Don’t be a Pilgrim; be an American
I am Michael Wood Jr., police management expert, scholar, veteran, retired Baltimore police, and creator of Civilian-led Policing.
I know it is not a comfortable discussion but, we have to talk about what these people with the white nationalist ideas are not the real enemy.
See, there is a system in place and we can argue about why this is, but in the end result, all the wealth in this country is being gathered in increasing reaches of society, not the 1% or the .1%, it is getting to the point of the .01% and .001& owning all of the wealth in this country.
A lot of this is rooted in a concept known as white supremacy, and I think it is wrong to view it as that. At this point in time, maybe we should call it elite supremacy. Most members of the white community, most “whites,” are members of the oppressed classes themselves and this is expressed by things right now such as the level of poverty among whites and of the decreasing life expectancy of the white community.
These members of society representing white nationalist view points, at this point in time, they really are losing. What they are becoming, well becoming and realizing they are members of the oppressed classes as well. They are feeling the effects of what everyone else has been knowing the whole time. Of seeing the elite crush down on us and this is a result of elite supremacy, we have to remember that.
Part of this system of elite supremacy puts in multiple layers of classes and divisions to get us to fight on another and maintain those classes. The most sinister methods within elite supremacy to fuel this division among the oppressed is the allure of rising out of the oppressed classes by donning a uniform and a badge and becoming one of the enforcers of elite supremacy.
From the very first policing in America, the primary mission has been:
The creation and maintenance of oppressed classes and then the extraction of wealth from those classes in order to fund their own oppression.
Why is the number 2 thing:
The protection of elite property over the lives of the oppressed classes.
Along the way, that required the third thing:
The continued genocide of the Native American People.
(As police) you get a decent income and you get a world where the laws don’t really apply to you either.
There is no justice in our unjust system. Solutions will not come from within the construct of the system. It is not designed for solutions. It must be disrupted from the ground up. We must recognize that justice does not equal revenge plus equality. It is not an eye for an eye. We must not be fighting to become the oppressors. We must fight to end oppression.
This starts, right now, in your household, in your family, in your neighborhood. We’re not each other’s enemy; we’re not.
To expose and close the doors on those who try; To strangle and mangle the truth; ’Cause the circle of hatred continues unless we react; We gotta take the power back — Zach de la Rocha
Michael Wood Jr. is a police management scholar who after spending a career in the USMC and Baltimore Police Department, took to dismantling the blue wall of silence and creating the pathway to reform; a model called Civilian-Led Policing. His fight for justice has included leading the historic Veterans for Standing Rock action in December of 2016, listening to the front lines of Black Lives Matter, opposing money in politics, and elevating the voices of others. You can find Michael in hundreds of media appearances, from HBO’s Fixing the System documentary with President Obama, to The Joe Rogan Experience, to published opinion pieces in The Guardian and Baltimore Sun, and everything in-between, where he furthers the discussion on criminal justice systems and institutions, and the needs of society.
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