Osler's Razor

As many of you know, my colleague and friend Nekima Levy-Pounds has led protests here after the shooting of Jamar Clark by police on November 15. Last night, several white men shot five of the protesters-- unarmed protesters-- after showing up with masks and bulletproof vests.

Then, today, the Chicago police released the dash cam video you can see above. In it (starting at about the five minute mark) you see the police encounter LaQuan McDonald, a child of 17. He was in the street holding a knife. As he walked away, he was shot 16 times by one officer, Jason Van Dyke.

I have friends and relatives who question the need to peacefully protest in the way that Black Lives Matter has, by raising their voices in several cities. These who question the protestor's motives are wrong. There is righteous anger being expressed, and these events make clear that their core assertion is correct: That black lives are threatened by racism in America, and unless they insist on it those in power will not act or care.

The media coverage of these two events enshroud a pair of wrongs that may go unnoticed.

First, in the Chicago murder it is outrageous that no charges were brought until a judge ordered that this video be made public. The Cook County Prosecutor, Anita Alvarez, sat on the case for over a year even when she had possession of this evidence and the ability to interview and examine all involved. That's abominable, immoral, and repulsive.

Second, in the Minneapolis shooting, it matters that the event happened literally beside the precinct house. These white agitators/counter-protesters had apparently shown up before and their rhetoric reflected a white supremacist outlook. Some people take issue with them being referred to as "white supremacists," but if that doesn't describe people who put on bulletproof vests to go confront peaceful black protesters with guns, who DOES it describe?  In volatile situations like that, it is the role of the police to prevent violence between counter-protesters and protesters. Yet, there appears to have been no one in uniform playing that role.

Protest is an American right, and sometimes an imperative. Shooting unarmed protesters or teenagers who are walking away down the street (even if they have a knife) is not. There are not "two sides" to this issue with some kind of moral equivalence.

I know people who devote great energy and passion to things like college football, moot court, and their pets, yet many of these same people question the energy and passion protesters devote to the sanctity of human life. I am not one of those who feels that such protesters are misguided-- I am more inclined to feel that those who have turned their passions to football might be on the wrong track.

Even with the controversy that goes with it, I admire and support the moral voices of those like Nekima who have led peaceful protests.