Violence Interruption.
I was having a convo with the manfriend and the topic of policing came up. We live in Chicago, mind you, and the evening news always tell you something related to either gun violence or some police officer getting into some kind of fuckery. Talking about the police here is something people do almost every day.
When he mentioned that the Mayor had not yet introduced more police officers in the city and that crime was going up, I mentioned that the police does not prevent crime. The police responds to crime (real or perceived) but the police does not prevent crime. And that is something that some people really never think about it. In some cases, quite the opposite. The police (especially in big cities like Chicago) also has a bias that sometimes is quite clear:
Black drivers in Chicago are four to seven times more likely to be pulled over by police than whites, while Latino drivers are stopped twice as often, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois claiming a racially biased pattern in how Chicago police enforce traffic laws.
Traffic stops on the city’s predominantly Black and Latino South and West sides, the lawsuit says, are typically for minor violations— or for no reason at all— and are a tool for officers to search and detain minority residents on the city’s West and South sides. The lawsuit, filed last week, comes less than a decade after the Chicago Police Department reached a settlement with the ACLU in a lawsuit over similarly disproportionate stops of minority pedestrians.
I don't know what the situation with the police is like in your city/community. But given that I live in an overwhelmingly white, preponderantly Republican and definitely privileged neighborhood, listening to the stories in this video really brought to the forefront a reality people who live in the South or West side of Chicago see day to day: you see the police depending on where you live. I have been living here for several years now. I have seen a police car once. ONCE. And it was a totally random occurrence one day while I was doing my run. I think he was lost.
I'm going to leave you with this 2020 quote:
In 2016, the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Donald Trump, saying that “our members believe he will make America safe again.” Police unions are lining up behind Trump again this year. “We will never abolish our police or our great Second Amendment,” Trump said at Mt. Rushmore, on the occasion of the Fourth of July. “We will not be intimidated by bad, evil people.”
Because you know what he meant by 'bad, evil people'. Dog whistles do not come clearer than that.
XOXO
P.S. if you feel like giving, @truthout is accepting donations.
Spot on.
ReplyDeleteI like the saying that if you have a thousand police officers and one is bad and the other 999 say nothing about that bad officer, then you have 1,000 bad police officers.
And don't get me started on the not-so-subliminal racism of the GOP in regards to police and criminals.
xoxo
There is a very strong secrecy code in the fraternal order of police. They will cover and cover again for the bad apples. It's ingrained in their culture.
DeleteThe GOP is the party of law and order only when it's convenient to them.
XOXO
HuntleyBiGuy:
ReplyDeleteThat comment was an eye opener: Police don’t prevent violence, they respond to violence. How true. And when they respond, their inherent bias kicks in. Who are the individuals at the scene? Who is perceived to be the aggressor and the victim? Most often if there are people of color and white people there, they may automatically assume the white individual is the victim. But we know that in today’s world, that most often is NOT the case.
How do we, as citizens prevent violence? I think it’s a lot of outreach to those at risk for taking that path. There needs to be investment in mental health, poverty elimination, health care. All of these can lead to destructive behavior. There needs to be a collaborative approach between law enforcement and community activists. And that’s going to take time to develop, but action must be taken now.
XOXO 👨🏼❤️💋👨🏽
They do not.
DeleteViolence occurs because of other variables. And the popo is still that arm created to gather runaway slaves, like it or not.
Avoiding or mediating violence is a matter of more than just policing. If it were policing, we wouldn't have any...And the police will never collaborate with community activists, it's not the role they think they have. They see themselves are jury and executors of the law.
BTW, when people say 'defund the police' is to give more funds to promote mental health, eliminate poverty and provide health care. It will never happen as long as we have Repugs.
XOXO
Big says,
ReplyDeleteIt's beyond my comprehension that any police union would back the Orange Idiot - not after his total lack of action on Jan 6. It's beyond comprehension that any police would back any Rethuglican after they refused to back the Capitol and DC Metro and voted against them being recognized for saving the members of Congress. It's like we're living in the Upside Down.
But here, our police are pretty decent for the most part. Crime is back up but not by a whole lot and police are visible pretty much everywhere. What's different? We're a tourist destination. A very, very diverse one at that. You'll find people of every stripe living here. Our little residential enclave of 13 homes boasts Pacific Islanders, Asians, Latinos, Whites, Blacks, and LGBTQ. We're the epitome of the proverbial Melting Pot.
XOXO
Oh, but the fuzz is still an arm of white supremacy. That's why. The photo ops of Jabba the Orange with so many law enforcement people is a testimony to that. The repugs talk about the thin blue line when it's convenient for them, that's all.
DeleteAnd diversity and being a tourist destination changes the dynamics, natch.
XOXO
You're absolutely right. The police and the legal system are reactive, not proactive, measures. Programs and policies to alleviate poverty, abuse, addictions and social inequities are proactive measures against crime and violence, but people don't want to pay for those because they cost a helluva lot more than cops. As usual, people expect simplistic solutions (more policing) to solve complex problems.
ReplyDeleteCorrect: the police is reactive. They do not prevent anything.
DeleteAnd people do NOT want to pay for those programs (defund the police). What they do is that they put more money into police forces and create a mini-army. Worrying.
XOXO
This breaks my heart. The reality is there. My cousin has bi-racial children and I think about them all the time. They do live a very privileged life (upper middle class, private schools etc). But I do wonder what an officer would see, if they got pulled over for a traffic violation. My cousin has had that talk with them. I still am afraid for them, because of what society may see because of skin color.
