Me in all my glory |
Shortly after that, while playing defense, I tore a muscle in my calf landing me on the couch for a week straight and keeping me on the sidelines for a month (so far).
Of course, in 10 or 20 years (probably 30), once my football days are over for good, you probably won't hear a lot about that pair of catastrophes. Instead, you'll most likely hear about the two touchdowns I caught earlier in that game. Or even more likely, I'll tell you about that 90+ yard interception return for a touchdown I had earlier this year, during which that picture to the right was taken.
Howard Zinn (right), arrested for not wanting to kill innocent people. |
I was recently reminded of this particular tendency of human nature to remember things much better than they actually were when a friend of mine mentioned to me that he once thought Anarchism was "way out there." However, now he was beginning to reconsider because of all the instances of police brutality and abuse he's seen recently. In particular, he was shocked by the recent arrests of members of Food Not Bombs in Orlando for the "crime" of feeding hungry people. Specifically, because it was the "locals" that were doing the arresting.
A lunch counter sit-in at a North Carolina Woolworth's |
Unfortunately, these memories are nothing but illusions or at best selective memories. In many ways, the cops have indeed gotten worse. By way of standardized training and selective recruitment with a heavy tendency toward veterans and/or people with aggressive personalities, the modern police force has become much more nationalized and militarized. As a result, they are more willing to use force in any given situation and less likely disobey illegal or immoral commands.
The inevitable response by the State's enforcers. |
As the saying goes, the cops are the tip of the State's spear and the tip is the part that does the real damage. To believe otherwise is to forget the truth of what really happened and create a fantasy world based on those glory days that never really were.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Leave Your Two Cents: