Chapter (13) - Solutions For Racism and Police Oppression

All the discussions we have had in this book so far, leads us towards the most important thing now - Finding solutions for Racism prevailing in the US and entire world. But for this we need to find solutions for the Crimes committed by the Police in the US. The focus is on the racist crimes they commit. So what should be done to totally prevent the american white police stop committing such crimes?? Here are some points that can be sincerely thought about in this regard:-

(1) Make amendments to the Constitution of the US: 

The lawmakers of America should unite and make suitable amendments in the Constitution of the US, which can allow formation of such high-level committees which has the power to directly prosecute and punish (through organisations like FBI) those police personnel found guilty of killing or hitting or abusing any human inside the borders of the US, with elements of racism or discrimination in his conduct while on duty, with the worst possible punishment, so as to set an example of deterrent for other potential policemen in this regard. 

(2) Defund the Police Departments:-

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Those City level Police Departments which have shown a history of such cases of racial discrimination conducted by the policemen against the blacks/hispanics/asians should get defunded. Now this point of getting defunded is quite a comprehensive issue, much complicated than one could imagine. There are many ways and means through which city police departments get their funds from. They get funded from different channels like President's administrative funds, Governor's aids, Senator/Congressman's support funds, Funds from Corporates wanting to contribute to the betterment of american civil society, Funds from wealthy individuals like industrialists, tycoons of various business wanting to contribute towards a social cause etc. All these people fund the police, with the thought that by funding a certain police department, they are doing good for the citizen of the USA. However the actual fact is different. By making the police departments richer, they are allowing people like Derek Chauvin to use their pampered minds and free hands for molestation and torture, while confronting with even minor issues like handling a guy who just gave a fake 20$ bill to a store as what happened in the case of George Floyd's murder. There was absolutely no need to intensify the matter to the extent to which Chauvin chose to. He murdered Floyd on purpose with the full knowledge of the fact that by putting his left knees with extremely heavy pressure on Floyd's neck, he was risking the life of the big guy to a huge extent. Yet he did that. The question is where did that thought of killing Floyd come from in his mind? It came from a mindset that his job was secured in a wealthy police department even if on that day he kills the black guy. How did that disgusting mindset form? It got formed because he knew that he was from a well-funded police department and even if he misuses his powers as a police officer, nothing much can be done about it. So my point is, those police departments which have a poor or very poor track record in terms of any type of misconduct shown by its policemen (including racial discrimination, lack of control while facing a grave situation resulting in the killings of innocent people by him, consumption of alcohol during duty hours, driving in a rash and careless manner so that it puts the lives of the citizens at risk, insulting the citizens by talking at a very high pitch for matters of small concern etc.) should get defunded with immediate effect or their funds should get reduced to a considerable level. 

(3) More and repetitive Training of all Police staff which are supposed to be on duty on the roads:-

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How many of the police personnel in the US ever get police behavioural training ever since getting recruited in the police department?? They get this training initially no doubt and that is a quite vigorous one, I agree. But what after that? Once the policemen gets shifted from a Junior or sub-junior level to a more senior level, the training aspect is forgotten. And with that are forgotten all the behavioural considerations. After all, a policeman is a person, whose job is full of responsibility towards each and every citizen of his city. He gets recruited into this job to provide protection to the citizen, even if it is at the risk of his own life. He is supposed to be courteous and respectful - not just to the selective few, which he chooses by himself but to each and every citizen of his county, his city, irrespective of the fact that he or she is white or black or hispanic or asian or whatever; irrespective of the fact that he is a wealthy individual traveling in a BMW car or is an guy with limited financial resources traveling on his small bike. There should not be any discrimination of any kind done by a policemen, anywhere in the area of his duty, not just roads. This can be done only by repetitive training seminars conducted in each and every police department of the country. Such type of seminars will help all police staff rethink about any erroneous behaviour that they have been conducting while on duty and they will try their best to improvise upon it. The seniors will also be able to have a better control of his junior personnel as these training will give them more powers to keep an eye of the activities of his juniors, wherever they want.

