It's unfortunate to be named after the British word for "tire," but in case you've been living under a rock, there was a major incident involving a young black man named Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee. Nichols was apprehended by a group of cops (ostensibly for reckless driving); he was wrestled to the ground, but he broke free and ran. Once he was caught again, Nichols ended up being beaten and killed. He died in hospital a couple days after the altercation. The five police officers in the incident were all black, and ever since the release of a ton of video footage (ranging from bodycams to streetside security cameras), the officers were all fired from the Memphis Police Department and are under investigation.
I had a chance to look at some of the footage that got released, and while Nichols should never have resisted and should never have run, the officers should never have beaten him so brutally. I saw an officer kick Nichols twice in the head; another officer hit Nichols twice with a long baton; a third officer hauled off and punched Nichols at least twice in the face. Not to excuse the officers, but I imagine they were venting their fury because Nichols had run from them. Since I didn't watch all the available footage, there may have been other police misconduct for all I know.
But I've learned my lesson from past incidents, especially the George Floyd incident: the first few days will never give you the whole story, and that angelic sacrificial lamb almost never turns out to be so pristine. (Tom Wolfe predicted all this nonsense in his The Bonfire of the Vanities, way back in the 1980s.) For now, I withhold final judgment, even as the news media does its evil best to turn this black-on-black violence into a racism narrative. (People on the left are already stupidly claiming "white supremacy.")
I guess we'll see how it all unfolds. Cynically, I expect the black officers to feel the full weight of the law, with mitigating evidence ignored. Meanwhile, if you're black and worried about getting pulled over by a police officer, watch this video.
UPDATE: here's Styx's commentary:
1 comment:
Yeah, I just saw something at Althouse where Van Jones says black folk have also been indoctrinated to dislike dark-skinned people. He gave an example of a black store owner watching black customers with suspicion while treating whites deferentially.
It's all about skin color, don't you see, crime statistics don't enter into the equation.
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