Black protesters are not ‘enemy forces’

The latest revelation about emails within the Missouri National Guard that refer to those protesting the killing of a black teenager by a white police officer as “enemy forces” and “adversaries” is an appalling example of the kind of racial problems that exist in the relations between many police departments and communities, and which must be addressed immediately.

{mosads}Let’s be clear: The overwhelming majority of protesters and police are good, honest, law-abiding and patriotic Americans. But too many of the guys with guns, who often happen to be white and policemen, kill too many of the guys without guns, who often happen to be black and usually, but not always, young.

These cases are proliferating almost daily, with new examples of bad deeds and racial tensions that could well bring a long hot summer.

Let me repeat what I wrote last week: President Obama should convene a national summit meeting that include black community representatives and national civil rights leaders, police officers and police unions, religious leaders of all denominations, commanders of the National Guard and bipartisan members of Congress. They should all meet for two to three days and leave their meetings with a program to improve training for police, provide full camera capabilities for all police departments and begin an urgently needed reconciliation to restore mutual confidence and respect between the police and the community.

Black protesters are not enemies of the state. Period. End of discussion. That kind of language should never be used and that kind of thinking should never be thought in the America that is a broad community based on mutual respect.

And on the subject of mutual respect and civility, Republicans in the Senate should end their unconscionable obstruction and confirm Loretta Lynch to be the next attorney general of the United States.

Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was then chief deputy majority whip of the House. He holds an LL.M. degree in international financial law from the London School of Economics. Contact him at brentbbi@webtv.net.