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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 13 - 25 May 2021 - Main.EbenMoglen
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="SecondEssay" |
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| | | Strengthening Discernment in Police Officers
Instincts are very hard to eliminate because they become automatic, however, the power of the human mind is that when one recognizes tendencies, they can re-learn a new way of addressing a problem. Unlearning this bias has to begin by acknowledging the fight or flight the emerges within officers when they encounter these situations. Through race consciousness training that is reviewed at least yearly, good officers will slowly learn to identify their tendencies. Police forces must prioritize this training, partnering with local Black consulting groups that provide engaging and informative learning experiences. After indoor training, exposure to uncomfortable situations needs to occur. Officers should have field exercises that involve driving around Black neighborhoods, visiting predominantly low-income Black schools and churches, and most of all meeting people in those communities. Events such as barbecues or cookouts, popular in Black communities may be a way of connecting with those they will serve in the future. The goal in these exercises should be to find commonalities that they share with those they will be policing. For officers, discernment calls for identifying irregularities because they warrant further investigation. However, if they are so unaware or unconnected with the people they police, they will perceive most situations as irregularities. By learning the people’s cultures, tendencies, and how they differ from policing perhaps a white community, their discernment will slowly grow leading to an ability to identify how much force is actually necessary during a conflict. | |
>
> |
Information about what police academies actually do in their training of police would be very useful here.
| | | Good officers already discern daily, now is an opportunity to strengthen that ability.
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 12 - 19 May 2021 - Main.TaleahTyrell
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="SecondEssay" |
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| | | Suspicion and Fear Damages Ability to Discern
Police Officers Discernment: De-Funding is Insufficient | |
<
< | The murder of George Floyd in 2020 re-sparked a movement against police brutality in America which propelled citywide budget changes across the U.S. One change that quickly gained popularity amongst young people was efforts to "defund the police" touted as a way to eliminate the problem altogether. The main goal of defunding consisted of re-allocating police resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that there should be alternative people for citizens to call for help during situations. Though ideal on paper, it quickly became evident that these plans would quickly fail because police officers hold a valuable role in our society. They are trained to protect, serve, and keep law and order in communities. They cannot be fully replaced by mental health counselors as evidenced by similar approaches that have failed in the past. Eliminating officers altogether is not a solution, instead, the key is to train officers to have better discernment so that they respond with minimal fear and bias. Identifying why many police officers fail to discern when policing Black communities and then actively helping officers to strengthen discernment in those situations may provide a route minimizing the unjust police murders of Black people. | >
> | The murder of George Floyd in 2020 re-sparked a movement against police brutality in America which propelled citywide budget changes across the U.S. One change that quickly gained popularity amongst young people was efforts to "defund the police" touted as a way to eliminate the problem altogether. The main goal of defunding consisted of re-allocating police resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that there should be alternative people for citizens to call for help during situations. Though ideal on paper, it quickly became evident that these plans would fail because police officers hold a valuable role in our society. They are trained to protect, serve, and keep law and order in communities. They cannot be fully replaced by mental health counselors as evidenced by similar approaches that have failed in the past. Eliminating officers altogether is not a solution, instead, the key is to train officers to have better discernment so that they respond with minimal fear and bias. Identifying why many police officers fail to discern when policing Black communities and then actively helping officers to strengthen discernment in those situations may provide a route to minimizing the unjust police murders of Black people. | | | Discernment: A Police Officers Greatest Tool
According to Merriam Webster, "discernment" means "the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure" or "an act of perceiving." Police officers are tasked with discernment daily. They drive around neighborhoods examining individuals and situations, making quick decisions based on human dispositions, activities, clothing, demeanor, etc. With this input of information they must make quick judgments about whether to arrest, interfere, assist, help, or interrupt. Quality discernment becomes an officers most valued skill and a method to success in their field. This ability to quickly comprehend situations is not necessarily always a conscious decision. A good discern-er couples conscious thoughts with quick subconscious judgments that analyze those thoughts. For officers, after many successful arrests, de-escalations, or detainments, these subconscious judgments are inevitably trusted more and more, leading to a confidence that a good officer should have. The valued skill of discernment, however, can become diluted or weakened when its source is only derived from a subconscious experience. In these times, fear or anxiety may be confused as discernment and result in unjustifiable and unnecessary use of force. | | | An eerily similar sheer desperation is also reflected in the voices of the cops that scrambled to stop Daunte Wright. This time, the officer mistakenly shot her gun thinking it was a taser, killing the 20-year-old.
Eliminating False Discernment is Necessary to Properly Police those that look Suspiciously Different | |
<
< | The deep bias that has grown from years of portrayals of Black people in the media, the amount of Black people in prison, and the differences in cultures and experiences have all contributed to an appropriately heightened state some officers have when they encounter Black people. The current response to situations may seem justifiable to officers because they have consciously and unconsciously been taught to view Black people as a higher risk. However, to have equal justice under the law with respect to and from police officers we need to train officers to re-wire the disproportionate risk perception unconsciously attributed to Black people. Years of using discernment to identify tangible evidence such as guns, knives, age, and intangible evidence such as perception and attitude of potential threats must also be modified through a different lens that adequately accounts for bias so that officers may have an appropriate response to situations. | >
> | The deep bias that has grown from years of portrayals of Black people in the media, the amount of Black people in prison, and the differences in cultures and experiences have all contributed to an appropriately heightened state some officers have when they encounter Black people. The current response to situations may seem justifiable to officers because they have consciously and unconsciously been taught to view Black people as a higher risk. However, to have equal justice under the law with respect to and from police officers we need to train officers to re-wire the disproportionate risk perception unconsciously attributed to Black people. Years of using discernment to identify tangible evidence such as guns, knives, age, and intangible evidence such as perception and attitudes of potential threats must also be modified through a different lens that adequately accounts for bias so that officers may have an appropriate response to situations. | | | Strengthening Discernment in Police Officers
Instincts are very hard to eliminate because they become automatic, however, the power of the human mind is that when one recognizes tendencies, they can re-learn a new way of addressing a problem. Unlearning this bias has to begin by acknowledging the fight or flight the emerges within officers when they encounter these situations. Through race consciousness training that is reviewed at least yearly, good officers will slowly learn to identify their tendencies. Police forces must prioritize this training, partnering with local Black consulting groups that provide engaging and informative learning experiences. After indoor training, exposure to uncomfortable situations needs to occur. Officers should have field exercises that involve driving around Black neighborhoods, visiting predominantly low-income Black schools and churches, and most of all meeting people in those communities. Events such as barbecues or cookouts, popular in Black communities may be a way of connecting with those they will serve in the future. The goal in these exercises should be to find commonalities that they share with those they will be policing. For officers, discernment calls for identifying irregularities because they warrant further investigation. However, if they are so unaware or unconnected with the people they police, they will perceive most situations as irregularities. By learning the people’s cultures, tendencies, and how they differ from policing perhaps a white community, their discernment will slowly grow leading to an ability to identify how much force is actually necessary during a conflict. |
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 11 - 19 May 2021 - Main.TaleahTyrell
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="SecondEssay" |
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| | | Suspicion and Fear Damages Ability to Discern
Police Officers Discernment: De-Funding is Insufficient | |
<
< | The unnecessary killing of George Floyd in 2020 re-sparked a movement with millions of Americans united against police brutality. This movement propelled citywide changes across the U.S. Efforts to "defund the police" spurred throughout the country as a way to eliminate the problem altogether. The main goal consisted of allocating police resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that there should be alternative numbers accessible to citizens to call for help during situations. Though this effort sound ideal on paper, these plans will largely fail because police officers hold a valuable role in our society. They are trained to protect, serve, and keep law and order in communities. They cannot be fully replaced by mental health counselors as evidenced by similar approaches that have failed in the past. Thus since eliminating officers altogether is not a solution, the key is to train officers have better discernment in situations so that they respond with minimal fear and bias. Identifying why many police officers fail to discern when policing Black communities and then actively helping officers to strengthen discernment in those situations may provide a route to the goal of not unjustly killing people of color. | >
