Col. William Astore (ret.) takes a look at the police and military in America

William J. Astore
BRACING VIEWS

The Police, the Military, and the Ethos of Violence

Another deadly police shooting of a black man led to this Wendy's being torched in Atlanta.  The Atlanta police chief has resigned.

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Here are ten thoughts that have occurred to me lately.

1. Police are a nation within a nation (“the thin blue line”), with their own flag, their own uniforms, their own code of conduct, maybe even their own laws.  How do we get them to rejoin America?  How do we get them to recall they're citizens and public servants first?
2. Our systems of authority, including the presidency under Trump, serve themselves first.  They all want the same thing: MORE.  More money, more authority, more power.  And they all tend toward more violence.  And because racism is systemic, much of that violence is aimed at blacks, but it's aimed at anyone considered to be fringe or in the way.
3. We need an entirely new mindset or ethos in this country, but the police, the military, the Congress, the president are all jealous of their power, and will resist as best they can.  Their main tactic will be to slow roll changes while scaring us with talk of all the "enemies" we face.  Thus we already see Trump hyping China as a threat while claiming that Biden wants to "defund" the military -- a shameless and ridiculous lie.  Meanwhile, Biden is against defunding the police and proudly took ownership of the crime bill that created much of the problem.
4. We used to have a Department of War to which citizen-soldiers were drafted.  Now we have a Department of Defense to which warriors and warfighters volunteer.  There's a lot of meaning in this terminology.
5. Even as the police and military are government agencies, publicly funded, they are instruments of capitalism.  They protect and expand property for the elites.  They are enforcers of prevailing paradigms.
6. It amazes me how cheaply one can buy a Washington politician.  You can buy access for a few thousand, or tens of thousands, and get them to dance to your tune for a few million.  This is capitalism, where everything and everyone can be bought or sold, often on the cheap.
7. Doesn't it seem like Washington foreign policy is dropping bombs, selling bombs, killing people, or making a killing, i.e. profiteering?
8. America always need a "peer enemy," and, when necessary, we'll invent one.  America is #1 at making enemies -- maybe that should be our national motto.
9. Too often nowadays, "diversity" is all about surface or "optics."  Thus the call for Joe Biden to select a black woman as his running mate, irrespective of her views.  Thus we hear the names of Susan Rice and Kamala Harris being mentioned, both mainstream Democrats, both servants of the national security state, pliable and predictable.  But you never hear the name of Nina Turner, who was national co-chair of Bernie Sanders's campaign.  She's an outspoken black progressive, and that's not the "diversity" Joe Biden and the DNC seek.  Or what about Tulsi Gabbard, who has endorsed Biden?  Woman of color, extensive military experience, lots of appeal to independent-minded voters.  But she's an opponent of forever wars and the military-industrial-congressional complex, and that's "diversity" that cannot be tolerated.  So we're most likely to see a "diverse" ticket of Biden-Harris or Biden-Rice, just like Hillary-Tim Kaine, i.e. no progressive views can or will be heard.
10. One secret of Trump's appeal: He makes even dumb people feel smart.  After all, even his most stalwart supporters didn't drink or inject bleach after Trump suggested it could be used for internal "cleansing" to avoid Covid-19.

Bonus comment: Can you believe that those who worked to suppress protests in Washington, D.C. compared their "stand" to the Alamo and the Super Bowl?  Talk about Trump-level hyperbole!  Here's the relevant passage from the New York Times:

On Tuesday, during a conference call with commanders on the situation in Washington, General Ryan, the task force commander, likened the defense of Lafayette Square to the “Alamo” and his troops’ response to the huge protests on Saturday to the “Super Bowl.”

Mission accomplished!  What's on your mind, readers?  

William J. Astore, a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF), has taught at the Air Force Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School. He currently teaches at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. He is regular contributor to TomDispatch and also the author of Hindenburg: Icon of German Militarism (Potomac, 2005).

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— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) April 9, 2020