"...an unjust law is a code that the majority inflicts on the minority that is not binding on itself."
Martin Luther King, Jr. (from "Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience")
Yesterday there was a point in the #Justice4Jamar precinct that is being led by Black Lives Matter in north Minneapolis where a protestor was interacting with a cop and asked what would happen if the tables were turned- if a person shot and killed a police officer. The cop responded at first that what happened to Jamar Clark was an accident (which is in direct conflict with everything that is being said- including by "the authorities"). He stumbled over his words that he quickly realized he had said, and then responded to the initial question saying that the shooter would be in custody, no doubt about it. Even if it were a supposed "an accident".
So, then, it's quite perplexing why the cops involved in this homicide are currently getting paid and are completely free. Because cops are always right? Or even mostly always right? And the public is always, or mostly always, wrong? Because homicide committed by a police officer is assumed justifiable but homicide committed by a non-officer is assumed wrong and criminal? I do not understand why cops who commit homicide are assumed innocent and thus free (and even paid!) until proven otherwise, while non-uniformed folks who commit homicide are assumed guilty and thus locked up until there is sufficient evidence to release them. I am not saying there should be less severe consequences for those who kill others. I am saying that those consequences need to happen across the board. The double standard that is SO OBVIOUS is SO RIDICULOUS.
#4thPrecinctShutDown continues.
Tonight. 5pm. And anytime before or after.
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