Yesterday’s tragic shooting at the Johns Hopkins Hospital is another reminder of the militarization of American police. Take a look at the way the Baltimore police are dressed in this video:

By the way – on the news they implied that Hopkins Hospital is not very secure. This hospital is in one of the worst neighborhoods, yet, this is the first shooting I’ve heard of there. The anchorwoman said that Hopkins will be “evaluating its security.” Of course it will! This is a private business (don’t be fooled by the non-profit moniker). Private businesses must constantly evaluate their operations to remain competitive.

I guarantee you that, unless the state sends down ridiculous mandates, Hopkins will not install metal detectors and body scanners. Why? Because they know they would lose customers, who don’t want to be treated like criminals because one person made some very deadly decisions. What Hopkins will do is figure out if there is some way to better train the cadre of (very friendly) security guards they employ. That is, Hopkins administrators will do what all successful private enterprises must do: try to please its customers and keep its employees safe. The last thing they want is for a highly-paid employee to be out of commission, for business to come to a halt for hours, and for the company’s image to be plastered all over the news in connection to a deadly shooting.

The Best of Kathryn Muratore