Nuance, not race.

It has been an interesting few days. Over the weekend, I watched the story of a hit piece on Yale Law Professor, Amy Chua unfold. On April 8, 2021, she shared a letter alleging that she was being victimized by Yale administrators based on false allegations that she hosted dinner parties in breach of COVID-19 Guidelines. Then, news of Caron Nazario, a US Army Lieutenant who was pepper sprayed at gunpoint during a traffic stop for not having a licence plate spread like wildfire. The story of Daunte Wright being shot after he resisted arrest and attempted to escape police custody completed the unholy trinity of occurrences that have bewildered me. On their faces, all three of these stories seem unrelated, but a common thread connects them. That is, identity politics. I find it all intellectually lazy.

In Chua’s case, she took to Twitter on Saturday to say that the Yale administration did not expect her to fight back as an Asian-American woman. She provided no evidence of racially motivated hate, and stated her unsubstantiated sentiments boldly, as if any questioning of her narrative would be proof of the thing alleged. In the Nazario and Wright cases, Black Lives Matter activists predictably took the opportunity to “peacefully protest” (the well-known euphemism for “riot”), all based on the unsubstantiated presumption that the men were treated the way they were because of skin colour. What’s more, looting is being described as “material liberation” and as usual, the bad behaviour of hooligans is being justified by those plagued by the bigotry of low expectations.

Whenever baseless assertions about racism are thrown about, they rob the persons alleging mistreatment of credibility. In my view, Chua’s situation raises a major issue of a breach of confidentiality perpetrated by the Yale administration, which ought to be independently investigated. Yale has a lot to answer for in their treatment of her. Her eagerness to weaponize her race, however, made me wonder whether there was merit to the allegations raised against her. If there are no skeletons in one’s closet, then sticking to the pertinent issues should be the best move. Imputing racial malice to persons without providing evidence of it would be a lazy jab and a grab, not even at low-hanging fruit, but at fruit already on the ground. That kind of personal debasement is telling of how entrenched identity politics has become in the US.

As regards Lieutenant Nazario, an opportunity to address the very real issue of the US Police’s use of force presented itself. This useful discussion is being drowned out by the race-baiters who thought it necessary to mention that Nazario was an Afro-Latino, despite no evidence of racial motivation in the body cam footage. I am of the opinion that the officer who pepper-sprayed Nazario and his dog was belligerent. I am of the opinion that he was a textbook a-hole. I am of the opinion that he was power-hungry. I have no evidence that he was racist. Further, he has since been fired. The other officer, who seemed reasonable in the circumstances, seemed to be of lower rank than his loud counterpart and he complied with orders while still attempting to assist Nazario with his compliance. Hitting Nazario, pepper-spraying him for no obvious reason, and making him lay on the ground when he was pulled over for a missing licence plate? UTTERLY UNCALLED FOR! Nazario is suing and justice will be served, based on the evidence presented to the judge. The chips will fall where they may.

I think that Wright’s case is different. In the body cam footage, he very clearly resisted arrest. He also clearly attempted to escape. They were aware of a warrant for his arrest for possession of an illegal firearm, and so his detention was lawful. The officer who shot him shouted “Taser! Taser! Taser!” before firing her weapon. She expressed complete shock and regret immediately after she realized what she had done. I think it was an honest mistake, but honest mistakes can also be reckless. Reckless, fatal mistakes are called manslaughter. Manslaughter is a crime, which, if proved by evidence, can result in jail time.

I do not think that someone who could so easily mistake a gun for a taser should be carrying either of those weapons, as her fitness for office would be very clearly compromised. I also do not think that the officer did what she did because she hated black people, as is the narrative that is being pushed. Had it been her black partner— the person initially arresting Wright— what would have been the narrative?

All in all, I think that neither race-baiting moaners nor trigger-happy cops should be held up as beacons of society. More so, at least in the case of the latter cohort, they are not representative of their groups. Failing to acknowledge that causes unnecessary strife and social degradation. We must approach everything with sobriety of mind, fairness, and basic sense. We have all spent too long thinking tribally, and cities are burning because of it. I think conversations between reasonable people are long overdue.

Long live reason!

Aďdendum: After watching this video of the Nazario detention, I can understand the officers’ perspective a bit better. The belligerent officer seems more reasonable.