When members of a military attempt to overthrow their own civilian government, it is called a coup. When journalists, educators, academics, and judges oppose the policies and views of sitting government officials, it is democracy at work. As the Turkish President retaliates against 50,000 Recep Tayyip Erdogan critics in the wake of the July 15th coup, democracy is no longer at work in Turkey. It is simply a superficial means of legitimizing his continued rule as he uses an unlikely coup against him to consolidate and solidify power across Turkey under a state of emergency. The Turks may fear the brutality of a military dictatorship, but Erdogan is just as much a threat to them.
With that in mind, Western governments must decide for themselves if continued cooperation with the Erdogan government actually serves their interests. Erdogan may have been democratically elected and he may still enjoy support from a majority of the Turkish people, yet it is the Peoples of the West who must be decide if they still wish to do business with Turkey under the leadership of a man like Erdogan. In democracies, no decision is ever final and policies are embraced based on the sustained support of the People. At this time, the Peoples of the West are watching Erdogan’s response to a coup and they see something is amiss.
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Governments that support, or simply overlook, race-based discrimination foster a lack of social cohesion, a lack of representation, abuse, and all around improper governance. As such, racism institutionalized by the Law and the criminal justice system cannot be tolerated. A legacy of racism, however, places black Americans in dysfunctional communities where they are more likely to commit or become the victims of violent crimes. This is why reoccurring tragedies, such as the Dallas Police Shootings and the Baton Rogue Police Killings, as well as the Philando Castile Killing and the Alton Sterling Murder, provoke massive protests and heated public debates on racism.
Unfortunately, racism is alive and well throughout the entirety of the world. Although Westerners tend to think of racism as discrimination between whites, blacks, and browns, racism goes far keeper than skin color. White Europeans may be have overcome their racial divisions with political institutions like European Union, but prejudice against the Roma, Polish, Irish, Jews, Italians, Germans, Spaniards, Greeks, and others can be found across the developed world. In places like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, the racism of the brown peoples is most apparent where socially and legally enforced caste systems ensure racism is thoroughly institutionalized. This is a special edition from The Washington Outsider.
The Friday, July 16, 2016, coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan failed to garner sufficient military and popular support to morph in a sustainable campaign. In announcing a so-called “Peace Council” had seized power in Turkey, the perpetrators of the coup issued a statement saying they had acted, because the Erdogan government had "eroded" democratic and secular rule, which is true. They intended to draw up a new constitution as soon as possible, maintain public order, guarantee freedom of all citizens, regardless of religion, race and language, and impose (presumably temporary) martial law. Despite the expressed intend to reclaim democracy for Turkey, the cultural trauma of past coups compelled the Turkish People to lash out against those responsibility for the coup. Although public opposition to the coup, and the rebels' largely nonviolent retreat, ensured its end, Turkey’s political problems are far from over. Quite frankly, Erdogan is to blame for this cup attempt. Despite efforts by Erdogan and his supporters to frame the coup as an attack on democracy and its defeat as a victory for democracy, Erdogan’s survival as President is as much, if not more, of a threat to democracy. Proper governance and prosperity-fostering social stability requires a criminal justice system that is responsive to the needs of communities, consistently effective in addressing criminal threats, and applied in an evenhanded manner. Even under the influence of authoritarian regimes, people must feel they are better served by following the rules instead of rejecting that power, which requires some degree of consistency and security. For more democratic societies, where proper governance balances the interests and freedoms of all through transparency and representation, all must face the same consequences. In short, justice is required.
Justice is the social institution that ensures an individual constrains his, or her, actions for the benefit of the whole by offering some guarantee his, or her, most pressing interests will be addressed by society. When society fails to adequately address the interests of individuals, it is the innate desire for justice that drives communities and individuals to demand offenders attempt to address their offending grievances and offer some sort of restitution for their actions. Justice is what we need to feel the rules of our society are worth following. It is when we feel violated and unheard or we lack choice that we feel the world is unjust. Police Shootings: Law Enforcement and National Security Officials Must Protect and Serve Communities7/13/2016 The US, as well as the rest of the rest of the developed world, can lead on the national security and law enforcement challenges of the Twenty-First Century. Under threat, it is easy to embrace the “police state” mentality that prioritizes security over freedom. Instead of indulging the impulse to “militarize” community police and erode basic rights that guarantee human dignity, however, the US needs to confront modern threats, such as terrorism in the homeland and cybercrime, through policies and practices that modernize the peacekeeping mission of the police.
Cop killers and killer cops, including those involved in the recent examples of the Dallas Shootings, Philando Castile Killing, and the Alton Sterling Murder, reveal a growing divide between law enforcement and the communities they are supposed to serve. The manner in which police approach members of the community as presumed threats demonstrates how the police fail to support members of the communities most in need of help. Criminals are broken, dysfunctional members of their communities. For the sake of these individuals and their communities, they need constructive intervention from community leaders, such as the police. |
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April 2020
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