Bolstering the point I attempted to make tonight on @allinwithchris. For white Americans it is axiomatic that they are citizens; that in America: “every (European) man a king! Liberty is his birthright!” But nonwhite people were never meant to be citizens, but rather subjects.
For white Americans: Free, white and 21...” was even a common saying and showed up in numerous Hollywood films back in Hollywood’s golden era. This was not a hidden concept. Everybody understood this was the arrangement.
And in that arrangement, black, brown and Native people, Japanese Americans, Chinese railroad workers, Mexicans... But no one more than Black Men: the “Scariest Subjects of Them All...” and yes also Black women ... must be watched. Controlled. Policed. washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/…
The subjects’ protests, even over the deaths of innocent members of their community, are a threat to “society.” They Must Be Reigned In. Shut Down. Break out the tanks! businessinsider.com/the-national-g…
The police are always there to protect and preserve the rights of the citizens. Whether they are now-nazis marching in Charlottesville or fully armed anti-lockdown protesters. Their constitutional liberties are paramount.
The police are there to modulate the presence of the subjects for the comfort of the citizens and to keep the subjects under control, with whatever force they deem necessary, whether that’s tanks or tear gas or even deadly force... vox.com/2020/5/27/2127…
And any citizen may confidently call upon that police power, at any time, to enforce the privileges of their citizenship. It is a potentially deadly power. huffingtonpost.ca/entry/amy-coop…
The citizen may, as @jess_mc put it, “protest” to demand not that THEY get to go work in a meat packing plant, but that someone else, likely black or brown or migrant be made to go back to work and risk their lives so the citizens can enjoy a steak. theguardian.com/world/2020/may…
The citizen gets to question any black person anywhere, anytime if they don’t feel comfortable with their presence or just want them gone. And the police become their enforcers. bbc.com/news/newsbeat-…
This arrangement is obviously terrifying and highly dangerous for the subjects, and potentially deadly. There is no sense of fairness it it: no rhyme or reason. Police are involved or it’s civilians. Death can come at night or in broad daylight. 
And no “subject” is immune, not even the man who grew up to be the first black president.
People keep asking what will fix this horror in our society. A start would be for all people in this country to be treated by its institutions — by police, in the vote, economically and socially, as citizens. You can’t make PEOPLE do that though. So for now, we just cry out. #BLM
Here’s the @allinwithchris segment. RIP #GeorgeFloyd. RIP #AhmadArbery RIP #BreonnaTaylor and far too many more. #BlackLivesMatter
