The Police Are America's Terrorists

[kpete]

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--mzoluRoa--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/mxinn4ktbt2d13jxpgy5.jpg


Last Saturday, Walter Scott was driving his Mercedes in North Charleston, S.C., when he was pulled over by police officer Michael Slager for driving with a broken taillight. Scott had a complicated life, as many of us do. He was employed and engaged; he owed back child support; in all likelihood he really didn’t want to go to jail. When Slager approached, Scott ran.


............................



As long as there have been white people and black people and brown people in America, the slaughter of black and brown people has been used as a form of control. For centuries, on a population level, the racial majority has voted and lobbied to give agents of the state more power to act without sanction, to militarize, to kill. Functionally, this has enabled them to wage war on behalf of the majority of the public; to express hatred and fear and aspire to power through campaigns of terror and carnage.

The slaughter of black and brown people is, in this light, a political act, political violence enacted for political purpose against a civilian population to raise fear and obtain compliance. That Slager probably never thought of things in these terms doesn't matter; what does is that he was trained and given incentives in line with the interests of a particular class intent on preserving its power. The violence he enacted is a kind that keeps one class of citizens terrorized and fearful of random violence for the benefit of another. It's meant to keep that class in line and intact, even as the sands of time shift and racial minorities slowly crawl toward majority status. It's little different from what we've see in India, or Israel and Palestine, or Ireland—a dominant class using the instruments of power against a subjugated one.

It is, in essence, the final expression of an idea. Unlike people, ideas are impossible to kill.



the rest:
http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/the-police-are-americas-terrorists-1696463523/+gabriellebluestone

[yeoman6987]

1. The shooters wife is 8 months pregnant too

What a mess of two familie he caused when he murdered Walker.

[damnedifIknow]

2. Something is wrong

[PatrickforO]

3. Sadly, this nation we all love has been a police state since the passage of

The Patriot Act. And history tells that the rulers of a police state use their police to inflict terror on the population, because a population that fears is supposedly easier to control. At least for a while. But we've seen the Occupy movement, which is only quiescent now, not dead. And the new Civil Rights movement. Now, California is going to be out of water in less than a year, and the sea level is rising all along the coasts. History also tells us that when people suffer a catastrophic drop in quality of life, they engage in massive social unrest.

So what do you think the 10.2 million people in LA will do when there's no more water?

[Binkie The Clown]

4. I'm reading a book about street gangs and...

... frankly, except for dealing drugs, I don't see a whole lot of difference between the police and street gangs, except that in some neighborhoods the gangs do a better job of keeping the peace and seeing that justice prevails. In either case, you are best to steer clear of armed hoodlums, regardless of what kind of gang colors/uniform they wear.

[Downwinder]

10. Police are the "Wise Guys" of our time.

[gwheezie]

5. white people are OK with this

Or we wouldn't let it happen. No I am not talking about you white person. I am talking about collectively since Europeans landed on this continent this is what as a society we feel comfortable with. Individually and on small groups white people have made attempts to push forward but its only after something so blantant happens that some white folks take notice.
I am white by the way. Its clear to me the majority of white people are OK with the way our legal system functions. We have to change ourselves.

[zentrum]

6. Agree….

….with you as another white person. We and our privilege is the problem.

[KMOD]

7. I am not going to tarnish all police officers

We have a problem here where we are not weeding out the bad ones.

But there are many, many good hearted police officers who have the right intentions.

[gwheezie]

8. I work with some good cops

This horrifies them. Tamir Rice horrified them. Eric Garner horrified them. What noticed about the cops that don't seem crazy are the ones who see it as a good job and not some grandiose delusion about good vs evil. They want to do their job and retire someday.

[AlbertCat]

9. The Police Are America's Terrorists

All of them?



But I know what you mean. There's something awful that sure looks systemic....