Authoritarianism and Police Brutality Against People of Color

[sheshe2]

New York City’s police and their spokespeople are rebelling against civilian authority for a variety of reasons.

snip

A recent analysis by the Washington Post also shows how in the aftermath of Ferguson and the Eric Garner cases, white Americans are now more likely to be supportive of the police and have confidence in them to treat non-whites fairly.

Such a conclusion is madness: it requires a wholesale rewriting of the facts and a retreat to a default position where Whiteness imagines itself as innocence, and that racism is an outlier and fantasy of black and brown people.

The white paranoiac gaze is able to twist reality to such a degree that a black man being choked alive is somehow “guilty” for his own murder, and a police officer shooting an unarmed person multiple times who was surrendering to him are made “just” or “reasonable”.

Immoral and unjust acts are defended and rationalized by a learned behavior that sees all black people as dangerous and outside of the protections afforded to white Americans by the law.

In a morally just world, police cruelty would result in a decrease of support for, and faith in, the police by white folks. But, as it has done both historically and in the present, Whiteness perverts and warps White America’s ethical sensibilities and rationality.

http://www.chaunceydevega.com/2015/01/authoritarianism-and-police-brutality.html

It's a long article well worth the read.

One Chart Reveals Something Disturbing About White People's Attitude Towards the Police



The findings on white opinion on police in their community aren't entirely surprising. When people are reporting their perception of racial prejudice among police, they're also signaling other beliefs: how they think police and crime in their own neighborhood compares to others; where they stand in the broader war over the legitimacy of the police as an institution; whether they think the police are depicted fairly in the media; and whether they think that society has generally made progress against racism.

In other words, people's response on the question of whether or not cops are racist serves as a conduit to a broader set of sociopolitical stances. A significant portion of the white population would rather believe that these incidents are anomalous and alien rather than proof of a trend. If they admitted to the idea of it as a pervasive pattern, that would likely compel them to fundamentally adjust their views on whether or not society is post-racial, and by implication, whether they themselves are. And so many are likely doubling down on their overall trust in the institution.

The reflex for whites to perceive racial discrimination as a problem to which they or their community are immune — despite huge stacks of evidence that show these problems are systemic and span the country — has some parallels in the way conservatives have grown more skeptical of evolution and climate change in recent years. In polls, conservatives responded to the growing media consensus on the need for action on climate change by downplaying the matter, lest they admit that society truly does need to change.

Racial justice reform campaigns will have to remember that even an increase in police brutality incidents isn't going to convince certain segments of the population that wide-scale reform is needed. For many, change is what they're most afraid of.

http://mic.com/articles/106314/more-white-people-than-ever-before-think-police-aren-t-racist?

[99th_Monkey]

1. K&R Great post.

I admit to having somewhat mixed feelings about focusing all concerns about
police brutality and their murdering citizens at-will solely through the lens of racism.

Before I saw your OP I had just posted this one:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026090546

Here the cops murdered an inmate after he was taken into custody, threatened, bullied,
and finally hanged by his neck in his cell. The victim in this case js white.

I think I understand the focus on race, because the killer-cop phenomenon falls disperportionaly
hard on people of color, especially blacks, and to some extent Hispanics. Not to mention how
our prison population demographic is similarly skewed with way more blacks in prison for petty
crimes than is just or fair by any measure.

Still, the police problem is a HUGE problem in its own right, and does effect everyone, not just
racial minorities. I don't want cops to oppress and brutalize citizens "equally", I want them to
stop being bullies and murderers hiding behind badges and guns.

I guess it's just good to keep al this in mind and hopefully find some kind of
balanced activism, that honors ALL victims of police crimes against humanity.

[sheshe2]

4. Thanks 99th.

Thank you for seeing that the killer cop phenomenon falls disproportionally
hard on people of color, especially blacks. As does the incarceration rate.

Oh, I know police are a huge problem that has been around for years and never noticed. I remember in high school, yes many years ago, my small town PD hit on all the high school young women. It was uncomfortable to say the least and so very wrong. They tried to use their authority and the power of their position to get laid. We were teenagers for goddess sake!

I will check out your link now. Thanks.

[Trillo]

2. Not all whites.

I'm white. However, I'm rather certain now, that had I been black, I'd be dead by now. That is my "white privilege."

[sheshe2]

3. I am white as well.

I never said all or inferred it, Trillo. Yet you got the point. Thank you.

[sheshe2]

5. Kick

[sheshe2]

6. Kick

[sheshe2]

7. Kick

[seveneyes]

8. Perhaps more people feel corrective actions are in place and have higher hopes

Maybe confidence is higher. Not all that glitters is gold, nor is it all sunshine.

[sheshe2]

9. And by your cryptic answer you mean????

Do you mean white confidence is higher? All actions are already in place to protect white people and to hell with anyone else. If that is what you mean then your white privilege is showing. This response comes from a white woman.

Please correct me if I am wrong about your post.

And

Not all that glitters is gold, nor is it all sunshine.

???????

[bravenak]

10. I am always surprised at th high level of confidence.

It almost seems like these incidents increase the confidence level. That is so strange to me.

[sheshe2]

11. Yes, why is that?

An embrace of thuggery, violence, and meanness against people of color by the police is an act of surrender to the culture of cruelty. It also raises serious questions about American values and the shadow of racism and authoritarianism.

I guess some want to wrap themselves in their cocoon of whiteness. They feel confident that they are safe.

Hello? As you well know bravenak, I am white. Actually I am more scared than ever, their authority has no bonds to tie them.

[99th_Monkey]

12. Stockholm Syndrom? nt