My mentor, Dr. W.E. Deming used to say, “Put a good person in a bad system and the system will win every time.” The latest cop fiasco with five Black men beating a young Black man to death no doubt has many people either scratching their heads or gloating. Those scratching their heads are trying to understand how it can be that so many officers would beat a helpless man to death. Those gloating are no doubt saying “See, it was Black cops beating one of ‘Their’ own to death.” Still others are saying that if it were White cops, they would not have been charged with anything. The problem with each of these perspectives is that they ignore the system. Police operate within a system. A bad system produces bad results. Let me explain further.
We need to start off by understanding what a system is. Some definitions that work for me are as follows:
1.
A set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network.
“The state railroad system”
2.
A set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized framework or method.
“The public school system”
3.
Deming defined a system as ‘a network of interdependent components that work together to try to accomplish the aim of the system. The aim for any system should be that everybody gains, not one part of the system at the expense of any other’
A friend of mine said that the purpose of a police system is to to protect and serve the public.
Systems can be very complex and difficult to understand. When I was doing my management consulting, I would often bring a large group of senior managers from a company together to chart or map the “system” that they worked in. This was usually a prelude to defining objectives and looking at “systemic” problems more wholistically. That is a way of saying I wanted them to see the big picture. We could do the same thing with any system. In what is a very cursory or limited analysis of a “police” system, I offer the following factors or components. These four factors make up a large portion of the system that police work in every day. I would like to explain each and give my thoughts on how they create the dysfunction that seems to be prevalent in so many law enforcement agencies. ‘
- Authoritarianism
- Exclusion
- Jeopardy
- Fascism
I do not claim that all police systems are dysfunctional. I also do not claim that cops do not have a very difficult and demanding job. There is perhaps no job in America that is more difficult than being a police officer. Nevertheless, parts of the police system while designed to protect officers have been and still are major sources of dysfunction.
- Authoritarianism
There is a saying that “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” I speak from experience that many officers get corrupted by the power that the gun, badge and night stick welds. Growing up on a street corner society, I had my share of run in with cops. I was arrested before I was 18 for assault and battery and for felony larceny. This does not count my numerous other altercations with police for which I “escaped.” When I was young, I used to say that “The only good cop was a dead cop.” Later, my opinion changed 180 percent and I began to appreciate the need for good policing.
The problem though is that in many cases, police let the power that they are given go to their heads. This problem does not exist in isolation from the other factors that I will discuss but it is exacerbated by the tendency for police to think that they are above the law or that they do not have to answer to the public they serve. Many cops take umbrage at being questioned as they act like they have the absolute right to ask questions but not to answer them. How often have you heard in TV dramas the officer say, “I am asking the questions here.” The person who asks the question has the power and is the authority. The person answering is “powerless.” TV is not reality, but it reflects some of the attitudes that exist in law enforcement.
- Exclusion
Cops are for the most part isolated or segregated from the public. The old days of Officer O’Malley walking a beat and talking to kids and neighbors in a friendly demeanor no longer exists. Talk of “community policing” is for the most part a myth or a relic of a bygone age. We seldom see a cop unless we are in trouble, or we need something, or we are watching the 10 o’clock news.
Isolation is not a good thing. It creates an “us-them” atmosphere. We don’t see police as belonging to our neighborhood or as being “friends.” We view them with hostility and suspicion when they knock on our front doors. It does not matter whether they are Black and we are Black or whether they are White and we are White. They knock on our door and we immediately feel threatened.
- Jeopardy
A police officer is in life threatening jeopardy every single moment of every single day. Perhaps, never in history have cops been so threatened. Their lives are on the line twenty-four seven. A cop can be blown away going to a domestic dispute or merely stopping a car to give a ticket or a warning. The proliferation of weapons has made police more vulnerable. The bad guy always gets the chance to shoot first and the cop must give a warning before he/she shoots. It is easy to see why some cops go over the edge and shoot first without asking questions. I do not say that this is justified but how would you like to go out every day not knowing whether or not you would be shot dead by some crazy who had an AK 47 or a AR 15 or a Glock 17.
- Fascism
Before exploring this facet of law enforcement, we need to define fascism. One definition from Wikipedia is as follows:
“Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition.”
Police exist to protect the status quo. There are many who mock the “Golden Rule” with, “Those who have the gold make the rules.” Cops are on the side of the system that pays the bills. They protect the government against protestors, marchers, and often peaceful gatherings of citizens who they think pose a threat to “law and order.” They also protect the government, companies and society against rioters, looters, thieves and not so peaceful protestors.
