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Resisting arrest shouldn’t be fatal; Martin Schulte, Jr.; Beaver County Times; December 9, 2014. Editor’s notes for previous letters asserted “The writer is a former resident of Midland.”
I critiqued four previous letters from Mr. Schulte (here, here, here, and here). In one letter I did not critique [“A ‘remarkably backward’ letter,” 11/28/10 (no longer on the BCT website)], Mr. Schulte described himself as a “liberal.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“In response to a terse victim-blaming letter about Michael Brown and Eric Garner: Those resisting arrest do not instantly die as a result of their violation. It took police brutality to kill those two people. Resisting arrest is typically a misdemeanor offense, as well. Supposedly. Not summary execution.”
[RWC] I think the “terse victim-blaming letter about Michael Brown and Eric Garner” was “Don’t resist arrest.”
“Police brutality” didn’t kill Michael Brown. Cigarette taxes killed Eric Garner. Other than the tax aspect, since I don’t have all the info about the Garner case, I don’t want to comment until I do. That’s how I handled the Brown case.
“Would you want to live in a world where the police can kill you with impunity, just for lack of compliance? Who would you trust with that kind of incredible, corrupting power over your life? That’s not the Midland I grew up in, but then again, if it really was like that, would I even know? No, probably not. By accident of birth, of skin color, I wouldn’t know either way, and don’t have to care.”
[RWC] Mr. Schulte doesn’t tell us if he committed a crime, was ever arrested, and, if so, if he resisted arrest. Also, since he thought it mattered, Mr. Schulte should have disclosed his “skin color.” Without this info, this paragraph is worthless.
“The privileged don’t have to care -- but we should. Anyone who claims to value human life should. Anyone who cares about justice should be outraged at this fickle corruption of the system. And anyone who! prizes freedom would demand release from this sort of tyranny.”
[RWC] Mr. Schulte apparently considers himself “privileged.” Why? If “Anyone who cares about justice should be outraged,” it should be at the shoddy reporting we received in the Brown and Garner cases.
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