Thread: Twitter is inundated with riot tweets. Meaning the only conversation we should be having, isn’t happening. So, here’s my extended hand to Black America. What institutional changes do you believe move us forward?

I think (meaning I’m open-minded to counter points) the prejudices of most (bad) cops come from time on the job where they develop stereotypes from dealing with bad ppl who talk and dress like good ppl who both tslk and dress differently than the cop.

Thst doesn’t mean I’m justifying it... lord knows I talk and dress in a way that people make snap judgements that I’m a dumb ole country boy. But this inherent prejudice is the one we have to attack. A prejudice of “other” out of ignorance and fear. How do we attack it?

One of the things I’m most proud about in this country is that our culture is one that holds and respects different cultures within it. Based on race, religion, region and population density. We understand we’re all different, but also the same.

One of the things I have struggled with myself is acknowledging people who think differently than me, or seem to have different convictions that me aren’t wrong, they’re just different. I’ve seen it in politics, my personal life and now in American culture.

So, back to police. They’re human do they are very much susceptible to human flaws. Stereotypes, conditioning, fear, ignorance, and prejudice can all take hold before hate is a factor. Doesn’t make any actions predicated on those things right but if we acknowledge motivation

Is complex, we can STAND UP, and call for right types of changes. Community policing, to my understanding, involved ppl from a community to police that community. The difficulty there is obvious. It’s hard to arrest you friends and family when they’re blatantly breaking the law

But, there has to be way to train and expose police officers to all parts of their community without leaving them to develop unjust biases. Im all ears! Lastly, there are absolutely police officers who are filled with hate and a power high.

Much like many Americans called for American Muslims to condemn terrorist in the early 2000s, we have to call for our police forces to do the very difficult job of weeding out those that would do their citizens harm on the basis of prejudice and hate.

That’s easier said that done. Why didn’t more Muslims call out the terrorist? Fear. They were legitimately afraid to call any attention to themselves at all. I think cops are in the same boat “if we call out jimmy and Sarah, they’ll come for us next” it’s a tough job to say

The least. But, war is tough and I chose to go, they chose to be police officers and the same sacred bond they feel with their sometines flawed peers they have to feel for their sometimes flawed citizens (I think most do btw).

I don’t think most people who have hurtful and unnecessary racial biases have hate in their hearts. People like @VanJones68 talked about who say one thing and instinctively do another. So this problem, (a problem that simply admitting exists is a step for me personally) is

Complex and deserving of many conversations. Not just “bad police are bad and racists are racists” if it were that simple... I do believe it’d be a done deal already. So then, what do I know? Im just a white guy.

Well, if this is a conversation, I can speak for those who don’t fully understand where POC are coming from but willing to believe it isn’t all bullshit... I mean, people don’t get this consistently angry and desperate if there isn’t a healthy amount of truth in their concerns

What I can tell POC is that not everyone who doesn’t get it, hates you for what you look like. For most humans, it’s hard to believe what we don’t see. Most of us don’t see it because we aren’t filled with hate and look for logical explanations. It’s perspective (my fav concept)

That doesnt mean we don’t care. So here’s the deal. This is sooo uncomfortable for so many people. Not because they don’t care, but because they are conflicted. Like myself. I believe in this country, I believe in the honorable job of policing and now I have to believe what

American POC color are telling me they feel in their hearts and experience in reality... too often they are judged and treated poorly based on the color of their skin.

So I’m here, and im listening. Not to rioters, or provocateurs or celebrities, but to my friends, neighbors and genuine leaders. It’s not about agreeing, it’s about humbly caring. For me, that’s where I’ll start.