Perspectives: Blaming ‘Bad Cops’ Excuses Systemic Racism; Supreme Court Abortion Ruling Could Get Buried

The New York Times: Why The 'Bad Cop' Theory Won't Fix Racist Police
On June 6, one of us attended a memorial vigil for George Floyd. The opening speaker first thanked the local Police Department for keeping the vigil safe and then went on to distinguish between the majority of police officers who do their job helping and protecting people and the few who are racist and violent. His remarks echoed those made by Barack Obama on May 29, in his public statement on the killing of Mr. Floyd, when he wrote of “the majority of men and women in law enforcement who take pride in doing their tough job the right way, every day.” (Todd May and George Yancy, 6/21)

The Washington Post: America Has Always Known About Systemic Police Brutality. Will We Finally Do Something About It?
My namesake, Rodney, was pulled over by police after a high-speed chase. The cops beat Rodney King with their nightsticks more than 50 times. The brutal event on March 3, 1991, in Los Angeles was caught on amateur videotape. After four policemen were acquitted, the City of Angels went up in flames. Decades earlier, in the summer of 1967, civil disorder erupted in Newark, Detroit and more than 100 communities across the country, some of it brought on and inflamed by police actions. (Colbert I. King, 6/19)

Los Angeles Times: Defund The School Police? It's Not That Simple
Parents’ concerns about fights among students and other safety issues have led to a growing police presence at public schools, whether the officers are hired as school employees or are provided by the local police department. Their numbers grew further after a series of high-profile tragedies in which a disturbed student or outsider brought guns to a school and killed multiple students and teachers. Although rare, these incidents created a misguided sense that campuses needed to be well-armed in self-defense. (6/21)

The New York Times: My Police Misconduct Experiences
Every black southern family that I’m aware of has a cold case. The murder of a family member by a white man about which records might have disappeared or been deleted. It’s family oral tradition that keeps the story alive. My grandfather, Mack Hopkins, was stabbed by a white man on July 9, 1934. He told my mother that when he arrived at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., he overheard a doctor say, “Let that nigger die.” My mother was 16 at the time. My grandfather did die, and his killer remained free. (Ishmael Reed, 6/20)

The Washington Post: Black People Are Tired Of Trying To Explain Racism 
A white classmate from college recently sent an email. She recalled that decades ago, I talked to her about racism when we were both students. We walked across campus as I talked. Perhaps I was trying to explain institutional racism, or racism and Western Civilization, or racism and literature. She told me she didn’t believe me then but that the conversation stayed with her. I have no recollection of this conversation. It sounds like my younger self — the self not yet exhausted explaining racism to white people. I'm not sure how to respond. (DeNeen L. Brown, 6/17)

The Washington Post: It’s Long Overdue For The Boy Scouts To Do Something About Racism In Their Ranks
Forgive me if, based on my experience, and my son’s, I’m a little skeptical about the Boy Scouts of America’s announcement on June 15 of several moves to make scouting more inclusive. The BSA’s plans include the creation of a “diversity and inclusion merit badge.” It will be required for anyone who wants to become an Eagle Scout, scouting’s highest achievement. The organization also says it will review its programs and mandate diversity training for employees and adult volunteers. That’s a good start, but I wish I could be more hopeful. (David Nicholson, 6/19)

The New York Times: What If The Supreme Court Rules On Abortion And The Country Shrugs?
Remember early March — that week or so before we fully grasped how much our lives were about to change? I was in Washington, D.C., to attend what turned out to be one of the last in-person oral arguments at the Supreme Court for the foreseeable future — the big abortion case out of Louisiana. Though I didn’t know it at the time, on that trip I also ate my last meal inside a restaurant for a good while (huevos rancheros and a margarita), went to my last cultural institution (the Smithsonian’s African-American history museum, where I at least avoided the interactive exhibits and winced at a toddler licking the wall) and shared my last hug with someone outside my home. (Lauren Kelley, 6/21)

Stat: Celebrate Fathers By Including Them In Family Health Research
Covid-19 is freaking out fathers. And rightly so. Whether it’s an expectant father trying not to contract Covid-19 ahead of his newborn’s birth or an essential worker who comes home every night fearful of spreading the virus to his family, fathers are more stressed than ever about how their health affects their families. And there are reasons to be concerned. Long before the pandemic, men were fighting an uphill health battle. (Clarissa Simon and Craig Garfield, 6/21)

The New York Times: The Pandemic Has Reshaped American Fatherhood. Can It Last?
On his podcast, the chef David Chang recently talked about spending more time at home with his baby this spring. Mr. Chang shared stories about cooking for his son and other newfound parental responsibilities, joking that he should call the podcast “Mr. Moms.” In a later episode, Mr. Chang humbly explained that a listener had informed him of a better name for a podcast about men who spend time at home with their kids: “Dads.” Mr. Chang is hardly the only American father who has been on a steep learning curve in the past few months. During the quarantine, millions of men have spent significant time at home with their children for the first time. (Martin Gelin, 6/21)

The Hill: It's Time To Ban Balance Billing
Not all surprises are welcome, least of all surprise medical charges — when patients are billed for services they had expected their insurer would cover. Negotiations to end surprise billing have been at an impasse for nearly a year. Discussions between the White House and congressional leaders over another coronavirus bill offer an opportunity to finally end this practice that defrauds millions of patients every year. The lobbying battle lines are well defined. (Doug Badger and Brian Blase, 6/19)

The Hill: There's Now Progress On Alcohol In The Dietary Guidelines
In their recent public meeting, members of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory (DGA) Committee forecast changes to the prevailing advice on alcohol. Long instructed to limit consumption to no more than two drinks per day, “if they choose to consume alcohol,” American men will now be told to cut themselves off after just a single serving of beer, wine, or liquor. The new guidelines also have advice for anyone drinking to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease or achieve other health benefits: don’t. According to the Committee, “at all levels of consumption, drinking less is generally better for health than drinking more.” (Thomas Gremillion, 6/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Failure In The Virtual Classroom
The remote-learning experiment isn’t going well. This month the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education published a report looking at how 477 school districts nationwide have responded to the Covid-19 crisis. Its findings reveal widespread neglect of students. The report found only 27% of districts required teachers to record whether students participate in remote classes, while remote attendance has been abysmal. During the first two weeks of the shutdown, some 15,000 Los Angeles students failed to show up for classes or do any schoolwork. (6/21)