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Jack DeVine

Sometimes we wonder why two very similar events can lead to very different outcomes. When that happens it’s a dead giveaway that not everyone is playing by the same rules.

Two news releases on the same day last week serve as a perfect example. On Tuesday morning, we learned that the police officer who shot and killed an unarmed victim in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis, had been arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. Later that day, we learned that a police officer who shot and killed an unarmed victim during the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., would not be charged with any crime.

The earlier release was regarding Kim Potter, a 26-year female veteran police officer who, while attempting to subdue and arrest a young Black man named Daunte White who’d been charged with a weapons-related felony, mistakenly discharged her sidearm instead of her taser. It was a momentary but tragic error that dominated national news and triggered weeks of rioting in several U.S. cities.

The second press release involved the fatal shooting by a capitol police officer of an unarmed white woman named Ashli Babbitt, one of those who forced their way into the Capitol building on Jan. 6. The shooter’s identity is known but has not been publicly released. While it was not an imminent life-threatening situation, the Department of Justice reported that he or she may have been acting to protect others and that in such a chaotic circumstance, an officer’s misjudgment or error is not criminally liable.

DOJ’s decision to press no charges in the Babbitt shooting evoked barely a ripple of interest.

And so: two police shootings, under tragic circumstances, leaving two dead victims. One of the shooters is publicly disgraced, in financial ruin and facing years in jail. The other is officially held harmless, shielded from public identification and presumably will receive the Congressional commendation awarded to the U.S. Capitol Police for their valiant action on Jan. 6.

Why the opposite outcomes?

The obvious answer is that both events are inextricably linked to the broader political narratives – let’s call them "big lies," to use the now-popular term – in which the good guys and the bad guys are pre-determined.

One is the narrative of systemic racism, the notion that our nation is consumed by deep-seated racial hostility that drives every aspect of American life – the original sin that still flourishes, infecting public institutions, our education system, even our transportation network. It’s the one-size-fits-all explanation for all that’s wrong with America.

In the systemic racism narrative, white police officers consciously or unconsciously target and routinely murder unarmed Black people. In that narrative, a Kim Potter whose action takes the life of a Black victim, regardless of circumstances, is immediately presumed guilty and must be punished. The resulting public unrest and attendant violence are unfortunate but understandable.

The other narrative is the one that posits domestic terrorism, and particularly white supremacy, as the single greatest threat to American liberty. We need look no further than the supposed armed insurrection of Jan. 6 in which a frenzied mob very nearly toppled the U.S. government. That’s why Washington, D.C., has been turned into an armed camp, with National Guard troops on duty 24/7 to keep future insurrectionists at bay.

In that narrative, any who took part in the January assault on the capitol were criminal invaders, and the capitol police who blocked the way were heroic defenders. In that narrative, a 5-foot, 2-inch 35 year-old female U.S. Air Force veteran, who responded to what she interpreted as a patriotic call to action – however misguided – is an unfortunate casualty.

Within these two narratives, the near-daily riots in several cities warrant only passing news coverage. A CNN reporter interviews a protester carrying a can of soup – an obvious missile to be hurled at police – which he smugly displays with a dramatic wink to the camera, explaining that "it’s for my family." Meanwhile, the FBI is still tracking down and arresting Jan. 6 rioters (410, so far), charging some with carrying “lethal weapons” (flag poles, cans of bear spray) with criminal intent.

Yes, the two narratives are rooted to some degree in truth. There is racism in America. There are violent extremists on both left and right. But the degree to which we have allowed these storylines to be packaged and sold in the public square like Netflix serials – and worse, to dictate public policy and judicial actions – is frightening.

The two episodes outlined above may seem relatively unimportant – they’ve already been superseded by more recent events. But they are tangible, real-life microcosms of a broader problem deserving serious attention.


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