The major problem with cops is that they are on the other side of the equation when it comes to social upheaval and change. They did not see Civil Rights as a necessary antidote to racism. They did not see the suffragettes as giving women the right and dignity to vote. They often were and still are on the other side of the union-management divide during strikes and labor protests. It would seem to many people that cops work for corporate America and not the citizens of America.
I have pointed out four elements that in many cases define law enforcement to many Americans. There are many other elements that make up the law enforcement system in the USA. I have written several other blogs on this subject. The four elements that I described are the most problematic and I think help to best answer the questions that this blog started with. “How could five Black officers beat a young Black man to death.”
If you follow what I am proposing, you can understand that these five men were “just doing their job” as the system defined it. I am sure that any one of these five men would define virtues that many would call exemplary. I have no reason to think that they were “bad” men wanting to do bad things. Caught up in a bad system, you and I would more than likely have done exactly what they did. You can argue this latter point with me. But in my experiences, I have seen too many “good” people do bad things when working in an environment that fostered either negative, immoral or unethical behaviors.
PS: I watched the video today (Jan 28) of the beating that Tyre Nichols received. At first, I did not want to watch the video. I have seen too many videos of police brutality in the past. They are sickening, sad, tragic and pitiful. I did not think that I could bear to watch yet another one. However, I did. I do not feel that I have the right to comment on such cases if I do not see what has actually happened.
The one thought that I got out of this video was that it could have been YOUR SON, Your FATHER, YOUR BEST FRIEND, YOUR MOTHER, YOU or ME that was on the ground and beaten to death. Tased, Confused, Disoriented, Maced, Kicked, Punched, and Battered, would you have run? Would you have been able to comply with commands screamed at you?
In my next blog, I will offer some ideas that might help to change the system. Changing the system is the only way to change results. Dr. Deming insisted that 94 percent of variations observed in workers’ performance levels have nothing to do with the workers. Instead, most performance problems are caused by the system, of which people are but a part. “People cannot perform better than the system allows”, which he explains in his book, “The New Economics.”
For further thoughts on this subject of police violence, an excellent article that I came across is
There is nothing wrong with being a tourist. I would not think of going to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower or London without seeing Buckminster Palace. Every country has famous places that are “must see” for anyone. However, there is more to “seeing” a country than simply visiting Machu Picchu or The Little Mermaid. That is where being a Pilgrim comes in.
Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year celebrates the beginning of a new year. Chinese New Year is a feast of foods that will make Dim Sum pale in comparison. It is held in January each year and the actual date varies from year to year. Most Chinese communities will have some festivities around this date.
Valentine’s Day: The day we remember our sweethearts. Forget getting a good restaurant on Valentine’s Day. I have foolishly waited until the last minute to book reservations only to find that the best restaurants are usually all booked up. If you wait until after Valentine’s Day, boxes of chocolates and the price of roses will go down. One of our favorite venues for Valentine’s Day was the Glensheen mansion in Duluth. They used to host a wonderful Valentine’s Day Dinner and tour there. Not too often have do we get to eat a wonderful dinner in a famous mansion. You may or may not know why the mansion is so famous. The story is quite intriguing.
Mardi Gras: Crayfish, Jambalaya, Cajun Music, Dancing, and of course purple and gold beads are all symbols of Mardi Gras. The French name Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, from the custom of using all the fats in the home in preparation for the fasting and abstinence that Lent traditionally would bring. I say traditionally since I doubt many Christians pay much attention to the strictures that historically accompanied Lent.
Kentucky Derby: Louisville Kentucky is the home of the most famous horserace in the world. Every year, thousands of people go to the Derby to watch the “Running for the Roses.” Women dress up in their fancy hats and everyone has a bourbon drink called a Mint Julep. The grounds have seen the likes of Secretariat and Seattle Slew.
Demontreville Retreat: Every year now for 39 years I have attended a silent retreat at the Demontreville Jesuit Retreat Center in Lake Elmo Minnesota. What started as a weekend to vacation ended up being one of the most important events in my life. You do not have to be a Catholic to attend this event. The retreat house has been hosting three-day silent retreats for over seventy years now. They host 50 of these retreats every year and they are men only events. They start on Thursday night and end on Sunday night. No one who attends will deny that they are a life changing event. I do not care if you are Muslim, Baptist, Mormon, or even an Atheist, you will find that this event will have a profound impact on your life. It should be one of the World’s Greatest Events.
4th of July Celebration: My good friend Dr. Hana Tomasek and her husband Yara escaped in 1964 from the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia (Now Czech Republic) to the USA. No one in America was prouder of becoming a US citizen. Each year Hana and Yara celebrated the 4th of July with a picnic, barbecue, and a hired music band. The highlight of the ceremony was a speech by Hana on how glad she was to be in America and how much she loved the life and freedoms that this country had given her.
