I haven't been posting, but I've been very active following the huge news events in the US, where the covid pandemic and Black Lives Matter demonstrations have superseded even the presidential race in importance (until recently, like October).
I've been well aware of the killings that have sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Philando Castille. Eric Garner. And many more. This spring it was Ahmaud Arbery, followed by the egregious slow-motion asphyxiation of George Floyd caught on tape as neighborhood folks pleaded with police to let him up so he wouldn't die.
But he did die. And it was a latest stick of dynamite, setting off demonstration, looting, and vandalism in dozens of cities. My town had a BLM demonstration that was peaceful. We have a bit of BLM graffiti that isn't overwhelming in the least or destructive.
Something clicked inside me though. It happened after looking at the 30 minutes of body cam tape of Rayshard Brooks. There was something about it... And I realized what it was. This was a guy desperately trying to do the right thing and avoid arrest. He was polite to the police, helpful with his paperwork, not belligerent in the least until they tried to put the cuffs on him, and then he fought them like a man desperate to escape. Even as he was fighting them, he didn't yell epithets. Even as he shot a taser (grabbed off one of the cops), he didn't insult them. And then he was shot as he tried to run away. A possibly important detail is that Brooks was on parole, and a new arrest might have landed him immediately in prison.
While I was mulling over what had happened, I read Brooks described as a convicted felon, an angry drunk, a very violent man. What I witnessed in that video was very different, and I don't think the video lied.
Suddenly I was able to see someone who could have been a neighbor of mine. He was trying so hard to be a good guy, not cause any harm to anyone, and he ended up arrested for SLEEPING IN HIS CAR. How the fuck did things go so wrong?
So I started to think about how it could go so wrong. He was desperate to avoid arrest after having done nothing bad, nothing irresponsible. So how did this happen?
Going Wrong #1 - Making too many people criminals
In the US, people lose a lot of their employment potential if they are convicted of a felony. And some fairly smalltime offenses get classified as felonies because of the 'tough on crime' ethos in the US. Do we really want to keep punishing someone years after their conviction? Wouldn't it be better to make it easier to go straight and be a law-abiding person? I think it would be better.
So I want reform of our laws, particularly reducing the number of crimes labeled as felonies. I want people to no longer be considered guilty of a felony (have to report it on forms) after a certain number of years. Maybe 5 years for lesser felonies and 10-20 for more serious ones. I want three strikes laws used only for violent felonies, not shoplifting or burglary.
I also think that more county or municipality should have a heavy dependence on fines for funding. Don't use traffic violations to fund your courts. Keep fines high enough to discourage but not so high that it strangles people. Possibly fines should be a portion of percentage of income or your electricity bill, so on a sliding scale. That way it's close to equally painful whether you are rich or poor. Definitely the poor shouldn't be soaked as they have been in many towns and counties, like Ferguson, Missouri.
Going Wrong #2 - The Underclass
Underclasses are almost always a given in history. The poor, the peasants, the serfs, the slaves, the plebians, the workers. The owners don't want to pay too much because owners are generally greedy and want to have more profit for themselves. However, you do need workers, at least some of the time. You also sometimes need soldiers, and sometimes a lot of soldiers. And you need the next generation to carry on or old age for the last generation is going to be horrific.
So the owners/nobility want workers who are as cheap as possible. They may pay near-starvation wages or give near-starvation rations. They probably aren't going to be generous.
In the US and probably almost every other country, we inherited this system and outlook. I think it's the worst part of our economic system because it is greedy, cruel, and dehumanizing. I don't think all wages should be equal, but all jobs should provide a decent wage for doing the work well.
Pay should be good enough to support the person and a small family in a basic, healthful condition. That means decent shelter, decent food, education, medical, and clothing. To me, any job should pay well enough, even at the bottom of the ladder because too often there aren't higher rungs. Some extra generosity to folks at the bottom, including teenage workers wouldn't be a horrible waste when it ensures that everyone has decent wages.
Wages aren't the sole issue. There's also housing and education. Traditionally, poor housing was what peasants had to put up with. That shouldn't be tolerated anymore. We should upgrade housing for everyone. Similarly with schools. Decent schools, good curricula, and reasonably small class sizes for everyone.
How to get there
Maybe that seems overly simplistic, but those are the changes I'd like to see in the US. I want a country with respect for all its citizens, and decent wages, housing, and education for all its citizens. That means no group is considered dirty, underclass, undeserving, or disposable.
Unfortunately, poor folks (blacks, whites. latinos, native americans) have been considered unimportant and disposable. So that has to stop. All people must be valued. This is a big change, but it shouldn't psychologically be that difficult.
Can we afford these changes? With the average income in the US being $72K for household, this should be possible. However, we may not be able to maintain high levels of immigration and have good wages for all. So I would choose higher wages and lower immigration. It may also be important to emphasize small families so that the next generation isn't swollen with too many for the available jobs and resources.
I do foresee that we'll need guest workers. I think guest workers should be paid at least the minimum wage so that there isn't a preference for guest workers over American workers. Housing should also be decent. Families as guest workers may be discouraged if the need for labor in the future may be reduced. I would maintain birthright citizenship.
While I think this vision is doable over time, I don't believe that the US will take this path. It's outside the box and too different from tradition. It also requires more laws and regulation, less greed and more sharing. The wealthy in the US haven't been in favor of that. Just consider Jeff Bezos, the richest person in the US, and how little he pays many of his workers. His great wealth is more than he'll ever need, so it's not immoral to impose a reduction on him to raise others up.
I think people still need incentive to work, and a good wage that takes care of your family is a powerful incentive. Being respected also makes even unpleasant jobs worth it. I wouldn't support a 'universal basic income' since that might stifle the incentive to work.
While I think crime would decrease, I doubt it would disappear. For repeat criminals who show little interest in reform, prison is proper. For one-time criminals who do reform, society should welcome them back.
No One Left Behind
I've mentioned Black Live Matters and the problem of having an underclass. However I don't see this as an issue involving only minorities. It's bigger than that. It's a matter of seeing all Americans as 'one of us.' That includes traditionally marginalized groups, like black or Latino folks, but also everyone, including rural folks, rust belt workers, etc. Everyone.
With this inclusion, we should no longer have out-groups that are disdained. We should cherish all Americans and not let small differences set us deeply against each other.
So that is my big new vision for the US. I'm inspired by the possibility. I'm inspired to have finally come to understand what I'd like to see in a fair society.
Image: cnn.com
Extras. Link to the Moynihan Report back in 1965 about poverty and lack of opportunity for black families.