> | The murder of George Floyd in 2020 re-sparked a movement against police brutality in America which propelled citywide budget changes across the U.S. One change that quickly gained popularity amongst young people was efforts to "defund the police" touted as a way to eliminate the problem altogether. The main goal of defunding consisted of re-allocating police resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that there should be alternative people for citizens to call for help during situations. Though ideal on paper, it quickly became evident that these plans would quickly fail because police officers hold a valuable role in our society. They are trained to protect, serve, and keep law and order in communities. They cannot be fully replaced by mental health counselors as evidenced by similar approaches that have failed in the past. Eliminating officers altogether is not a solution, instead, the key is to train officers to have better discernment so that they respond with minimal fear and bias. Identifying why many police officers fail to discern when policing Black communities and then actively helping officers to strengthen discernment in those situations may provide a route minimizing the unjust police murders of Black people. | | | Discernment: A Police Officers Greatest Tool | |
<
< | According to Merriam Webster, "discernment" means "the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure" or "an act of perceiving." Police officers are tasked with this role daily. They drive around neighborhoods examining individuals and situations, making quick decisions based on human dispositions, activities, clothing, demeanor, etc. With this input of information they must make quick judgments about whether to arrest, interfere, assist, help, or interrupt. Quality discernment becomes an officers most valued skill and a method to success in their field. This ability to comprehend is not necessarily always a conscious decision. A good discern-er couples conscious thoughts with quick subconscious judgments that analyze those thoughts. For officers, after many successful arrests, de-escalations, or detainments, these subconscious judgments are inevitably trusted more and more, leading to a confidence that a good officer should have. As such, the valued skill of discernment can become diluted or weakened when its only source is derived from a subconscious experience. In these times, fear or anxiety may be confused as discernment and result in unjustifiable and unnecessary use of force. | >
> | According to Merriam Webster, "discernment" means "the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure" or "an act of perceiving." Police officers are tasked with discernment daily. They drive around neighborhoods examining individuals and situations, making quick decisions based on human dispositions, activities, clothing, demeanor, etc. With this input of information they must make quick judgments about whether to arrest, interfere, assist, help, or interrupt. Quality discernment becomes an officers most valued skill and a method to success in their field. This ability to quickly comprehend situations is not necessarily always a conscious decision. A good discern-er couples conscious thoughts with quick subconscious judgments that analyze those thoughts. For officers, after many successful arrests, de-escalations, or detainments, these subconscious judgments are inevitably trusted more and more, leading to a confidence that a good officer should have. The valued skill of discernment, however, can become diluted or weakened when its source is only derived from a subconscious experience. In these times, fear or anxiety may be confused as discernment and result in unjustifiable and unnecessary use of force. | | | False Discernment: A Police Officers Greatest Weakness
Though a common narrative now is that there as some "bad apples" that contribute to racism in the police forces, what is more likely is that many regular apples have adopted false discernment, which is a mix of fear, anxiety, and rash actions. False discernment is evidenced by the officer who shot 13-year old Adam Toledo. In the video, Toledo drops a handgun then turns to the police raising his hands. The cop immediately shoots him. As graphic as the video is to watch, more telling are the officers words of desperation as he chases Toledo down the alley "Hey! Don't F**move! Stop, STOP!" | | | An eerily similar sheer desperation is also reflected in the voices of the cops that scrambled to stop Daunte Wright. This time, the officer mistakenly shot her gun thinking it was a taser, killing the 20-year-old.
Eliminating False Discernment is Necessary to Properly Police those that look Suspiciously Different | |
<
< | To have equal justice under the law with respect to and from police officers we need to train officers to re-wire the disproportionate risk perception unconsciously attributed to Black people. The current response to situations may seem justifiable to officers because they have consciously and unconsciously been taught to view Black people as a higher risk. Because of deep bias that has grown from years of portrayals of Black people in the media, the amount of Black people in prison, and the differences in cultures and experience all lend to an appropriately heightened state when they encounter Black people. Years of using discernment to identify tangible evidence such as guns, knives, age, and intangible evidence such as perception and attitude of potential threats must also be modified through a different lens that adequately accounts for bias so that officers may have an appropriate response to a situation. | >
> | The deep bias that has grown from years of portrayals of Black people in the media, the amount of Black people in prison, and the differences in cultures and experiences have all contributed to an appropriately heightened state some officers have when they encounter Black people. The current response to situations may seem justifiable to officers because they have consciously and unconsciously been taught to view Black people as a higher risk. However, to have equal justice under the law with respect to and from police officers we need to train officers to re-wire the disproportionate risk perception unconsciously attributed to Black people. Years of using discernment to identify tangible evidence such as guns, knives, age, and intangible evidence such as perception and attitude of potential threats must also be modified through a different lens that adequately accounts for bias so that officers may have an appropriate response to situations. | | | Strengthening Discernment in Police Officers | |
<
< | Instincts are very hard to eliminate because they become automatic, however, the power of the human mind is that when one recognizes tendencies, they can re-learn a new way of addressing a problem. Unlearning this bias has to begin by acknowledging the fight or flight the emerges within officers when encountered in these situations. Through race consciousness training, good officers will slowly learn what their tendencies are. After indoor training, exposure to situations needs to occur. Officers should have field exercises that involve driving around Black neighborhoods, visiting predominantly low-income Black Schools and churches, and most of all meeting people in those communities. For officers, discernment calls for identifying irregularities because they warrant further investigation. However, if they are so unaware or unconnected with the people they police, they will perceive most situations as irregularities. By learning the peoples cultures, tendencies, and how they differ from policing perhaps a white community, their discernment will slowly grow to be in tune to identify when an actual problem is involved. | >
> | Instincts are very hard to eliminate because they become automatic, however, the power of the human mind is that when one recognizes tendencies, they can re-learn a new way of addressing a problem. Unlearning this bias has to begin by acknowledging the fight or flight the emerges within officers when they encounter these situations. Through race consciousness training that is reviewed at least yearly, good officers will slowly learn to identify their tendencies. Police forces must prioritize this training, partnering with local Black consulting groups that provide engaging and informative learning experiences. After indoor training, exposure to uncomfortable situations needs to occur. Officers should have field exercises that involve driving around Black neighborhoods, visiting predominantly low-income Black schools and churches, and most of all meeting people in those communities. Events such as barbecues or cookouts, popular in Black communities may be a way of connecting with those they will serve in the future. The goal in these exercises should be to find commonalities that they share with those they will be policing. For officers, discernment calls for identifying irregularities because they warrant further investigation. However, if they are so unaware or unconnected with the people they police, they will perceive most situations as irregularities. By learning the people’s cultures, tendencies, and how they differ from policing perhaps a white community, their discernment will slowly grow leading to an ability to identify how much force is actually necessary during a conflict.
Good officers already discern daily, now is an opportunity to strengthen that ability. | | | | |
<
< | The line between their fear based bias and discernment is very thin. | | | |
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 10 - 18 May 2021 - Main.TaleahTyrell
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="SecondEssay" |
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| | | -- By TaleahTyrell - 16 Apr 2021
Suspicion and Fear Damages Ability to Discern | |
<
< | Pretextual Stops
A year ago, while driving around an affluent San Diego neighborhood with my boyfriend the cops stopped us.
"May I ask what we did wrong officer?"
"Your license plate is not from California."
We looked at each other, confused and anxious as the cop walked back to his car to run the license. A few minutes later he came back to the car, this time, completely ignoring him, only speaking to me.
"Where is he from?" the cop asked me. And then, "Ma'm, I need to see your license or identification too."
Luckily I'd brought my wallet along. I gave him my identification and he said, "Oh, you are from here." He let us go.
We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? I tried to put myself in that officers shoes, ignoring my tendency to assume mal-intent from all cops. What if he was a kind man with good intentions, maybe with kids and a family that lived close to the area. What if he genuinely viewed our activities as a threat and it was instinctual for him to stop us?
