Commentary | Politics

Behind Racism, Police Brutality is America’s Problem with Guns

Add guns to the clash between law enforcement and the public, you get a potent mix of excessive force.

Key Points

• A Look at the Police
• Minneapolis Gun law
• Fear over Respect

HIDING at the backdrop of the increasingly violent Black Lives Matter protest is the age-old problem of lax gun laws.

Americans own more guns per capita than residents of any country, about four-in-ten U.S. adults say they live in a gun-owning household, according to a 2017 Pew Center study. There are also more public mass shootings in America than in any other country in the world.

In this respect, America is an anomaly.

This ever present dread of impending doom drives fear in this country.

And in turn it drives other social ills.

A Look at the Police

FIRST, take a look at this video of a scuffle between police officers and a hostile drunkard in Japan.

In Japan, police oppression is unheard of, much less asphyxiation by knee. Although they do carry a handgun, they never invoke fear because of it. Most civilians never seen a handgun.

“In Japan, they wrap you up; they don’t shoot you.” One man not seen in the video, presumably the one taking it, can be heard saying.

Contrast this against the fear and excessive use of force in the U.S., the Japan’s futon wrap looks like something out of a comic reality tv show.

Meanwhile, U.S. Police kills 3 people per day.

Last year, there were only 27 days when no police killings were reported, according to Mapping Police Violence, an independent research group.

The average, however, is far more grim at 3 per day. The largest number recorded in a day was 9 killings, twice in a year.

In December and January alone, 215 people were killed by the police.

Japan police are far tamer than the U.S. police. Because they have no reason to be otherwise.

Minneapolis Gun Law

A quick Google check reveals that Minnesota gun laws are not the strictest.

No permit, background check or firearm registration is required when buying a handgun from a private individual.

Also, Open Carry is legal, as long as you have a valid permit/license to carry to Open Carry in Minnesota.

The state preempts all firearm laws in the state and local authorities can’t have Laws/Ordinances against open carry.

Laxed gun ownership laws and legal Open Carry empowerment over local authorities spell a recipe for fear.

For better or for worse, Minneapolis is not the worse hit by police killings.

Fear over Respect

IN states where gun laws are slack, the police are necessarily to be feared in order to function. Excessive force can often be justified in the face of uncertain death. No one never knows when the other might draw a gun.

Black men as larger and stronger

A psychological survey, published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, revealed that people tend to perceive black men as taller, more muscular and heavier, even if they are the same height and weight as white men.

This is case with Tamir Rice in 2014, a boy who was fatally shot by police in a playground after brandishing a toy gun. He was described as “menacing” and a “12-year-old in an adult body”.

And again in 2012, after Trayvon Martin, a teenager, was shot by a neighbourhood volunteer, images circulated of Martin mistakenly depicting him as another older man.

Short man syndrome

Don’t blame the police just yet.

When faced with a larger assailant, perceived or not, people tend to act more aggressively. As is frequently the case for police officers.

Moreover, U.S. Police are highly at risk of being killed in duty.

Being a police is just as life threatening, if not more so than being a resident.

In fact, in 2019 being a white policeman is more than 4 times more likely to be killed in the line of duty than policeman of any other race combined. The table are turned in this perspective.

Police becomes emboldened

But George Floyd never could pull out a gun handcuffed.

Why was excessive force still used?

The US rate of gun-related homicide is 3.9 killings per 100,000 people. US law enforcement agencies are not required to report on gun killings by police. Often, such incidents are recorded as “justifiable homicides,” and may or may not be included in official homicide statistics, according to the Small Arms Survey.

U.S. Police are almost never charged for police killings.

In startling figures revealed of police accountability, 99% of killings by police from 2013–2019 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime.

Police killings are often recorded as “justifiable homicides,” in what is now evidently a fractured judicial system.

It seems now that the police can get away from excessive force. But in good faith because of genuine fear, derived from guns and perceived Black musculature.

Before you know it, the cops are used to such excessive force.

Looking back at the videos in comparison, U.S. police takedowns look like a MMA fight went rogue.

Is there Hope?

RESPECT over Fear. Instead of policing by fear that is most often the case in the hyper power sensitive country, Police should command voluntary deference out of respect from the civilians.

Policemen are supposed to be well-respected civil servants, entrusted with the duty of civilian protection.

“…where gun laws are slack, the police are necessarily to be feared in order to function…No one never knows when the other might draw a gun.”

However, until the lax gun laws are addressed, such a state of affair is difficult to accomplish.

Because with fear – the gnawing feeling feeding on lax gun laws; the knowing that the next moment might be the last, and that that “menacing” man might threaten his life in the next mindless shooting – people kill.

Statistics source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/01/george-floyd-death-police-violence-in-the-us-in-4-charts.html

https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/03/americas/us-gun-statistics/index.html

Some Valid Counter Points

• This is an assertion: “In states where gun laws are slack, the police are necessarily to be feared in order to function.”

