Speaking from Warsaw, Poland, President Barack Obama insisted “America was not as divided as some have suggested,” speaking in the wake of the July 7 lone-wolf massacre that killed five Dallas police officers, injuring 14 others. After the police shooting deaths of Alton Sterling July 5 in Baton Rouge, La. and Philando Castille in St. Paul, Mn. July 6, Obama said America had real problems with its “criminal justice system,” implying one set of rules for whites and another one for blacks. When Barack says “America was not as divided as some have suggested,” it’s hard to know whether he’s talking about race relations or the state of Washington political divide between Republicans and Democrats.. Since signing Obamacare March 23, 2010, Obama burnt his bridges with Republicans, making it almost impossible to pass any bipartisan legislation over the last six years.
Faced with a string of white vigilante or white police officer killings, Obama expressed himself about race relations in America. When 16-year-old Trayvon Martin was gunned down Feb. 26, 2012 by 29-year-old neighborhood watch-guy George Zimmerman, Obama said Trayvon “could have been me” 35-years ago. Obama expressed strongly his views about race in America, especially the biased and unfair way blacks were targeted by white law enforcement. Two years later, New York Police Department’s Staten Island police officer Daniel Pantaleo choked 43-year-old Eric Garner to death July 17, 2014. Obama vowed Dec. 8, 2014, the day as Staten Island grand jury decided to not prosecute Pantaleo, “he’s not going to let up” pursuing, with former Atty. Gen Eric Holder, equal justice for all, insisting the system unfairly biased against blacks and other minorities.
Less than a month after Garner’s death in Ferguson, Mo., 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot Aug. 9, 2014 numerous times by 28-year-old Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, confronted after stealing a pack of Cigarillos at a local convenience store. When riots broke out Aug. 11, 2014, the country braced for what looked like widespread racial protests. Eyewitnesses claimed that Brown’s hands were up when Wilson opened fire, putting a bullet in the top of his head. When a grand jury refused to indict Wilson Nov. 24, 2014, Obama commented again. “I join Michael’s parents in asking anyone who protests this decision to do so peacefully,” adding, the grand jury’s decision carries the “rule of law.” Six months later, Baltimore police arrested 25-year-old Freddie Gray April 12, 2015, inadvertently killing him April 19, 2015 transporting him in a police van. No Baltimore police have gone to jail.
When 25-year-old Dallas cop killer Micah Johnson slaughtered five officers July 7, injuring 14 at a peace rally for Alton Sterling and Philando Castille, the race issue reached the breaking point. Whether or not Johnson was unstable, he took the law into his own hands, retaliating for what he saw as extreme police brutality against African Americans. Before killing Johnson with a robotic-explosive device, he told Dallas police he wanted to kill white people, especially white police. When he wouldn’t surrender peacefully continuing to fire on the police, Dallas Police Chief David Brown decided to take Johnson out. Hoping to quell more violence, Barack pleaded with the black community to refrain from more violence. All sides need more “empathy and understanding,” said Obama. “That’s the spirit we all need to embrace. That’s the spirit I want to build on.”
Whatever the reality, the public thinks race relations in America have deteriorated in the last eight years. Trying to mend fences is late in the game for Obama, deciding to cut his last European trip short by one day. Once the Dallas shootings occurred, Obama sung a different tune, reserving more “empathy” for law enforcement around the country. “Even as officials continue to look into this week’s tragic shootings, we also need communities to address the underlying fissures that lead to these incidents, and to implement those ideas that can make a difference,” said Barack referring to poor relations between police departments and the African American community. Outrage on 24/7 cable news over recent police killings, both hosts and pundits, was at an all-time high before the Dallas slaughter. Toning down the rhetoric after the Dallas massacre was already too late.
Obama must take the lead for the entire nation, not just what he thinks is an oppressed minority community. Watching the Dallas police slaughtered by a deranged sniper should remind the country that acts mass murder can never be tolerated in an sane society. Instead of opining about the state of the U.S. criminal justice system, Obama needs to remind the public that there are many reasons for officer-involved-shootings, not just racism. When an officer pulls the trigger, it must be a last resort, not just in perception but in reality. Many of the police shootings have little to do with racism but bad judgment by officers no longer fit for duty or, at the very least, to use a firearm. Outraged officials, like Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) inflame racial tensions when he warns, if he doesn’t get gun control, “it’s going to be a long hot summer.”