Police Officers Discernment
De-Funding is Insufficient
The unnecessary killing of George Floyd in 2020 re-sparked a movement with millions of Americans united against police brutality. This movement propelled citywide changes across the U.S. Efforts to "defund the police" spurred throughout the country as a way to eliminate the problem altogether. The main goal consisted of allocating police resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that there should be alternative numbers accessible to citizens to call for help during situations. Though this effort may sound ideal on paper, these plans will largely fail if the crucial role police discernment plays is not identified. Police officers hold a valuable role in our society. They are trained to protect, serve, and keep law and order in communities. They cannot be fully replaced by mental health counselors as evidenced by similar approaches that have failed in the past. Accepting the reality that officers are here to stay leads to the effort of identifying why discernment fails when police officers are tasked with policing Black communities. | >
> | Police Officers Discernment: De-Funding is Insufficient
The unnecessary killing of George Floyd in 2020 re-sparked a movement with millions of Americans united against police brutality. This movement propelled citywide changes across the U.S. Efforts to "defund the police" spurred throughout the country as a way to eliminate the problem altogether. The main goal consisted of allocating police resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that there should be alternative numbers accessible to citizens to call for help during situations. Though this effort sound ideal on paper, these plans will largely fail because police officers hold a valuable role in our society. They are trained to protect, serve, and keep law and order in communities. They cannot be fully replaced by mental health counselors as evidenced by similar approaches that have failed in the past. Thus since eliminating officers altogether is not a solution, the key is to train officers have better discernment in situations so that they respond with minimal fear and bias. Identifying why many police officers fail to discern when policing Black communities and then actively helping officers to strengthen discernment in those situations may provide a route to the goal of not unjustly killing people of color. | | | Discernment: A Police Officers Greatest Tool
According to Merriam Webster, "discernment" means "the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure" or "an act of perceiving." Police officers are tasked with this role daily. They drive around neighborhoods examining individuals and situations, making quick decisions based on human dispositions, activities, clothing, demeanor, etc. With this input of information they must make quick judgments about whether to arrest, interfere, assist, help, or interrupt. Quality discernment becomes an officers most valued skill and a method to success in their field. This ability to comprehend is not necessarily always a conscious decision. A good discern-er couples conscious thoughts with quick subconscious judgments that analyze those thoughts. For officers, after many successful arrests, de-escalations, or detainments, these subconscious judgments are inevitably trusted more and more, leading to a confidence that a good officer should have. As such, the valued skill of discernment can become diluted or weakened when its only source is derived from a subconscious experience. In these times, fear or anxiety may be confused as discernment and result in unjustifiable and unnecessary use of force.
False Discernment: A Police Officers Greatest Weakness | |
<
< | Though a common narrative now is that there as some "bad apples" that contribute to racism in the police forces, what is more likely is that many regular apples have adopted false discernment, which is a mix of fear, anxiety, and rash actions. False discernment is evidenced by the officer who shot 13-year old Adam Toledo. In the video, Toledo drops a handgun then turns to the police raising his hands. The cop immediately shot him. As graphic as the video is to watch, more telling are the words of desperation as the officer chases Toledo down the alley "Hey! Don't F**move! Stop, STOP!" An eerily similar sheer desperation is also reflected in the voices the the cops that scrambled to stop Daunte Wright. This time, the officer mistakenly shot her gun thinking it was a taser, killing the 20-year-old. | >
> | Though a common narrative now is that there as some "bad apples" that contribute to racism in the police forces, what is more likely is that many regular apples have adopted false discernment, which is a mix of fear, anxiety, and rash actions. False discernment is evidenced by the officer who shot 13-year old Adam Toledo. In the video, Toledo drops a handgun then turns to the police raising his hands. The cop immediately shoots him. As graphic as the video is to watch, more telling are the officers words of desperation as he chases Toledo down the alley "Hey! Don't F**move! Stop, STOP!" | | | | |
<
< | Eliminating False Discernment to Properly Police those that look Suspiciously Different
To have equal justice under the law with respect to and from police officers we need to train officers to re-wire the disproportionate risk perception that they unconsciously attribute to Black people. The current response to situations seems justifiable to them in the situations because they view Black people as a higher risk. Because of deep unconscious bias that has grown from years of portrayals of Black people in the media, the amount of Black people in prison, and the differences in cultures and experience all lend to an appropriately heightened state when they encounter Black people. Those years of discernments where officers look for guns, knives, age, and normally make a sound decision as to how to resolve the situation now mix with the fear of the unknown, “will this Black person respect my authority?” “Do they have a gun?” “If they do, will they shoot me?” Instead of discerning as with a white person, too often the threat is categorically perceived as a deadly risk. Unlearning this bias has to begin by acknowledging the fight or flight the emerges within officers when encountered in these situations. | >
> | An eerily similar sheer desperation is also reflected in the voices of the cops that scrambled to stop Daunte Wright. This time, the officer mistakenly shot her gun thinking it was a taser, killing the 20-year-old. | | | | |
<
< | I’ll never know why that officer stopped me in San Diego. However, knowing that there are so many well-intentioned good officers, I can imagine that this officer saw two very different people and his usual discernment told him that this irregularity warranted further investigation. It is at that crucial moment, however, that officers must take stock of the line between their fear and discernment so that individuals are not needlessly killed. | >
> | Eliminating False Discernment is Necessary to Properly Police those that look Suspiciously Different
To have equal justice under the law with respect to and from police officers we need to train officers to re-wire the disproportionate risk perception unconsciously attributed to Black people. The current response to situations may seem justifiable to officers because they have consciously and unconsciously been taught to view Black people as a higher risk. Because of deep bias that has grown from years of portrayals of Black people in the media, the amount of Black people in prison, and the differences in cultures and experience all lend to an appropriately heightened state when they encounter Black people. Years of using discernment to identify tangible evidence such as guns, knives, age, and intangible evidence such as perception and attitude of potential threats must also be modified through a different lens that adequately accounts for bias so that officers may have an appropriate response to a situation. | | | | |
>
> | Strengthening Discernment in Police Officers
Instincts are very hard to eliminate because they become automatic, however, the power of the human mind is that when one recognizes tendencies, they can re-learn a new way of addressing a problem. Unlearning this bias has to begin by acknowledging the fight or flight the emerges within officers when encountered in these situations. Through race consciousness training, good officers will slowly learn what their tendencies are. After indoor training, exposure to situations needs to occur. Officers should have field exercises that involve driving around Black neighborhoods, visiting predominantly low-income Black Schools and churches, and most of all meeting people in those communities. For officers, discernment calls for identifying irregularities because they warrant further investigation. However, if they are so unaware or unconnected with the people they police, they will perceive most situations as irregularities. By learning the peoples cultures, tendencies, and how they differ from policing perhaps a white community, their discernment will slowly grow to be in tune to identify when an actual problem is involved. | | | | |
<
< |
This draft does everything in 980 words that the previous one did in 1440. Cutting it was both a useful experience for you as a writer and helpful to me as an editor, because now we can see more clearly where the issues are. | >
> | The line between their fear based bias and discernment is very thin. | | | | |
<
< | In most of the societies I have lived in or visited, desire to avoid police is strong in the general population. In that sense, what is most atypical about the US isn't the fear and antipathy Black folk feel about the police, but the sense White people have that police are genuinely their allies. | | | | |
<
< | No Soviet person wanted to deal with militia, ever. To be from the Caucasus, however, therefore being what Russians call a "blackass," was to be even more fearful of the police than to be one of the "ordinary" Slavic people living under the boot of the State. | | | | |
<
< | Societies adopt paramilitary organization for their order-keepers because that works at keeping order. They way paramilitary forces keep order is always only acceptable to those who in their own opinions personify order, because they personify property. For everyone else, that way of keeping order is unacceptable, because it imposes all the costs of order on themselves, their bodies, their families, and their communities.
