Protecting Their Own

Marie Sams

            In this week’s readings, what I found particularly interesting was the breakdown of events by Massey and Denton that show the creation of the ghetto by white people. What is so crazy to me is that this is definitely not a fact that gets broadcasted to the masses, and I would say that, to those who had a hand at creating (and maintaining the ghetto), this would not be something they would be proud of. To quote Massey and Denton quoting Kenneth B. Clark (3), “the dark ghetto’s invisible walls have been erected by the white society, by those who have power, both to confine those who have no power and the perpetuate their powerlessness.” Also, the ways in which the ghetto was created and maintained, through violence against individuals and also destroying of property especially, were the most deplorable.  

The quote showing a day in the life of “blacks” in those days is absolutely jaw dropping. “Those living away from recognized “black” neighborhoods had their houses ransacked or burned. Those unlucky or unwise enough to be caught trespassing in “white” neighborhoods were beaten, show, or lynched. Blacks on their way to work were pulled from trolleys and pummeled. Rampaging bands of whites roamed the streets for days, attacking blacks at will” (Massey and Denton, 30).  This reading made me think of the police brutality that has been going on probably since the beginning of policing, but that is now caught on camera and shared on social media. Thanks to the technology of today that we common folk have at our fingertips, as well as police dashboard cameras, one would assume that these cameras would have everyone minding their manners and would have a profoundly positive impact on policing.

This has proven time and time again not to be the case. Not even close actually. And here’s yet another horrifying video to prove it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnpT6GLk6a0

Police brutality is proving to be a dreadfully regular occurrence across the nation even with cameras capturing the moments. The brazen attitudes of police force that they can do whatever they want, to kids and adults alike, is nauseating. The fact that these incidents keep popping up says to me that police departments and individual police officers are so protected by their institution that they can actually get away with hauling off and beating the crud out of innocent people out on an afternoon stroll. I heard that the cop in the video from the link above actually resigned from his department. He should have one thousand percent been convicted of a felony and he should be serving at least ten years in prison, in my opinion. But he won’t, and because he resigned, he can actually go out and get another police officer job, probably in the south.  I think that these police brutality incidents are absolutely an example of enormous issues at the institutional level. The history of violence that Massey and Denton wrote about involving people with power treating people without power in disgusting ways has been going on for such a long time, and I don’t think that it is going to stop any time soon. I think that the seeming omnipresence of video cameras, some of which film police officers interacting with the public in the worst moments, and all of that having little effect on the actions of police officers makes my point clear as day.

It’s possible they exist, but I myself have never seen a video of police brutality against a white person. I believe that if the violence from police were equal opportunity and not simply against people of color, then the whole issue would be taken way more seriously, people might be held accountable for their evildoings, and we might see some much needed changes take place. But cops are slippery suckers and seem to know not to beat on the white people, and that I believe is why violence against people of color will continue. I know it probably wouldn’t yield the results I want, but I am really tempted to do something stupid in front of a police officer and see how far I have to go before I get punched eleven times in the face as the woman in the linked video did. My point is that these videos are surprisingly ineffective at getting bad cops off the streets and into the prisons where they belong. From what I hear, cops who find themselves on the wrong side of the bars in prison don’t do so hot. What I bet is equal opportunity is the anger inmates feel toward cops in gen. pop.. The treatment of a cop behind bars might just be the come-to-Jesus moment that cops everywhere need and might never get.