--- Judge, Jury, Executioner (2020) from a comp that didn’t happen (2020) ---

- Words:
Block out the life plea
Your system gives power
And takes freedom
Opinions are now “proof”
Public interest in blood
One man murdered another
But was not born a killer
He was trained and taught

Judge, Jury, Executioner

Smoke seen without eyes
Guilt is stratified
The process established
The procedure ignored
Fair trial saved for fair skin
Black lives shattered
Building the man to be “a man”
Teaching the cop to be “a cop”

I can’t breathe – You won’t breathe
You wont talk, your guilt was pre-defined

/

- Explanation:
How many more deaths do there need to be before citizens scrutinize not only the frontline and very visible prejudice and brutality but consider how this problem runs much deeper?
There is something to be said about how attitudes, egos and perspectives ingrained in the training and selection of people in uniform that allows for ethical and moral boundaries to be crossed with an arrogance that comes from an inflated sense of authority. There is also a toxic narcissistic view of identifying who is in the wrong and what is justifiable. Any job that involves judgement calls of any kind of course is difficult and it is easy to criticize from afar. However, when this appears to resemble a god complex-like domination of others to an extent that their safety and even their lives are at risk based on little evidence, this is extremely problematic.
For some this is simply the nature of any form of authority and it can’t be any different, back in reality where this isn’t going away any time soon. It is important (in my opinion) not to become apathetic and simply disengaged from this. It feels like it is taking the easy and ineffective option to just sloganeer and wait for utopia. Our world is not this utopia and so any challenge to these traditions of murder and any means to challenge oppressive practices (large or small) are so important to avoid a situation where more ground is lost.