In LA Progressive, July 2020, by Pam Spritzer, excerpt In addition to physical force, Dictionary.com defines violence as “an unjust or unwarranted exertion of force or power, as against rights or laws.” When black people carry “Stop killing us” signs, Kelley recently explained, they are demanding an end not only to police violence, but also “the violence of poverty, the violence of a health …
The Man Whose Surveillance Camera Sparked a National Uprising
Rashad West went from hardworking teen to college athlete to restaurant owner by the age of 26. Then he single-handedly proved that George Floyd was not resisting arrest. Bonsu ThompsonFollowJun 28 · 9 min read For Minneapolis restaurateur Rashad West, 2019 was the absolute best. Business at Dragon Wok, his Southside Minneapolis Asian eatery, was booming. After four years, West’s takeout joint was …
In U.S. Counties Where Lynchings Were Prevalent, Police Are More Likely to Shoot Black People
George Floyd’s death was more than just a murder, it was a modern-day lynching. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images) JUNE 23, 2020 Areas with higher numbers of lynchings from 1877 to 1950 have more officer-involved shootings of Black Americans today.BY JHACOVA WILLIAMS AND CARL ROMER, In These Times While historical lynchings peaked more than a century ago, these …
Limit police union contracts to only wage and benefit issues, not protection of police violence
By Benjamin Sachs, On Labor.June 6, 2020 | CREATE! Collective action is the source of working people’s power. It is the source of the labor movement’s power. It is the source of power that has enabled workers to secure – through unionization and collective bargaining – fairness and dignity at work, living wages, protection against discrimination and harassment, and safe and healthy working …
Sadism is a kind of tyranny, a kind of domination. So is racism in individual instances, institutions, or conditions that so many find themselves in after centuries of colonialism & domination. Taking pleasure in the pain of others, kneeling on another’s neck, is sadistic
By Matthew Fox Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery, a day to honor the survival and resilience of Black people throughout 400 years of sheer inhumanity: from the profound sadism of slavery, through the Jim Crow laws, lynchings, and segregation, to the racism of today. So the question arises: what is this bigotry, hatred….sadism? Sadism is a …
Prison without Punishment: Human Dignity is Inviolable
December 20, 2018 Out From the Holocaust Germany reckoned with its past to build a better justice system. America should too. By AMY L. SOLOMON It’s the overall culture that feels most foreign. Relationships with staff are respectful and collegial, not adversarial. People who are incarcerated are seen and treated as people—not inmates, convicts, or “other.” The underpinnings of the German prison …
POWER OVER THE POLICE: ‘We should demand to be the funders of the police, to permanently and directly determine dollars. Instead of asking those who set police departments’ rules of engagement and goals to make them in a more community-minded fashion, we should demand to be the agenda setters…’
The core problem with policing and incarceration is the same problem that plagues our whole political system: elite capture. The laws, the regulations, the bailouts, and the wonks who write and evaluate all of the above are all powerfully influenced—if not functionally controlled—by elite political and corporate interests. We cannot put our faith in elected representatives and merely vote our way out of this problem: elections are more …
How Endless War Contributes to Police Brutality
By Bonnie Kristian, Responsible Statecraft. June 7, 2020 | EDUCATE! The indefensible death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers and the indiscriminate police violence in subsequent protests have returned police misconduct to the center of our national conversation. It is not a conversation we may quickly or easily conclude. The problems in American policing are multitude and systemic, matters of both policy and culture. Much of this can only be corrected at the …
Now is the time
From Bernie Sanders, 6/5/20 People, across the country, marching in the streets against police brutality and murder. Over 100,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus, and millions infected. Tens of millions of workers losing their jobs, struggling to put food on the table, pay their rent, keep their homes or afford a visit to the doctor. We are in the midst …
America, This Is Your Chance. Our democracy hangs in the balance. This is not an overstatement
America, This Is Your Chance By Michelle Alexander in the NYTimes, June 8, 2020 Our democracy hangs in the balance. This is not an overstatement. As protests, riots, and police violence roiled the nation last week, the president vowed to send the military to quell persistent rebellions and looting, whether governors wanted a military occupation or not. John Allen, a retired …