The militarization of the police strikes one with the immediacy of tear gas or the blunt trauma of a baton. It is, more than most things, painfully obvious. As the spell bound after 9/11 has finally unravelled in the wake of some truly indefensible crimes on the part of American police, we at least find the hopeful sight of a diverse coalition of politicians, pundits, activists, and ordinary citizens treating the issue with the seriousness it deserves.

And yet, too many seem to still speak as if police violence were sudden inclement weather, rather than a culture we all participate in. The police are not drawn from an alien population– they are us, our neighbors, our relatives, our friends. Their abuses are ...