White people who fetishize the military and the police seem to be cut from a cloth. They confuse me, especially when they talk about how they stand for liberty and freedom. To try to invoke the police to control your child? That either takes things to a new level or it just clearly illustrates what's going on.

I served 8 years in the military, and I knew exactly what freedoms and liberties I was giving up to do so. Jesus, I was practically committing a felony by existing in the military with a security clearance I had to lie about to receive, had to claim to be straight and never have sex with men.

I had to deliberately push back against paternalistic control just to serve. I understood good order and discipline and the importance of the chain of command, and I existed well within that framework, but it didn't define who I was as a person, and I understood the necessity of obedience was a sacrifice, even if a desirable one.

Sadly, I know a lot of people who related to the whole thing very differently, many of whom later became cops. I don't think I'm expressing myself very well, but I guess what I'm trying to say is this whole "obedience" thing that I see white people demanding Black people give cops is part of not understanding what it means to be a free person living in a free society, or expecting that Black people are not good enough to enjoy the same freedom.

And I'm afraid a lot of military and ex-military people are particularly liable to that kind of thinking.