(4) Formation of Fast Track Courts or Tribunals:-

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As such the functioning of the judiciary in the US is quite fast but there have been instances in the past, where certain trials of policemen with social influence have been deliberately dragged on for years. This loop-hole should be closed up. The trials and the justice delivery system should be as fast as possible so that those who have done some thing wrong get punished duly within the right frame of time. "Justice delayed is Justice denied" - goes a famous proverb. In this case, as said above, such Fast track courts and tribunals should be formed, to gear up the process of justice delivery. Governors and Presidents should look upon any such case with comprehensive detail, wherein they find chances of deliberate delays, owing to the fact that the police officer is a highly influential guy in the society and they should personally see to it that such deliberate attempts of delaying justice get foiled. 

(5) Restricting the Powers of Police Unions:-

=================================  U.S. Representative for California's 37th congressional district and a member of the Democratic Party, Ms.Karen Bass says "Powerful police Unions are responsible for inflating the confidence levels of their policemen, so much that they start committing crimes under the garb of performing duty." I agree with this totally. Powerful Police Unions in the country are creating anti-social elements like Derek Chauvin, J.Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane who choose to put their knees on a single unarmed and harmless guy after throwing him upside down on the road. Kueng and Lane had 2 choices before committing this murder - whether to aid and support Chauvin while he put his left knee on Floyd neck or just get out of there saying that this was excessive and uncalled for. They chose was to support Chauvin. Where did their sense of making the right decision disappear at that moment? Why did they choose to aid Chauvin completely in what he was doing, without even thinking for a moment themselves of what they were doing and what the consequences would be of what they were doing? Didn't they know that by putting such a heavy pressure on Floyd's chest from behind, the guy may start suffocating and die? They knew it, yet they did not object to what Chauvin was himself doing or to what he was asking them to do. Where did their moral conscience disappear at this most crucial time, when it should have been there with them all the way?? 

I firmly think this all happened because they thought subconsciously, at the back of their minds about the full and unconditional support they might be enjoying from the President of Minneapolis Police Federation (Union) Lieutenant Bob Kroll, who is ill-famous for once getting personally involved in a battle against Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arrodondo, over the issues of racial discrimination and attempts to resist police reforms. Similarly, Chauvin also would have thought twice before placing his knee on the neck of Floyd in an extremely life-threatening manner. But he did not do so because of the same reason - he too must have thought about the support he would have been enjoying from local police union leader. 

The Minnesota Police Department Federation (MPD Federation) is considered to be one of the most powerful police unions of the country, with a lot of support from various powerful and influential sources. As said above, over the years, it has remained ill-famous for racial discrimination and for resisting police reforms deliberately. Such Unions provide a lot of mental support to its policemen even when they commit crimes of the level of which Officer Chauvin did, instead of reprimanding them. There is an urgent need inside the country to restrict the powers of such police unions and their bombastic union leaders like Lt. Bob Kroll. This can be done by passing a new law inside the US Senate, which puts a limit on the amount of powers that such unions have and the amount of funds that they can have under their control. If this is done, it can go a long way in restricting those racist elements present in the US Police force, who think that merely by being in a police uniform they can start doing any thing by the use of force at their command. This single step will cut off their wings and thus will facilitate in reducing racial discrimination inside the country. 

