Womanist Musings discusses the relationship black children have with the police.
I have written previously about why I disagree with schools teaching kids about officer friendly. To be clear, cops have a long history of targeting people of colour for arrests, violence and death. What they may be willing to let go from a White man, woman, or child, they certainly do not give a pass to when it comes to people of colour. If a person is negotiating a second site of oppression, like disability or sexuality, it can cause a marked increase in abusive behaviour.
Children of colour have to be actively taught how to appear in a non threatening manner with police because it might well save their lives. Yep, announcing what you are doing clearly and loudly. Never ever touch your body unless directed to. Keep you hands on the wheel and visible at all times at a traffic stop. Be exceedingly polite calling the cop, officer or sir. Never raise your voice or be anything but compliant. Never hesitate for even the briefest of moments to follow a direct order. Etc and Etc.
The necessity of fearing the police is particularly strong for black men. As bell hooks’s We Real Cool argues, black men are viewed as “animals, brutes, natural-born rapists and murderers,” as “untamed, uncivilized, unthinking and unfeeling”; our racist and sexist society fears black men, admires them, even sexually fantasizes about them, but does not love them.
Men are all too often considered to be brutes: just think of the perennial argument that if women wander about in short skirts men will be compelled by their dicks to sexually harass or even rape them, or the belief of some people that if a woman doesn’t sexually satisfy her husband he’ll have to cheat on her, or patronizing statements about how “boys will be boys”. Similarly, black people are all too often considered to be subhuman: stereotypes of the Sapphire show that the whole “black people are animals” concept is not necessarily reserved for black men.
However, when you combine misandry, racism and the justice system, it creates a vile stew all its own.
If you’ve been hanging around the anti-racist community for long enough, you’ll be able to name off the top of your head dozens of cases of obvious justice-system racism directed against black men, from Rodney King to Troy Davis. But perhaps the worst kind of systematic violence against black men is the kind it’s hard to see.
More black men are in prison in America today than were enslaved in America in 1850. More African-American men are disenfranchised because of felony convictions today than because of all the laws against black people voting in 1870. A black child born today is less likely to be raised by both parents than a black child born during slavery, primarily because of the chance of incarceration.
Admittedly, most of the rise is because there are more people of color in America now than there were during slavery; however, the problem not having improved is an indictment of our cultural racism and misandry.
One of the biggest causes of the incarceration of black men is the drug war, which disproportionately affects people of color, even though all races use drugs at approximately the same rate. Black men are more likely to be arrested for drug crimes than white men or black women mostly because of the misandric, racist myths within the justice system that default to considering black men violent, drug-abusing criminals as opposed to people with the same chance of being a law-abiding citizen as anyone else.
“At the same time, a kid charged with possession of marijuana is ineligible for all future federal educational scholarships (though this may have changed with the Obama Administration). This is true of no other crime besides drugs, including murder.”
Actually that is not true. The same penalty applies to those who fail to register for the draft – though half the population is privileged to be exempt from that. You guess which one.
“If you live in NYC, It’s simple: only outer borough skells get arrested. If you’re an executive or in entertainment (or, obviously enough, have connections to those people), you order online and it shows up at your door easy-peasy (and in amounts that would blow your mind. I had a drinking buddy who would go through an ounce of coke and weed *and* ecstasy per weekend.) If you’re not in the protected classes, even having as small of an amount as two little nickel bags is enough to be charged as a distributor (so, if you buy a bag from… Read more »
@ AnonymousDog There theory goes that back in the days of cave-men human beings lived in small tribes. One depended on your tribesmen for survival, but members of a different tribe would kill you as soon as look at you. Thus mechanisms for deciding if someone was US or THEM at a glace developed in our brains. However this bit of evolutionary psychology isn’t always well adapted to modern society.
Farther back even than that, I think, as most of this is true of chimps as well.
“If you were making the same point, I misread it.” No I wasn’t, but I should have caught your point because on second thought I agree with it. Some one gets busted for selling when they have a personal use amount on them – check. Someone gets busted for selling when the police have a personal use amount on them – further check. “In my experience (and I have far too much experience, unfortunately) cops and prosecutors are more likely to charge blacks and hispanics with an “intent to distribute” than they are whites possessing the same amounts, ” That… Read more »
I’ll piggyback on ramesses’ comment. In quite a few jurisdictions, the amount of drugs needed to qualify as “distributable”(IOW, large enough to make a profit in resale) is an *ounce*. Although I’ve never indulged in drug use, I was born and raised in Brooklyn and I can tell you that an ounce of (let’s say) weed is not much. I knew people who could smoke an entire ounce of weed in a night (with *maybe* enough left over to share with a lightweight friend), yet having that small amount was enough to have them placed in jail for *years*. Everyone… Read more »
@ Fnord:
Depends what kind of foreign you are. I’m a newly-minted permanent resident of the US, and I tend to be welcomed and shown kindness; but I’m English, so it’s different again.
Also, what I meant by “you’re joking, right?” is that blacks and hispanics are going jail for using drugs. It just happens that they are more likely to be charged with selling whether or not that’s what they were actually doing. If you were making the same point, I misread it.
“The system is racist through and through because the people running the system are racist because everyone is racist. ”
This is the operative part of the system. If it wasn’t drugs, some other category of “crime” would be pressed into service.
Possession of controlled substances is often a crime by itself. Thus a user can get thrown in jail if their stash is found, just like a seller. It’s worse for a seller of course. Though I bet many users get “intent to sell” if they have a large stash and get the same treatment.
