"We say that 'Black Lives Matter'
"Well truthfully they really never have.
"No one ever really gave a f*ck
"Just read your bullsh*t history books"
"- Body Count
On April 29, 1992, my wife had just been put on bed rest after possible pregnancy complications. As I pulled up to the pharmacy to pick up her prescription, the news came across the radio that four policemen had been acquitted for beating Rodney King during a traffic stop. Not unexpectedly, there were soon outbreaks of civil disturbances. After the police broke up a peaceful protest outside LAPD's Parker Center headquarters (named after the former police chief "known for unambiguous racism"), a full-fledged riot broke out. By the time it ended, 63 people had been killed, 2,383 had been injured and $1 billion worth of property had been damaged.
King's beating was unusual only in that it was caught on videotape. Complaints about an overly violent Los Angeles police department were longstanding but, as home camcorders had become more prevalent, proof had finally been provided. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a nearly two-minute-long video showing King beaten 56 times with police batons spoke volumes. A jury would still not convict the four policemen. Rodney King's black life did not matter.
Later in the pregnancy, my wife and I attended a concert by Ice-T's band, Body Count, in North Hollywood. Our impending child danced in her belly as the band made its way through a set list that included "Cop Killer," a song that documented an imagined act of revenge against:
"every cop that has ever taken advantage of somebody
"Beat 'em down or hurt 'em
"Because they have long hair
"Listen to the wrong kind of music
"Wrong color"
Like present-day critics who demonize the "Defund The Police" movement rather than build on the suggestions that it offers, politicians found political capital in focusing on the violence of the song rather than the reality that gave birth to it. The LAPD eagerly harassed the concertgoers while the Fire Marshall forced the band to play with the house lights on. These "public servants" proved that night that they were more interested in enforcing respect than in protecting or serving.
My daughter was born that December and last year she celebrated her 30th birthday. Much has changed in those 30 years: Al Gore's Internet has become universal. Back in 1992, almost no one had access to a cell phone but 30 years later home phones, pay phones, and highway call boxes have been rendered all but obsolete. Disneyland has grown into a resort and ticket prices have increased by at least 336%. Ice-T now plays a cop on TV. Even with all of that changed, black men are still being beaten by police officers on our television screens.
Tyre Nichols is just the latest in a long line of black men and women who have been brutalized by those who are supposed to protect and serve. In fact, new reports of this brutality have almost become as regular as those about school shootings.
Nichols' killers were so brazen in their attack that they were undeterred by the fact that they were wearing the cameras that now shows their brutality on an endless loop on national TV. His life mattered so little to them that they sat around and talked amongst themselves instead of providing him the help that he needed. Additionally, help that should have been expected from the fire department has only shown that they were fine with providing Nichols less than the expected level of care and have now been fired.
Instead of viewing these incidents with the horror that they deserve, one side of the political spectrum seems to find this level of violence a perfectly acceptable form of policing. They would rather focus on condemning Colin Kaepernick for taking a knee or labeling Black Lives Matter as a terrorist organization. The only example of "police brutality" they can bring themselves to recognize is the shooting of Ashli Babbit as she led a mob in pursuit of Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence. Somehow the white woman is exempt from the usual admonition that if she had only listened to the police officer, she would still be alive.
As the attack of Tyre Nichols plays in an endless loop on our TVs, politicians declare their horror and the talking heads claim that something will be done this time. Unfortunately, the news industry will lose interest before there is time to actually do anything that will make a difference. Like a dog after a squirrel, our attention will be diverted from another dead black man.
Los Angeles' police department was supposed to be greatly reformed after the Rodney King beating, but four days before Nichol's traffic stop officers excessively tazed Keenan Anderson. Four hours after his arrest, the charter school teacher was dead.
It is no surprise that until recently the department that killed Keenan Anderson allowed a "Thin Blue Line" flag to hang in the lobby of at least one of its divisions. This flag has been adopted by the Proud Boys and is considered by some to be a symbol of the white supremacy movement. At best, it demonstrates the "Us vs. Them" attitude that poisons the relationship between the police and the neighborhoods that they are supposed to serve. Earlier this year, the LAPD's Chief banned the divisive flag from public areas because it has been undermined with "racist, bigoted and oppressive values," but he still allows officers to "display it at their workspace, locker door or personal vehicle."
When the call was first made to declare that black lives mattered, the too-frequent response was that "All Lives Matter." As the families of Tyre Nichols and Keenan Anderson attempt to understand their loss, it is clear that this is not true. Unless something is done differently this time, nothing will change proving that their lives did not matter.
It has become impossible to be an optimist in America. This is a horrible legacy to leave my grandchild.
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