The banal barbarism of America's institutions runs deep.
On Thursday, Kim Potter, the police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright at a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minn., was charged with second-degree manslaughter. To some, that may look like justice, but for many, the question remains the same: How has yet another Black American died at the hands of the police? |
In an Op-Ed this week, David Grant says that the answer is clear: Minneapolis wasn't prepared for the ugly truth. "The home of 'Minnesota Nice' — that deeply rooted stereotype about our state's cult of politeness — would love to believe that there's no substantial toehold for white supremacy here," but like the rest of America, racism gnaws at its core, turning what should be a routine police procedure into a life-threatening situation. |
So what's the path forward? For one, when it comes to traffic stops, "the solution is to decrease our reliance on human enforcement," Sarah A. Seo writes. But it is also imperative that police culture overall changes, that "if something is wrong, we say it's wrong," says Cheryl E. Orange, a lieutenant with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. |
The reality is, "There is no new angle. There is no new hot take. There is very little new to be revealed," the columnist Charles M. Blow writes. "Our systems of law enforcement, criminal justice and communal consciousness have adjusted themselves to a banal barbarism." |
Looking to join a book club? Pick up the fourth title selected for T Magazine's book club, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith, and dive into the story of a young American grifter in Italy. On April 22, you can join a virtual discussion about the book, featuring the writer Edmund White in conversation with Thessaly La Force, the magazine's features director. You can R.S.V.P. here. |
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