Blood on the Corner: Dear UVA from an Alumnus

I’m just back from a rally in front of the Charlottesville Police Department at which I heard a black UVA student say that black friends were going to think twice about trying to attend UVA after what happened tonight.

Unless more video materializes we won’t know exactly what happened, but we know this: a black UVA student needed 10 stitches to the head. The policemen who injured him have made known no injuries to themselves whatsoever. In fact they’ve charged him with “obstruction of justice without force.” However it may be that a young man standing on a sidewalk obstructs justice without using force, one thing seems clear: he didn’t use force. He’s also not accused of threatening to use force. Rather, he’s charged with “profane swearing and/or intoxication,” neither of which justifies ANY action by police, much less the sort of brutality that requires 10 stitches and leaves blood on the street.

As an alumnus and a local resident may I humbly request that UVA prosecute the police officers responsible and seek, not a Department of Justice report telling us what we know, but meaningful restorative justice that involves actual understanding and reform by those involved.

I have to confess, I’m getting a little tired of the scandals, UVA. And I don’t mean playing a shooter with a broken finger in the ACC tournament. I mean:

• Paying your employees so little they need second jobs.
• Jumping at a false tale of rape, damaging true accounts among other things damaged.
• Hosting forums advocating U.S. war in Syria.
• Bringing Blackwater mercenaries, neocon reactionaries, torture defenders, and warmongers of all stripes to speak at the Miller Center.
• Sending law students to observe the Guantanamo human experimentation camp, who find nothing to oppose.
• Weakening the honor code.
• Empowering a corporate board that attempts coups — a board that meets this coming Tuesday and should be confronted with a plan for serious reform.

I know it wasn’t your cops tonight, UVA. Nor was it your cops who assaulted the young woman for buying a case of water. But it’s your response that can set things right. We don’t need a scapegoat or more cameras or a “study.” We need the University to instruct the police that violence will not be tolerated.

The University has an honor code but exists in the midst of a society in which police are being turned into warriors — and guess who plays the role of the enemy? The rumor is that tonight’s victim had a fake ID for entering a bar — certainly less than honorable, but something millions of people have done for many years without being attacked or brutalized.

There’s video of a young woman being attacked by a policeman at the rally tonight protesting the initial crime. Apparently her offense was standing in a street and being unable to move because of the surrounding crowd. This assault is on video and should be prosecuted without delay.

I’m not going to urge you to restore the honorable tradition of your imperialist enslaving rapist founder, UVA. I want your to aspire to something better than you’ve been. I think you can do it.

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.organd WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook. Sign up for occasional important activist alerts here http://davidswanson.org/signup. Sign up for articles or press releases here http://davidswanson.org/lists