Folks are talking about how “ignorant” and “stupid” people are for riot-protesting in Ferguson. Some are casting judgment on citizens who “have no respect for their own communities” and are participating in “senseless destruction“. And while I understand the desire for peace, rational thought, and non-violence, I have to ask myself: “What would it take to get me to burn down a building?”

What would it take for any of us to feel trapped in a world of injustice, so let down by the system, so ultimately frustrated, that we would resort to horrific acts of destruction?

Let’s all take a giant leap here and assume that people in the Ferguson community are wise, rational, and reasonable people. Let’s assume those participating in the riots are just like you and me. What brought them here? What would it take to bring you there?

Would it be an institutionalized system that routinely encourages you to fear for your life? One that demands you demonstrate subservience in the presence of police, and teaches your children to do the same? Would it be a lack of faith in the system that is meant to protect you? Would it take a lifetime of witnessing extreme violence executed by those entrusted to protect and serve? Would it be a system that encourages you to believe you are powerless when you try to hold its people accountable for their actions? Would it be someone killing your unarmed child and walking free, without ever being cross-examined by a prosecutor?

I don’t know what it would take for me, but I do know that unless I am actually living that life, I don’t really have a right to cast judgment on those who are. 

I also know that I have never really had much dealing with the legal system and so I always simply assumed that it has everyone’s best interest at heart and strives to be fair and just. But I recently had a run-in with the law, and while the excessiveness of police power I experienced was comparatively small, I learned just how incredibly difficult it is to get the police department to take responsibility for the actions of their officers.

The feeling of people in authority having so much unbridled power over you, making it very clear they can make your life a living hell (which is, at least, still living), is terrifying. I am not exaggerating here. My one-time experience frightened me to the core and yet it is an infinitesimally small piece of what many folks deal with every moment of their life. This may be the only reality some people know.

Is rioting the best, most enlightened path to change? No, I don’t think so. Should those breaking the law be prosecuted? Yes, I think so. Do I understand the intense frustration that could lead to those choices? I think I do. At the very least, I think we should be thinking about it, talking about it, and working to inspire change around it. You know things are bad when the only way we feel we can be heard is to start lighting fires in the streets.

So many layers. So many questions. I thought I would address just one part right now, and that is how to develop a system of checks and balances for the police who are in this everyday. I am the daughter of a cop and I have deep respect for this unfathomably difficult job – but we need a system capable of holding everyone accountable for their actions – everyone.

Things have changed for police. They have become extremely overly-militarized and they are not just bringing guns to a knife fight – they are bringing riot gear and TANKS to peaceful protests.

Dress like Rambo and you start acting like Rambo. Stop it.

Currently, you are unable to request the police report that is about you (at least this was my experience – I asked to see it and was flatly denied). Police can store and share their assertions about you in a permanent, ominous “file” (that other police officers can see) without notifying you or even giving you a chance to offer your own testimony. This information can influence decisions that have real consequences. What the hot shit is that all about? Why so secret, my friends?

Let’s make it so that anyone can go to the police station and see their arrest records. Let’s have a website where pictures, names, and badge numbers of these public servants are available. In fact, why not have something like Angie’s List for police officers? When you have an encounter with an officer, positive or negative, you could share it with others. Like a Yelp review for cops. The voting record of politicians is public, why not the arrest records and public feedback on cops? Is there a bad cop on the force? How prevalent is the problem? Who are the good cops? Having a system of accountability makes sense.

In the United States, we have a lot of white people:

And percentage-wise, we have even more white police officers:

And even more white judges:

And when it comes to enforcing the laws, this very white world seems to lead to an imprisoned community filled with minorities.

Who’s in jail, in the United States, by race:

If you live in the United States, your likelihood of going to jail, by race:

Here’s another way of looking at it:

The chances a white person is going to jail are 1 in 935.

Those odds look like this (each circle represents one person – the red dot is the one going to jail):

The chances a black person is going to jail: 1 in 34.

As a black person, you are 27 times more likely to go to jail than your white compatriots.

Seriously, is this even a thing? It kind of feels like it should be Police Academy 101. If black people, even unarmed ones, make you nervous and volatile, don’t be a cop. If you think women should be seen and not heard, don’t be a cop. If you think Mexicans should all be deported, don’t be a cop.

Racism & sexism have no place in Cop-land – get enlightened or get the fuck out.

Let’s start incentivizing and recruiting people of diversity to be police officers. It is hard to dehumanize someone because of their color if your partner is the same color.

You know those young people with pants down to their knees and hoodies and apparent “attitude problems”? Go meet their moms, or little siblings, or grandfathers, or whoever cares about these young people – start seeing them as real people, just kids trying to find their identity and maybe trying to find a way to stand up to bullies, even ones with badges. Each one of those “Thugs” has worth and should be treated with dignity.

In addition to sensitivity training, how about some practical policy change? Let’s make non-lethal weapons like Tasers a mandatory part of police equipment, so if a cop in a car feels threatened and it doesn’t occur to him to roll up the windows or drive away, he could simply use a Taser – BAM! Revolution avoided.There are also technological advancements like mace and rubber bullets. It feels like designing the uniform to make non-lethal options easier to get to than lethal ones makes sense and may save lives.

Body cameras worn by police are effective because all of us behave better under scrutiny. An objective recording of events protects both suspects and police officers alike.

There are lots of things police could carry, including empathy, and respect for all human life, that would make the world a little bit safer for all of us.