So through this discussion, we have already gone so far as to establish that the use of criminalization to justify the killing of individuals is a direct opposition to both American and biblical values in Pt. 1. How does this act of criminalization, which has become a common aspect of current society, oppose those values?
First, the concept of criminalization attacks the general morality that human beings are supposed to stand on to operate as a civilized society. Criminalization is the final lasting concept that allows for the dehumanization of people and for their essential indentured servitude. As human beings, we should work within humanity to maintain the safety and sanctity of all individuals, regardless if they commit crimes or are accused of committing them. If the purpose of labeling some a criminal is rehabilitation, as often is cited by civilized countries, then why is the aspect of dehumanization included which reduces criminals and former criminals to the lowest rungs on the economic and societal ladder? This societal "death" exists not to rehabilitate but instead to ignore, constrain, and eventually, kill those who commit crimes in order to protect "higher class" citizens.
The religious interpretation, a primary argumentative aspect in the first piece of this article, is deeply ironic in consideration of what many tout religion to be and one of the essential values that many people cite when discussing their religions: peace, happiness, love, protection - the good of the world. Christian religion boosts the good of the world onto many, but the concept of criminalization works opposite of these concepts which many believe apply in Christianity. The Bible tells the story of Moses and the Israelites in Egypt, some theorize, to be an opposition against slavery, but how can this explanation be maintained when those who are incarcerated for committing crimes are forced to work for what is essentially nothing. Therefore, I only have one challenge to Christian conservatives. Do not try to dehumanize those who are murdered at the hands of police brutality or who die by any other hand by insinuating that they deserved to be killed for allegedly committing a crime, committing a crime, or formerly having committed a crime.
The perspective of an individual deserving to die due to their committing a crime is in direct opposition to both the structure and values that America is supposed to sit on but also to the way in which America was founded. If you think about the significant events in the American revolution, the future America people were in violation of both common and British law. The Boston Tea Party could easily be considered destruction of property. Or even trespassing, as Trayvon Martin was thought to be doing before he was murdered by George Zimmerman. The very act of the United States rebelling in itself would be considered treason, a crime that is often cited as punishable by death. Conservative American values, therefore, should work opposite of the justification of the killing of criminals rather than working with as they have done in the past.
The purpose of this article is to dismantle the argument of criminalization or demonization of an individual as a basis for killing them, an explanation that often appears after the unjustified killing of a black person, but the principle of dehumanization of criminals is one that can be expanded to many more issues than just that of police murder. The elimination of this thought pattern that those who have done bad deserve continual suffering is a step that can be made toward the betterment of humanity.
R.I.P. to Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Korryn Gaines, and the many others who have been victims of police violence.
