Sorry but a core organizing principle for inviting new people into movements is to meet them where they are, not make fun of them for suddenly realizing the world is unjust.
If folks who’ve never had to personally face police brutality are suddenly willing to put their bodies on the line for people more vulnerable to them their realization that their identities won’t protect them forever is an opportunity for political education not distain.
I agree it is instructive to see people who think they can just rationally talk to/confront police face brutality that many of us have experienced for a long time. But that moment and their distress should be generative of solidarity, not a moment to dunk.
Yeah, I didn't really think that anything about her approach indicated that she knew or didn't know how the police would react.
Identifying yourself is the right move regardless, and, "What are you doing?" in a certain tone is just Teacherspeak for, "Stop that!"
Yelling, "I am an experienced protestor and know that you will now assault and arrest me!" might appease a certain kind of internet person, but it's not a very useful thing to say.
Like...establishing that you hold a position of authority on campus is kind of key, and letting them know you see what they're doing & it's not ok is a big deal.
if a protester was a lawyer you know they’re going to shout “i’m a lawyer!” as they’re being arrested because that very well could mean the difference between bruises and brain damage. people should do whatever they can to avoid harm while being arrested. shit, yell “my dad owns a Ford dealership!”
the amount of times at the border I answered "occupation" with "i work for microsoft" instead of just "technical project manager" was a deliberate use of that particular privilege to get through that day
And also: when people are confused and distressed they just start blurting out whatever comes into their heads. That's normal! It's normal for a brain to try and fit what is happening to its body right now into its model of the world, which is things it has already experienced.
Yes, she wasn’t just speaking to the cops, it was being filmed! And if you’re not being arrested with people you know you need to convey information about who you are, especially if you’re the chair of the department and now you’re MIA!
There definitely has to be distinction between those confronting power for the first time and people who’ve been working to protect and shore up police power acting as if that hasn’t been their project for the last four years and feigning shock the police are worse than ever.
Of course, there WILL BE a distinction. But if our goal is righting wrongs versus asserting self-righteousness, we ought to use that distinction wisely for our real purpose. Harrumphing might as well be from an anti-solidarity bot dividing the movement
Why is that distinction important? And what kinds of people are you thinking about in the latter category? Aside from people whose job it is to defend or control police or people who directly support/advocate for more police power, are there really that many people out there whose project that is?
We’re in the midst of a national movement to build police training facilities in response to the Floyd protests that’s being supported by corporate, elected, educational, and philanthropic leaders with boosters in the local and national press. So yeah there are that many.
OK, I think I got your point. So am I right that you're mainly talking about people who have affirmatively made it their project, bur not people who have passively acquiesced to the conditions around them?
I'm no expert in disobedience here, but I remember when, as a teacher in Houston, I tried to advocate for a student with campus police and was quickly reminded that my "official role" was supposed to be supporting the police, not the student. It's jarring to realize which system you are a cog in.
The people criticizing the Emory professor probably imagine that when teachers die protecting their kids in school massacres it’s because they haughtily suppose themselves immune to bullets
police exist in a 30/30/40 distribution.
30% are violent sociopaths
30% are decent + try to root out the bad
40% don't want to rock the boat
the bad cops intimidate the non-boat-rockers while violently suppressing the good cops.
result? positive change from within is nearly impossible.
i've personally seen GREAT cops! yeah! anecdata is a thing.
real data across a large population has the 30/30/40 distribution. if this makes your skin itchy, good.
help change it
which is/was Sarah's point.
there are a lotta white people who've never experienced the violent cop, only the good ones or non-boat-rockers who show up at car accidents or house fires.
they are amazing but they exist in a system that tries to squash them.
There are not 30% trying to root out the bad, maybe 10% at best. They also are the shortest lasting ones, because they get run out by the bad ones.
If 40% of cops were standing by letting non-LEO folks commit crimes, would you call them "don't rock the boat" or would you call them bad?
A high school friend of mine wanted to be a cop because he wanted to be one of the “good” ones. He was patient. He always listened. He was always the peacemaker. He got good grades.
He failed the temperament tests and never was able to get a job in the police force.
My husband was same. He failed the psych tests and now years later we are so glad he did. (Also he ended up working in alternative justice programs after for a while and frankly probably did more for community in end anyway)
I had a friend go to training to become Highway Patrol. After 6 weeks he came back and told me that he could ‘no longer relate to civilians’. I’m glad that he was at least self-aware enough to realize that. 😞
I have found it more helpful to think of police organizations as literal mafia, i.e. organized crime, who have been granted a state sanctioned monopoly over the local law enforcement business.
Eh, at least some parts of the mafia feel a responsibility to their community. Cops are just heavily-armed gangs who view everyone outside their gang as the enemy.
