Keep Those Cameras Rolling!

OK, old terminology, but I'm a geezer, and we just had proof of how important recording history is in real time.

GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! 

These unanimous verdicts came in yesterday at the ending of the Derek Chauvin trial. Nine plus minutes, uninterrupted, unedited, incontrovertible. Thanks to a teenager, we have unimpeachable testimony contradicting the "oh my, the prisoner had a medical incident and died in the hospital" first version of the murder of George Floyd nearly a year ago. We all see the excruciatingly extended time when Chauvin's knee remained on Floyd's neck, long after he complained he couldn't breathe, long after he called for his mother, long after bystanders protested that Chauvin was killing him, even after nobody could find a pulse or after the first responders came to "revive" him. We see the callous indifference in Chauvin while it drags out, the subtle smirk on his face, the hand in his pocket, the "I'm just  hanging out here folks" attitude as if he weren't actively killing Floyd. Just another day on the job.

These kind of incidents may or may not be more frequent lately. What we do know for sure is that they are being recorded more frequently. More of us are witnessing by recording what's happening as it happens. Some folks say that those recordings don't show what leads up to the deaths of more black people by police, but how often - really, ask yourself how often - does the precipitating incident, not necessarily even a crime, justify death? Does a $20 counterfeit bill carry the death penalty? Does running away after a minor traffic stop justify it? Does reaching for your phone justify it? Does walking while BLACK justify it?

Cops often claim the black man was scary, that they were afraid because the person moved a hand, or turned away. Somehow they never are afraid if a white man does the same thing. A mental health crisis, where somebody is unable to respond to commands, too often means death if you're black, not so much if you're white. If cops can't shake that attitude, they don't belong on the force! Now personally, I've never had a bad encounter with a cop. I don't have any fear of an encounter. But I'm white. And no, it's not fair. Or just. Or even sane. Things have to change.

So everybody out there, keep your smart phones handy. Be a witness to injustice. Record it. A few more verdicts based on actual recordings of events have to push change for the better. Cops need to be trained better. They need to be mindful that they can't be the criminal also and have immunity from consequences, no matter what their union claims. The need to check their racism at the door, or just exit it as they leave the force. Even as those verdicts came in yesterday, another black person got killed by police in, at least, a questionable situation.

Someday, we all will have to recognize that justice has to start by lessening the need for it. There can be no true justice after somebody is dead.

Keep those cameras rolling!