On a recent drive back to Harpswell from a dentist appointment in Topsham, I heard on the radio what I assumed to be a public service announcement, whose tag line was: “Comply now, complain later.” It seemed to suggest that doing so would minimize any misunderstanding and allow the policing system to work as it should.
Shortly after that, The Washington Post ran Michael de Adder’s editorial cartoon depicting “Two Americas.” In one panel was a white man on his cellphone saying: “I’m going to be a bit late. I am being stopped by the police.” In the other panel, a Black man, also stopped by the police, is on his cellphone saying: “I love you, Mom.”
The deadly disparity of these two realities demonstrated to me the utter ignorance and naivete of this well-intentioned, yet thoroughly misguided, PSA.
Rev. Dr. Douglas Nielsen
Harpswell
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