In most weekends, I bike to Meech Lake, swim, and come back. Last week I chatted with two people I will call Rose and John. They asked where I worked, and we talked about the Carleton Criminology decision to discontinue field placements with the police. 1/x

A young relative of them wants to become a police officer and was very disappointed that the program she has her eyes on would no longer facilitate internships. John ( who is Black) and Rose (who is white) seemed less than thrilled with her decision. 2/x

“There are so many bad cops” she said. I nodded.
This weekend I saw Rose again. She came told me that after I left, two cops came up to John, demanding ID, because he matched a description. And she told me about police violence against her Black sons she witnessed. 3/x

From having witnessed her son being kicked and beaten, the other cop refusing to help, and the police internal investigation not acknowledging the violence, she knows racist violence in the police to be systemic. But, she told me, many white friends don’t believe her. 4/x

The refusal to hear & believe accounts of police violence is also systemic. It denigrates those who talk about pain and violence and deprives us of collective knowledge and understanding. Maybe university can be a place for listening to and reflecting on these knowledges? 5/x

What she told me illustrates the complexities and contradictions of knowing about institutional racism and violence. And it’s a reminder to all of us to listen more closely. And to #DefundPolice and to rethink our relationships to institutions of violence. 6/6

* most weekends