Klueless in Kenosha
/After George Floyd was murdered, we demanded change. And we trusted there would never be another death like that.
And then there was Jacob Blake.
What’s going on here? Is this just a case where every police department has a few bad (racist) apples? Or is it something bigger? Is it “systemic racism”? Is that really a thing?
Well, I’ve never been a member of a designated minority group, and I don’t have an advanced degree in ethnic studies, so I’ve got no credentials to define that term.
But let me take a stab at it anyway.
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I’m not going to deal with the specifics of Kenosha—the Blake execution, or the bad-cop-wannabe who killed two people, and gravely injured another. You know those stories already. Define them any way you want.
What I want to deal with is the response: how did those in authority react? After the original, horrific crime, how did the “city fathers” present to the public?
At first, there was nothing but silence. Only when we heard from Blake’s parents—the barely suppressed rage of his father, and the otherworldly calm of his mother—did authority feel it had to say something. So, they held a news conference. But they didn’t respond.
A parade of officials from the city and county and the state of Wisconsin discussed how they were dealing—how they were trying to control the streets.
As for the specifics of the crime itself? Nothing. They explained that, by statute, an independent arm of state government was conducting a full investigation. That was frustrating—but at the same time, you’ve got to admit that an independent arm is better than the police department investigating itself. So, that first news conference ended in fantastical frustration.
The state Attorney General (overseeing the investigative arm) announced (not) helpfully that they would stay silent until the end of the investigation. We'll get back to you in 30 days.
Then a young, pathetic 17-year-old loser named Kyle Rittenhouse entered the picture--with a rifle. He is suspected of answering a call on a Facebook page for member of the “militia” to go to Kenosha and protect the scene. He was a recent front-row participant at a Trump rally. He was happy to admit on camera that he was more than willing to "help" the police.
Quickly, the chief of Kenosha’s police reported that he said, “hell, no”, to all such offers of help.
However, there is also video of a steel-plated, militarized Kenosha police vehicle rolling past a gathering of these creepy militia members, throwing them bottles of water and announcing over a loudspeaker, “we appreciate your help—we really do!”
A short while later...after his murders…Rittenhouse was videotaped walking down the street, hands up, rifle exposed, expecting to be arrested by police. Bystanders said they pointed and yelled, “he’s the shooter!”
The police calmly rolled by. No reason to suspect a white guy…even if he was holding an automatic weapon.
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The next day those in charge held another news conference. The Kenosha mayor, the county executive, the chief of police, and county sheriff and the head of the local National Guard explained that everyone was working so well together, and that such acts of violence really didn’t represent the fine people of Kenosha or the surrounding area. That circle jerk lasted for an eternity--everything was fine.
And near the end, they said that not only did they STILL have no details on the Blake murder…but they also had no details on the Rittenhouse murders—a local crime that occurred on Kenosha streets. They stood up…walked away…and ignored every question.
So here is the dichotomy. A black man trying to get into his car and drive his three kids away is shot in the back—seven times.
A white loser with an automatic rifle, in the middle of a crime scene, is ignored by the same cops.
Or consider it this way. Citizen A of Kenosha is found lifeless on the street, under the open car door of his SUV, with three young kids inside. Citizen B of Kenosha has phone video identifying the person who shot the victim seven times in the back--call the shooter him Citizen C.
In normal circumstances, when the police see the video, they identify and immediately arrest Citizen C. They throw him in jail, and, given the nature of his crime, a judge keeps him there until arraignment...or puts him under house arrest with a GPS tracking device.
But Officer Rustin Sheskey, our Citizen C in this case, is free on administrative leave. He is being pad but doesn't have to show up for work.
Call me stupid, but I think this is what they call systemic racism.
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OK, in my career I’ve been involved instructing people in authority on how to manage stressful situations. Bad news happens for people in power all the time—that’s why they get top jobs, and top pay. They’re in their positions to handle those situations.
The people at that second news conference—five white men—failed in their jobs. They made things worse. They weighed the potential downside to providing anything relevant (lawsuits?...jury bias?) against the compelling need to simply tell the people of Kenosha--and AMERICA--what the hell was really going on.
Shame on them. They are out of touch. They are cowards.
Sure, they don’t see themselves as racists. But they are part of the problem.
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(For a full description of what should be happening in police reform, please read Stop Killer Cops--It Can Be Done. )
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