Pushing for Systemic Change

The brutal murder of George Floyd is still with us all. Eight minutes and forty-five seconds. The horrific obscenity of seeing a human being killed right in front of our eyes. And we are powerless to stop what has already happened. Now captured on video and in our minds, we have to watch and listen to his pleas again and again.

Not that it was worse than so much that has come before. But this is different. Maybe it was the straw on the top of the mountain of straws that finally broke the cart underneath. Maybe it is the technology that has given us all the capacity and the interest in capturing our lives on video. Maybe the pandemic has weakened our capacity to shield ourselves from that which we would rather not know. Maybe it’s just time.

Many black men and women have been killed by police over the past ten years; the terrible march of headlines and outrage that flares and dies back. But this time feels different. Every day we see people taking to the streets across the country and across the world — risking their health and safety in the face of the coronavirus as well as the pepper spray, batons and rubber bullets. Kettled and shoved to the ground. So much caught on video. Fires burn. Assaults and crimes on both sides. But one side has lethal weapons and military style armor and a court system that is designed to shield them from accountability. The other side has numbers and rage and anonymity.

I watched part of a John Oliver’s rant about the police that was quite moving. It was a relief to hear his outrage at the ongoing pattern of abuses that is visible even in the police response to the outrage against this very abuse. Oliver, perhaps with the vision of an outsider, emphasized the importance of understanding the historic roots of our current situation. From the roots of policing in finding and returning runaway slaves to the American love affair with cops – especially the rogue cop who cuts through bureaucracy to bring swift justice to the bad guys.

A protesters hold up their fists outside the State House. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

This is not a case of a few bad actors giving the others a bad name. Though I do believe that most members of the police are indeed decent human beings, the deeper problem is the whole American conception of public safety. The roots of our policing are in enforcing the ‘rights’ of slave owners, and then property owners over the black bodies and others that might threaten their economic and physical hegemony of control.  There is something fundamentally wrong with how we enforce safety in our country.  The US has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world and the majority of those in prison are men of color.  This is not an accident, but systemically intentional.

Things seem to be different this time. I’m encouraged by the mayors and governors and other elected officials who are talking about fundamental change. But I am wary. As we have seen with legislative efforts to curb gun violence, the power of the status quo is fierce.

Yesterday I listened to an interview with the head of a national police union organization. Beneath his reasonable demeanor I heard his unstated intention to keep any changes that must come as minimal as possible. He was willing to enter into a conversation, to form a commission, to draft some new guidelines, but underneath, his commitment to the people that benefit from how things are was clear.

Scientists who study systemic change have observed that fundamental change in is only possible when a system is far from equilibrium. As long as things are running smoothly, whether they be chemical reactions or patterns of social interaction, there are few possibilities. The power of the unconscious forward momentum of life is fierce. Only when the status quo is disrupted can we hope to change things on a substantial level.

From this perspective, we are in a moment of unique possibility. May we continue to be disturbed enough to create specific and fundamental change in how we think about and practice keeping our society and ourselves safe.

Personal Practice – Do one thing to make your voice heard. Talk to a friend. Email your Congressional representative or elected official. Attend a rally. Donate money to organizations working for change. Do something.