We often talk about democracy from a high academic and political level but there are practical matters during local application that determine whether or not those Constitutional principles and values reign supreme as the law of the land. This is where local systems must become more educated on the purpose and value of democracy and ensure that cultural, racial, and religious considerations don't derail our national development. What happens on a local and realized level determines the course of democracy and the nation going forward. We can't neglect the building blocks of democracy in lived experience simply so we can hypothesis and theorize about its value on a national level. (64% of Americans believe democracy is in crisis. HERE. How we handle these issues is important. I'm a democracy supporter and that is why I'm just typing away this AM. I am off hiking soon. Waiting for the sun to come up. :))
Let us imaging for a moment that a large group of people were attempting to intimidate and clean out their community from minorities (i.e. lying, aggression, following home, false police complaints, intimidation, self enrichments, etc. knowing full well the laws don't apply to them in that way and they are given immunity based on association.). That doesn't say anything negative about the vast majority of community members who are good people and the majority of officers that have a positive rooted value system. Yet when we slice and break down the behaviors it appears there was intentionality and blatant disregard for others outside of the clan boundaries.
Before one get too excited the majority of these people that are involved in this sports network are not bad people but there are toxic personalities/elements who hype up issues and continue on when there is no logical reason to do so (This is learned behavior). The vast majority of homogenous members are good mothers, fathers, and community members but that doesn't extend to those they deem as different (racial, religious, ethnic) and to those they define as not local (Defined not by genetic time in the area but by racial, religious, ethnic + cultural standpoint.)
This is where we see democracy either becoming stronger by handling these divergent ant-democratic pressures that bend democracy toward ones group (Similar to what you might see in a third world nation where tribes, clans and other differences determine application of law. Something some members of our society are complaining about.) become the primary consideration between justice and lack of justice. Growing democracies will bring these fiefdoms into the fold of democracy versus letting them carve out their own principality with their own unwritten rules (i.e. Good Old Boy Network, jobs, justice, safety)
The battle for democracy is on the local level and in the very human to human interactions we engage (There is a risk to extremism and a risk to watering down the principles of democracy.). Meaning that we must understand how democracy can break down and hold to account those systems and people who break it. That doesn't always mean someone needs to get in trouble but that there needs to be protections in place. What I have advocated to restore democracy is the following:
1.) Mandatory mental health for those who started the problem. There is concern among even their own members there may be mental health issues involved in conflict and hate. It also puts on notice their blind followers that they can be held to account if they do this again. It also dispels the intentional false rumors designed to target minorities.
2.) Investigate serious community complaints. They may be important they may be just lots of rumors. Kind of scary stuff some people are saying. In my experience rumors sometimes have a kernel of truth. Not exactly the way it happened but perhaps something similar. I hope not!
3.) Ensure local policing systems (I'm sort of looking at one department because of their association with this group. The other departments corrected when they found out they were misled.) however, the other departments can certainly learn. i.e. turning a difficult situation into a positive win-win situation.
4.) Ensure that local court system are not 1. afraid to hold this group accountable (A local prosecutor left in a hurry but I can't tell you why. However, I don't think they were happy with this group and some of the protections they may have been offered. We haven't talked about elections either and how that may impact decisions.), 2.) other minorities are not being targeted with impunity and 3.) that there is a healthy respect of peoples lives and our founding principles.
5.) I would like to add improved tactics. Tactics on how to insulate officers from social pressures, how to investigate facts before acting, how to ask the right questions, how to handle people who are different, etc. and of course avoiding quick judgement. We want our police to be strong, capable and focused on their essential duties of protect and serve within Constitutional and Democratic values (The vast majority are good officers doing the right thing. I'm 100% for police and 110% for Civil rights)
6.) Ensure the local college isn't contributing to the cleansing behavior by accepting and rejecting candidates based on either what this group says through association or through willful attempts to block Muslims, Jews, Blacks and others. Telling my I'm more than qualified for an entry level Labor Law class then ghosting me. (😏 Looks like they really needed me. ). These look like pretty serious federal EEOC violations and misuse of taxpayer money in favor of their ethic clan (Kind of third world and I think we are going to start to round the racial and religious corners to a universal society. However, there are people in the process who circumvent the laws and rules with what at the moment looks like impunity. But I have to admit I don't know everything. I'm just giving opportunities for people to correct. I do think this will be an important issue someday and I'm going encourage the law not to normalize hate behaviors or weave them into unwritten rules.)
7.) Others
Its easy to keep one's mouth shut and not say anything. Maybe this group will start again in a few years when the "coast is clear" or they may have learned a lesson about unbridled hate and dishonesty (I doubt they learned because their behaviors indicate to me they are keeping distance but haven't learned anything other than this is serious. There is a large group of people who ostracized but not one of them really know what happened. They are doing so based on racial and religious preconceptions. Not a single person as far as I know can say me and my kids did anything to them. Sure they have the wrong color or religion but that is hardly a justification.). The other option is to stand up for your community, fix the long term risks to other community members, ensure democracy is firmly planted and of course take all the risks in the process for fulfilling ones oaths. (i.e. following home, pulling over kids, targeting, etc...).
My plan? To be positive, engaging, help my community where I can, not be intimidated, be open to reconciliation and apologies, forgive but not forget (You really can't because they did it once and that is all it takes to understand capacity. I have responsibilities to my family and not to the inflated egos of mediocre sports players who barely rode their tricycles around the block but seem to know all the answers when it comes to "judging" others. (i.e. calling out "Your father is a bitch!" in front of my kids, starting them down in a parking lot, lying and manipulation, calling them "nigger babies" etc.. etc.. etc..). What happened here was beyond not normal and a free pass starts looking like another problem that needs to be reviewed (i.e. other records, reviews outcomes, tickets, etc... might shed light on any other issues).
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other." Abraham Lincoln.
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