The racial bias embedded in Darren Wilson’s testimony

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

WaPo article discusses a less recognized form of racial bias and its part in Wilson killing Brown.

Dehumanization of black people in the United States has a long history, from slavery to the Constitution’s three-fifths clause to aspects of race relations today. Yet another type of dehumanization persists as well -- one in which people see blacks not as subhuman, but as more than human.

But as the case of Michael Brown demonstrates there is a thin line between superhumanization and subhumanization. Both deny black people’s humanity. Therein lies the problem.

In Wilson’s testimony about the incident, he consistently refers to Brown as virtually superhuman. Wilson testified that while he was shooting at Brown, “it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I'm shooting at him.”

This article also covers the topic quite well. It includes some appalling tweets epitomizing this particular aspect of racism.

[samsingh]

1. he refers to a man he shot five times as 'appeared to be a demon'

i can't imagine anything more racist. so much so that the killed that unarmed man.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

4. Yep. And I can't help but to think Demon is a king of dogwhistle word in this case.

[justiceischeap]

2. In the ABC interview he also refer's to Brown as "it."

Saw that on Rachel last night.

[samsingh]

7. wow - he indicts himself

remember when mccain referred to Obama as 'that one'

[justiceischeap]

9. I sure do. Not even Palin was stupid enough to make that mistake. nt

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

10. Referring to another human being as "it" is not normal parlance, at least

not among the people I know. You wonder if he was coached to say that, or if it's really how he thought of Brown. Or both, Either way, it's not good.

[justiceischeap]

11. Well, I was reading through some of his grand jury testimony just now

'cause I was going to post it but it seems that she may be wrong about how he's using "it." I'll have to see if I can find the clip from last night's show.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

12. This source references it, but are you thinking those who cite this are hearing it wrong?

4. Wilson refers to Brown as “it” and says that he looks like “a demon.”

“The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon, that’s how angry he looked. He comes back towards me again with his hands up. At that point I just went like this, I tried to pull the trigger again, click, nothing happened,” Wilson testified.

It’s interesting that Wilson referred to Brown as “a demon” and then acknowledged that Brown had his “hands up.”

5 Not-So-Credible Events in Darren Wilson’s Testimony

[noiretextatique]

14. the it was referring to his eyes

one the many excuses i've read here. wilson's story is as fantastical as zimmerman's. we are supposed to believe that these young men beat these ARMED med so severely that they "feared for their lives" and "had to shot." we are supposed to believe that both of them got of the safety of their cars. and were "attacked." in wilson's case, the supposed attack started in the car. why did they get out the cars? i can think of ONLY one reason, but then again, i am a logical person.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

16. As I say below, language is tricky to pin down sometimes.

I'd say "it" doesn't refer to "eyes" since the pronoun is singular and "eyes" is plural. The pronoun would be "they" for "eyes." But "it" could refer to "the look in his eyes."

However, whether he was referring to Wilson directly as "it," he was clearly trying to excuse his actions by dehumanizing Brown as a demon with superhuman power. Which, by the way, would also serve to make Wilson even more of a hero for vanquishing that superhuman enemy, for people who buy into that crap.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

13. After reading over that again, I have to say that, at least in the case of

the excerpt at my link, an argument could be made that he was using "it" more broadly.

"The only way I can describe it ("it" being either the situation or what he saw), it (again, "it" being the image or scene he saw) looks like a demon, that’s how angry he ("he" referring directly to Brown) looked."

It can be complicated and sticky breaking down language this way, and I don't know that I'm clearly explaining what I mean here.

People do talk this way, using "it" frequently and vaguely. Nevertheless, we get a pretty clear image of Wilson dehumanizing Brown, even if he wasn't directly calling him "it".

[noiretextatique]

15. the "grunting, hulking demon" part sort of give it away

so whether he referred to him as "it" or not is moot. and his claim that he "felt like a 5 yo" in the "grunting, hulking demon's" superhuman grasp gave him away too. c'mon...a 5 year old?

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

17. Precisely!

[justiceischeap]

19. That's how I saw it.

He was referring to the situation and not Brown but he could alsobe easily misconstrued.

[busterbrown]

3. Maybe like this..

“ Listen Darren you just tell them the guy looked like a crazed Animal running at you and that actually you were mismatched even with your gun.. Guy was like a freaking machine out of a James Cameron Movie”

They’ll believe you trust me...People eat that shit up..

When in fact Darren we all know you’re a little man trying to prove how tough you are by using your gun.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

6. + about a million!

[azmom]

5. Did you see where the cops in the

Rodney King trial gave similar characterization? Rodney King was Allso a hulk and a Tasmanian devil.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

8. I didn't know that, but I'm not surprised.

And when googling it I came across another good article with the same theme as the one in my OP: On Darren Wilson's testimony and the myth of the supernatural black man

[noiretextatique]

18. about the "i felt like a 5 yo" comment

Wilson is 28 years old, Brown was 18. Zimmerman was also 28, Martin was 17. yet both of these grown men juxtaposed themselves as weaker and younger than the teenagers. Wilson morped into a 5 year old. Zimmerman suddenly morphed from a badass cop wannabe with a gun, to a passive victim of Martin's supposed assault, crying for help, as if HE was 17 years old. yet another way these men murdered their victims.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

26. I know, WTF is that about? I mean, I often try to really understand what is going on with these

massively bigoted people and I just really can't seem to figure out how it works. I mean, can you imagine Wilson ever saying he felt a like a 5 year-old except in an attempt to exonerate himself? And if he were in fact truly fearful for his life, why not call and wait for backup?

Are these guys trained to look for opportunities to shoot minorities (and I include mentally ill and indigent people as minorities the cops seem to feel justified in exterminating)? I mean, why not ask yourself, "What can I do to avoid shooting this guy", instead of, "Can I legally shoot this guy?" Do they get any training that tells them how to deal with dangerous situations without escalating them to more dangerous or deadly situations? This police state shit is getting real. And it's so fked up.

[noiretextatique]

28. there is no penalty

for the heinous acts they commit. half the country cheers each vile and disgusting murder of innocents, as long they have the correct skin color. who else, in this society, besides the police, can kill people with impunity, and rarely are held accountable. it is the perfect, perverse storm.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

29. Truly disturbing.

[heaven05]

20. wilson the pig

is amerikkkan racism personified by generations of people like him who have kept hate and ignorance alive and well in amerikkka. This murderer needs to go to prison. But the DA, GJ said "good shoot", so amerikkans of all levels of society get to enjoy their drunken revelry at the exoneration of wilsonthepig. Enjoy.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

24. And the bastards have the nerve to insist that racism is over in this country.

After all, we have a black president! I'd like to see FoxNoose do an on-air segment on--what's it called, that White Supremacist website--Stormfront and try to sell that line. The Fox crew are probably all members in good standing.

[kardonb]

21. racial bias

same thing with all the so-called eye witnesses of the Brown killing .

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

27. Specifically?

[niyad]

22. k and r

[Blue_Tires]

23. Someone on twitter illustrated it:

:large



https://twitter.com/imfabulous13/status/537692180450902016

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

25. OMFG, that is perfect!

Thanks for posting.