I hoped in context the sheriff’s actions would be less bizarre, but nope. Still really, really weird. Are the police really so fragile that they can’t handle scrutiny and free speech? (However awful that speech may be, the police really should have thicker skins) Does the sheriff need a safe space where people won’t ask him questions about things?

People can deny all they want, but each of these incidents- which might have been innocuous on their own!- adds up to one big pile of prejudice. You can’t look at the statistics - the many studies done showing that black children are more likely to be punished for the same infractions their white peers commit, that force is more often used in arrests against black people- and pretend that something isn’t seriously wrong with American society.