by Mark Wakeman
In the 33 years that I lived in Munich, Germany, I often was asked what Dachau was like.
Dachau, a town about ten miles northwest of Munich, has the dubious distinction of being the first concentration camp established by Hitler’s ever stronger government led by the Nationalsozialismus, the National Socialist German Workers Party, abbreviated as NAZI. It was opened in 1933, and was a detainment center for political prisoners, later expanded to hold Jews, Germans, and Austrian criminals.
While it was never one of the “Death Camps“ that came into existence later, there were 32,000 deaths officially noted. For thousands, it was the penultimate stop on their life’s journey, before being transported to one of six extermination camps.
Auschwitz-Birkenau, with it’s infamous “Arbeit Macht Frei “ welcome over its entrance, is the best known of them.
When asked, my reply was always the same, “I don’t know, I’ve never been there.” I then explained that my reason for not going there was that I didn’t need to see it, there was enough information readily available to satisfy my curiosity without having a morbid fascination about it.
I knew about the Kristallnacht of 1938 when the windows of Jewish businesses all over Germany were smashed. There are no Holocaust deniers in Germany. The rise to power and the hideous abuses perpetrated are the most powerful example of the misuse of power reigning unchecked, and still makes one wonder how something like that could ever happen.
The answer is actually quite simple. They let it happen. No one lifted a finger to stop Hitler.
There are many similarities between then and now. If you turn on your television, you, too, can watch it happening. The tragic murder of George Floyd was just the latest and most egregious act in a long line of despicable behaviour by the very people we have entrusted our safe keeping to.
A combination of factors including the Covid-19 plague, the worst unemployment rate since the Great Depression, and a string incidents one after another like the killing of Ahmaud Abery for the crime of being Afro-American, the threatening with the police of a peaceful birdwatcher in Central Park , and finally the murder of George Floyd, finally has blown the lid off of the pressure cooker that our country has become, instead of the once venerated “melting pot“ it once was.
The world has watched in disbelief and repulsion as our nation convulses with reaction. Many of them have also taken to the streets to show solidarity with us, and to decry the injustice. We, as a once proud and respected nation, a bastion of morality and fairness, are on trial in the eyes of the world. We must change, and now, for the better, should we hope to ever regain respect.
We hear the laments of many that the good police are being treated unfairly by being included in the same category as the bad police, and it’s not right. I agree it’s not fair to judge the thousands and thousands of good law enforcement officers with the rotten apples wearing a badge. It’s also not fair to judge innocent and peaceful demonstrators with the few violent vandals who have a different agenda than to protest.
What to do? The system that allows the Derek Chauvins to do their dirty deeds has to be overhauled, starting at the top. When Donald Trump’s first presidential pardon was for Joe Arpaio, a sheriff whose deputies practiced discriminatory acts against immigrant with his blessings, it sent the message to the entire law enforcement community that they could do whatever they wanted, Trump had their backs.
The incident in Minneapolis was botched from the start, no arrests at first, an autopsy with erroneous conclusions, and institutionalized reluctance to recognize the culpability of all involved. This abhorrent situation can only be rectified when the powers-that-be realize that, thanks mainly to the technological advance of cell phones recording crimes as they happen, their actions are no longer sub rosa, but could well be viewed by millions within a matter of hours.
The African-American communities, and other minorities, have lived with this threat all of their lives. The double standard in ubiquitous use must end, that we may again establish a just society. The heel-dragging, the dismissing as trivial acts by the police that would land others in jail, the turning a blind eye to obvious wrongs, can no longer be tolerated. The police must know that they will be held accountable for their actions, and swiftly, not days afterwards.
Potential lawbreakers can be arrested and held in jail for up to 72 hours, in order for any evidence to be examined and to determine if there is sufficient cause to file charges against someone. If no charges are filed within 72 hours, the prisoner must be released. Charges may be brought at a later date after further examination, but 72 hours is the maximum one can be held without charges being filed.
If, in situations such as the Floyd murder, the involved officers were put in jail immediately pending investigation of the incident, there wouldn’t have been so much rage. Other cops could actually arrest them on the spot, instead of standing by and watching.
Cops, standing by doing nothing while a man is murdered in front of their very eyes. The message to the bad cops: No more acting as if your badge gives you immunity. If you commit criminal acts, you will be treated as a criminal, the same as everybody else.
Police should have to take a psychological exam before being given a gun. Applicants should have their social media screened for apparent biases.
Which brings us back to Dachau. How did it happen? It was allowed to because nobody tried to stop it. What will happen to us, if we don’t do something against this system’s flaws? Complacency is tantamount to giving tacit approval. We are supposedly equal in the eyes of the law.
You can do something. Demonstrate peacefully, protest evil acts, threaten your congressman/woman with voting against him/her. Make a donation to one of the many organizations that are trying to effect change. Something. Anything.
Or join the ranks of the enablers who stood by and watched, while our country dies.
Nicely written, Mark. I thank you for this.
