The largest takeaway for me in this section has been the police. I never realized that the traditions of policing in America have never changed. The Chief of Police is in charge of local law enforcement, the Sheriff is in charge of state law enforcement, and the director is same name used for both state and federal law enforcement. Titles have power and that power, whether policy has been changed or not, reinforces the ideas of the status quo. Police were founded on the idea to keep the races separate. From there the tradition of being a law enforcement officer is focused on the same thing until we start including police in the conversation around anti-racism.
The second largest takeaway is this idea of fear. Fear has been on my mind since the the death of George Floyd. Everybody is scared, but I hold that it is what you do with that fear that defines you. Some of us have used that fear to drive our passions for anti-racism. Others have used that fear to instill fear in others. Many have been so afraid that they will remain silent. However, her point about some BIPOC speaking out about "this not being about race," or debunking the different movements going on around the country, makes me think a lot about people knowing where they stand in the social order. There are people who are so afraid of losing what they have gained in the social order, that they will defend just as vehemently their place in it to ensure that they don't lose any more ground. It's almost like oppressive Stockholm Syndrome. These are all my thoughts. I am not an expert or know the statistics surrounding any of this, but it is what I think about when it comes to speaking up for BIPOC.
