In recent weeks, there has been a deluge of headlines about white individuals calling law enforcement on people of color for what can only be described as their nonthreatening behavior.
These instances illustrate that the racial strife that the nation faces could be more complicated than people think, and tied in some cases to progressives using their politics to rationalize sending the police after their fellow citizens.
One of the most notable stories is that of Yale student Lolade Siyonbola. Another graduate student, Sarah Braasch, called campus police on her simply for sleeping in their dorm common room.
Another occurred in Oakland, Calif., where a black family had the police called on them for barbecuing in the park. The complainant, Jennifer Schulte, actually called 911 because they were not in the proper area for charcoal grills. What followed was a three-hour ordeal with the police that probably ruined everyone’s day.
These two encounters with police could have easily been avoided if not for the callers’ voracious need to police others.
These women seem to have a lot in common. Both are highly educated, holding multiple degrees. Braasch is on track for a philosophy doctorate at Yale while Schulte has one from Stanford University. They also espouse progressive politics that have coerced government to enforce their doctrines.
Braasch, a secularist feminist, advocated for a ban on burqas for Muslim women. Braasch wrote a piece entitled “Lift the Veil, See the Light” in which she recalls her activism in France where she organized for the ban and compared Muslim women deciding to wear burqas to past African slaves who chose their bondage.
The Humanist site has since taken down Braasch’s writing but the article can be found here through the archive website. Braasch’s feminism advocates for the state to penalize Muslim women simply for their choice of clothing. This demonstrates a willingness to police individuals and limit rights of other women on the grounds of religious differences.
Schulte is a senior project manager on air quality for Environmental Resources Management according to reports, and is described online as a climate change specialist and recognized expert in air quality and emission estimation. Might Schulte’s passionate views on climate change prompted her to involve the police when she saw a black family grilling with charcoal?
Progressive feminists have also turned to their beliefs when calling on local officials in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Madrid to fine men for crimes of manspreading. Undoubtedly, such policies have or will led to the targeting of young minority men of low economic status. And don’t forget that every interaction with law enforcement has the potential to become deadly.
Progressives seem divided over police along racial lines. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that white liberals have a more favorable view of law enforcement compared to their black political allies. A solid 71 percent of white Democrats view the police warmly or somewhat warmly compared to just 32 percent of black Democrats.
Progressive policies routinely contribute to unnecessary police confrontations. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky had a point when he blamed Eric Garner’s death on the unreasonable tax prices of cigarettes in New York. Garner, after all, was killed during an unreasonably forceful enforcement action against bootleg cigarette sales. Because of the high taxes, people like Garner were selling individual cigarettes on the black market. The unreasonably violent enforcement action risked run ins with police. Without high taxes, Paul argues, Garner wouldn’t have had that fatal encounter.
Whether Braasch or Schulte were racially motivated in their actions is a hard thing to prove. There was nothing in their behavior that demonstrated racial animosity. But their progressive ideology guarantees there will be more unnecessary confrontations between minority men and the cops, and they were more willing to demand the presence of authorities to enforce rules that relatively trivial. The desire to boss others around can be fatally detrimental.
Abdi Mohamed is a conservative activist and cultural commentator in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He works to engage Muslim and immigrant communities to support liberty and conservative minded policies on the local and national level.
