Unfortunately, the loss of trust in public space does not reduce the risk or mitigate the danger of being in that space. Lost trust creates moral and even mortal dangers, including the ways we potentially trample ourselves and others through fear and preparation for violence in public spaces. Where the strange registers as dangerous and the feeling of being threatened sanctions pre-emptive action, public spaces become untrustworthy environments for those who are even slightly unconventional (or insufficiently white). Largely futile, conformity-enforcing vigilance undoes public space as a place for free exchange, for encounter with difference and for adventure. We could make our public spaces more trustworthy for everyone by eliminating access to military-style weapons and drastically reducing the number of guns in circulation.

Source: New York Times May 28, 2018 09:45 UTC