Fellow liberals are tweeting messages advising them that police brutality protests are not about white people. Perhaps they should tell that to Dillon Taylor’s family.
The 20-year-old was shot down by police?while unarmed, back in August, 2014.
Liberal responsibility to combat police brutality
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Liberalism is:
“political doctrine that takes protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individual to be the central problem of politics.”
Of course, we can debate the extent of the government’s rightful role in enhancing individual freedoms, and that’s one reason why we have groups as varied as Libertarians and the Democratic Socialist Group of America.
Beliefs and freedoms
Inserting beliefs into a system meant to enhance individual freedoms can get tricky. Having said this, it’s an individual’s right, and even logical, to believe that race played a role in specific tragedies like the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. However, are we neglecting the most basic tenets of liberalism by failing to give adequate coverage to white on white or black on white police brutality? Specifically, are we losing out on the support of individuals and groups who really do support individual liberties but are turned off by making police brutality entirely about race?
Eric Garner family belief
Shorty after the Eric Garner grand jury decision, the deceased’s daughter told CNN:
?This is not a black and white issue.??
Garner’s sister, Elisha Flaggs, chimed in on New York’s PXI 11 with this statement:
?They need to throw the race card out the window and realize this is a human’s life.?
It’s debatable as to whether Garner’s daughter and sister really believe Mr. Garner’s death had nothing to do with race. However, their statements point to the fact that they understand the logistical necessity of acknowledging we have a police brutality problem, not just a racial problem.
Americans can unite for positive changes to our police forces and justice systems
Just because two factions are worlds apart on one aspect of governing, such as economic policy, it doesn’t mean those factions can’t work together on other issues. In addition, just because liberals understand America still has a huge problem with race relations, it doesn’t mean we must continue to frame police brutality and corruption as an entirely black and white issue. Maybe we should follow the Garner family’s lead on this one. We must do what it takes to stick to liberal the liberal tenet of enhancing individual freedoms.
Racism exists. I think we all know that. And racial profiling exists. As a white man, I know that I feel more comfortable walking past a cop than I would if my skin were darker. In addition, while I’m far from being a race-relations expert, I know that the more people a movement has, the more likely it will get results. For the sake of ALL Americans, liberals need to change the conversation about police brutality by making race part of the issue, instead of the entire issue.
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Don Shepard is a passionate defender of?individual liberties and a believer in the power of true self-sufficiency. He works on his family’s urban farm when not toiling away at the computer. Writing professionally since 2008, Don has the knowledge that comes from being a lead writer and editor for numerous political advocacy campaigns. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology & Climatology, back in 2002, and understands we must do what it takes to preserve our planet. Follow Don on Twitter, Pinterest,?and FB.