John and Karen’s Anniversary: It is probably narcissistic to list our anniversary as one of my favorite events. Karen and I were married on September 5th, 1989. We did our “honeymoon” earlier that year by going to mainland China for three weeks. We left China a few days before the Tiananmen Square massacre which occurred on June 4, 1989. The protests had already started when we landed in Shanghai three weeks earlier. They closed the airport the day after we left. It was very interesting being in China during this upheaval.
Día De Los Muertos: When we first came down to Arizona in 2008, I had never heard of Día De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead. Upon seeing more of the trappings of this Mexican celebration of the dead, I fall in love with the festival. Unlike Halloween, which is about witches, warlocks, zombies and other hideous symbols of death, Día De Los Muertos is a festival to remember the loved ones in our lives who have passed away. It is a joyous remembrance of death and not something to fear. Traditionally, an altar is created, mementos and pictures of loved ones are placed on the altar. In addition, breads and some pastries are arranged on the altar so that the deceased has something to eat.
I thought about the situation and realized that there must be tickets for the parade as some people got to sit in the review grandstands where the performers stopped and put on a little show. Most parade goers simply observe the parade as it passes down the avenues and streets of Manhattan. I wrote to Macy’s and inquired whether I could buy tickets. I was willing to pay almost any amount for a ticket. They informed me that tickets were not sold but given out to “special” people.
Messiah Sing Along: I do not sing. In third grade, I was in a group of children who were assigned to sing for some reason which I no longer remember. What I vividly remember is being with the other kids and merrily singing out when the “conductor” or teacher who was guiding us suddenly screamed out “Who is making that awful sound?” She pointed directly at me and said “You, don’t sing. Just open and shut you mouth, but I don’t want to hear anything coming out of it.” I have not sung a note since that day. The feeling still gives me goose bumps and shivers. I have never been so humiliated in my entire life. Please don’t tell me to get over it. It is much easier to just keep my mouth shut and let others do the singing. Which brings us to the Messiah.
A few more months went by and one day I decided to come home from work early. As I entered my house, I heard screams coming from upstairs. I went to a desk and grabbed a loaded Colt Commander 45 ACP that I kept ready for emergencies. I feared that Ashley was being attacked by some unknown intruder. I ran up the stairs and into our bedroom. There on the bed was Ashley and one of the young lawyers from my old law firm. They were both nude and she was on top of him riding him like a bucking bronco. What I thought were screams of pain were screams of ecstasy. I had never heard anything like that from Ashley during our entire marriage.
One day, when the old man was out walking, he saw a woman who had been beaten and thrown into a ditch. Around her neck, was hung a sign which said “Beware, Witch.” Without even a slight hesitation, the old man ran to the ditch to see how he could help the woman. He gave her some water and bread that he had on him for lunch and tried to bind up some of her wounds by ripping up his cloak. She looked at the old man with compassion and said “No one is ever kind to me, but you have been. I have this monkey’s paw that I would like you to have. It will grant you three wishes. However, be careful. Be very careful. Wishes can often result in things that you do not really want.” The woman handed him a gnarled dried up old paw and bidding a farewell, walked on down the road. He put the paw in his pocket and walked on to his home.
When the old man arrived home, he told his wife what had happened. She immediately asked to see the paw. Upon, looking at it, Marie said “Shall we try it.” The old man laughed and said, “You don’t really believe in such magic, do you?” “What do we have to lose,” said his wife. So they both picked up the paw and together made the following wish: “We wish we had enough money to never have to worry about food or clothes or other necessities for the rest of our lives.” They waited and waited and suddenly both began to laugh. Such foolishness and they were silly enough to think that it might be real.
They went to bed feeling sad, miserable, and as unhappy as any two human beings could be. Later that night, they heard a scuffling coming up the path to their door. It sounded like something was being dragged. A knock sounded on their door, but they were both too afraid to move. A voice cried out “Mom, dad, it is Eli your son. I have come back. I am alive.” Almost too happy to describe, they bolted for the door. Upon opening it to let Eli in, they recoiled in horror. Eli did not look human. His skin was in tatters. His legs and arms were mere bones. His face was a skull with bits of skin and dried blood hanging off it. “Let me in, I have come back from the grave. You have summoned me. Let me in.” 
So now we come to the real issue. You wanted to know if there actually might be a method for losing weight “without even trying.” My answer is YES! But there is even better news. I will send you the secret strategy for my quick weight loss “Without Even Trying” plan that I have developed for only $9.95 plus postage and handling. I will give you a money back guarantee that in six weeks or less, you will lose twenty pounds “without even trying” or I will send you a full refund. This offer is good for only thirty days after you read this blog and it will then expire. The following stipulations also apply:
Aging Capriciously 