Over the past few days, it has become undeniably self-evident that harassment and assault, especially at the hands of law enforcement, does take into consideration the race of the participants. While many would like to say otherwise, the videos, photographs, and bold testimonies from this week’s events proved what many among the black and brown communities have been echoing for decades -the system is problematic and needs an immediate overhaul! This broken system was left in disrepair for far too long and finally began to crumble under its own weight.
Law enforcement hesitated to deploy the brute force typically expected in other protests for basic human rights, and even retreated as rioters stormed into the Capitol resulting in fatalities. Videos showed rioters harassing and assaulting black law enforcement personnel as some police folks later admitted to being verbally assaulted by rioters – using racial slurs, while protecting the nation’s Capitol
The prioritization of whiteness/dominant culture in the face of imminent danger to the nation at-large, and to all those serving to protect the Capitol building to no avail, is abhorrent. Historically, people have been maced, tased, shot and killed for far pettier incidents -the key difference being skin color. Videos showed rioters being kindly escorted down the Capitol steps while others other charged at a black officer left alone in a hallway in what seemed to trigger images of a mob lynching. This rampant and audacious abuse of power by white supremacists -in and out of service uniform, must cease. Many across the nation are feeling unsafe, while others are armoring up for a better sense of security. DO better America, because it’s clear the chickens have come home to roost.