(6) Rewarding and acknowledging citizens who report about police atrocities, well in time:-

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When Chauvin, Kueng and Lane were pressing their knees heavily on Floyd's body, there were atleast 15 citizens watching from various corners of that road. Some of them did ask these 3 cops to let Floyd breathe by removing or easing up the pressure applied on him. The cops denied to do so. Under this circumstances, these citizens had a choice - to report to the local police station immediately and tell it about what was going on. The life of an unarmed civilian was at a very high risk after all. But they did not do that and Floyd got suffocated and eventually died. Had they done this job as the law-abiding citizen of the country, I strongly believe they could have saved the life of this black man as he, Mr. Floyd, kept on begging for allowing him to breathe for not one, two, three .... but almost NINE MINUTES. (Imagine the amount of excruciating pain this guy went through before getting suffocated to death.) In this 9 long minutes, some sensible policemen could have arrived there and removed the heavy pressure put on Floyd by asking those monsters to remove their knees from his body. Thus Floyd's life could have been saved by an urgent and timely call from an awakened citizen. 

Such a citizen would require some amount of moral courage to report to the same police station about the violation of duty performed by a policeman on duty present at the scene, because there is a chance that the policeman with whom he is speaking on the phone is also having a racial mindset and this entire thing would backfire upon him if that policeman acts in a manner unfavorable to him and in support of his on-duty colleagues. But there is no reward if there is no risk. So if such rewards, recognitions and acknowledgments are constituted which can inspire individuals to be brave enough to report to the local police department about the violation of duty performed by the local policemen present at the scene of crime, then it can help a lot in saving lives of innocent people like George Floyd. 

(7) To find the root causes of Racism and nip them in the bud:
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This is a general solution for all types of racist behaviours across different social groups in the world. But under the present circumstances, it applies to the Police Departments in the US. 

We all know that Racism is a Huge Crime against humanity as a whole and any particular group specifically. We all know how much of an evil it is. Professor David Williams, who works at the Department of Public Health at the Harvard University says - "Racism is one of the major causes why so many black americans live much shorter than their white counterparts. It is the reason why so many of them fall prey to illnesses such as anxiety, depression, mental disorders, low and high blood pressures and eventually heart diseases leading towards early deaths. Young black women, when subjected to racism during their pregnancies, give birth to babies with abnormalities in their bodies. A daily doze of racism can either make a man violent criminal or can kill him gradually by making him fall prey to the above-said diseases." I completely endorse to what he says. 

Racism hurts and kills a human, who is subjected to it. Black americans live shorter than their white counterparts by atleast 12 years due to racism. They fall prey to diseases like anxiety, depression, mental disorders, low and high blood pressures and eventually heart diseases because of the daily doze of racist behaviour that they are inflicted upon by their "white supremacists" counterparts. Constant discrimination by a group of people inside a society of other group in any form - with regards to their skin color, their income levels, their education, their religion/sect/race, with regards to their personal achievements - all these amounts to racism. As such, if we try a bit hard, we can see that racism exists every where - in small or big proportions, not just in the US Police departments.

This may sound less practical and bit more ideological to quite a few here, especially to those who have faced little or almost no discrimination in their lives so far. They may also ridicule at what they would read now. But it needs to be said. So here it is:- 

Racism needs to be nipped in the bud. How does a person become an evil racist? We all know the answer, Don't we? He grows into a racist because of the kind of education, the initial knowledge of the world, that he gets from his parents, guardians and his teachers, when he is a small kid. These people have two choices - either teach him that all human beings on this planet are equal and should be treated equally - regardless of where they are born, how much rich they are, what is their skin color, who are their parents, what they do in life etc. The kid has a God-gifted beautiful mind, which grasps immediately whatever is being taught to it. So if such a precious lesson is being taught, he will grow up into an individual who respects and cares about every body in an equal and rightful manner. He knows that respect is a reciprocative thing and he will receive it only if he gives it to somebody. So he gives it to every body and in return receives it too from almost every body. His life becomes less conflicted and irrespective of his achievements he becomes known as a lovable human wherever he goes. People try to follow his example, when they think of how to lead a life. 

