Dehumanizing the Black Lives of America: Michael Eric Dyson on Ferguson, Police Brutality and Race

cab21 · December 2, 2014

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/12/1/dehumanizing_the_black_lives_of_america

i thought this was a interesting interview where Dyson gives his perspective that police forces are demonizing people and that it's leading to more lethal force than alternatives.

MMX2010 · December 2, 2014

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/12/1/dehumanizing_the_black_lives_of_america

i thought this was a interesting interview where Dyson gives his perspective that police forces are demonizing people and that it's leading to more lethal force than alternatives.

Quoting the article: "When you put all that stuff together from pop culture, from deep religious and scientific treatises in the early part of the 20th century that were completely and thoroughly racist, then you have got a tremendously difficult problem on your hand. And that is to say, how do black people protect themselves not against simply the bullets of a police officer, but the metaphors, the stereotypes, the tropes that operate in that police officers imagination that are equally lethal because they lead to trigger-happy cops or at least trigger — hair trigger decisions where cops and up believing that they must use lethal force to contain a threat that is not even real, or if there is a real threat, resort to the most lethal form of resolution of the conflict as opposed to trying other things like driving away, like using mace, like tasing, like calling for help and the like. So, when we think about all of this, this is the dehumanization of African-American people. This is the failure to recognize our fundamental rights to exist in the state. This is using state authority to legally execute black people on the streets of America."

It's odd (to me) that this statement is a question, but doesn't end in a question mark.

One answer to that above "question" is illustrated here:

J. D. Stembal · December 2, 2014

If metaphors were lethal, Stefan would be killing his listeners (and detractors) on a constant basis.

cab21 · December 4, 2014

i'm not sure if that 10 rules completly answers it, with cases of people following those rules and still being victims of police. of course if someone is looking for 100%

even in that video, there were police abusing their powers no matter how the person reacted.

shirgall · December 4, 2014

i'm not sure if that 10 rules completly answers it, with cases of people following those rules and still being victims of police. of course if someone is looking for 100%

even in that video, there were police abusing their powers no matter how the person reacted.

The point of the video is that you don't fight them on their own territory. You protect yourself by behaving the right way and you fight them later in court.

MMX2010 · December 4, 2014

i'm not sure if that 10 rules completly answers it, with cases of people following those rules and still being victims of police. of course if someone is looking for 100%

even in that video, there were police abusing their powers no matter how the person reacted.

My other father-figure / mentor, Mike Cernovich, has a beautiful saying, "Don't let perfect be the enemy of better."

No, the Ten Rules will NOT remedy the racist attitudes that many cops have. However, the Ten Rules WILL make better the lives of the majority of Black/Hispanic people who follow them.

The Ten Rules aren't perfect, but they are better for you.

Leevan · December 4, 2014

Reforming the grand jury process won't stop black men from being misjudged and subsequently shot by the police. Cameras won't solve the problem. The shootings are the result of perceived threats. The police see black men as more threatening, and thus we have the reactions that we have. People's perceptions won't be reformed via a sensitivity seminar or a training program. Their mindsets are a result of life experiences and knowledge. The only true solution--to stop the needless deaths--is to change how black men are perceived. When an officer sees a black man and doesn't assume the worst, the problem will be solved. The question is, how can that be done? How can black men be perceived better? Why are they perceived how they are perceived? Until the black community can answer those questions and work to solve them, black men will continually face problems with police and everyone else. No intervention can fix this. The people, the victims must fix it.

To rob the African Americans of the possibility of altering their circumstances, by claiming their current disadvantages are a result of Caucasians, is incredibly cruel. All people in this country are empowered to shape their own destinies. Prosperity and success aren't reserved for white people. Asians tend to be better educated and wealthier despite being a minority; often overcoming language barriers, and the discriminatory actions taken by FDR. The key to fixing the problems within the black community is held by the black community

kalmia · December 5, 2014

The point of the video is that you don't fight them on their own territory. You protect yourself by behaving the right way and you fight them later in court.

Try to survive a confrontation by the police, but there is no fighting them in court unless you are fortunate enough to have the wealth to do so. Police intentionally target those who can least afford to defend themselves. "Judges" rubber stamp the accusations of cops as factual, and many millions get forced through this system. The silver lining is that disrespect for the courts will rise among many more people. When the courts can't be trusted, the only option is to deal with the police with the knowledge that they aren't held in check by anyone.

Blackfish64 · December 5, 2014

It's highly contradictory of "black people", and any other kind of people, who call for more and more and more welfare, education, fringe benefits, freebies, protections, laws, taxing "the rich" and others, etc. from the State, to complain about police brutality.

