The Anger Behind The Protests
Protests are shaking U.S. cities after two grand juries in New York and Missouri refused to indict police officers in the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Both unarmed and black, 18 year-old Brown was shot over six times in a confrontation with officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, and 43-year-old Garner was held in a chokehold by officer Daniel Pantaleo, after resisting arrest, and died just before mustering the words, €I can't breathe,€ in Staten Island. Amidst the outrage over these non-indictments, headlines are streaming in news sources of more unarmed black men being shot to death by police officers, from Florida (€Cedric Bartee, Unarmed Black Man Shot By Florida Deputy, Allegedly Had Hands Up€) to Arizona (€And Yet Another Unarmed Black Man Shot Dead by Police€); along with disturbing findings of the Cleveland Police force, whose officers are responsible for firing 137 shots in the 2012 killing of two unarmed black citizens and, more recently, fatally shooting a 12-year-old black African American boy who was holding a pellet gun just moments after confronting him. With so many deaths, broken families, and bullets to absorb, the main issue that has people braving the cold and risking arrest for blocking traffic, demanding to be heard, is simple logic: if there are no consequences for law enforcement officers who fatally shoot unarmed citizens, as the precedent has been set with the recent non-indictments, then not only will citizens be in constant fear, but trigger happy cops will be given a green light.
The other issue is racism. Let's just get it out: this country only recently ended Jim Crow laws (segregation laws used to discriminate against minorities), which resulted in thousands of lynching and ambiguous shooting by cops of black citizens. This ugly history is still amongst us because those who lived it are still breathing. I am not suggesting that white citizens are not shot by police or unjustly arrested, but when news stories such as that of Michael Brown and Eric Garner surface, it does begin to feel familiar of the not so €good €ol days.€ Trust is broken when justice is not served. Back in the not so €good €ol days€ juries were notorious for not indicting white people for killing black people - even with eyewitnesses and photographic evidence. Along with recent ugly history, racial profiling is a real thing which inevitably causes tension and more distrust between cops and black Americans.
Much of the anger behind the protests stems from the unapologetic disregard for human life portrayed in these cases. While there is conflicting reports of whether Michael Brown was attacking or surrendering when he was shot by Officer Wilson, there is no doubt of what happened afterwards. Brown's body lay in the hot August sun for four hours before finally being moved. Eric Garner was filmed with an audience of onlookers nonviolently resisting arrest before being put in a chokehold by the officer at the scene, who continued to put pressure on his windpipe even while he gasped and others around him pleaded for the officer to stop. 12-year-old Tamir Rice was given only a few seconds to confront the cops before he was shot dead, as seen by a surveillance camera. There is no compassion, no sympathy, and no respect. When people are treated like they are second-class citizens, like their lives are unworthy, like they are less than human, there is cause for anger.
Not all police officers are trigger happy or bigoted or unjust in using lethal force, but even a handful of bad cops are enough to make people feel unsafe or even threatened. Some officers should never have been given a gun and authority: officer Loehmann, who shot Tamir Rice seconds after pulling up beside him, was in the process of being terminated by the police force of Independence, Ohio, before he resigned to work for the Cleveland police force and, according to his personal file, he had problems following orders and was emotionally unstable. Some are guilty of ignoring rules of engagement as stated by the NYPD patrol guide: €Members of the New York City Police Department will NOT use chokeholds. A chokehold shall include, but is not limited to, any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air.€ If no one is held accountable for a clearly stated rule then that rule is basically moot. Therefore it is the responsibility of disciplinary boards to make officers accountable for their actions, so that citizens have their rights and lives protected and bad cops don't get to represent good cops, tarnishing their good standing with the public.
When the justice system fails, people always have the option to assemble and take to the streets. Protesting is a way to get the world's attention, whether they read about it in the news or feel it while being stuck in traffic. Unfortunately, when a large group of disgruntled people gather, who perhaps feel targeted by police, there is a chance for some looting. Obviously this does not represent all protesters, as the actions of a crooked or badly trained police department does not represent all law enforcement. The difference between the looters, however, and the trigger happy cops with no accountability is that, whereas the looters can still get arrested, charged, put in jail, and indicted for their actions, the cops, at least in the before mentioned cases, are not.
The other issue is racism. Let's just get it out: this country only recently ended Jim Crow laws (segregation laws used to discriminate against minorities), which resulted in thousands of lynching and ambiguous shooting by cops of black citizens. This ugly history is still amongst us because those who lived it are still breathing. I am not suggesting that white citizens are not shot by police or unjustly arrested, but when news stories such as that of Michael Brown and Eric Garner surface, it does begin to feel familiar of the not so €good €ol days.€ Trust is broken when justice is not served. Back in the not so €good €ol days€ juries were notorious for not indicting white people for killing black people - even with eyewitnesses and photographic evidence. Along with recent ugly history, racial profiling is a real thing which inevitably causes tension and more distrust between cops and black Americans.
Much of the anger behind the protests stems from the unapologetic disregard for human life portrayed in these cases. While there is conflicting reports of whether Michael Brown was attacking or surrendering when he was shot by Officer Wilson, there is no doubt of what happened afterwards. Brown's body lay in the hot August sun for four hours before finally being moved. Eric Garner was filmed with an audience of onlookers nonviolently resisting arrest before being put in a chokehold by the officer at the scene, who continued to put pressure on his windpipe even while he gasped and others around him pleaded for the officer to stop. 12-year-old Tamir Rice was given only a few seconds to confront the cops before he was shot dead, as seen by a surveillance camera. There is no compassion, no sympathy, and no respect. When people are treated like they are second-class citizens, like their lives are unworthy, like they are less than human, there is cause for anger.
Not all police officers are trigger happy or bigoted or unjust in using lethal force, but even a handful of bad cops are enough to make people feel unsafe or even threatened. Some officers should never have been given a gun and authority: officer Loehmann, who shot Tamir Rice seconds after pulling up beside him, was in the process of being terminated by the police force of Independence, Ohio, before he resigned to work for the Cleveland police force and, according to his personal file, he had problems following orders and was emotionally unstable. Some are guilty of ignoring rules of engagement as stated by the NYPD patrol guide: €Members of the New York City Police Department will NOT use chokeholds. A chokehold shall include, but is not limited to, any pressure to the throat or windpipe, which may prevent or hinder breathing or reduce intake of air.€ If no one is held accountable for a clearly stated rule then that rule is basically moot. Therefore it is the responsibility of disciplinary boards to make officers accountable for their actions, so that citizens have their rights and lives protected and bad cops don't get to represent good cops, tarnishing their good standing with the public.
When the justice system fails, people always have the option to assemble and take to the streets. Protesting is a way to get the world's attention, whether they read about it in the news or feel it while being stuck in traffic. Unfortunately, when a large group of disgruntled people gather, who perhaps feel targeted by police, there is a chance for some looting. Obviously this does not represent all protesters, as the actions of a crooked or badly trained police department does not represent all law enforcement. The difference between the looters, however, and the trigger happy cops with no accountability is that, whereas the looters can still get arrested, charged, put in jail, and indicted for their actions, the cops, at least in the before mentioned cases, are not.
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