Systems of policing in the United States are designed to be the enforcement arm of white supremacy. We need to abolish these systems. We need to rewrite the social contract between white people and systems of policing—be they local police, state militias, or the federal military. Yes. We need to hold individuals accountable. The four Minneapolis police officers who murdered George Floyd on video should be arrested and charged. Yes. There are good police officers. There are police officers who are genuinely trying to contribute to building safer communities. There are police officers who do soul-wrenching work to help children who have experienced sexual violence. There are even police officers who are actively engaged in anti-racist work (although far too few). But this is bigger than individuals. And the ongoing police violence against Black and Brown people is not a result of a few problematic people. It is the intended result of these systems. We White people have made a social contract with police. We give them power and in exchange they protect our white privilege. It is on us as White people to dismantle that contract. The United States would not exist without this social contract. The militia and military was used to murder indigenous families so white settlers could steal the land. Policing in the form of slave patrols was used to enforce the enslavement of African people, so that white landowners could amass wealth. Wealth that they passed down to generations of people who continue to benefit today. (If any of this comes as a surprise to you, I encourage you to learn more about the history of the United States. An Indigenous People’s History of the United States and Stamped from the Beginning are good places to start.) When President Trump tweeted that he would bring in the militia to shoot protesters in Minneapolis, we was following a long line of Presidents who have used systems of policing to quell resistance to white supremacy. When Amy Cooper lied to the police and claimed that a Black man was threatening her life because Christian Cooper asked her comply with the rules in the park, she was following a long history of white women using police to punish Black boys and men who challenge them. When the police murdered Breonna Taylor in her bed they were fulfilling their end of the social contract to use the “war on drugs” as a weapon to criminalize and jail Black communities. When White people support having police officers in schools, based on false claims that they will protect children from shooters, they exchange the safety of Black and Brown children for the privilege of gun ownership. We must demand change. We must abolish these systems. We must end this social contract and develop new ways to foster safety in our communities. Safety for ALL members of our community. Justice for George Floyd. Comments are closed.
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AboutEMPOWERTAINMENT aims to take a critical look at media in regards to how gender and women/girls are portrayed. From popular articles, videos, and websites, to original submissions, we want to not only examine the media and its relation to gender, but help shift it. Archives
November 2017
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