SOCIETY

That Video, That Video, That Horrific Video

You don’t need to watch the Tyre Nichols videos to be horrified. If you have seen them, you know the horror. If you are curious and can stomach it, a simple Google search will lead you to them. A 29-year-old man is beaten to death on camera after he’s pulled over in Memphis. That’s all you really need to know. And so what follows here is absolutely nothing new. There is zero to say that has not been said before.

We have militarized our police forces. We have created a culture of brutality. We have done nothing to fix the system that breeds this madness. Don’t tell me that this has always existed and it’s just televised now. Don’t tell me new racial justice programs and trainings are the solve. Don’t tell me that body cameras stop a damn thing. This is about power and class. Fear and loathing. Violence and cruelty. It is inhumane. And it will not change until our banks and brands and the media and our corporations and our politics — the entire system — finds a new way.

When the entire system makes individuals expendable, when it shits on anyone who is not a billionaire, when it refuses to confront its mistakes and change its structures to spread wealth, prosperity, and social well-being across class, race, region, and upbringing, we will keep seeing brutal acts between us. You can frame these acts of horror…