Update — In response to a reader’s concern about an assertion:

This is my argument, based upon practical observations. U.S. police has been villainised and feared by their civilian. We see evidence of this straight from the protest, where the general narrative has been ‘us versus them’.

This has led to some police even coming out to the streets aggrieved at being painted that way. Alas, some say this is a perfect case of that “one bad cop”. Or not.

The thing is, most police do NOT instil fear, instead they exert control and law enforcement by commanding respect — the right way. Respect, however, only works if it comes it is mutual. Civilians respect policing as long as the cops respect the people.

In a state with lax gun laws, I am immediately aware of a cop with a gun. If he has to tussle with me, what is to say he won’t pull one on me. Worse, what is to say he won’t think I will pull one on him. Because of the slack gun laws, I may be illegally armed in the eyes of the cop. His suspicion would have permitted an excuse for lethal force. In this case, I, the civilian, is already fearful of my life.

Because of the lax gun laws, it fosters a whole different orientation and culture in law enforcement.

It does not help that Trump has lifted the ban on military gear for local police.

— — — — — — — — -

Here is another example:

Many people asked, why did the folks in the video not push away the offending cop whose his knee strangled the neck of George Floyd?

It is fear. The fear of the police. The risk of being constitutional guilty of a felony that is cop assault.

Why are the offending police seemingly unfazed by his pleas and motionlessness?

Because the policemen either know they are feared, or are used to such a man-handling takedown. George Floyd might be a one-off case of freak accident.

— — — — — — — — — -

I know you might not fear the cop. This is true for many people too. But not all are as well-informed or have the clarity of mind as you are. Cops cause apprehension by their mere presence and authority.

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Here is an account from a civilian about fear: https://www.quora.com/Why-are-the-U-S-police-feared-and-villainized?ch=10&share=2a6d317c&srid=iECk

Here is an account from a police about fear: https://medium.com/s/story/fearing-for-our-lives-82ad7eb7d75f

• “Aren’t they trained for these situations? […] What are the police officers being trained to do really? Be afraid of bigger people? It’s absolute nonsense…”

Yes, you’re right. I would go on in the next paragraph to say that policemen are emboldened. My point is, there is more than just police to blame.

“Aren’t they trained for these situations? […] What are the police officers being trained to do really? Be afraid of bigger people? It’s absolute nonsense…”

Yes, they ARE trained that way. Moreover, it is second nature, if not first to preserve one’s life. (short man syndrome is human nature)

It is easy to shift the blame to the police by alienating them. Think of this not as an excuse, but as a human to another human being. I have posted a link in my article which tells of a first-person account of a policemen on his trainings and duty. Here it is for your convenience. In short, he described the training as fearing for his life.

And fear is also the harbinger of irrationality.(“awareness of outcome” does not equate rational actions) Soon enough, this warrants bold behaviors. (bold enough to kneel on a crying man, “never apologetic”. “Clearing things up” is irrelevant.)

I myself having served as a soldier can empathise with the fear. But I do not condone police brutality as seen in George Floyd case. In that case, the police officer kneeling on his neck is to be blamed, so is the entire orientation and culture of law enforcement. If we look deep enough, we might see that the gun instigates excessive force; that is what my article is driving at.

• “Disarm the public”

I did not suggest to disarm the public. I merely wanted tighter gun laws.

But yours is not a bad proposition, considering how well it turned out for other countries like Australia. It would be a long process, if ever, to disarm the public.

• “More helpless”

Yes, essentially this is my case. Helplessness against a thug is by no means a worse situation than self-appointed arms standoff.

Helplessness in other words is harmlessness. Harmlessness is civic-mindedness, the hallmark of civilised person in a civilisation.

By calling out the lack of arms as helplessness is a gross misrepresentation of a harmless individual.

In light of the protest that you have highlighted, the self-appointed “defenders of the shop-owners” has another name: Vigilantes. More often than not, vigilantism causes more problems, and is a sure hint of distrust in authority.

Also in view of the protest, tell me, who really wants to appear NOT helpless? — harmful? By extension. I say this, protesters will and know that it is in their best interest to appear harmless to the authorities for as long as possible. Sure, they can set police station ablaze, but the protestors will not wish upon themselves the fury of military intervention, once they appear truly a threat. This is not a new idea; this is the quintessential reason for peaceful protest — aka harmless protest.

An armless protest. (Which is still true in the current protest)

• “Authoritarian thugs and violent extremists will have full control”

This harkens back to vigilantism. This is not control, but taking things into your own hands. Sounds like it will end badly already.

You do have the control.

Your control is in the votes. Your rights to elect your own government. And weed out the authoritarian thugs.

That takes time. So everyone wants quick, violent, and trigger-happy control.

Also, with tighter gun laws, your control is assured. You will get your gun on good terms, and the thugs may not.