THE WAY THINGS WORK TODAY: The Bad Guys Gotta Be White Males or It’s Racist. Preferably Christian:

In London, a man named Abdul Shakoor Ezedi is wanted for an “alkali attack” against a woman and her three-year-old daughter. He threw some sort of corrosive substance on them, causing severe burns. . . .

So this guy flees Afghanistan for the UK, rapes someone, gets a slap on the wrist, and is granted asylum. Then he runs around splashing toxic chemicals on people and attacking children.

That’s happening right now.

I thought about that story as I watched the latest episode of Criminal Record, streaming now on Apple TV+.

It’s a pretty good show, a bit slow-moving but well-acted, intriguing plot, all that. But the fundamental premise really rankles me. If we’re to believe the screenwriters, the worst problem facing London in the 21st Century is racist right-wing cops.

Peter Capaldi plays DCI1 Daniel Hegarty, who’s sort of half-supercop, half-politician. He knows everybody, he sees everything, and he can pull the strings to make his colleagues’ lives as easy or as tough as he wants. And of course, you know he’s the villain because he’s a white male. Boo, hiss!

Hegarty comes into conflict with DS2 June Lenker (Cush Jumbo), and I won’t spoil any of the plot details. But Hegarty and his crew of likeminded white male cops are despicable, and Lenker keeps butting heads with them because they don’t see her as an equal.

Are there racist cops? Of course. Is that a worthy dramatic premise? Sure.

But just once, I’d like to watch a show that actually reflects other stuff that’s happening in the real world. A scenario where the cops are trying to protect the public from, say, insane Islamic immigrants who attack children in the street after being let out of prison for rape.

It’s not racist to notice. It’s not bigoted to empathize with the victims of a crime committed by somebody who’s been designated a victim because he’s not white.

I had a similar problem with another recent thriller series, Condor, currently streaming on MGM+.

Shocking.