So we have in the US both a particular form of racialized dualism with respect to police, in which US White people are exceptionally pro police—because we have a rich society in which police are only very occasionally corrupt, rule of law is strong so most police are law-abiding most of the time, and there are communities in which police are visible engaged in protecting and serving—and Black folks have unusually strong reasons to be afraid, even as police forces around the society are increasingly integrated and even led by Black chiefs and commissioners. US police use unusually high amounts of lethal force in the street for police in wealthy democracies, overall, and the racial distribution of that use of force is self-evidently biased, as are the sorts of petty abuses of power with which your essay begins. | >
> | | | | | |
<
< | It is entirely possible to imagine a transition away from paramilitary order-keeping. Most of the time, in most social locales, the form of immediate social response to harm or danger can be unarmed social intervention by people who don't require power to arrest. But that won't eliminate entirely the need for the State's coercive force to deal with violence and criminal behavior, so we can't expect to remove the paramilitary form of government from the urban street altogether. Which means that the question how to secure actual civil equality in the treatment of all people by those forces doesn't vanish if we "defund the police." The most valuable route to improvement of this draft, I think, is to make some further cuts, which you can do, in order to give space in which to come to grips with the residual problem: no matter how far we cut back, the state will have uniforms on the street carrying guns, and we need to have equal justice under law with respect to, and from, them.
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 9 - 17 May 2021 - Main.TaleahTyrell
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="SecondEssay" |
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<
< | Lack of Discernment when Cops are Afraid? | >
> | Lack of Discernment when Cops are Afraid | | | -- By TaleahTyrell - 16 Apr 2021 | |
<
< | Different Looking People Spurs Suspicion and Fear | >
> | Suspicion and Fear Damages Ability to Discern | | | Pretextual Stops
A year ago, while driving around an affluent San Diego neighborhood with my boyfriend the cops stopped us.
"May I ask what we did wrong officer?"
"Your license plate is not from California." | |
<
< | We looked at each other, scared as the cop walked back to his car to run the license. A few minutes later he came back to the car, this time, completely ignoring him, only speaking to me. | >
> | We looked at each other, confused and anxious as the cop walked back to his car to run the license. A few minutes later he came back to the car, this time, completely ignoring him, only speaking to me. | | | "Where is he from?" the cop asked me. And then, "Ma'm, I need to see your license or identification too."
Luckily I'd brought my wallet along. I gave him my identification and he said, "Oh, you are from here." He let us go. | |
<
< | We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? Through the frustration however, I began to wonder if maybe that cop was actually a kind man with good intentions, maybe with kids and a family that lived close to the area. What if, he, from his perspective, genuinely viewed our activities as a threat and it was instinctual for him to stop us? | >
> | We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? I tried to put myself in that officers shoes, ignoring my tendency to assume mal-intent from all cops. What if he was a kind man with good intentions, maybe with kids and a family that lived close to the area. What if he genuinely viewed our activities as a threat and it was instinctual for him to stop us? | | | Police Officers Discernment
De-Funding is Insufficient | |
<
< | Cops unnecessarily killing people of color has re-sparked a movement in America in 2020. After the death of George Floyd, millions of Americans united to protest police brutality. This movement sparked citywide changes across the U.S. Efforts to "defund the police" have spurred throughout the country as a way to eliminate the problem altogether. The main goal consists of allocating police resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that they should be alternative numbers of citizens to call for help during a situation. However, those efforts will largely fail if the crucial role police discernment plays is not identified. At the end of the day, police officers hold a valuable role in society. They are trained to protect, serve, and keep law and order in our society. They cannot be fully replaced by mental health counselors as evidenced by approaches like this that have failed in the past. Accepting the reality that officers are here to stay leads to the effort of identifying why discernment fails when police officers are tasked with policing Black communities. | >
> | The unnecessary killing of George Floyd in 2020 re-sparked a movement with millions of Americans united against police brutality. This movement propelled citywide changes across the U.S. Efforts to "defund the police" spurred throughout the country as a way to eliminate the problem altogether. The main goal consisted of allocating police resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that there should be alternative numbers accessible to citizens to call for help during situations. Though this effort may sound ideal on paper, these plans will largely fail if the crucial role police discernment plays is not identified. Police officers hold a valuable role in our society. They are trained to protect, serve, and keep law and order in communities. They cannot be fully replaced by mental health counselors as evidenced by similar approaches that have failed in the past. Accepting the reality that officers are here to stay leads to the effort of identifying why discernment fails when police officers are tasked with policing Black communities. | | | Discernment: A Police Officers Greatest Tool | |
<
< | According to Merriam Webster, "discernment" means "the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure" or "an act of perceiving." Police officers are tasked with this role daily. They drive around neighborhoods examining individuals and situations making quick decisions based on human dispositions, activities, clothing, demeanor, etc. With this input of information they must make quick judgments about whether to arrest, interfere, assist, help, or interrupt. Quality discernment becomes an officers most valued skill and a method to success in their field. This ability to comprehend is not necessarily always a conscious decision. A good discern-er couples conscious thoughts with quick subconscious judgments that analyze those thoughts. For officers, after many successful arrests, de-escalations, or detainments, these subconscious judgments are inevitably trusted more and more, leading to a confidence that a good officer should have. As such, the valued skill of discernment can become diluted or weakened when its only source is derived from a subconscious experience. In these times, fear or anxiety may be confused as discernment and result in unjustifiable and unnecessary use of force. | >
> | According to Merriam Webster, "discernment" means "the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure" or "an act of perceiving." Police officers are tasked with this role daily. They drive around neighborhoods examining individuals and situations, making quick decisions based on human dispositions, activities, clothing, demeanor, etc. With this input of information they must make quick judgments about whether to arrest, interfere, assist, help, or interrupt. Quality discernment becomes an officers most valued skill and a method to success in their field. This ability to comprehend is not necessarily always a conscious decision. A good discern-er couples conscious thoughts with quick subconscious judgments that analyze those thoughts. For officers, after many successful arrests, de-escalations, or detainments, these subconscious judgments are inevitably trusted more and more, leading to a confidence that a good officer should have. As such, the valued skill of discernment can become diluted or weakened when its only source is derived from a subconscious experience. In these times, fear or anxiety may be confused as discernment and result in unjustifiable and unnecessary use of force. | | | False Discernment: A Police Officers Greatest Weakness | |
<
< | This false discernment, which is a mix of fear, anxiety, and rash actions is evidenced by the officer who shot 13-year old Adam Toledo. In the video, Toledo drops a handgun then turns to the police raising his hands. The cop immediately shot him. As graphic as the video is to watch, more telling are the words of desperation as the officer chases Toledo down the alley "Hey! Don't F**move! Stop, STOP!" An eerily similar sheer desperation is also reflected in the voices the the cops that scrambled to stop Daunte Wright. This time, the officer mistakenly shot her gun thinking it was a taser, killing the 20-year-old. | >
> | Though a common narrative now is that there as some "bad apples" that contribute to racism in the police forces, what is more likely is that many regular apples have adopted false discernment, which is a mix of fear, anxiety, and rash actions. False discernment is evidenced by the officer who shot 13-year old Adam Toledo. In the video, Toledo drops a handgun then turns to the police raising his hands. The cop immediately shot him. As graphic as the video is to watch, more telling are the words of desperation as the officer chases Toledo down the alley "Hey! Don't F**move! Stop, STOP!" An eerily similar sheer desperation is also reflected in the voices the the cops that scrambled to stop Daunte Wright. This time, the officer mistakenly shot her gun thinking it was a taser, killing the 20-year-old. | | |
Eliminating False Discernment to Properly Police those that look Suspiciously Different |
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 8 - 13 May 2021 - Main.TaleahTyrell
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| | | Luckily I'd brought my wallet along. I gave him my identification and he said, "Oh, you are from here." He let us go. | |
<
< | Our day was ruined. We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? I started crying, fuming. Through the frustration however, I began to wonder if maybe that cop was actually a kind man with good intentions, maybe with kids and a family that lived close to the area. What if, he from his perspective, our foreign car driving around the neighborhood was a threat that he needed to stop immediately? | >
> | We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? Through the frustration however, I began to wonder if maybe that cop was actually a kind man with good intentions, maybe with kids and a family that lived close to the area. What if, he, from his perspective, genuinely viewed our activities as a threat and it was instinctual for him to stop us? | | | Police Officers Discernment |
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 7 - 13 May 2021 - Main.TaleahTyrell
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< | Lack of Discernment when are Cops Afraid? | >
> | Lack of Discernment when Cops are Afraid? | | | -- By TaleahTyrell - 16 Apr 2021 | |
<
< | Pretextual Stops Escalating
**the cops fearing us.
**Consequences of a Disproportionate response to Situations
**guns, knives, their age. what would i normally perceive as a fear. categoraically perceive as a risk. breaking protocol rather, this is protocol.
