Thoughts on Breonna Taylor and What Happens Next

Things are awful in Louisville. But not necessarily the apocalyptic end we predicted.

As you peruse social media, the internet, and even your e-mail, note that you’re being fed information that a computer thinks you want to see and has established you’ll respond to. The more you seek out certain points of view and information, the more that becomes the world you see online. The computer is smart enough to feed you stuff based on what you and others like you have liked in the past and the present. It’s not smart enough to fact check it or tell you if it’s a reliable source.

It’s tough for me to speak up because I have family and friends who are police officers or support them behind the scenes. In my heart I feel that what I know of these people means they are the “good guys”. I know it’s not an easy job when you see the worst humanity has to offer, but I like to think that these people I know respond with compassion, a desire to deescalate, and a cool head.

What is clear to me is that it is time to do a serious examination of the culture, policies, procedures, hiring practices, and more of the LMPD and the local justice system. That examination must be thorough and have a plan for change that is carried out, monitored, reported on at regular intervals, and adjusted based on findings.

And if we’re going to give police the “a few bad apples” defense, we need to recognize that the same is true in Louisville’s West End, and that our city has some serious systemic flaws that have marginalized the people who live there, which creates challenges that those of us who live in the suburbs with access to full time jobs, benefits, transportation, childcare, inexpensive and readily available groceries, and more do not have.

Seriously addressing these issues requires us to step away from the world where our thinking can be continually reinforced and hardened by outside forces. It requires an empathy for a world that is not our own and listening to things we don’t really want to hear said. We need to take what we see, hear, and experience through our opened eyes and push for change and action.

Here’s hoping that this is the catalyst for real change in Louisville, and not just another bandaid we use in hopes that it goes away.