From the earliest days of its inception, America’s infrastructure and economy has been built on the back of black labor. America’s systems of government upheld for centuries a wealthy white class that solidified power by further dividing people along lines of race and religion. The task of law enforcement in America has long been the task of enforcing mundane and downright unjust laws. The implementation of these laws, and programs like America’s War on Drugs were intentionally designed to suppress political opposition to the ruling class. Often, that opposition came from African Americans and other minority groups. 

The powerful interests in America recognized long ago the threat that a united population would pose to their economic interest. After Bacon’s rebellion, slavery was cemented as the heart of the American economy. The elite were able to divide the rest of the population by convincing whites of a racial “supremacy” to mask the true supremacy that wealth had created against the interests of the people. Slavery was barely opposed until the economic argument of Free Soil convinced enough whites that they too might benefit from its abolition.

The process of dividing the people along racial lines continued through the decades, targeting not only African Americans but also Asian Americans, people of Hispanic origin, Muslims, Irish Immigrants, and even Jews fleeing the Nazi regime. Always, these strategies were intended to reduce the political and economic power of these groups and keep control in the hands of the wealthy, by instilling extreme xenophobia in the voting base, then convincing them that their stringent policies were the only salvation to these “external” threats.

The War On Drugs is one of many programs with this goal, and it’s been extremely effective. The propaganda machines of private interests and even government organizations vilified drug use, particularly marijuana and LSD, and linked the use of drugs in the minds of the white middle class to progressive ideologies and African-American culture. Extensive programs began under Nixon, who used this association as a way to suppress the antiwar left and minority communities. With that accomplished, it became easy to use the police to actively disrupt and intimidate these groups, painting them as violent criminals while politicians spouted “law and order” rhetoric. 

This mentality permeated deeply into the minds of American police for a number of reasons. The largest is the militarization of the police. Police forces have long been prioritized in local budgets, especially in recent decades. Worse, the donation of military surplus equipment has bolstered the mentality that police officers are soldiers fighting a war. Officers are trained to see everyone, especially African Americans, as a threat, an enemy, instead of someone in need of help. What it means to “defund the police” is to divert unnecessary funds from “protecting” communities, into programs that actually serve them. 

Fear is the most powerful tool in politics. It’s been used by those in power for centuries to keep their populations obedient and predictable. The greatest threat to all the special interests that govern the United States is if the people recognize their collective interest in holding the government accountable, at all levels, to unite against the establishment of both parties for the greater good of everyone, and to realize how achievable true justice could be. They don’t want us to see it, because they’re afraid too. They’re afraid of losing power, of being held accountable for all the atrocities we’ve seen and all the atrocities we haven’t, and they should be, because change is coming whether they like it or not.