Pretextual Stops are not Uncommon | >
> | Different Looking People Spurs Suspicion and Fear
Pretextual Stops | | | A year ago, while driving around an affluent San Diego neighborhood with my boyfriend the cops stopped us.
"May I ask what we did wrong officer?" | | | Luckily I'd brought my wallet along. I gave him my identification and he said, "Oh, you are from here." He let us go. | |
<
< | Our day was ruined. We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? I started crying, fuming. Was this just a “bad apple” or was there a bigger problem? I don't know what I would've done had I been asked to get out of the car that day. I want to say that I would comply and do all as I was asked to do. But even knowing all the rules, I can't say that my fight or flight instincts wouldn't have hit me and I too would be, like Daunte, trying to flee the situation in fear. I thought to myself, what exactly could I do about this situation? Who could I report this to?
Re-imagining Policing for those who FEAR Police
Both Parties Fearing Other
The death of George Floyd last year shook many Americans to their core. As the officer who shot him stands in trial, we see how different this case has been from others. The wall of defense that police officers normally have for each other has largely broken down. We have witnessed officer after officer testify against one of their own, to the disbelief of many. Cities have also made changes. Efforts to "defund the police" have spurred throughout the country. But what does it mean to "defund" a cornerstone of our society? Some say its allocating some of their resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that they should be alternative numbers of citizens to call for help during a situation. Others argue that the money should go towards racial bias training so that officers can identify and overcome this instinct. A smaller group calls for officers to get more training so that they learn to de-escalate situations without resorting to killing. | >
> | Our day was ruined. We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? I started crying, fuming. Through the frustration however, I began to wonder if maybe that cop was actually a kind man with good intentions, maybe with kids and a family that lived close to the area. What if, he from his perspective, our foreign car driving around the neighborhood was a threat that he needed to stop immediately? | | | | |
<
< | Many black people in this country, however, who know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of pretextual stops and micro-aggression also know that the answer cannot include police officers in the form that they are currently presented. There is a deep un-spoken, but deeply embedded rule within the black community I was raised in: Don't call the po po. Issues are largely solved within the community. We largely defer to pastors or respected elders when it comes to solving issue within the community. As for interactions with the police that are not by our choice, we largely try to avoid them. Most of us have had the talk: when you encounter the police only say yes sir, no ma'am. Do exactly as you are told. I've practiced it several times. But its different when you encounter an officer. All the fear and anger can easily boil together, especially when you feel like you've been unjustly stopped. | >
> | Police Officers Discernment | | | | |
<
< | How the Police System has to Change
The policing of Black Americans will likely need to be re-imagined completely because of the deep trauma the Black community has faced at the hands of police. Some say that the issue is that some police officers that are "bad apples." Unfortunately, it is not that simple. I refuse to believe that most of the officers killing Black Americans are horrible racists who want to see Black people dead. These cops have jobs, families, and commitments to uphold. I do not think they would do their dirty work so openly and freely. I do not think they would be willing to risk it all considering the current political climate. I certainly do not think that they would do so during the same with where they see one of theirs on trial, largely unsupported by all his ex co-workers and presumably friends. | >
> | De-Funding is Insufficient
Cops unnecessarily killing people of color has re-sparked a movement in America in 2020. After the death of George Floyd, millions of Americans united to protest police brutality. This movement sparked citywide changes across the U.S. Efforts to "defund the police" have spurred throughout the country as a way to eliminate the problem altogether. The main goal consists of allocating police resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that they should be alternative numbers of citizens to call for help during a situation. However, those efforts will largely fail if the crucial role police discernment plays is not identified. At the end of the day, police officers hold a valuable role in society. They are trained to protect, serve, and keep law and order in our society. They cannot be fully replaced by mental health counselors as evidenced by approaches like this that have failed in the past. Accepting the reality that officers are here to stay leads to the effort of identifying why discernment fails when police officers are tasked with policing Black communities. | | | | |
<
< | Instead, it's that even "good apples" can freak out. That the same fear Black Americans have for the police is may actually be shared by police towards Black Americans. Even those that do not intend to injure or kill during a traffic stop the fear and anxiety exuded by the person they have stopped may be incorrectly interpreted as aggression. My sympathetic system is mirrored by the police officer, also triggered within them. And in cases where they actually hold a gun, and I do not, the result is sometimes inevitable. This is why we see police officers safely arrest and detain non-black people. The officers are working with discipline, making sound decisions. | >
> | Discernment: A Police Officers Greatest Tool
According to Merriam Webster, "discernment" means "the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure" or "an act of perceiving." Police officers are tasked with this role daily. They drive around neighborhoods examining individuals and situations making quick decisions based on human dispositions, activities, clothing, demeanor, etc. With this input of information they must make quick judgments about whether to arrest, interfere, assist, help, or interrupt. Quality discernment becomes an officers most valued skill and a method to success in their field. This ability to comprehend is not necessarily always a conscious decision. A good discern-er couples conscious thoughts with quick subconscious judgments that analyze those thoughts. For officers, after many successful arrests, de-escalations, or detainments, these subconscious judgments are inevitably trusted more and more, leading to a confidence that a good officer should have. As such, the valued skill of discernment can become diluted or weakened when its only source is derived from a subconscious experience. In these times, fear or anxiety may be confused as discernment and result in unjustifiable and unnecessary use of force. | | | | |
>
> | False Discernment: A Police Officers Greatest Weakness
This false discernment, which is a mix of fear, anxiety, and rash actions is evidenced by the officer who shot 13-year old Adam Toledo. In the video, Toledo drops a handgun then turns to the police raising his hands. The cop immediately shot him. As graphic as the video is to watch, more telling are the words of desperation as the officer chases Toledo down the alley "Hey! Don't F**move! Stop, STOP!" An eerily similar sheer desperation is also reflected in the voices the the cops that scrambled to stop Daunte Wright. This time, the officer mistakenly shot her gun thinking it was a taser, killing the 20-year-old. | | | | |
<
< | The training that police officers undergo is insufficient
Risk perception as a white officer you think perceive a disproportionate risk when you come in contact with a black person and respond accordingly. This is justifiable because this person is a higher risk.
Officer Fears Resulting in Deadly Work | | | | |
<
< | As I watched the video of 13-year old Adam Toledo getting shot to death by an officer, I couldn't help but also hear the fear and anxiety in the officers voice. A similar tone to the killer of Daunte Wright. But one was trained, doing their job, and had a gun so naturally more expected of that person. Police reform and defunding may be a start to re-imagining how to police Black communities. But those efforts will largely fail if the anxiety and fears that are triggered within officers as they try to detain those that do not look like their son or brother or cousin or uncle are not first acknowledged, addressed, and remedied. | >
> | Eliminating False Discernment to Properly Police those that look Suspiciously Different
To have equal justice under the law with respect to and from police officers we need to train officers to re-wire the disproportionate risk perception that they unconsciously attribute to Black people. The current response to situations seems justifiable to them in the situations because they view Black people as a higher risk. Because of deep unconscious bias that has grown from years of portrayals of Black people in the media, the amount of Black people in prison, and the differences in cultures and experience all lend to an appropriately heightened state when they encounter Black people. Those years of discernments where officers look for guns, knives, age, and normally make a sound decision as to how to resolve the situation now mix with the fear of the unknown, “will this Black person respect my authority?” “Do they have a gun?” “If they do, will they shoot me?” Instead of discerning as with a white person, too often the threat is categorically perceived as a deadly risk. Unlearning this bias has to begin by acknowledging the fight or flight the emerges within officers when encountered in these situations. | | | | |
>
> | I’ll never know why that officer stopped me in San Diego. However, knowing that there are so many well-intentioned good officers, I can imagine that this officer saw two very different people and his usual discernment told him that this irregularity warranted further investigation. It is at that crucial moment, however, that officers must take stock of the line between their fear and discernment so that individuals are not needlessly killed. | | |
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 6 - 12 May 2021 - Main.TaleahTyrell
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< | Fearing "Protect and Serve" | >
> | Lack of Discernment when are Cops Afraid? | | | -- By TaleahTyrell - 16 Apr 2021
Pretextual Stops Escalating | |
>
> | **the cops fearing us. | | | | |
>
> | **Consequences of a Disproportionate response to Situations
**guns, knives, their age. what would i normally perceive as a fear. categoraically perceive as a risk. breaking protocol rather, this is protocol. | | | Pretextual Stops are not Uncommon
A year ago, while driving around an affluent San Diego neighborhood with my boyfriend the cops stopped us.
