Day: 01/06/2017

Ever been punched by a police officer?

When I talk about police abuse, like in this post:

https://painkills2.wordpress.com/2016/12/28/dear-white-people/

It’s usually about how the police treat people of color. But it’s not like white people get a pass just because of their skin color:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/officer-caught-on-video-punching-woman-resigns_us_586ec3d5e4b02b5f8588065f?cypi3ljp424oswcdi

The video in this article shows a white officer punching a white woman who was in the process of being evicted from her home. The officer was there about a warrant, which the woman says over and over again that she took care of. She pleads with the officers to call and check on the status of the warrant, but she gets punched instead.

While I was shocked at how the black mother in the first video was treated by the police, I wasn’t shocked at how the white woman was treated in the second video. I can feel her desperation. I can easily see myself in her shoes. And now I feel lucky that I’ve never been punched by a police officer.

I think the drug war has a lot to do with police brutality, treating people like dirt just because of drugs. I think a lot of white people (including police) associate black people with crime and drugs, which is just plain wrong. But when police feel free to treat people of color like dirt, they will eventually feel free to treat all people like dirt.

I’m a weirdo

I love this song, Creep by Radiohead. Others have done covers of it, like Prince. This is a good one:

But the only one that gives me goosebumps is this one:

“But I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo.” While I don’t think that I’m a creep, I think I could fit this definition of a weirdo: 1. an odd, eccentric, or unconventional person. I don’t think I’m unconventional, but compared to many other Americans, maybe I am. And I’m okay with that. 🙂