Glamorizing America and its racial tolerance

Not all is well in the US

Even though earlier, I seem to glamorize America and its racial tolerance and opportunities that she offered people from all over the world irrespective of race and religion, I quickly pointed out that, my statements or observations didn’t in anyway mean that, there aren’t any problems in the United States. My write up was a fruit of a genuine observations carried out within a specific area.  Regarding my earlier statement on how compassionate and welcoming were Americans, I even added that, perfection was not of this world. This simply meant that, I was and still aware that, America had and still has its share of challenges. But I must still insist that, globally, especially among liberal democracies, America offers more opportunities to foreigners than most.  Whatever its positives aspects, not well in the US and as prove, when I arrived, the country was at the height of record killing of black people by the Police. The wanton killing of Black people also gave rise to a group known as Black lives matters movement, a group denouncing Police violence against black people. Following all the killings, I was afraid of an open confrontation between the Police and Black Youths. It was as if good and evil were at competition in arguably the best country on earth.  It was appalling what was going on regarding the wanton killing of black people. I felt very bad, because I love America and thus consider her to be the symbol of hope for everything positive in liberal democracy around the world. I was more affected negatively by what was going on in the US because, as a journalist and a prodemocracy activist from Congo Brazzaville and Cameroon, I regularly quoted America and in chief, American Police as an example, whenever I wanted to denounce the abuses of the Congolese or Cameroonian Police. Therefore what was going on became fodder to my detractors and all those who abhorred liberal democracy.  Enemies of liberal democracy in the Republics of Congo Brazzaville and Cameroon, quickly zeroed on what was happening to black people in the US who were being mowed down daily by the very American Police that I marketed as paragon of professionalism and human right respect, to water down all my arguments or all what I stood up for.   The reality is that, dictatorial governments like those of Congo Brazzaville and Cameroon, almost always exploits loopholes like those of Police brutalities in the US, to justify their excesses.

Commissions of enquiry

But amid my disappointments, especially at the killing of black people, one thing which struck me positively were investigations that were taking place after every killing of a Blackman and also the media scrutiny that followed after each murder. US media played a major role in exposing the abuses of US Police, a thing which was alien in Congo Brazzaville. What US media did could not happen in Congo Brazzaville because the media in the West African state is everything but independent. The media in Congo Brazzaville is not independent because as severally mentioned earlier, the whole media landscape is either controlled by one family: the Nguessos or people gravitating around the Nguessos and the Congolese government. In the US, amid every dark cloud like the killing of any Blackman, there is a silver lining. This silver lining is symbolized by investigations carried out by the media and the Police. It was another quality which was alien in Congo Brazzaville or Cameroon. And more, those commissions of enquiry set up were not mere formalities to please and appease, as it were more often the cases in both aforementioned West African countries. As I noticed via TV and newspaper reports, in the US, unlike Cameroon and Congo Brazzaville, commissions of enquiry delivered reports that were not satisfactory to any of the concerned parties, but at least, it had some merit. It greatest merits were that, Police officers were tried and prosecuted as opposed to Congo Brazzaville or Cameroon where in spite the summary executions and all kinds of abuses carried out by the Police, nothing is done to the accused or suspects. In both Cameroon and Congo Brazzaville, the equanimity and boldness with which some state security officials do carry out their crimes, was as though they were commandeered by the state.