"May I ask what we did wrong officer?"
"Your license plate is not from California." | |
<
< | We looked at each other, scared as the cop walked back to his car to run the license. A few minutes later he came back to the car, this time, completely ignoring him, only talking to me. | >
> | We looked at each other, scared as the cop walked back to his car to run the license. A few minutes later he came back to the car, this time, completely ignoring him, only speaking to me. | | | "Where is he from?" the cop asked me. And then, "Ma'm, I need to see your license or identification too."
Luckily I'd brought my wallet along. I gave him my identification and he said, "Oh, you are from here." He let us go. | |
<
< | Our day was ruined. We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? I started crying, fuming. Was this just a “bad apple” or was there a bigger problem? I don't know what I would've done had I been asked to get out of the car that day. I want to say that I would comply and do all as I was asked to do. But even knowing all the rules, I can't be 100% sure how my sympathetic nervous system would've reacted. I can't say that my fight or flight instincts wouldn't hit me and I too would be, like Daunte, trying to flee the situation in fear. | >
> | Our day was ruined. We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? I started crying, fuming. Was this just a “bad apple” or was there a bigger problem? I don't know what I would've done had I been asked to get out of the car that day. I want to say that I would comply and do all as I was asked to do. But even knowing all the rules, I can't say that my fight or flight instincts wouldn't have hit me and I too would be, like Daunte, trying to flee the situation in fear. I thought to myself, what exactly could I do about this situation? Who could I report this to? | | | Re-imagining Policing for those who FEAR Police
Both Parties Fearing Other | |
<
< | The death of George Floyd last year shook many Americans to their core. As the officer who shot him stands in trial, we see how different this case has been for others. The wall of defense that police officers normally have for each other has largely broken down. We have witnessed officer after officer testify against one of their own, to the disbelief of many. Cities have also made changes. Efforts to "defund the police" have spurred throughout the country. But what does it mean to "defund" a cornerstone of our society? Some say its allocating some of their resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that they should be alternative numbers of citizens to call for help during a situation. Others argue that the money should go towards racial bias training so that officers can identify and overcome this instinct. A smaller group calls for officers to get more training so that they learn to de-escalate situations without resorting to killing. | >
> | The death of George Floyd last year shook many Americans to their core. As the officer who shot him stands in trial, we see how different this case has been from others. The wall of defense that police officers normally have for each other has largely broken down. We have witnessed officer after officer testify against one of their own, to the disbelief of many. Cities have also made changes. Efforts to "defund the police" have spurred throughout the country. But what does it mean to "defund" a cornerstone of our society? Some say its allocating some of their resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that they should be alternative numbers of citizens to call for help during a situation. Others argue that the money should go towards racial bias training so that officers can identify and overcome this instinct. A smaller group calls for officers to get more training so that they learn to de-escalate situations without resorting to killing. | | | Many black people in this country, however, who know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of pretextual stops and micro-aggression also know that the answer cannot include police officers in the form that they are currently presented. There is a deep un-spoken, but deeply embedded rule within the black community I was raised in: Don't call the po po. Issues are largely solved within the community. We largely defer to pastors or respected elders when it comes to solving issue within the community. As for interactions with the police that are not by our choice, we largely try to avoid them. Most of us have had the talk: when you encounter the police only say yes sir, no ma'am. Do exactly as you are told. I've practiced it several times. But its different when you encounter an officer. All the fear and anger can easily boil together, especially when you feel like you've been unjustly stopped. | | | Instead, it's that even "good apples" can freak out. That the same fear Black Americans have for the police is may actually be shared by police towards Black Americans. Even those that do not intend to injure or kill during a traffic stop the fear and anxiety exuded by the person they have stopped may be incorrectly interpreted as aggression. My sympathetic system is mirrored by the police officer, also triggered within them. And in cases where they actually hold a gun, and I do not, the result is sometimes inevitable. This is why we see police officers safely arrest and detain non-black people. The officers are working with discipline, making sound decisions. | |
<
< | | >
> | The training that police officers undergo is insufficient
Risk perception as a white officer you think perceive a disproportionate risk when you come in contact with a black person and respond accordingly. This is justifiable because this person is a higher risk. | | | Officer Fears Resulting in Deadly Work
As I watched the video of 13-year old Adam Toledo getting shot to death by an officer, I couldn't help but also hear the fear and anxiety in the officers voice. A similar tone to the killer of Daunte Wright. But one was trained, doing their job, and had a gun so naturally more expected of that person. Police reform and defunding may be a start to re-imagining how to police Black communities. But those efforts will largely fail if the anxiety and fears that are triggered within officers as they try to detain those that do not look like their son or brother or cousin or uncle are not first acknowledged, addressed, and remedied. |
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 5 - 12 May 2021 - Main.EbenMoglen
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< | Taleah, this is more than 1400 words, which is 40% longer than the space allowed. In order for us to work on this together, I need first a revision to bring it within the 1,000 word limit. That's a significant cut, but on rereading you will see how it can be done. Then we can make the strong draft that is in here even stronger.
| >
> | This draft does everything in 980 words that the previous one did in 1440. Cutting it was both a useful experience for you as a writer and helpful to me as an editor, because now we can see more clearly where the issues are.
In most of the societies I have lived in or visited, desire to avoid police is strong in the general population. In that sense, what is most atypical about the US isn't the fear and antipathy Black folk feel about the police, but the sense White people have that police are genuinely their allies.
No Soviet person wanted to deal with militia, ever. To be from the Caucasus, however, therefore being what Russians call a "blackass," was to be even more fearful of the police than to be one of the "ordinary" Slavic people living under the boot of the State. | | | | |
>
> | Societies adopt paramilitary organization for their order-keepers because that works at keeping order. They way paramilitary forces keep order is always only acceptable to those who in their own opinions personify order, because they personify property. For everyone else, that way of keeping order is unacceptable, because it imposes all the costs of order on themselves, their bodies, their families, and their communities.
So we have in the US both a particular form of racialized dualism with respect to police, in which US White people are exceptionally pro police—because we have a rich society in which police are only very occasionally corrupt, rule of law is strong so most police are law-abiding most of the time, and there are communities in which police are visible engaged in protecting and serving—and Black folks have unusually strong reasons to be afraid, even as police forces around the society are increasingly integrated and even led by Black chiefs and commissioners. US police use unusually high amounts of lethal force in the street for police in wealthy democracies, overall, and the racial distribution of that use of force is self-evidently biased, as are the sorts of petty abuses of power with which your essay begins.
It is entirely possible to imagine a transition away from paramilitary order-keeping. Most of the time, in most social locales, the form of immediate social response to harm or danger can be unarmed social intervention by people who don't require power to arrest. But that won't eliminate entirely the need for the State's coercive force to deal with violence and criminal behavior, so we can't expect to remove the paramilitary form of government from the urban street altogether. Which means that the question how to secure actual civil equality in the treatment of all people by those forces doesn't vanish if we "defund the police." The most valuable route to improvement of this draft, I think, is to make some further cuts, which you can do, in order to give space in which to come to grips with the residual problem: no matter how far we cut back, the state will have uniforms on the street carrying guns, and we need to have equal justice under law with respect to, and from, them.