The system is racist through and through because the people running the system are racist because everyone is racist. When USA culture teaches one thing, we can expect the USA legal system to act accordingly.
“You’re joking, right?
Blacks and latinos are more likely to be charged with “possession with intent to distribute” than whites are. ”
Joking? Hat part of “selling” = “possession with intent to distribute” do you not understand? Or did I just not use the exact right words, is that your problem?
Perhaps I misunderstood what you were trying to say.
In my experience (and I have far too much experience, unfortunately) cops and prosecutors are more likely to charge blacks and hispanics with an “intent to distribute” than they are whites possessing the same amounts, who typically just get a “possession” charge. So not only are they catching more time, they’re also catching heavier charges than whites for the same crime – a compounding effect if you will.
Is that what you were saying as well?
“Men are all too often considered to be brutes:” Schroedinger’s Rapist “One of the biggest causes of the incarceration of black men is the drug war, which disproportionately affects people of color, even though all races use drugs at approximately the same rate. ” You need a small adjustment here; people go to jail for *selling* drugs, not so much for using them. But black males get jailed for selling drugs disproportionately, and disproprotionately longer. This is the core of the problem with police-black antagonisms – police departments generally fuction as tribal police for white ethnics – Catholic – and… Read more »
You need a small adjustment here; people go to jail for *selling* drugs, not so much for using them. But black males get jailed for selling drugs disproportionately, and disproprotionately longer. You’re joking, right? Blacks and latinos are more likely to be charged with “possession with intent to distribute” than whites are. Possession of crack cocaine has higher mandatory minimums than possession of the same amount of powder. When you look at the incarceration rates, you have to go all the way back to who is being stopped and why and what they’re being charged with. The system is shot… Read more »
I do think there’s evidence of racism among police forces. I just don’t think that’s the only thing that’s going on.
Frankly, I’d have issues with schools teaching ANYONE to be officer friendly. Although people of color and men do have it worse.
God help you if you’re a black man with a disability:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57330721/n.c-probes-death-of-bicyclist-tased-by-police/
Of course it’s not the only thing going on. That would be quite a bit reductionist, no? 🙂
One of the things about racism is that black cops can be racist about blacks. Racism is a form of prejudice, specifically pre-judging aspects of a person based on race. In fact, we used to get it worse from the black cops. (probably NSFW)
I think the point AnonymousDog is trying to make is that it’s not ONLY about race. Any stigmatized group is likely to receive poor treatment from the police.
If you’re black, of course. If you’re white but foreign, you’ll still get harrassed: http://blog.simplejustice.us/2011/12/08/a-bulgar-in-hoboken.aspx
AnonymousDog: But is this really about race? Its most certainly a part of it. It would be like trying to question if race is a part of the fetishizing of Asian women. Last night I was at a VNV Nation show and while standing outside in line for some face time with the band a cop came up (they had come out earlier in the night so I guess since they knew there was a show going on they decided to keep an eye out). One of my friends said, “Oh great Danny, here come the cops.” to which I… Read more »
@QuantumInc
Yeah, but I prefer ‘ethnicity’ to mean that definition above of ‘race,’ then ‘socio-ethnic group’ for ‘ethnicity.’ (sorry, derail over!)
I don’t really have anything to add, except that this reminded me of an awesome masculinist blogger DuWayne and a post he wrote about his children’s reactions to the police:
http://www.langcultcog.com/traumatized/?p=938
@ Glove If the term “Ethnicity” includes a cultural component, then perhaps “race” really is better, as many African Americans subscribe to the same culture as Euro-Americans (i.e. white people). While there is a African American culture, it isn’t entirely separated from the rest of US culture. Though admittedly, a black man “acting black” is going to be more threatening than a black man “acting white” Example: Barrack Obama @ AnonymousDog There theory goes that back in the days of cave-men human beings lived in small tribes. One depended on your tribesmen for survival, but members of a different tribe… Read more »
Well, when said rural folks start getting pulled over for “driving while rural” then perhaps we can say that race has nothing to do with it.
Meanwhile, I will continue to be extra polite when the nice officer pulls me over and expresses his genuine concern for where I’m going, who I’m going to see when I get there, and if the car I’m driving is mine.
But is this really about race? I’ve noticed that when federal agents roll up to the rural retreats of folks who have non-conforming religious or political beliefs, there is a tendency for those non-conforming people to end up dead, including women and children. And for the most part, there is no color difference involved. Members of modern day, “professionalized” police forces tend to develop “us v. them” attitudes as a consequence of their professional status. What is needed, besides a repeal of drug prohibition, are police forces drawn from the communities they are supposed to be serving, and responsible (at… Read more »
“Admittedly, most of the rise is because there are more people of color now than there were during slavery;”
I assume you mean “there are more people of color *in America* now than there were during slavery”, Other than that, good, clear expression of how racism affects men 🙂
Great post Ozy. Just a preference though – I prefer the term ‘ethnicity’ to ‘race.’ I know ‘race’ is always used, (and ‘racism’ is easier to say!) but it always makes me go ‘eww…’ when I hear/read it. It’s so inaccurate, I’m not sure why we use it anymore. We’re all one race; we differ in our ethnicities. Wikipedia says, “The concept of ethnicity differs from the closely related term race in that “race” refers to grouping based mostly upon biological criteria, while “ethnicity” also encompasses additional cultural factors,” but for me, I’d rather not perpetuate the idea that biological… Read more »