which thankfully is largely confined to social media, is the debate over wokeness. This has been most notable in the now retracted op-ed piece by Senator Tom Cotton in the New York Times. The publication and subsequent retraction of it has pretty much hogged the attention of a good chunk of political Twitter for the last week and has sparked recriminations within the New York Times. For the record, I think they should have published it and it is unfortunate they did not stand up for their decision. I also think the desire for safe spaces among the educated, upper class left is awful.

That said, I really can’t bring myself to care that much. I read the New York Times for its reporting, not its op-ed pages. If its op-ed pages become nothing but left-wing clickbait, that will be bad, but insignificant in the grand scheme of things. That so many people on political Twitter have decided to dwell on it is a reflection of how insulated they are. The reality is that outside of political Twitter, probably nobody even knows about the op-ed controversy or would care if they did.

Let’s get our priorities right. Anyone who has come away from the last two weeks thinking that the country’s number one problem is wokeness or what happens on any newspaper’s op-ed pages is living under the tiniest of rocks. As much as I think wokeness is bad, it just is not that important right now. If it ever becomes our number one problem, hallelujah.

Some might argue that if we do not address the wokeness problem now, it will become widespread and start to have wide influence. Maybe so, but call me skeptical. Anyone who thinks wokeness is a popular or dominant thing is spending way too much time online. The reality is it is a very small number of people. Just look at the results of the Democratic Primary. Joe Biden is anything but woke. For all his faults, neither is Bernie Sanders. The candidates who appealed the most to wokeness, i.e. talking about gender pronouns and “intersectionality,” like Warren, Gillibrand and O’Rourke were massive flops. Your average Democrat is not woke and does not live on Twitter and thank god for that.

Just to reiterate, I oppose cancel culture and the desire for safe zones from anything supposedly “harmful.” I think it should be fought back against when it arises. I just do not think it’s a big problem, especially compared to what the country is facing right now. If your number one concern is wokeness, give yourself a big pat on the back because you are doing great. You probably have never been worried about being becoming a victim of police brutality.

The stupidest distraction, however, belongs to the obsession among some with “antifa.” Despite claims by Trump and others, there is basically no evidence of antifa playing a role in any of the riots and looting that has happened during the last two weeks. There is not even a group with that name. It is just a catchall name given to a loose, unorganized group of lowlifes who like to wreak havoc at protests. To be clear, they are criminals who engage in violence and should be treated accordingly, but the idea that they are some all mighty and powerful group is just laughable. Whenever I hear anyone act like they are anything but a few random idiots, I immediately stop taking them seriously.

Watchmen

On a different, but not so separate note, for anyone who has not watched Watchmen on HBO, I strongly encourage it. Of all the shows and series I watched in 2019, it was the best. In fact, it was the best thing I have seen in years on TV, I kid you not. It is set in a bizarre world and it took a few episodes for me to fully realize what they were creating. But as soon as it came into focus, it was just unbelievably good. It was so good in fact that I am fine with them ending it after one season because I am hard pressed to think how anything that follows could be better.

Importantly, it begins with a scene in Tulsa in 1921. This incident is not very well known, but was the single worst race massacre in US history. Dozens died and hundreds were injured and many business were destroyed. The area that was attacked was informally known as Black Wall Street due to the black population there that had been prospering. Now, possibly because of Watchmen, Oklahoma is now teaching the massacre as part of its school history curriculum. Life really can imitate art.

For first time viewers, the show might seem eerily prescient. Police officers wear masks for protection. Sound familiar? The big villain is a white supremacist terrorist group. Law enforcement is revealed to have some serious, systemic problems. Sound familiar? One of the big themes is white supremacy and how entrenched it really is. It also deals with questions of power and who should have it, if anyone. Long story short, I could not recommend it more highly.

I also recommend reading the comic (sorry, "graphic novel"). It is in the same universe but set in the 1980s and deals with US-Russia tensions. It is an amazing work. Unlike other superhero comics where the heroes are clearly good, Watchmen is not like that. The superheroes are not necessarily good and some are even evil. It deals with issues like vigilantism and whether it is justified and the climax deals with the question of how far the concept of the “greater good” should go. It is overall a very dark premise, but is ambiguous and grey where many other superhero stories are clear and black and white, making it a welcome departure.