In order to understand the trouble that vexes the United States with recent events, it is important to understand elements of their socio-economic class and racial structure: White Privilege and Black lives.

It is very hard to explain what white privilege is to a white person. Just as it is hard to explain to a male what male privilege is from a female perspective. For in both cases, they say what privilege? They do see the problem walking anywhere, at anytime, wearing anything they want. Whites simply do not interact with police, so what privilege is that? Never seeing that based on being white the police will not stop them for any reason other than the colour or lack of colour in their skin. However for someone black, they do interact in absurd amounts with police compared to the whites. Diamond Reynolds calmly recorded her boyfriend dying in the seat next to her after he was brutally shot by one nervous cop. Being that she, as a black female, was so often stopped by police for no reason, getting upset would not change anything, let alone prevent anything from happening. Male privilege means they don’t have to be as weary of the next corner because if preyed upon it would be for their wallet not what was under their clothing. So they too can calmly walk through a storm that would leave other who are not used to such behavior completely affected with fear and dread.

The concept of privilege is one that can only be seen from the perspective of one who does not have it. Just as entitlement is alien to whoever is so privileged and has the rights to be entitled. From the pauper view however, it is very different. They can see up, the privileged must be challenged to see down. There is a national best seller, but clearly 50 or more years old called “Black Like me” by John Howard Griffin (published 1961) where a white man walks in the shoes of being black in the south. Changes his race to cross the colour barrier and see what life is like on the other side of the coin. This book tells the tales from his journey. You can see the way he is treated what privilege is. Or in a more humorist vein Eddie Murphy does a skit on Saturday Night Live about being white; where he dons white makeup to look like a white person. While very funny, it is also very telling too. Clever humour does indeed transcend beyond me laughs into a deep social commentary.

As a white male, I am never suspected of being a criminal just because I am white

As a male I am never looked at as “Asking for it,” no matter what I am wearing.

It is only when I look at the reality of people of colour or of women do I see the privilege of my existence.

It is only when other people begin to look at the world from the eyes of the “other” that they see the charmed existence we who have the privilege have compared to others.

Three dead cops in Baton Rouge and three injured… by a gunman, details are unclear at this time, but I suspect it will soon be linked to black lives matters as well. For all crime against police comes from Black Lives Matter. And if that makes no sense to you, so what? Anything to discredit that movement will be found and used against them. For nothing is more dangerous than a good idea. Only the privileged need not be bothers to look or to see that. Martin Luther King jr was subject to black mail over illegal tapes; such as being ordered to commit suicide and other horrible things. And his crime was? Leading a movement to bring equality to all people.

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

Martin Luther King Jr

As much as the SC shooter, wrapped in the Southern battle flag murdering people in a black church, Dallas and Baton Rouge were both acts of mad men. But armed with military weapons and free access to purchase as many as they can carry or could carry… This is the inevitable result. Where blacks armed themselves and confronted police in the streets of California, Ronald Reagan, as governor signed some of the harshest carry laws in the USA with the full support of the NRA. Carrying guns is a right only to the privilege and being black with a gun is seemingly an executable offense in Minnesota or it was for Philando Castile.

The cause is always the same, injustice, videotaped injustice, which is now finally making its appearance on TV and the internet that will force politicians and police to demand better answers. If all cops had cameras, and all the stops where recorded, then the often heard cry of abuse, racial profiling and racism would be there to be seen and view and best of all, reviewed. Accountability would have to kick in. Most cops are good people. The bad apples are the ones they need to be found and removed from office. Let them work in sanitation and be as hateful as they want to be. They give all police, a bad name. In Dallas, while the crowds were running from the violence. The men and women in blue were running towards it. When Shetamia Taylor was shot by the sniper in Dallas, she and her son that she was shielding, were, in turn, shielded by police officers. There to serve and protect, they served her by protecting her and getting her to a hospital in a vehicle shot up by the sniper. She is black, they were white.  To then look at this issue as only a black and white thing, is to miss the point. It is not colour but of power that is often reflected in a white on black thing. But similar tales are found in all white communities where the white police pick on lower socio-economical privileged whites. It’s not the skin, it’s the power.

Sadly, I do suspect that what has started in Dallas and now Baton Rouge will accelerate and continue as more and more cops will be ambushed in the coming days. But without a resolution, or solution in sight this will be just another story soon forgotten as more and more are killed. Cops are focused on their weapons and military tactics to deal with type of event on average of 180 hours of training and practise. Yet any possible solution would be found in de-escalation and non lethal force. How much training would they get in that on average? Only 24 hours. 180 hours to kill, 24 hours to control and de-escalate… Seems we have one clearly visible, low hanging fruit to pick off with ease.

American cops taken to a target range with a simulated battle field exercise; they walk around an obstacle course only with the chances to shot. They are then faced with various pop ups of either criminals and or civilians and have to decide to shot or hold fire. The fastest time win. Scientists using this for controlled experiments where they are secretly measuring the reaction time in the decision to shot or to hold fire. Studies show that they take half as long to decide to shot a black face than a white face. This is not a training issue. This is cultural issue. If your head is filled with the insulting stereotypes that refer to the “other” as dangerous predators (Ask Hilary Clinton about that one…). You approach the “Other” like wild, dangerous animals. Shoot first out of fear to protect yourself.  26% of all shooting victims by police are black. Yet blacks make up only 15% of the population. The only way to break that barrier down is to familiarize white cops with black families and brown and Asian and everything else until they see those “others,” are not “others” at all but the same as you are, people not predators. Humans with hopes and dreams who also want to go home at the end of their encounter with police.

The Dallas police chief encouraged disenfranchised black youth to join the police force so they can patrol and protect their own communities. To help build a better tomorrow by showing positive role models in their home communities and create sorely needed bridges from the police to the minorities that allow both sides a better tomorrow.

While I applaud that very idea, there is one problem. Who is the one class of people who cannot become police? Criminals. What is the one thing most black males all have in common? They have been arrested, charged and convicted of a crime in some places greater than 50% of the male population over 18 years of age. So just who amongst those new bridge builders can they, the police, reach out to for this help, when they have already been precluded from their helping? Vicious circle. No black community members to help so the white cops are an alien invasion force that act like lord high sheriff to the lowly villagers who are in turn regularly abused by those with their police power in the mere fact they are in the community but not a part of it. White cops in Ferguson don’t live in Ferguson. That’s where the blacks live. They moved out long ago to more white areas. But they surely come back to keep the people in line. Just ask Mike Brown how that worked out for him. I was going to use the word citizens instead of villagers but can that even be said when being treated as a second class citizen would be a step or two up?

For better or for worse, there is a problem. Point fingers at one side of the other will not help. Nor can we be expected to demand from people to be less criminal or get themselves to a position of more power, better income less poverty. What we can do is make sure police are giving the best possible training, and that has to include socio economic field work with minority communities, de-escalation training like they do in Europe where the use of police violence is near unheard of and lastly camera both in car and on cops. When citizen journalists do observe the scene of police interaction, they should be welcome and embraced as being there to keep all sides honest. That won’t cure the problem until gun control comes in to remove some of the 300 million firearms around the country from the hands of unstable people who suffer mental health problems. But it will be a start, whose time is overdue.