On the topic of the current revolution, here are some new things I’d like to share.
Things to act on
These are proposed Pennsylvania state government policies that I hope local people consider supporting. It’s not very exciting, but one of the best ways you can do this is to tell your local legislators they are important to you, and ask them to vote in the bills’ favor. I think these proposals are weak — mostly reinforcing existing policies — but they’re what we’ve got right now.
- House Bill 1841: Would require employers to disclose information on applicants to law enforcement agencies as part of the hiring process; and create a database (accessible only by law enforcement agencies) containing police officers’ separation records, which include charges, complaints, and disciplinary actions against the officer.
- House Bill 1910: Would require police officers to undergo more training on the use of deadly force, de-escalation tactics, and implicit bias; and to undergo PTSD screening after using lethal force.
- House Bill 1664: Would stipulate that police may use deadly force only when an officer needs to “protect himself or another from imminent death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat.”
- Senate Bill 459: Would require municipal police departments to adopt a use of force policy and to train officers on it, and to report use of force events to the state police.
- Senate Bill 1205: Would stipulate that police officers may use chokeholds only in situations when the use of deadly force is permitted.
Thing to look at
These photos were taken this weekend at Lancaster Central Market, a thriving farmer’s market that’s important and dear to this city:
I think the photos (the clown face edit is mine, hehe) can speak for themselves. It’s a pathetic and sad sight to see, but most of all, it’s dangerous. I’ve seen several people describe how the man is wearing this semi-automatic weapon in a way that would make it relatively easy for his gun’s “safety” measures to be disengaged, and cause him to shoot a child at his waist height.
UPDATE (08/06/20): The man above, Andrew Josiah Goslin, was arrested on a number of charges stemming from an incident yesterday. He tried to use the gun pictured above to murder police officers.
Thing to read
Well, it’s not a thing. It’s one of the most heart-rending and important op-eds that have been published in a newspaper, IMHO. (I’ve lost faith in the NYT’s editorial section, but good on them for publishing this.)
“You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument” – by Caroline Randall Williams, a poet and author:
I am a black, Southern woman, and of my immediate white male ancestors, all of them were rapists. My very existence is a relic of slavery and Jim Crow.
…
I am proof that whatever else the South might have been, or might believe itself to be, it was and is a space whose prosperity and sense of romance and nostalgia were built upon the grievous exploitation of black life.
The dream version of the Old South never existed. Any manufactured monument to that time in that place tells half a truth at best. The ideas and ideals it purports to honor are not real. To those who have embraced these delusions: Now is the time to re-examine your position.
– Caroline Randall Williams
Words For Friends 