ALL Wrong

Littlechild@emperorsnuclothes.com/ February 3, 2023/ Uncategorized

The Tyre Nichols beating death at the hands of Memphis police is indeed a tragedy. By all accounts, Nichols was an affable and law abiding individual that was dedicated to his four year old son and was close to his mother. He had no criminal record. Body cam video shows Nichols being severely beaten after he was chased down after resisting arrest for reckless driving. The Nichols’ family, the Memphis District Attorney, the media, representatives of the black community, the Biden administration, numerous politicians, activists and even the general public have all expressed alarm, dismay and outrage. Justifiably so. And, ALL parties agree that such a tragedy should never have happened and that measures should be taken to prevent it from happening again. To that end, however, the commentary and discussion that has taken place has, unfortunately, been wrong. ALL Wrong. The remedies that have been proposed have also been wrong. ALL Wrong. The nostrums that fill our airways, in my opinion, will not only be ineffective, they will make matters worse. They will INCREASE the likelihood that the Nichols tragedy will happen again. And again. And again. Let me explain.

First, it’s essential to ask WHY such a savage beating by the police occurred. Is it racism that’s to blame? No. No, it isn’t. All five of the officers involved were, themselves, black. Were the officers evil and heinous individuals? Media reports suggest that’s what indeed they were, citing “prior disciplinary measures” and the like, but a closer look at these so-called prior infractions shows that almost all of them involved the difficult and dangerous task of arresting violent perpetrators that are resisting arrest. Such altercations should be understood as no more than occupational hazards, and, as some would say, “goes with the territory.” It turns out that all of the officers involved were members of an elite police unit, the so called “Scorpion Unit,” that voluntarily accepted high risk assignments in high crime and dangerous areas. In some ways, the police officers working in the Scorpion Unit were heroes. Unsung heroes, perhaps, but heroes none-the-less. So, the officers weren’t racist and weren’t evil and were, in many ways, brave public servants. I don’t believe that any of them woke up on the morning of the fateful altercation and said: “Gee, I’d like to beat someone to death today!” But, a fatal beating is, EXACTLY, what happened. The question, therefore, is WHY?

The true answer to that question is something that we never hear or read about. The true answer, I believe, is that “excessive force” by police is triggered almost always by just ONE thing: resisting arrest. When a perpetrator (or alleged perpetrator) resists arrest, that individual sets in motion a series of consequences that increase the risk of “excessive force” on the part of the police. Why? Well, first, resisting arrest poses a danger of harm to the officer/officers involved (and, possibly, passers by, as well). When a perpetrator stops following police orders, there is, literally, no telling what might happen. The uncooperative perpetrator might become physically aggressive, violent, or may reach for a weapon, and might, therefore, threaten the officer’s life or well being. Understandably, such a situation will draw an aggressive response from the officer. In this circumstance the policeman’s response must be understood as defensive. And justifiable. Secondly, I think there is something involved that’s even deeper than self preservation. When a perpetrator resists arrest, or even if he just flees, I believe that this triggers a primitive, feral, “hunting response,” if you will, in the officers. The roots of this feral response likely go back to millions of years of primate evolution. Yes it’s true that such a response is not rational, but, rational or not, I believe it is VERY real. All of a sudden, an officer that would never sadistically beat anyone, suddenly jumps into a fray with fists (or bullets) flying. It’s instinctual.

It is further my belief that such an instinctual process is responsible, or, at least partially responsible for the terrible “police brutality” that happened to Tyre Nichols, and that has happened to others in similar situations, and will, undoubtedly, happen again. I suspect that such a feral response CAN NOT be eradicated through “better law enforcement education,” police training courses, diatribes from activists, critical coverage in the media, defunding police campaigns, street protests, street riots, and the like. I believe that it can ONLY be prevented by eliminating the TRIGGER EVENT that starts the whole process going: resisting arrest. This is why I say that America’s current posture regarding events like the beating death of Tyre Nichols, is WRONG. Wrong because it downplays or completely ignores the root cause of the tragedies: resisting arrest. Wrong because it heightens the fear of police brutality that many black people actually feel, but that often results in an increased tendency for black detainees TO RESIST ARREST, FLEE OR EVEN FIGHT with officers, thereby increasing the chance that such tragedies WILL happen again. The act of resisting arrest MUST be discussed as the trigger event that is the root cause of such terrible events. Children and teens, be they black or white or brown or yellow, must be taught again and again that resisting arrest is not only illegal but that it is DANGEROUS.

Why, you may ask, have we not heard an open and frank discussion or conversation along these lines? Well, the leftist/liberal/Democrat/“progressive” cabal that controls most of America’s “public square” is dedicated to degrading police while doing everything it can to shift blame away from the perpetrator. Focusing on the root cause of “excessive force” just doesn’t fit their agenda.

And, there’s another especially sad result of our wrongheaded response to Nichol’s death: it will, inevitably, result in decreased police resources and decreased police effectiveness in the high crime areas in which they are most needed. In this case, the Memphis police department has already announced that it is disbanding the elite Scorpion unit. While black attendees at the press conference where this was announced CHEERED at that announcement, disbanding the high crime deterrence unit was a huge MISTAKE and was really a another tragedy (of a different sort) for the citizens of Memphis, especially those that live or work in high crime areas. People in such areas of Memphis (and elsewhere) NEED Scorpion units. They NEED protection from the thugs, felons, thieves and gang members that regularly prey upon them. (The criminals, of course, would like NOTHING MORE than to see the Scorpion Unit shut down, as well as to see more defunding of the police!). But law abiding citizens in the crime areas of need MORE Scorpion units – NOT less.

So, on top of the Nichols tragedy itself, our wrong headed response to it will, alas, result in MORE tragedy instead of less. As I said above: Our response is WRONG. ALL WRONG.