Now if the same kid is given a different treatment by his parent/guardian/main teacher then look what happens. Suppose any or say a majority of these guiding personalities prefer to depict a different picture of life to him, by saying "Look, you are a prince. You have been born in this world to rule. It is your basic right to exploit people who are less powerful than you, who are weak, underprivileged and less likely to succeed. If you want to succeed in life, you must suppress them as much as you can and as often as you can. Because by doing so, you will be able to achieve more wealth, more happiness and more advantage. So wherever you go, do not miss to discriminate. First thing you should do is humiliate and crush those who are less powerful than you, weaker than you - mentally, physically and financially. Because this is the way you can extract respect from such cowards, such worthless people, who actually do not have any right to exist in this world. So discriminate every where you go and enjoy by being at the top of the world, every time, every moment of your life." So the kid grasps this message from his guardian and what happens?? He grows into a merciless monster. He hurts the sentiments of each and every guy who he finds weaker than him. He can display racism in any form - whichever he is taught about as a kid - he can be sectorian racist, a religious racist, a racist who discriminates based on the color of the skin or performance/achievements in an academic institution or an office/business etc. He never thinks that he is doing the wrong thing by such ongoing constant acts of discrimination. Why should he?After all, his parents/guardians/teachers - the people whom he admired a lot during his childhood days have taught him to behave in such a manner. He thinks - "My mom, my dad, my beloved teacher - these people, can they be wrong??" No way. So why should I not treat different people differently? Why should I not insult the one who is black and not white like me? Why should I not humiliate a guy who is poorer than me? Why should I not make fun of a fat, obese person? Why should I not totally defame a less educated man by calling him an illiterate bastard?? So how is this guy treated in the society? Well, one thing is pretty sure. No one would love him from the heart. Some people may show respect towards him but that would be out of fear of getting fired or getting replaced by someone else. But that respect would never be "Real and Genuine", I can bet upon it. These very guys would be abusing him heavily behind his back. For those who are not afraid of his intimidations and threats - they would insult him, right on his face, fearlessly. They would tell him "how mean he is, what a devil, what an evil he is. What a burden he is to the society, to the country and to this planet. How pleased would they feel when they would hear the news about his untimely death." His life would end in a bad manner as how Hitler was forced to, by committing suicide, because sooner or later, he would get surrounded by a lot of enemies, antagonists and foes - those people whom he himself created by his constantly racist rhetoric. Even when he is living with a lot of wealth and power, his conscience would bite him every day for what he keeps on doing. He would be having a lot of prosperity and material wealth but he wouldn't be having what is the most needed - mental peace and calmness. He would keep moving like a crazy guy, here and there, all his life, trying to quench his thirst to ill-treat, insult or hurt someone in a discriminating manner. He would look to be happy from outside. But from within he would be the most unhappy man in the world. 

In short, racism arises from the education we give to our children. When they are pretty young, say of the age of 5, they carry beautiful minds which grasp easily what is presented to them. So if they are being presented with the idea that all humans are Equal, irrespective of their skin color or religion/race/caste/language they would grow into respectful individuals who would never commit the heinous crime of racism towards any body in this whole world. It's important to nip it in the bud - this evil thing called racism. That is the only most effective way of preventing racism in our society, in our country, on this wonderful planet. 

So as far as these white american police officers is concerned, white people living in the US right now, should make sure that their children get the right kind of education, the right kind of knowledge about equality and brotherhood amongst all human beings. It is an evil which can creep into a kid's mind from any where. So these parents/guardians should take particular care about what he thinks and how he thinks during his formative years - from age 0 to 10, because after that mindsets won't change that much for the rest of their lives. If this is done, then the children of the white population of the US, would never grow into racist adults and thus would never become a racist, deadly policemen. 

(8) Make provisions for the harshest possible punishments to perpetrators of racist crimes to set an example/precedent. 

(9) All places of worship should regularly preach about the sinful nature of a racist behaviour and a racist thought pattern

(10) To create awareness in the society-at-large about the overall damage caused by a single incident of racial discrimination:- (the brotherhood between the whites and the blacks suddenly disappear for  while after such an incident - include this point in the description)

(11) To name and shame each and every individual directly involved in any act of Racism:

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