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July 25, 2018 Page 13 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. O PINION Tragedy of Mixing Guns and Racism son later cited the official reason for the confrontation: Augustus was “exhibiting characteristics of an armed person.” Uh, he was standing there, be- ing part of the community. Yes, there was a bulge by r obert C. K oehler at his waistline, indicat- In Illinois, as in all the ing the possibility that rest of the states, it’s le- he was carrying a gun. gal to carry a concealed But this is where it gets handgun, unless you’re confusing. This is Illi- at a ballgame or in the nois, a concealed-carry library or a number of state. Why did that fact other designated public places. But one of those places is alone set a police confrontation in not the corner of 71st Street and motion? Jeffery Boulevard, in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood. You mix guns with racism, and stir in some law and order, and it gets very confusing. The one thing that’s not con- fusing is that Harith Augustus, a 37-year-old barber, father of a little girl, who lived and worked within a few blocks of that corner, is dead, shot by a police officer in And yes, it turns out he was the midst of a needless confron- tation — and in utter violation of armed. It also turns out the gun the Chicago Police Department’s was legally purchased. But ap- own alleged policy: to respect the parently Augustus lacked a con- cealed-carry permit, which of “sanctity of human life.” Police shoot another black course the police had no way of man, spark community rage, fur- knowing in the moment. I am not defending the fact that ther destroy all trust and continue to behave not as protectors but he was carrying a handgun, or sug- as an occupying army. God bless gesting that someone “exhibiting characteristics of an armed person” America. What happened was that Au- might not seem to be a threat to gustus was standing at the corner, public safety. Certainly I am not minding his own business, on Sat- defending the omnipresence and urday afternoon, July 14, when of- easy availability of guns in Amer- ficers confronted him and a scuffle ican culture, the lack of legal con- ensued. A department spokesper- trols over their possession or the Needless confrontations destroy all trust unshakeable belief among many Americans that guns are necessary for self-protection. I’m just stuck on the obvious racism of the mat- ter: Harith Augustus committed the offense of carrying a gun while black, and that reason alone is why the police confronted them. And he received the death sen- tence. As he struggled with the of- ficers and tried — unwisely — to flee, he was shot multiple times. As Mary Mitchell wrote the next day in the Chicago Sun- Times: “. . . this shooting once again raises questions about how Why do they act as though their mission is to intimidate rather than to serve and protect? Why are there so many police shootings of black men, women and children? The answer is obvious. This is the way it has always been in the United States of America. Officer Friendly’s clientele are white peo- ple. People of color … well, ini- tially, of course, they were slaves or “savages.” This hideous stigma never quite went away. The U.S. legal system has always been at least partially in the control of rac- ists, who are incapable of defining The U.S. legal system has always been at least partially in the control of racists, who are incapable of defining order as anything but us vs. them. police officers are engaging the communities they police. “Did the officers who confront- ed Augustus even have a clue that he was known in the community as a barber, not a troublemaker? Maybe if that were the case, their approach would have been less confrontational.… “Why can’t a black man, who isn’t bothering anyone, walk down the street in his own neighborhood without being accosted by police?” In other words, why do the po- lice patrol communities of color as an outside, occupying force rather than as part of the community? order as anything but us vs. them. Certainly this is the way it is in Chicago, where I live. In re- cent years — in the era of the cellphone video — the city has drawn lots of unwanted attention to itself because of its violently aggressive policing in black com- munities. Following the national controversy over the 2014 shoot- ing of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager who was shot in the back 16 times as he ran from a police officer, the city launched a task force to look into its police prac- tices, concluding that “the Chica- go Police Department’s own data showed a lack of respect for black lives, particularly when choosing whether or not to use force.” As a result of the task force find- ings, and the eventual involvement of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Chicago Police Department announced that it would update its “use of force” policy so that didn’t disregard the “sanctity of life.” How nice. And how mean- ingless. The police video of the Harith Augustus shooting shows lots of authoritative contempt and fear present during in the encoun- ter — lots of business as usual — but no evidence of anything resembling respect for Augustus’s life. Apparently this is not some- thing that can be instituted by bu- reaucratic decree. In the wake of the tragedy, Chicago Police Chief Eddie John- son defended his officers, noting: “These things happen at a split sec- ond and officers have to make deci- sions quickly. They don’t have the luxury of looking at video later.” I have no doubt that this is true, and do not blame the officers for their action. I blame a closed-in, us-vs.-them job description. They came into South Shore much the same way U.S. troops enter Iraq: armed and fearful, not part of the community but “in control” of it. When you mix guns and rac- ism, tragedy is inevitable. Public safety begins only when you’re free of both. Robert Koehler, syndicat- ed by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and ed- itor. Why I Got Arrested (and You Should, Too) Standing up for democracy s aurav s arKar In his famous essay “On Civil Disobedi- ence,” Henry David Thoreau explained why he went to jail in 1846. He said he re- fused to pay taxes to a government that was pursuing the extension of slavery. To support such a govern- ment, Thoreau argued, was to be complicit in its worst deeds. With this essay, Thoreau helped inspire the modern tradition of civil disobedience, his footsteps followed by Gandhi, Martin Lu- ther King, Jr., and many others. This summer, I joined that tradition by getting arrested for by demonstrating without a permit at the United States Capitol — along with about 100 oth- ers from the Poor People’s Campaign, including Rev- erend William J. Barber II. The arrests were part of a larger wave of nonviolent civil disobedience over six weeks that resulted in about 2,500 arrests of clergy, activists, and poor people across 40 states and Washington, DC. As we marched up to the Capi- tol to face a line of police officers, we chanted and sang songs about our intentions: “Everybody’s got a right to live.” “I went down to the Capitol and took back my digni- ty.” “Before this campaign fails, we’ll all go down to jail.” The chants and songs helped us stay connected and calm in an anxiety-inducing situation. I met marchers from Maine and Washington State as we shared cigarettes and stories of our back- grounds amid the mild tension. The campaign’s goal is to draw attention to the voices and situa- tions of the 140 million poor and low-income people who make up 43 percent of the U.S. population. Almost half us! We’re hoping that the arrests and other actions will help begin a mass movement. The truth is, our political, eco- nomic, and social systems are bro- ken — and most Americans know it. Three individual people have as much wealth as the bottom half of the country, and most of the latter can’t withstand a $400 emergency without going under. The police are shooting black people like Antwon Rose with abandon, and getting away it. The president is hell-bent on incarcerating families in camps at the border, including young chil- dren, and the U.S. is sleepwalk- ing through wars in at least seven mostly Muslim countries. Oh, and climate change is about to literally destroy human civiliza- tion. Without intervention from the American people, our government is going to drive us off a cliff. And so people are taking action. Of course, getting arrested isn’t right or safe for everyone. But you don’t have to get arrested to make change. All over, people are tak- ing action in other creative ways. For example, members of the Democratic Socialists of America publicly shamed Homeland Secu- rity Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in Washington, DC while she was eating at a Mexican restaurant. The Red Hen, a Virginia restau- rant, refused to serve White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Both of these tactics gen- erated widespread discussion, all without a single person getting arrested. Whatever it is, we’ve all got to do something, or else we’re going to be in a lot more trouble than a $50 fine and an arrest record (which is what I got). So what are you waitingfor? Check out poorpeoplescampaign. org and take action. Saurav Sarkar is the research coordinator for the Poor Peoples Campaign at the Institute for Pol- icy Studies. Distributed by Other- Words.org.