‘The Ricklantis Mixup’ episode of Rick and Morty paints the perfect picture of racism and police corruption within law enforcement. It is no secret that people of color receive differential treatment compared to their white counterparts. Police brutality and excessive use of force on black people have become rife in today’s society. Racism and police violence are seen when rookie cop Rick is paired with grizzled cop Morty. The two are making patrols when cop Morty attacks regular Morty for absolutely no reason other than he is just a regular Morty. In this case, Mortys represent the minority while Ricks represents the non-minority. This view of racism in police enforcement can negatively affect how people view the police. It makes the people see the police as a corrupted organization that cannot be trusted and does not have the people’s best interests at heart. It can also lead to a divide between white police officers and their black counterparts. If the police force gets divided along racial lines, executing their mandate of keeping the citizens safe becomes an impossible task.
The Citadel was a trans-dimensional city-state that Ricks and Mortys inhabited from various infinite realities located in the Central Finite Curve. In my viewpoint, the Citadel is not as utilitarian as it claims to be. There is no equality first because of the way the Citadel came to be formed. The Ricks came together to destroy C-137 before he could kill them, but instead, he nearly wiped them out. The Ricks that survived the attack pledged allegiance to Rick as their leader, and together, they came up with the idea of building the Citadel. At the time, it was the only way to ensure the Ricks lived in peace. Inequality started after the Citadel came under the rule of evil president Morty. He was an authoritarian leader. After evil Morty was elected President, he carried out unprecedented purges that went against the Shadow council that was de facto. Up until its destruction, President Morty remained an absolute dictatorial leader.
A lapse of ethics between law enforcement and government can have dire effects on the members of the community. When the police force exhibits negative behavior such as excessive use of force and racism, it makes the community members feel unprotected by its government. It paints a negative picture that the government has no concern for its people. As such, when police officers go against the law, they should be treated like everybody else because nobody is above the law. This way, the police force remains in check and, at the same time, establishes trust with the members of the public.
