The Cost

What would it be like to live in a world where the priority was not economics but empathy?

Maybe the price we pay would be different.

It's less costly to pay a settlement and give a suspension than to fire an officer and chance risking an admittance of guilt to open the door to more potential lawsuits.

It costs money to train an officer. It costs money to outfit him. It's hard to get enough officers working to cover a full shift because the city doesn't want to hire, train, and pay more officers.

It costs money to raise salaries to attract better talent for police work. It costs money to continue their education. It costs money to give good benefits. It costs money to extend academy times, to provide stress outlets, to host community events to promote unity.

So what happens when all those things come together?

You get officers who don't speak up because they don't want to rock the boat.
You get officers who lose skills the further away they get from the academy.
You get officers who don't seek counseling for anger or anxiety because it could call their ability to police into question, or because it's not covered by health insurance and they can't afford it.
You get officers who gradually become a rule unto themselves, committing worse mistakes with a sense of complacency because even if they get their hand slapped, they won't get fired.
You get officers who forget the job is not about guns or punches (or apparently, restraining people with their knees until they die), but first about protecting and serving people and promoting the sanctity of human life.
You get officers who try hard, who want to do well, who are not racist at all but are now suddenly embarrassed and disgusted to be associated with a gang of bullies.

It costs money to liberate black men and women from slavery. A war was fought over that money, actually. It costs money to provide the same educational opportunities for everyone regardless of skin color. It costs money to register black people to vote. It costs money to pay black people the same amount that white people get paid. It costs money to give black people the same amount in welfare checks as white people. It costs money to build new schools in inner cities and hire competent teachers. It costs money to support single black mothers. It costs money to hire proper defense attorneys for black men accused of crimes.

So what happens when all those things come together?

You get black men who are always aware they could be shot when they go for a jog.
You get black graduates who know that their black name on a resume means they won't get the job.
You get black families who worry about how their kids will get a good education.
You get black boys who grow up without stability.
You get black dads who get killed for no reason.
You get black kids flooding foster care, facing abuse and other horrors, with little chance of finding an adoptive home.
You get black people in prison with harsher sentences for lesser crimes.
You create a black nation who feels that they are still second class citizens, because every time they begin to breathe freely, someone or something cuts off their air because giving them air is just too costly.

I chose this picture because they can breathe. I want others to breathe too. 

I guess this is America, and we get to keep our money in exchange for something we apparently seem to value less: the lives of the poor, the black, the brown, and even some of the good blue ones who pay for the sins of the bad blue ones because police do get shot in cold blood just because they're police. They're all cheap currency, a valid opportunity cost.

One nation under God, with liberty and justice for all -- for all who are rich, who are white, who are privileged, and
who are lucky to be alive.