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 4 - 11 May 2021 - Main.TaleahTyrell
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| | | -- By TaleahTyrell - 16 Apr 2021 | |
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< | | | | Pretextual Stops Escalating | |
<
< | Expired Registration Tags
My boyfriend who lives across the country called me over Facetime last night, as we always do. I asked about his day and he proceeded to tell me he had a nice day but again did not have a chance to drive over to the DMV to drop of a change of address form. He moved from Southern California to Northern California about a year ago and promptly submitted a change of address form to the postal office. Unbeknownst to him, that change does not apply to DMV documents. His new registration was sent to his old address and he had no way to get these documents.
As he explained the situation I smiled and encouragingly told him to try and get that done as soon as possible. Though I was trying to be supportive, my mind was racing and my anxiety was peaking. I did not want to stress him out but the thought of him driving to work every day with an expired registration produced in me great fear.
In the midst of the Derek Chauvin case, a few miles away, another officer shot a 20-year-old black male. They pulled him over because of his expired tags. When the officers got to his car, they also noticed items hanging from the rear view mirror which is prohibited under Minnesota law. A quick run of his name found that he had a warrant and a custodial arrest ensued. After the shooting, the police chief said that the officer who shot the young father actually mistook her gun for a taser. She's worked in the field for 20-years. I watched the video. I saw the young man try to get back into his car as he was being arrested. I saw him try to drive off. On my Instagram I see people say the typical "He was resisting arrest." There's not a lot of people anymore that say that, but there are still some.
I've seen others say, "How can civilians be expected to stay calm when even police officers are not calm enough to distinguish a gun from a taser?" I saw the look in his face on that video. It is a look of utter fear. A look where you weigh the odds and decide that its better to try and escape the situation because the risk of death is already there. He took that risk, he still got death. | | | Pretextual Stops are not Uncommon | |
<
< | I've experienced that same fear several times. A year ago, while driving around San Diego with my boyfriend the cops stopped us as we are cruising around an affluent neighborhood. | >
> | A year ago, while driving around an affluent San Diego neighborhood with my boyfriend the cops stopped us. | | | | |
<
< | "License and registration." | | | "May I ask what we did wrong officer?"
"Your license plate is not from California." | |
<
< | We looked at each other, so scared of what was happening as the cop walked back to his car to run his license. A few minutes later he came back to the car, this time, completely ignoring him, only talking to me. | >
> | We looked at each other, scared as the cop walked back to his car to run the license. A few minutes later he came back to the car, this time, completely ignoring him, only talking to me. | | | "Where is he from?" the cop asked me. And then, "Ma'm, I need to see your license or identification too." | |
<
< | Luckily I'd brought my wallet along. Normally, when we go out to drive I tend to leave everything at home. I gave him my identification and he said, "Oh, you are from here." A few minutes later, he let us go. | >
> | Luckily I'd brought my wallet along. I gave him my identification and he said, "Oh, you are from here." He let us go. | | | | |
<
< | Our day was ruined. We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? I started crying, fuming. I knew that officer was just trying to get a power high. To show us what he could do and doing what he did because he could. I don't know what I would've done had I been asked to get out of the car that day. I want to say that I would comply and do all as I was asked to do. But even knowing all the rules, I can't be 100% sure how my sympathetic nervous system would've reacted. I can't say that my fight or flight instincts wouldn't hit me and I too would be, like Daunte, trying to flee the situation in fear. | >
> | Our day was ruined. We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? I started crying, fuming. Was this just a “bad apple” or was there a bigger problem? I don't know what I would've done had I been asked to get out of the car that day. I want to say that I would comply and do all as I was asked to do. But even knowing all the rules, I can't be 100% sure how my sympathetic nervous system would've reacted. I can't say that my fight or flight instincts wouldn't hit me and I too would be, like Daunte, trying to flee the situation in fear. | | | Re-imagining Policing for those who FEAR Police
Both Parties Fearing Other | |
<
< | The death of George Floyd last year shook many Americans to their core. As the officer who shot him stands in trial, we see how different this case has been for others. The wall of defense that police officers users have for each other has largely broken down. We have witnessed officer after officer testify against one of their own, to the disbelief of many. Cities have also made changes. Efforts to "defund the police" have spurred throughout the country. But what does it mean to "defund" a cornerstone of our society? Some say its allocating some of their resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that they should be alternative numbers of citizens to call for help during a situation. Others argue that the money should go towards racial bias training so that officers can identify and overcome this instinct. A smaller group calls for officers to get more training so that they learn to de-escalate situations without resorting to killing. | >
> | The death of George Floyd last year shook many Americans to their core. As the officer who shot him stands in trial, we see how different this case has been for others. The wall of defense that police officers normally have for each other has largely broken down. We have witnessed officer after officer testify against one of their own, to the disbelief of many. Cities have also made changes. Efforts to "defund the police" have spurred throughout the country. But what does it mean to "defund" a cornerstone of our society? Some say its allocating some of their resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that they should be alternative numbers of citizens to call for help during a situation. Others argue that the money should go towards racial bias training so that officers can identify and overcome this instinct. A smaller group calls for officers to get more training so that they learn to de-escalate situations without resorting to killing. | | | Many black people in this country, however, who know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of pretextual stops and micro-aggression also know that the answer cannot include police officers in the form that they are currently presented. There is a deep un-spoken, but deeply embedded rule within the black community I was raised in: Don't call the po po. Issues are largely solved within the community. We largely defer to pastors or respected elders when it comes to solving issue within the community. As for interactions with the police that are not by our choice, we largely try to avoid them. Most of us have had the talk: when you encounter the police only say yes sir, no ma'am. Do exactly as you are told. I've practiced it several times. But its different when you encounter an officer. All the fear and anger can easily boil together, especially when you feel like you've been unjustly stopped. |
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 3 - 02 May 2021 - Main.EbenMoglen
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< | It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. | | | Fearing "Protect and Serve" | | | | |
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Taleah, this is more than 1400 words, which is 40% longer than the space allowed. In order for us to work on this together, I need first a revision to bring it within the 1,000 word limit. That's a significant cut, but on rereading you will see how it can be done. Then we can make the strong draft that is in here even stronger.
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 2 - 16 Apr 2021 - Main.TaleahTyrell
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< | | | | It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. | | | -- By TaleahTyrell - 16 Apr 2021 | |
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< | Pre-textual Stops Escalating | >
> | Pretextual Stops Escalating | | | Expired Registration Tags
My boyfriend who lives across the country called me over Facetime last night, as we always do. I asked about his day and he proceeded to tell me he had a nice day but again did not have a chance to drive over to the DMV to drop of a change of address form. He moved from Southern California to Northern California about a year ago and promptly submitted a change of address form to the postal office. Unbeknownst to him, that change does not apply to DMV documents. His new registration was sent to his old address and he had no way to get these documents. | | | In the midst of the Derek Chauvin case, a few miles away, another officer shot a 20-year-old black male. They pulled him over because of his expired tags. When the officers got to his car, they also noticed items hanging from the rear view mirror which is prohibited under Minnesota law. A quick run of his name found that he had a warrant and a custodial arrest ensued. After the shooting, the police chief said that the officer who shot the young father actually mistook her gun for a taser. She's worked in the field for 20-years. I watched the video. I saw the young man try to get back into his car as he was being arrested. I saw him try to drive off. On my Instagram I see people say the typical "He was resisting arrest." There's not a lot of people anymore that say that, but there are still some. | |
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< | I've seen others say, "how can civilians be expected to stay calm when even police officers are not calm enough to distinguish a gun from a taser?" I saw the look in his face on that video. It is a look of utter fear. A look where you weigh the odds and decide that its better to try and escape the situation or risk death. He took that risk, he got death. I've experienced that same fear several times. A year ago, driving around San Diego with my boyfriend. The cops stop us as we are cruising around an affluent neighborhood. "License and registration" "May I ask what we did wrong officer?" "Your license plate is not from California." | >
> | I've seen others say, "How can civilians be expected to stay calm when even police officers are not calm enough to distinguish a gun from a taser?" I saw the look in his face on that video. It is a look of utter fear. A look where you weigh the odds and decide that its better to try and escape the situation because the risk of death is already there. He took that risk, he still got death.
