Are we done yet?

Are the holidays over? Is 2014 over? Good. I'm happy to say goodbye to both.

The internet is filled today with blog posts and news stories about how awful last year was. "Good riddance" seems to be the mantra. But though I'm happy to see it gone, I don't think 2014 was awful. Sure, ugly people continued to do ugly things; that's what they do. But I'm pleased that the issue of racism in America has come to a head. If it hadn't happened now, when would we deal with it? Ten years from now? Fifty? The time for change is right now. And for this, I am thankful.

Something tells me the protests against police abuse will continue -- as will the police murders of innocent people of color. But soon we'll reach a breaking point, a moment when real change seems necessary to all observers. Of course, the trend could turn negative and go in the other direction -- in which our country would be lost, probably forever. But I don't hold Americans in such low contempt. Decent people will not let this issue go. It's time for change and Americans of all colors will demand it.

So I'm hopeful about the coming year. It will be incredibly tiresome, in that Hillary and all the other exhausted practitioners of old-style politics will be positioning themselves for election, and saying and doing stupid, meaningless things. But hey, that's the way we roll in this country. Nothing in politics has to make sense anymore. The Republicans (and lilly-livered know-nothing "Democrats") made sure of this. Common sense is now a rare visitor to our Congress and Supreme Court.

But something else is happening: the American populace is waking up. Gays are getting married all over the place. Transgender people are finally seeing their stories enter the mainstream. Black people are not taking it when police try to rough them up or abuse them in any way. Religion is losing its hold on young people. And longtime immigrants in this country are finally being shepherded into citizenship. And hey, just about anyone can get health insurance.

Will something go wildly wrong this year? Probably. Putin is feeling intense pressure and he would love an excuse to play with his nukes. China is trying to shut the internet (and communication in general), much to the consternation of its people. And of course, Israel is still being Israel, and Muslim extremists are still killing everyone they meet. There are so many situations that could ignite.

But human rights are finally coming to the fore. The whole world now knows that the United States tortures people, lies, snoops, employs a militarized police force largely composed of white racists, and starts spurious wars for monetary gain. This means it won't only be American citizens who push for a return to the rule of law in the US; there will be many other countries insisting that we right the human "wrongs" that everyone can clearly see. With everything that's going on, even the Bush/Cheney in-crowd is probably feeling nervous. International Court, anyone? It's time the US was hauled before that body.

These are interesting times where just about anything could happen. But I'm hopeful. How about you?

Booman's excellent idea

Booman has a great post up today about the NYPD's latest tactic, which is to do nothing. They're not arresting anyone or doing, you know, their jobs, because their lilly-white feelings are hurt. Aw, you just wanna grab an NYPD cop and hug him right now, don't you? I'm kidding, of course. They're showing themselves to be irrational, childish, resentful and hateful. They don't want to interact with the community, they want to arrest it (or at least slap it around).

Booman wonders if this might backfire on them:

So your brilliant, devious plan is this: you’re going to show the people who believe that the NYPD is full of power-hungry bullies and paramilitary goons what for by displaying to the country exactly how most of the collars you make are in fact wholly unnecessary exercises of petty microagression towards the citizenry you hold in open and rancorous contempt.

Okay then. Go with that plan, guys.

Booman's idea is to check the stats later on. Did traffic accidents increase? Were there more robberies and other crimes? Or is this plan going to show NYC that the police don't need to harass the citizens to do their jobs?

Remember, Eric Garner was murdered for selling loose cigarettes. There is absolutely no reason for the police to stop a poor person from making a few cents by selling cigarettes that he bought and owns. This is part of the poverty economy and it's been around for decades. To attack it is to attack poor people (who are often people of color).

Maybe it would be better if the police spent their time working on, you know, actual crimes. I hope this racist move ends up running over the PBA and all the white racists on the force. As Booman suggested, perhaps their hours need to be greatly reduced -- given the fact that they waste most of their time on harassing people of color.

Fun notion. Let's see what comes of it.

What digby said

Anyone who fails to read digby each day is missing out. Here she is on the NYPD:

I continue to be stunned at these police officers' lack of maturity and professionalism. I understand that they're upset at both the protests and the shootings of their fellows in NYC and that's fine. But their antics in the face of criticism proves in living color what we see in so many individual incidents: they don't just want respect, they want submission.

Uh-huh. And they ain't gettin' it. Not now or anytime soon. I think we're experiencing the Golden Moment. It's hard to see these things when they're happening, though they're readily visible in our rearview mirror. Truly, I don't think the protesters are going to stop until there is tangible change in police/community interactions. I believe that this is the Golden Moment, the instant when real change occurs. Cops have to alter their M.O. or they will be despised by all decent Americans.

Let's see if they're up to the challenge. As to the protesters, I think they're grand. I especially love the response many gave when asked about their willingness to keep protesting despite Mayor de Blasio's request that that they stop until the funerals of the two police officers are completed.

Paraphrased, this is their response:

"The world didn't stop when our loved ones were gunned down by the police without cause. We will keep on marching."

Good for them. They didn't kill those police officers; some nut did. There is no connection. Please, please let this be a real Golden Moment. Change has to come sometime. Why not now?