I don't watch much on TV involving real people (unless you count the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills). I don't watch any real people on the news. I just don't have time. Who has several weeks to take to bed and curl up in a fetal ball with a case of Nutella? An hour spent with CNN would require months of digging in the sand to re-bury my head.
Despite my best efforts to remain shallow, self-absorbed, and ignorant, the news seeps in between posting selfies and counting my "likes" on Facebook. I get most of my news like a contact high, caught from being close to friends under the influence.
For instance, I know that things have been getting heated because the police have been using their heat in questionable ways. It's impossible to avoid the name Ferguson. It's a household word. I remember when the only unavoidable household Ferguson was the toilet. Ferguson misery is much different from Ferguson Missouri but there is a lot of crap going down in both cases.
Thanks to second hand smoking guns, I know about a lot of dead unarmed black men. I don't need to be told to be devastated about the injustices and inequities. I didn't need to be told that racism is still a "thing". So is classism and so many isms that the schisms between usms widen with each perceived slight to 'ism's and 'ersm's sense of entitlement.
The whole dam country is a flood of emotion it would seem. And yet...every now and then a story peeks through. A cop pays a woman's grocery debt, hugs a protestor, saves a baby seal from being clubbed. (I may have dreamed that last one).
Since I don't follow these stories close enough to be in any danger of being an expert, I am in the perfect position to have the solution. Since the heat using heat is a hot topic, I think the whole issue of police brutality might be a good place to start. Hey Police, don't hire brutes or train people to be brutal. There. Problem solved. It's probably just a misunderstanding requiring a simple re-write. (Or "re-right", if you prefer).
Because "police brutality" has become a cliché like "armed and dangerous" I think a name change is in order. When my kids were little we called the police "helping guys". Now that we have the solution, we will need to educate people starting with kindergarten.
Police Academy: Police officers are helping guys not thumping, bossing, bullying guys. Sometimes helping guys need to help harder than other times, but the helping should always be the main focus. Hopefully, most officers won't have to help someone not murder them. That gets messy. Use your words not your tasers, guns, choke holds or other scary toys.
Public school: Use your words. Don't take things that don't belong to you. Don't tell lies, or throw a fit to get what you want. Ask for help from a grown up if your words don't work. Don't throw a brick at a helping guy or burn down your neighbor's store. Try not to push the helping guys into helping you too hard.
Mostly, I think the whole world needs a time out. A nap would be nice. You'd be surprised how much better life works with an outdoor recess, a little juice, a story, a sing along, and a buddy to hold your hand so you won't lose your place in line.
Comments