At what point did we collectively decide that widely releasing video footage of police beating and murdering civilians was a good idea? We’ve reached a point where news outlets are counting down the hours until these snuff films are released publicly, like it’s some sort of blockbuster film and not a murderous moment that’ll be engrained in our memories against our will.
Police in cities across the country braced for protests by rolling out war machines, heavy weaponry, and mounting up on horseback to remind protesters who has a monopoly on violence. The officers who kidnapped and murdered Tyre Nichols were part of a “special police unit” allegedly designed to prevent crime inside of the Memphis Police Dept., which receives $275 million every year and takes up 38% of the city's entire budget. This special task force “Scorpion”, which stands for “Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods”, is yet another in a long line of ominously-named, brutal and criminal gangs of police. Imagine a world where 38% of a city’s budget doesn’t go toward murdering its citizens, truly post-acopalyptic.
Always remember that before Tyre Nichols’ story was well-publicized, the initial police press release of the fatal encounter said that he, “complained of having a shortness of breath”. In reality the video shows pigs punching him several times, kicking him in the head and chest multiple times, and pepper spraying him. Never forget that the people tasked with “protecting and serving” us will gladly kill us and lie about it.
Side Items
Shooting in Illegal Settlement: A Palestinian gunman killed seven people in an illegal Israeli settlement on the outskirts of Jerusalem yesterday. The attack took place near a synagogue in Neve Yaacov, an illegal settlement in occupied East Jerusalem, where people were gathered for Shabbat evening prayers. According to the white house, President Biden reached out to Israeli prime minister Netanyahu, "to discuss the horrific terror attack" and "made clear that this was an attack against the civilized world." No word on when he’ll reach out to Palestinian authorities regarding the 30 dead Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces so far this month
Another Mass Shooting: At least three people were killed and several others wounded in a shooting in Los Angeles early this morning. The shooting took place in an upscale neighborhood, This is the fourth mass shooting in California this month. In 2022, for the third straight year, the U.S. recorded over 600 mass shootings in which at least four people were killed or injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive. It’s like we’re trying to break our own record or something
Fun fact of the day: Turns out Ben Kingsley wasn’t actually being racist when he played Gandhi in the classic 1982 film, “Gandhi”. Kingsley was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji, the son of an English mother and a Gujarati father, and was raised in England. All this time I thought it was quite audacious for a white guy like Kingsley to play one of the most famous non-white guys in history, but alas, I was mistaken