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America, we have an authority problem.
On January 7th, 2023, Tyre Nichols was beaten to death by police officers in Memphis, TN. As the video was awaiting release to the public, the Memphis police chief announced the officers involved were being charged with the murder of Nichols. Mainstream news began preparing cities and society and protests and unrest throughout the country. When the news broke of the arrest, America received information that changed the tone of the conversation; all five officers involved were black.
Over the past decade, we have seen Black Lives Matter turn to claims of white bias of officers leading to unsafe policing in cities. Today’s episode I examine from George Zimmerman in 2012 to Tyre Nichols in 2023; how did we get here as a country? Do we have a problem with race and policing, or does it expose corruption in a field of immense power?
The damage to America and law enforcement was done over the years. Democrats called for defunding the police. Many officers started leaving in droves, taking retirement, and finding new jobs. Much like priests left the priesthood once the scandal damaged their reputation, officers left as well. Police reform was a talking point of the election despite the fact this was not something that started under a Trump Presidency. The misconception was this was a racism problem. Cities burned with slogans of White Silence equals White Consent.
But this was not fair or cognitively accurate. And with what happened in Memphis, Tennessee, to Tyre Nichols, the narrative has been exposed. There can be no more hijacking by Black Lives Matter that this is white supremacy. Now we need to look one another in the eyes and admit this is a human problem caused by an abuse of power and, in some cases, unfortunate events.
The men that killed Tyre Nichols directly resulted from the Black Lives Matter talking points and reform they requested. By focusing on the wrong thing, white prejudice, we ignored the most important and infallible characteristic of all, human sin and corruption. In today’s podcast, I’ll explain both the history and some solutions to healing and policing better in the future.
Image: AP
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