ReplyDeleteOh, Black and Brown children always get 'the talk' from their parents and family members. And it is for a reason.
DeleteDriving while Black or Brown is a problem in many, many cities. No matter how affluent or progressive.
XOXO
About 1.5 million years ago all humans were pretty much the same color. So, in the scope of existence, we have become racially defined. There is a picture I really like. It has three eggs, a white one, a brown one and a dark brown one. also in the picture are the contents of three eggs, all identical, clear white and yellow yolk. The caption reads "Racism out of its shell"
ReplyDeletePerfect.
DeleteRace is a construct. And as many other constructs it is ingrained in society. It is difficult to make people see that the contents of the three eggs is literally identical..
XOXO
The police are supposed to be an impediment to crime, cause the perpetrator to think before committing one. Our police force can be seen patrolling our streets, but then I don't live in a high crime area.
ReplyDeleteOh, they were created as an impediment for runaway slaves, too.
DeleteBut crime comes from poverty, and lack of resources, and lack of education and lack of a social network capable of providing the basics for living in society.
And if the popo is an impediment, what are they doing patrolling the streets there, where there's no crime?
XOXO
"But crime comes from poverty, and lack of resources, and lack of education and lack of..." If we all had been equal and treated the same from the beginning a lot of this mess wouldn't be going on. When part of the village isn't treated with respect and equal and aren't included in resources and education and being treated equal...the cries of help, frustration and inequality turn to burning down the village. And can we blame them?
DeleteYes, Mads.
DeleteYou have nailed it.
XOXO
I don't know whether it would help cut down on crime, but I feel like when police departments stopped "hitting the beat" a lot of issues and communication broke down with the communities and police departments. When I was little, and in the neighborhoods, I recall, most knew many officers by name, and us and them were all more aware of issues, and the level of trust was there. Now? They travel in cars if even, they patrol, or sitting, eating somewhere. My friends who are a couple and married cops, agree with my assessment that it would help more. Not to mention they were able to set up more connections or narks to help in drug rings and such. Not to mention gain trust.
ReplyDeleteCommunities have lost contact with the police.
DeletePolice is used as a weapon, as a scare tactic and that does not work because the problems underneath (the ones that lead to crime) are not addressed. There is no trust in the police, especially in marginalized communities, because there is no link between those communities and the cops that are supposed to help them.
XOXO
the police could really prevent violence by patrolling dangerous places. Of course, not by killing people for no reason.
ReplyDeleteWell, the police also uses patrolling to oppress minorities, so there's that.
DeleteAnd dangerous places are dangerous because all social safety nets are broken in those places: poverty, mental illness, addiction, social inequality and the such make places dangerous.
XOXO
It's all broken. We've lost whatever community once meant to us. It's become elitist. It's driven by power and greed and a need for attention. We've become afraid of each other and overwhelmed with feelings of being other. We don't belong because we tell ourselves, convince ourselves that we don't belong. It's hard to get out of our comfort zones and interact because of all the negative experiences we deal with on a daily basis simply trying to do the basics like grocery shop. People are behaving in awful manners because it's become acceptable. And that pushing that envelop ever further, that sort of uncivility, has led to a culture based on violence as a means of communication. I was recently physically assaulted at the prairie while lying on my blanket reading a book. I wasn't completely blameless. I mentioned that this person - who was not a total stranger, we'd said hello to one another in the past - should stay on the established paths so as to not disturb the plants and animals. It rapidly became this weird back and forth with him storming up from 30 feet away, grabbing my legs, dragging me into the tall grass where he proceeded to kick me. I grabbed him by his ankles and brought him down. But he managed to break one of my ribs, my skin was full of scratches and scrapes and he broke one of my fingers. I haven't told anyone, but a few of my prairie friends. I can't process it. I keep reliving it. Violence destroys communities. I can't go back there. I've tried. But it's never going to be the same for me. I will always be looking over my shoulder. And the thing is... this person doesn't accept what he did. I've talked to him since and he thinks he was totally justified. Which is another form of violence... denial of truth and a refusal to accept responsibility. I own my part in it. I should have kept my mouth shut. But there's no way to make that person responsible for what they've done. I could have called the police, but that would have brought unwanted attention to the area and I didn't want to interact with police because I don't feel I can trust them. I also don't trust our judicial system. The weirdest thing out of all this is... the other person is claiming to be the victim. So... what am I to do with that? It's crazy. I haven't shared this and I haven't written about it until now... but my sense of community and belonging is... shattered. I'm not a victim. I don't see myself as one. I'm just someone that something bad happened to. It sits besides all the other bad things that have happened through fault of my own or the fault of others. I know my life can't just be about those bad things. But I also don't know what to do with this headful of broken things.
ReplyDeleteOMG Upton!
DeleteSo sorry that happened to you!!!!
It's unacceptable. But you are right, those violent, reactive people have found that THEY can assault anybody -and then claim they're the victim- because ever since Jabba the Orange raised to power they saw a bully who got away with murder.
People in this society seemed to have been waiting for a catalyst like him to unleash their nasty, violent selves upon others.
Sending you *hugs*.
XOXO
I'm so sorry that happened to you. Feeling unsafe when out in the world is all too common an experience, sadly. Having recently read, "When the body keeps the Score," I understand a lot better how much we are failing people before they are ever born and at every step of their upbringing through the violence of an uncaring and inequitable system. If we want safer communities we need to fix that basic failure.Tina in west oz
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