Forgive the sexism in the poem in this post; the poem was written by Robert Burns in 1784.
Man was made to mourn: A Dirge
Many and sharp the num'rous ills
Inwoven with our frame!
More pointed still we make ourselves
Regret, remorse, and shame!
And man, whose heav'n-erected face
The smiles of love adorn, –
Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn!
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Human society's faults are manifold, and seem to increase in number and severity rather than decrease with the passage of time. It's almost as if examples of humankind's behavior could be used to dispel the theory of evolution as we've come to understand it. We as a race (The Human Race) spend more money and energy on weapons and weapons research than we do on ways to benefit our race as a whole. We always have. Always. We're farther from an end to "Man's inhumanity to man" than we've ever been.
Conquer; that's what the human race has always done. Think of the scene in Kubrick's 2001 when the simian discovers that a bone from a skeleton could be used as a tool. What was the tool used for? The FIRST tool? A weapon. I think that's one of the most profound movie scenes ever filmed. From clubs to bombs and vehicles to deliver them; that's pretty much the extent of our evolution in The Grand Scheme of Things.
I wish I had the answers. Fuck, I wish I had a SINGLE answer. The undeniable truth is that we aren't going to see an end to "Man's inhumanity to man" in our lifetimes. Timewise, our existence is not much more than a cosmic minute. True evolution takes eons.
A guy who sold cigarettes on the sidewalk... taxed or untaxed. A kid whose toy pistol didn't have the requisite orange stripe at the end of its barrel... A young man who didn't respond to a policeman's rude words in the way the policeman expected him to: All dead, and all killed by white guys who weren't held responsible for their actions. It's nothing new. All things being equal, humans treat other humans in inhumane ways and other humans enable such treatment.
It seems to me the only solution to police brutality in ALL INSTANCES is an Article V convention concerning the actions of law enforcement. I actually think THAT'S an amendment that could pass in short order.
In this country, there are two organizations that can legally take your life: The government, and it's enforcement arm (AKA the police). We can change that and marching in the street might be the best most efficient way. Maybe we should demand that our government change its methods. It is supposed to be, after all, a government OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, AND FOR THE PEOPLE.
Time to call for a Constitutional remedy to people being mistreated by those charged to protect and serve and to stop being enablers by allowing it to continue.
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