We Must Normalize Interacting With Police-Neither Deference Or Reflexive Criticism

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​Today at the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest, we had four HPD units watching us. We had 36 people at today’s Week 438. You see our team today above. (The John Cornyn Houston Office Protest is each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr. ) 

That’s fine with the police. The officers are not there to bother us. Everyone is an individual. We don’t make any assumptions about what anybody is thinking.

What was a bit frustrating today, was that the officers were talking to the guy the building where the Cornyn office is located sends out each week to watch us, and not interacting with us. That happens sometimes.

Senator Cornyn’s staff merits protection. They don’t need protection from us because we are not messing with them. But I’m certain they get all sorts of phone calls. We merit protection as well & we should be seen as Houstonians engaged in productive conduct.

We called the officers down to our protest today and come and talk to us. You see them in the 2nd picture.
Here is what we said to the officers:

* It is Senator Cornyn who looks the other way at right-wingers who storm the Capitol and attack cops.

* Most Houstonians did not support Cornyn at the polls. We are the mainstream in Houston.

* Things we’ve had thrown at us are lit cigars, potatoes, eggs, a softball and batteries. We are not a problem. I could have also mentioned the 21 times we’ve coal-rolled by big pickup trucks. I forgot to say that.

* I bet the 36 people at this protest vote in every election, use turn signals and return library books on time. These are really law-abiding people in contrast to the felon President.

* You should come down here and see we are people like anybody else. We stand out on this hot corner because our rights are being taken away. The majority of lives are over at our ages and still we stand on this hot corner with people throwing stuff at us.  

We must normalize interacting with police officers. We don’t need to be overly-deferential and we don’t need to be reflexively critical. We have a right in our own cities, to be seen as people proceeding as best we can to retain our freedom and to stop the cruel white-supremacy of the right.

There is a lot of trouble ahead. The Trump people are fully serious about suspending civil liberties. We must meet the challenge ahead.

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

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