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Shuts and Failures

by Michael Maiello

DF's picture

Fun Times in the Magic Kingdom

by DF 8/1/2012 - 12:36 pm   |

My dear Daggers, I know it's summer and there's a lot of fun stuff going on.  Why, there's the Olympics and Mitt Romney making an ass of himself overseas and bigots slingin' chicken and what not, but I thought it might be pertinent to highlight how some of the citizens of Anaheim have been enjoying their summer:

 

 

So, here's the rundown: the cops approached a group of young guys in an Anaheim neighborhood.  One runs.  The cops shoot him in the back.  He was unarmed.  The residents of the neighborhood come out of their houses to see what's going on, which is that one of their neighbors has been shot by police.  Understandably upset about this development, the citizens of this Anaheim neighborhood are then greeted in the traditional 21st Century American tradition, with suppressive violence.  Yeah, that's cops shooting rubber bullets into a crowd of women and children in strollers.  Yeah, that's a stroller on the ground right next to the guy being chewed on by a K-9 "unit."

The increasing militarization of police in America is something that has continued unabated for the last 20 years under administrations Republican and Democrat along with the increasing privatization of our prison system.  Here's an image that was taken a couple of days ago:

This is not a soldier in Baghdad.  This is a police officer guarding the gates of Disneyland., the "Happiest Place on Earth."  You know, just like America is the land of the free and the home of the brave.

As with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we are seeing behavior on the part of so-called authorities that illustrates very clearly what is expendable to them - namely people - and what is not - namely property.  This trend continues unabated because we let it.  Because we do not demand better of our "leaders" when they fail so egregiously.  Because there's no accountability for cops who think that their gun is the first-best response to any given situation.  Because we respond so reliably as voters to "tough on crime" horse shit when elections roll around.

Anyway, I hear there's horses in the Olympics.  Dancing.  And there's top hats.  No, not on the horses, on the rider.  Yeah, they wear a top hat while riding a horse as it dances.  No, it doesn't make sense to me either, but it's supposed to be damned majestic.

This is so depressing and, of course, it' been going on for decades now.  It really has brought military style discipline to the streets and the problem is, most people are all for that because most people don't imagine that they'll even raise their voice if their neighbor is shot in the back, much less attend a political or economic protest.  America has become something of a Hobbitton, where the people avoid controversy or getting involved in the affairs of state.

by Michael Maiello 8/1/2012 - 1:22 pm

I think some of the stats in the article acanuck posted below point to one reason why this is not a mainstream issue: this type of police violence is typically visited on young black and Latino males.  It's not something that affects white America and its sons directly.  Of course, this is true of similar problems throughout the entire criminal justice system and the WOD.

by DF 8/1/2012 - 6:20 pm (re: destor23)

Stephan Salisbury puts the Anaheim shootings (there were two in two days) in a national context. With an intro by Nick Turse. It's cross-posted on Huffington Post (minus the intro):

http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175575/

I hadn't noticed before how routinely authorities and media use the phrase "officer-involved shooting" -- neatly glossing over the fact that the "involvement" consists of pulling the trigger. A parallel to the institutional non-apology: "Mistakes were made."

I was wondering how Anaheim's dozen or so such shootings a year compared with national averages. Salisbury has the answer: there are no such stats. Apparently no official body thinks it's crucial to document how deadly America's police forces are -- and against whom their violence is directed. 

by acanuck 8/1/2012 - 2:55 pm

Not only that, but at least here in California they've made it impossible to find out anything about internal "investigations."  Unless actual criminal charges result from misconduct, the public has been firmly locked out of knowing whether accountability exists or not.  This is explicitly to protect the privacy of police officers.

As for the privacy of the average citizen...

Thanks for the link.

by DF 8/1/2012 - 6:12 pm (re: acanuck)

You all could see it. She had it comin'. She had a stroller.

- Bill Hicks

by Qnonymous (not verified) 8/1/2012 - 3:45 pm

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