Today was the memorial for our fallen DPD officers.
President Obama and VP Biden came, as did local retiree Bush 43. They had to, but I’m still glad they came. It helps.
I can’t imagine another era, or President, that has had to contend with so much public violence. It must be frustrating, because there’s little that can be done in the world of politics, I think — this seems like a cultural and societal issue, left to the people at-large to work out. Maybe politics has a part to play, but not this week. And not anytime soon. The people of the US have much work to do.
I walked down to the sidewalk at work, and watched the motorcade as it came right down Pearl street past my office. I flipped out my phone to film Obama and Biden roll past, and the the irony wasn’t lost on me: I’m filming something with my phone, a technological device whose role is huge in all these police shootings becoming so public. It makes me wonder if police brutality hasn’t increased, and it’s really just technology in our pockets raising the public consciousness of unjust police actions. Of course today is probably not the time to analyze any of this. The blame ultimately lies with people, no matter what the technology involved shows us.
I walked further down the street, and around the corner to Klyde Warren park. There gathered were people around a large screen watching the memorial. Our police chief Brown has been nothing short of amazing these past few days, and his remarks help.
Our city didn’t deserve to have our national dysfunctions and issues litigated in such a horrific and unjust way, but does any city? Dallas will heal from this.