How many days can you be held in Germany after being detained? I’m sure Jewish German citizens didn’t have a voice in the matter as they were being dragged to the camp trains.
If you can find a better, more just nation than the United States, you may want to move to your Nirvana.
I agree with the peaceful protesters and they can march and demonstrate all they want. George Floyd was murdered. He was handcuffed -why didn’t they just put him in the police vehicle? The police involved have been arrested and will be dealt with
But to the Antifa rable rousers throwing bricks, breaking into and looting stores, a show of force and will is the only deterrent to these low life scum.
Thats a good question. Who will hold bad cops accountable?
In this case, maybe the City of Minneapolis? A city that has been run by 100% Democrats since 1967 (except for 2 days). It looks now like that’s a “no”.
We have a rogue cop with multiple prior excessive force complaints kneeling on a man’s neck in a sickening 8 minute video while 3 other cops assist him or stand by and do nothing. The nation has an issue with rouge cops. George Floyd unfortunately had an interaction with one and died as a result of this cop’s callous and sociopathic actions.
I have not heard a single person from anywhere on the spectrum support or defend the actions by police in this video. The “cop” that murdered George Floyd had a history of complaints and was employed by a city 100% run by Democrats for over 50 years in a State run mostly by Democrats.
Liberal logic spun by social media hysterics has somehow twisted George Floyd’s death into being caused by President Trump and everyone that voted for him. Under massive pressure, millions have nealt down in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Those that have refused or questioned this have been silenced, fired from jobs, threatened and labeled white supremacists by an insane cyber mob mentality that can only be compared to Nazi Germany. The far left in America that I was taught were the bastion of tolerance, liberty and free speech has morphed into an ugly, fearsome bulwark of intolerance and pure unadulterated hate. It seems now that the far left is simply incapable of grasping concepts resembling dissent or debate of any of their ideas.
The Democrats that employed Chauvin didn’t hold him accountable prior to him being videoed murdering someone. It seems clear now that maybe they didn’t really want to hold him accountable. Based on subsequent events, it seems they want the entirety of American society, innocent business & property owners but mainly white people to adopt and take responsibility for him instead. So far the cost has been riots, damage, injury and death, mainly to innocent African Americans while liberal Mayors and Governors have allowed chaos and violence to reign in cities across America.
Hundreds of millions of Americans of all races see this outrageous and illogical nonsense for what it is and in November the left is going to see how horribly they have miscalculated this strategy when they have to face another 4 years of President Trump.
You said:
The African-American communities, and other minorities, have lived with this threat all of their lives. What threat? Being held accountable for their actions? Doesn’t everyone have to live with that?
Are you saying that police do not go into work with the fear of knowing that they might not return to their families at the end? This movement has changed from a fight for equality to a support of violence against police. Have those that are supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement even looked at their website? I support that Black Lives Matter (but the actual mission of the Black Lives Movement is different). People have their blinders on, they can only see what the media wants them to see. Why does the media make everything about race? It’s always this white person did something to this black person. They do not specify or report when it’s white vs white, black vs black, or if a black person does something to a white person.
You also said: The police must know that they will be held accountable for their actions, and swiftly, not days afterwards.
They do know they will be held accountable and they are. I’m not sure what more people want?
Another statement you made: Police should have to take a psychological exam before being given a gun. Applicants should have their social media screened for apparent biases.
These statements prove you are making assumptions without knowing what you don’t know. They are giving psychological exams. Their social media is screened. There is in fact extensive backgrounds completed – they speak face to face with parents, friends, teachers, and colleagues of the applicant. They dig as much into someone’s background as they can in an attempt to make sure they are fit for the job. Do bad ones still weasel in? Obviously! Or, they change after doing the job for years and seeing and dealing with the worst in people. It makes it difficult for some to understand that even though almost everyone you come in contact with is bad, not everyone in the world actually is. If every dog you met growled at you or bit you, wouldn’t you start to think that all dogs must be like that? One could also argue that’s what people are saying about police, that they’ve only ever dealt with bad ones. How often do you really come in contact with police? Unless you are breaking a law?
I remember in elementary school learning from teachers and my parents that the police are your friends. They are there to help you, protect you, they are the good guys. African Americans admit that they teach their children the exact opposite! What do you think that’s doing?
Police are so disrespected now and scrutinized it makes it hard to hire good ones. The pickings are slim. They only need an associates degree and go through an academy – only the top ones are even considered, but even some of those are not really what departments want. But, what do you expect to get when you are asking someone to take a job where you will be hated, spit on, yelled at, punched, and possibly killed defending/protecting those same people that hate you.
Bottom line, there is not racist police – there is racist people (and some happen to be police, teachers, cashiers, business owners,……). Police are NOT the problem. People need to work with police, not against them.
What the officers in MN did was inexcusable. As you stated, nobody is saying otherwise. They are being held accountable for that. Do we even know if it was out of racism? This probably would have happened if Mr. Floyd was white. However, we would have never heard about it.