Baton Rouge vs Dallas

In the aftermath of the terrible shootings in Dallas, several figures - including the Dallas Chief of Police and the mayor - have done very well in how they handled the political ramifications of the attack on Dallas police.  Namely, they downplayed the politics.  They treated it as a crime and the perpetrator as a criminal.  Most importantly, they understood that the peaceful protesters were citizens of Dallas and potential victims of violence, too.  Several cities have done similar good work in making sure that protests don't become violent, even if there are provocative acts within a small number of the protesters.

And then you have Baton Rouge.

One would have thought that a singular lesson of Ferguson was to avoid having your mostly or all white police force look like an occupying army.

One would have been wrong.

It does seem that some on the Libertarian Right are willing to engage on the issue of the over-militarization of our police force.  But the Authoritarian Right - as typified by the GOP nominee - is more than cool with this.

Again, it goes back to the intersection of racism and too many guns.  

But our salvation as a nation is only going to come when we stop treating our own population as the enemy.