Osler's Razor

Birds of a feather....
Sadly this is an argument I have read echoed in many FB threads this past week by some and also a few weeks earlier during the Michigan standoff at the Capital.

The Michigan standoff focused on the protesters with their militia guns and weaponry. They were there protesting that the Governors stay at home violated their 2nd Amendment rights. Perhaps their right to buy more bullets and ammunition for their ridiculous weapons. I found that to be a stretch as I never heard any of them say so. I think they just liked looking like bad ass (weak in my eyes) men who don't regard the lives of others equal to their own. I can not envision a peaceful outcome with the State police or whoever was defending the Capital had that crowd been colored. I honestly believe they are treated with kid gloves because the police know they won't hesitate to pull their triggers. They intimidate... Are to be feared... while large gatherings of peaceful protesters who are more than likely weaponless (plastic water bottles) and can be pushed around are treated like a menace to society.

We have a real problem in this country.

Back to Birds of a Feather... I know as a young woman my original thoughts regarding politics parroted those of my parents. But I moved out of the house and away and traveled and with that was introduced to people and places different than my original experience. And people who think differently than me and was able to form and follow my own path. Those original, conservative values, instilled by my parents and community, will always be stored within my keel but I have an extreme tolerance due to varied life experience to ebb and flow with the tides and be tossed with the waves.

My observation is that my friends or acquaintances that did not stray have not changed their opinions as much. Comfortable remaining in their flock and their routines. They don't seem as open to accept that there may be other ways to think about issues. They are difficult to sway and they deflect and change the topics to avoid the elephant in the room. I am guessing they may be uncomfortable with the possibility of change and that their personal world (local) view is threatened.

My high school class was suppose to celebrate 40 years this summer and thankfully it is cancelled due to the pandemic. Based on recent conversations I'm not sure the Country Club would survive the political melee that would inevitably commence.

Sorry for the ramble. My brain is a bit scrambled these days.
 

Thank you for your thoughtful and constructive article in the Trib. Perfect pitch.

As an exercise, I read your piece and Gordon Robinson's side by side--looking for agreement within the two and also with respect to what resonated (or not) with me.

You and Gordon seem to agree that the murder of George Floyd was brutal, grotesque, and wholly unacceptable. Actually, that is worth noting. Americans seems entirely united on this proposition.

You and Gordon seem to agree that there are good police officers out there who do good work and show restraint that should be applauded.

End of obvious agreements between you and Gordon.

I agree with Gordon that Antifa played an out-sized role in fueling the fires of violent protest (not sure where you are on that assertion). Also, Gordon asserted as a point of fact that George Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death. As best as I can tell, this seems to be true. Evidently, he was also COVID positive. Of course, there is universal agreement that none of that toxicity or viral infection played ANY role in his death.

End of agreements between me and Gordon.

I agree with you, Mark, that the racial disparity in wealth, health, and education in Minneapolis, MN, is surely rooted in history. And, if Minneapolis is like the rest of the nation, disparate interactions with the police are also the norm. You do not mention if African Americans are disproportionately active in committing violent and non-violent crimes in Minneapolis. If that is true, I can imagine that it is very much connected to ALL the disparities you mentioned above--and, as you indicate, play a tragic role in the vicious cycle of poverty, lack of upward mobility, real crime, manufactured crime, police brutality, over-policing, and the burden of fines and penalties visited upon those who can least afford it.

I also agree that something is rotten in the culture of the Minneapolis Police Dept (see above).

What can we do?

I agree that the connection between poverty and crime in black neighborhoods is the fundamental problem. However, I am pessimistic about Kerner Commission or Great Society style investment in the black community. Whose money? Another government program? That does not sound like a recipe for success. I am less and less of a budget hawk. In fact, it now seems that trillions of dollars grows on trees. But I remain bearish on the ability of the government to enact positive change no matter how much money we throw at a problem (please forgive the cliche). We have spent 45 years and tens of trillions of dollars attempting to address these disparities in wealth and opportunity. And almost all of us agree that we completely failed in that regard. You can get a pretty good argument going over whether we have made great progress on the ideal of equal opportunity under the law, and even equal justice under the law--but nobody, nobody, seems to argue that we are reducing the racial wealth gap in our country through government intervention and largesse. I would suggest a RR-Jack Kemp style enterprise zone--but I have no evidence that really works either. Likewise, we don't seem to have come up with an education reform that really moves the needle. So, I am open to the bold new ideas below that you propose:

+ Make fewer things illegal. TOO MANY LAWS!!!
+ Diminish the power of public sector unions.
+ Severely reduce police presence in black neighborhoods (if that is truly what we all want; obviously there is huge potential for tragedy in this strategy).
 

My actual ideas in the previous post were these:

We do not treat black and white in the same way.
We incarcerate too many people.
We have made too many things illegal.
We have chosen retribution over freedom and even safety, and this has harmed our culture.

Those in law enforcement can no longer be the only ones given a legitimized voice in evaluating our criminal justice structure and practice.
 

Of course this is by Gordon Robinson.
 

Democracy and trying to correct centuries of injustice are messy. If that other op-ed writer thinks all protests against actions caused by deeply ingrained racism are going to be silent and still and smiling and clean, I don't know what planet he's living on.