The recent events in Seattle, Washington confuse me. Apparently a group of civilians protesting have taken over part of the city and claimed it as their own. They have claimed that it is no longer a part of the United States. They seem to be engaged in an exercise of self-rule without police and authorities. They are calling the area CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) and they have a police precinct as part of their captured territory.
I have seen the police chief say she did not want to abandon the police station there, but was ordered to by the city leaders. The mayor of Seattle keeps doing interviews making it sound like everything is fine and people shouldn't be worried about the situation. Trump sent some angry tweets, saying they needed to get control or else he would send in the military. The mayor responded that it would be illegal for Trump to do so... and it's been going on for days now.
I'm confused. I guess I was raised to believe that we lived in a society in which this type of situation would be unacceptable. I didn't think people could just decide to rebel and create pockets of anarchy. I have always assumed force would be used to stop this sort of thing. I expect the police and/or federal backup to go in guns blazing and retake areas.
Remember the novel The Outsiders and the idea of "suicide by cop" from decades ago? Apparently these days, the police are trained to not use lethal force. Ever? Are they never supposed to use lethal force? When is it justified? I suppose the big disconnect in my mind is that I was always taught to believe that lethal force would happen. Maybe that's not what people have been taught in the latest generation as they have grown up. I expected to be put down if I rebelled. People today don't seem to expect that anymore.
In the meantime, I decided to read some books that may at least help me better understand the racial tension in our society today: How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo.
Also, be careful because the coronavirus numbers keep going up.
Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!
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