Today I got into a discussion about racism with a white woman on Facebook. She followed the predictable script: She asserted that Dr. King would abhor protests (she called them riots) against police brutality, and when I pointed her to literature indicating otherwise, she became incensed, insisted she was being bullied, and refused to engage any further. White skin sure can be thin skin.
Showing posts with label police brutality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police brutality. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Friday, August 22, 2014
I'm Not a Cop, So I Don't Believe That Obnoxious Behavior Gives Me the Right to Kill People: A Response to Sunil Dutta
Police brutality is kind of a problem, and most people have begun to realize this, thanks to events in Ferguson and elsewhere in the country. But in response to criticism, authoritarian personalities tend to clamp down even harder than before, desperately searching for any explanation -- no matter how ridiculous -- for the savage, brutal behavior of some police officers.
Others have addressed the problem of police brutality far better than I ever could. The death penalty is not an appropriate penalty for shoplifting. Being maced or beaten is not an appropriate penalty for "talking back" or asserting your Constitutional rights. Black people are not inherently criminal and prone to rioting; people riot for a reason. I know this. You know this. All intelligent, decent people know this. So I'm not going to waste my time arguing that it's not ok for police officers to openly assault people. Instead, I think it's more important to address the problematic reasoning behind police violence.
The bullshit spewed forth by people who want to defend the trampling of basic Constitutional rights, though, is absolutely ceaseless. Enter Sunil Dutta, whose recent op-ed for the Washington Post endeavors, like so many other fluff pieces full of unsupported assertions, to defend the brutality of police officers. So let's slay some bullshit and attack each of Dutta's claims, point by point.
Others have addressed the problem of police brutality far better than I ever could. The death penalty is not an appropriate penalty for shoplifting. Being maced or beaten is not an appropriate penalty for "talking back" or asserting your Constitutional rights. Black people are not inherently criminal and prone to rioting; people riot for a reason. I know this. You know this. All intelligent, decent people know this. So I'm not going to waste my time arguing that it's not ok for police officers to openly assault people. Instead, I think it's more important to address the problematic reasoning behind police violence.
The bullshit spewed forth by people who want to defend the trampling of basic Constitutional rights, though, is absolutely ceaseless. Enter Sunil Dutta, whose recent op-ed for the Washington Post endeavors, like so many other fluff pieces full of unsupported assertions, to defend the brutality of police officers. So let's slay some bullshit and attack each of Dutta's claims, point by point.
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