Pretextual Stops are not Uncommon
I've experienced that same fear several times. A year ago, while driving around San Diego with my boyfriend the cops stopped us as we are cruising around an affluent neighborhood.
"License and registration."
"May I ask what we did wrong officer?"
"Your license plate is not from California."
We looked at each other, so scared of what was happening as the cop walked back to his car to run his license. A few minutes later he came back to the car, this time, completely ignoring him, only talking to me. | | | | |
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< | We looked at each other, so scared of what was happening as the cop walked back to his car to run his license. A few minutes later he came back to the car, this time, completely ignoring him, only talking to me. "Where is he from?" the cop asked me. And then, "Ma'm, I need to see your license or identification too." Luckily I'd brought my wallet along. Normally, when we go out to drive I tend to leave everything at home. I gave him my identification and he said "Oh, you are from here." A few minutes later, he let us go. | >
> | "Where is he from?" the cop asked me. And then, "Ma'm, I need to see your license or identification too."
Luckily I'd brought my wallet along. Normally, when we go out to drive I tend to leave everything at home. I gave him my identification and he said, "Oh, you are from here." A few minutes later, he let us go. | | | Our day was ruined. We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? I started crying, fuming. I knew that officer was just trying to get a power high. To show us what he could do and doing what he did because he could. I don't know what I would've done had I been asked to get out of the car that day. I want to say that I would comply and do all as I was asked to do. But even knowing all the rules, I can't be 100% sure how my sympathetic nervous system would've reacted. I can't say that my fight or flight instincts wouldn't hit me and I too would be, like Daunte, trying to flee the situation in fear. | |
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< | Subsub 1 | >
> | Re-imagining Policing for those who FEAR Police | | | | |
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< | Re-imagining Policing for those who FEAR Police | >
> | Both Parties Fearing Other
The death of George Floyd last year shook many Americans to their core. As the officer who shot him stands in trial, we see how different this case has been for others. The wall of defense that police officers users have for each other has largely broken down. We have witnessed officer after officer testify against one of their own, to the disbelief of many. Cities have also made changes. Efforts to "defund the police" have spurred throughout the country. But what does it mean to "defund" a cornerstone of our society? Some say its allocating some of their resources to other services such as mental health counselors, community vigilante groups, and social workers, arguing that they should be alternative numbers of citizens to call for help during a situation. Others argue that the money should go towards racial bias training so that officers can identify and overcome this instinct. A smaller group calls for officers to get more training so that they learn to de-escalate situations without resorting to killing. | | | | |
>
> | Many black people in this country, however, who know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of pretextual stops and micro-aggression also know that the answer cannot include police officers in the form that they are currently presented. There is a deep un-spoken, but deeply embedded rule within the black community I was raised in: Don't call the po po. Issues are largely solved within the community. We largely defer to pastors or respected elders when it comes to solving issue within the community. As for interactions with the police that are not by our choice, we largely try to avoid them. Most of us have had the talk: when you encounter the police only say yes sir, no ma'am. Do exactly as you are told. I've practiced it several times. But its different when you encounter an officer. All the fear and anger can easily boil together, especially when you feel like you've been unjustly stopped. | | | How the Police System has to Change | |
>
> | The policing of Black Americans will likely need to be re-imagined completely because of the deep trauma the Black community has faced at the hands of police. Some say that the issue is that some police officers that are "bad apples." Unfortunately, it is not that simple. I refuse to believe that most of the officers killing Black Americans are horrible racists who want to see Black people dead. These cops have jobs, families, and commitments to uphold. I do not think they would do their dirty work so openly and freely. I do not think they would be willing to risk it all considering the current political climate. I certainly do not think that they would do so during the same with where they see one of theirs on trial, largely unsupported by all his ex co-workers and presumably friends.
Instead, it's that even "good apples" can freak out. That the same fear Black Americans have for the police is may actually be shared by police towards Black Americans. Even those that do not intend to injure or kill during a traffic stop the fear and anxiety exuded by the person they have stopped may be incorrectly interpreted as aggression. My sympathetic system is mirrored by the police officer, also triggered within them. And in cases where they actually hold a gun, and I do not, the result is sometimes inevitable. This is why we see police officers safely arrest and detain non-black people. The officers are working with discipline, making sound decisions. | | | | |
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> | Officer Fears Resulting in Deadly Work | | | | |
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> | As I watched the video of 13-year old Adam Toledo getting shot to death by an officer, I couldn't help but also hear the fear and anxiety in the officers voice. A similar tone to the killer of Daunte Wright. But one was trained, doing their job, and had a gun so naturally more expected of that person. Police reform and defunding may be a start to re-imagining how to police Black communities. But those efforts will largely fail if the anxiety and fears that are triggered within officers as they try to detain those that do not look like their son or brother or cousin or uncle are not first acknowledged, addressed, and remedied. | | | | |
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< | Section II | | | | |
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< | Subsection A | | | | |
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< | Subsection B | | |
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TaleahTyrellSecondEssay 1 - 16 Apr 2021 - Main.TaleahTyrell
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It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted.
Fearing "Protect and Serve"
-- By TaleahTyrell - 16 Apr 2021
Pre-textual Stops Escalating
Expired Registration Tags
My boyfriend who lives across the country called me over Facetime last night, as we always do. I asked about his day and he proceeded to tell me he had a nice day but again did not have a chance to drive over to the DMV to drop of a change of address form. He moved from Southern California to Northern California about a year ago and promptly submitted a change of address form to the postal office. Unbeknownst to him, that change does not apply to DMV documents. His new registration was sent to his old address and he had no way to get these documents.
As he explained the situation I smiled and encouragingly told him to try and get that done as soon as possible. Though I was trying to be supportive, my mind was racing and my anxiety was peaking. I did not want to stress him out but the thought of him driving to work every day with an expired registration produced in me great fear.
In the midst of the Derek Chauvin case, a few miles away, another officer shot a 20-year-old black male. They pulled him over because of his expired tags. When the officers got to his car, they also noticed items hanging from the rear view mirror which is prohibited under Minnesota law. A quick run of his name found that he had a warrant and a custodial arrest ensued. After the shooting, the police chief said that the officer who shot the young father actually mistook her gun for a taser. She's worked in the field for 20-years. I watched the video. I saw the young man try to get back into his car as he was being arrested. I saw him try to drive off. On my Instagram I see people say the typical "He was resisting arrest." There's not a lot of people anymore that say that, but there are still some.
I've seen others say, "how can civilians be expected to stay calm when even police officers are not calm enough to distinguish a gun from a taser?" I saw the look in his face on that video. It is a look of utter fear. A look where you weigh the odds and decide that its better to try and escape the situation or risk death. He took that risk, he got death. I've experienced that same fear several times. A year ago, driving around San Diego with my boyfriend. The cops stop us as we are cruising around an affluent neighborhood. "License and registration" "May I ask what we did wrong officer?" "Your license plate is not from California."
We looked at each other, so scared of what was happening as the cop walked back to his car to run his license. A few minutes later he came back to the car, this time, completely ignoring him, only talking to me. "Where is he from?" the cop asked me. And then, "Ma'm, I need to see your license or identification too." Luckily I'd brought my wallet along. Normally, when we go out to drive I tend to leave everything at home. I gave him my identification and he said "Oh, you are from here." A few minutes later, he let us go.
Our day was ruined. We left angry, confused, hurt, but most of all embarrassed. Why did he ask for MY license if I was not the one driving? Why did he stop us for driving around with a Tennessee license plate? I started crying, fuming. I knew that officer was just trying to get a power high. To show us what he could do and doing what he did because he could. I don't know what I would've done had I been asked to get out of the car that day. I want to say that I would comply and do all as I was asked to do. But even knowing all the rules, I can't be 100% sure how my sympathetic nervous system would've reacted. I can't say that my fight or flight instincts wouldn't hit me and I too would be, like Daunte, trying to flee the situation in fear.
Subsub 1
Re-imagining Policing for those who FEAR Police
How the Police System has to Change
Subsub 2
Section II
Subsection A
Subsection B
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