Who did they think, if not vicious thugs armed with clubs, guns, and choke holds, was going to do all the enforcing for them? And why should they be immune? What could they possibly be thinking?

Naer · December 5, 2014

It's highly contradictory of "black people", and any other kind of people, who call for more and more and more welfare, education, fringe benefits, freebies, protections, laws, taxing "the rich" and others, etc. from the State, to complain about police brutality.

Who did they think, if not vicious thugs armed with clubs, guns, and choke holds, was going to do all the enforcing for them? And why should they be immune? What could they possibly be thinking?

lol at you being on "free"domainradio" and you attacking welfare

shirgall · December 5, 2014

lol at you being on "free"domainradio" and you attacking welfare

If you are getting value from freedomainradio you should contribute. Contributions can be money, spreading the word, sharing interesting or unique knowledge, or something else that benefits the community. I don't understand your statement that this is tantamount to welfare.

Try to survive a confrontation by the police, but there is no fighting them in court unless you are fortunate enough to have the wealth to do so. Police intentionally target those who can least afford to defend themselves. "Judges" rubber stamp the accusations of cops as factual, and many millions get forced through this system. The silver lining is that disrespect for the courts will rise among many more people. When the courts can't be trusted, the only option is to deal with the police with the knowledge that they aren't held in check by anyone.

There are many organizations that help with such cases, including FlexYourRights that made the video above. Follow their advice and then contact these organizations if you have a bad encounter.

I agree that disrespect for bad laws and bad people is a good thing in the long run, because it encourages curtailing their power, but such disapproval has always been present in American politics and it didn't work to date.

Blackfish64 · December 6, 2014

lol at you being on "free"domainradio" and you attacking welfare

Um... No. That would be "free" as in freedom, not free as in free goods we've strong armed from others.

Leevan · December 7, 2014

No one ever responds when I go on the above tangent. I suppose the message will have to come from a black man. Maybe I should just let it go, and watch the car crash along with all the other white folk.

J. D. Stembal · December 7, 2014

No one ever responds when I go on the above tangent. I suppose the message will have to come from a black man. Maybe I should just let it go, and watch the car crash along with all the other white folk.

Your previous concerns were addressed in the first call of the Saturday show. There are individuals, according to Stefan, within the black community who desperately dislike all the race baiting that is going on in the media. They have no way to stop the momentum or to deflect the misinformation. How does a community collectively change the perception of another collective, the police? The simple answer is that they cannot. There is no functional way for a group that large to cooperate. This is the same for the police. While individual police departments may be able to change policy slowly over time, pretending that Obama can wave his majestic hand and transform every cop in America, making them more racially sensitive, is ludicrous. You can't do it.

Effective decision making and management can only occur on the individual level, or at the level of the small group, no more than 150 members.

cab21 · December 8, 2014

i don't think it can be a one side ishue, people have to build trust and try and work on getting over fears.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/12/05/368545491/civil-rights-attorney-on-how-she-built-trust-with-police

this interview talks about building trust

kalmia · December 21, 2014

Reforming the grand jury process won't stop black men from being misjudged and subsequently shot by the police. Cameras won't solve the problem. The shootings are the result of perceived threats. The police see black men as more threatening, and thus we have the reactions that we have. People's perceptions won't be reformed via a sensitivity seminar or a training program. Their mindsets are a result of life experiences and knowledge. The only true solution--to stop the needless deaths--is to change how black men are perceived. When an officer sees a black man and doesn't assume the worst, the problem will be solved. The question is, how can that be done? How can black men be perceived better? Why are they perceived how they are perceived? Until the black community can answer those questions and work to solve them, black men will continually face problems with police and everyone else. No intervention can fix this. The people, the victims must fix it.

To rob the African Americans of the possibility of altering their circumstances, by claiming their current disadvantages are a result of Caucasians, is incredibly cruel. All people in this country are empowered to shape their own destinies. Prosperity and success aren't reserved for white people. Asians tend to be better educated and wealthier despite being a minority; often overcoming language barriers, and the discriminatory actions taken by FDR. The key to fixing the problems within the black community is held by the black community

Your statement presumes a White Man's Burden. How about not sending militarized police into black neighborhoods and letting them deal with their own crime? You cannot have police going in as invaders and expect the police to see those who they are invading as anything other than prey to conquer and subjugate.

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Dehumanizing the Black Lives of America: Michael Eric Dyson on Ferguson, Police Brutality and Race

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