The underlying issues of Ferguson and beyond
As 2014 draws to a close, America is in agony watching the same scene play out again and again. A white cop brutalizes a black man, it’s caught on video, but nothing happens. No matter how blatant the abuse, no matter how apparently unjustified, nothing happens. Why? WHY? Why is there no apparent accountability? More importantly, why is this happening to begin with? And most importantly, what can any of us do to stop it?
The first step to solving a problem is defining it, but the wrong definition can lead to wrong solutions. Is the problem racist cops? While there certainly are racist cops, white people do get unjustly shot as well and while it obviously plays a role, racism is probably not the driving force of this problem. Are police simply bullies and thugs? Some are, yes, but the countless stories of police heroes say that’s probably not the issue. Besides, that wouldn’t explain why these thugs aren’t being held accountable for abuses. Is it really the victim’s fault because they shouldn’t have resisted? That would let us all off the ethical hook, but it wouldn’t explain the people beaten or killed after they were taken into custody. Is it the flood of military weapons in police hands? That could play a part, but none of these weapons kill unless a human pulls the trigger. The problem is a combination of all these factors and more.
One basic cause is a fundamental misunderstanding of what police are… A POLICE FORCE IS NOT A TINY ARMY! The military functions by the use of deadly force, and collateral destruction is just the cost of doing business. Police are charged with keeping the peace in our communities, “protecting and serving” life and property. They’re our neighbors, friends, and families. If they begin to see themselves (or if they are seen by others) as an occupying force then conflict is sure to follow.
Another even more basic cause may be the slow death of the American Dream. Black and white people alike are watching income inequality grow, social mobility fall, jobs being outsourced, and education sliding out of reach. It’s becoming harder and harder to just survive, and people are faced with either becoming corporate slaves or scavengers on the margins. But everyone, black or white, wants the basic human dignity that they know is becoming almost impossible to find. Our corporate masters know this too, but since they’re unable to provide the framework that makes opportunity possible (while still maintaining their profit margin) they’re perfectly willing to let thugs use any brutal means as long as the sheep don’t get out of line.
So where should accountability start? The same place it ends in a free society… with all of us. Good cops can come forward about the abuses of their blue brethren. Police chiefs can avoid militarizing their forces through things like turning down government handouts or not using SWAT teams for routine contacts. Citizens can know their rights, cooperate with the police where possible, and fight any abuses later in court. Judges and prosecutors can make more reasonable evaluations of which police actions are appropriate. Politicians can write laws that strike a better balance between individual liberty and the legitimate needs of police… body cameras are a good start, but also things like having police abuses investigated by agencies outside the investigatory targets. We can all vote for leaders, police and civic, that will end abuses like civil asset forfeiture, eliminate for-profit prisons, and fight to restore the opportunity and dignity we’ve lost in our society. And we can all have hope, however slim, that next Christmas we won’t be in this same place again.
As this issue continues to dominate the national discussion, there’s a flood of fact and opinion from every possible direction. Here are just a few links to some of the more insightful pieces we’ve found…
“How Our Brains Perceive Race”
Chris Mooney at Moyers&Company
You may not know it, you may not agree, but you have biases concerning race. Click here to take an IAT, a psychological diagnostic test that will show you the ugly side you didn’t know you had.
One of the most uncomfortable aspects arising from the police-use-of-force debate is racism. There are arguments about the role it plays in today’s problems, but people seem to fall into two camps… those who wallow in their bigotry, and those who insist they have none at all. But are any of us really color blind? Racial biases can lurk deep in the subconscious of anyone, even people who aren’t racist at all in their behavior or even their conscious thoughts.
This excellent article by Chris Mooney is a detailed look at these subconscious factors, how they form, and how they can play out in daily life. You’ll never look at yourself, and maybe not anyone else, the same way again.
“Why It’s Almost Impossible to Indict a Cop”
Chase Madar at Moyers&Company
Americans were stunned when no indictments were issued to the killers of Eric Garner or Michael Brown, but of course, these two cases aren’t the only ones where unjustified force has not been held accountable. Are these “no-bill” decisions the result of racism or is there something more going on? It may not be necessary for police, judges, or jurors to be corrupt for things to go wrong. Chase Madar argues, quite convincingly and depressingly, that it’s an inevitable result of the structure of the system itself.
“What I’ve Learned From Two Years Collecting Data on Police Killings”
D. Brian Burghart at Gawker
It’s hard to get a handle on the scope of police violence without data, but when Brian Burghart tried to research the subject, he found that there are no collected statistics on the subject. He started a crowdsourced project to fill in this yawning gap, and learned a lot about exactly why the information doesn’t exist already.
“This Is What Happens When You Call The Cops”
Are you one of the FOX folks who think the issue of cops gone wild is just media hype? “This Is What Happens When You Call The Cops”, an incredibly powerful video by Rob Hustle, shows exactly why people feel so justified in their anger.
