Religious conservatives and reactionary thinkers approach the problem of police misconduct differently than do progressive humanists (and religionists.) The former believe that the problem is rooted in “sin,” or a transgression against the law of God. Moreover, they believe in maintaining law and order by any means necessary. They quote the Bible, maintaining that the powers that be are ordained of God and that we must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. When asking themselves “What Would Jesus Do?”, they do not answer “join a protest for social and racial justice.” They pray about their concerns, hoping to get some kind of sign from God as to how to go about confronting the problem.
Humanists, on the other hand do not believe in sin. We acknowledge power relations and understand that many people will abuse their power for various reasons. We believe that human-centered action must be coupled with human-centered thought in confronting the problem. Rather than law and order, we are concerned with challenging the powers that be.
This was the difference between conservatives and reactionary thinkers and progressives during the civil rights movement. The latter were, for all intents and purposes, opposed to the civil rights movement. They considered even the most nonviolent protesters to be trouble makers. They prayed about the “Negro problem,” but had no realistic solutions to racial injustice.
Today we are once again faced with protests against police misconduct all over the world. Progressive humanists are involved with or sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter movement. Conversely, conservative and reactionary thinkers are coming down on the side of maintaining law and order.
Progressives are looking for proposed solutions. Here are two:
- Add more women to police forces. Research shows that women police officers are far less likely to get violent than their male counterparts. Indeed, it is extremely rare to hear about a policewoman involved in an act of brutality or death. They behave more respectfully and rationally toward suspects, and are better able to handle dangerous, chaotic situations. If now is not the time to hire more women cops, then when?
- Pass laws against the use of chokeholds by cops. The New York State Assembly has just passed the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act, named in honor of the Black man who was killed by a New York Police Department officer using a chokehold. It is a felony to break the law, and anyone found guilty of violating it could receive up to 15 years in prison.
It would also help if young children could learn how difficult and dangerous police work is. I was a part-time security policeman in the air force, and I was amazed at how much is expected of cops. How many of us have jobs where people are trying to humiliate, hurt or kill us? How many of us worry about whether we will make it home alive after work? We need to have empathy for cops who are only trying to do their jobs.
On the other hand, the blue wall of silence is a stain upon the police. Cops often blindly defend rogue cops. Perhaps the most recent example occurred in Buffalo, New York where a 75-year-old man protesting police misconduct was shoved to the ground by cops and seriously injured. Rather than show empathy for the elderly man, all 57 members of the Emergency Response Team (the riot police) resigned from that group in support of the two cops charged with pushing the man to the ground. When the two cops were arraigned, hundreds of cops filled the street outside the courthouse, in support of the two cops. (President Trump even tweeted a conspiracy theory in support of the two cops.) If cops have no empathy for the victims of police brutality, they are greatly decreasing the likelihood that progressives will empathize with them.
Many progressives maintain that police misconduct is rooted in capitalism. However, police misconduct in the former Soviet Bloc was widespread. Moreover, in Cuba, Black rappers have long complained about police brutality in their music. Regardless of one’s preferred economic system, what the world needs is better policing, and that could come about under capitalism.
As humanists, we want social and racial justice, but we also believe in mercy. Someone once said that those who shout the loudest for justice would soon beg for mercy if justice was rendered unto them. We must never abandon the presumption of innocence for political expediency or anything else. On the other hand, justice cannot simply be a matter of who has the best lawyers. As the 19th Century freethinker Robert Green Ingersoll noted, we must be guided by a “caring rationalism” and try to be as fair as possible.
Some Whites complain about the name “Black Lives Matter.” However, the point of the name is to demonstrate that White lives matter more to the powers that be. For example, whenever young White girls are reported missing, they are the recipients of non-stop media coverage and police attention. However, young Black girls are reported missing all of the time, but the media and cops hardly notice. That is one reason why it is necessary to show that Black Lives Matter (as much as White lives.)
Progressive humanism and the Black Lives Matter movement make for a good match. Rather than blindly defend the powers that be, we must continue to hold their feet to the fire and demand what we deserve.