Before cell phone cameras, de jure and de facto segregation made it hard for non-black Americans to pierce the veil and see the disparate treatment black people experience at the hands of the police. Their own experiences may have made black complaints seem impossible.
In recent years that veil has been pierced by technology, and it has opened many people’s views to a reality they were previously unable to see. At the same time, it has sparked a movement in favor of impunity for armed agents of the state who abuse their powers.
This new movement is fully aware that these abuses exist. The veil has been pierced for them too. But they see brutality as a virtue, and they believe as first class citizens, they will never be subject to the same treatment, and can safely support cruelty towards others.
What today’s attack on the capitol shows is they are correct in this assessment. They will never be treated by armed agents of the state with the inhumanity they idealize, and so there is no risk in uncritically supporting impunity for brutality against others.
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