Black Lives Matter is an international group of individuals who are fighting against systematic racism and oppression towards black people. This photo was taken at a Black Lives Matter protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Alton Sterling had been recently shot by an officer. Over 100 protesters were arrested during this rally, but in this photo one protester was seen who took a different approach. She stood her ground proud and tall, allowing herself to be arrested along with her peers by doing absolutely nothing. However, the officers in the photo surprisingly didn’t arrest her. A witness told an interviewer that “it wasn’t very violent. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t resist, and the police didn’t drag her off” (Bachman, sub-quote) …show more content…
The two groups in this photograph are clearly seen as Black Lives Matter protestors and the Police force. Although they have many differences, you can tell both groups are equally afraid of what the other might do. The hierarchy of police over the public is in turmoil, and this picture clearly shows this. This photo is symbolic because it appears to turn the power balance upside down, where the girl appears to have power over the police, despite her willingness for arrest for protesting. Continuing this idea with Jeffrey Cohen’s “Monster Culture”, he explains in one of his many theses that a monster will try to convince us to question our culture, and our traditional beliefs. In reference to this photo, a ‘monster’ attempts to skew the idea that the purpose of the police is to serve and protect. That monster can be identified as popular media. The photographer who took this photo is indirectly demonizing police officers by making them seem powerful in their numbers. The woman appears to have power over the officers through her very upright posture, and height. However, outside of the power struggle between them, an unseen force is right in the middle of both the woman and the police, showing a clear divide and symbolizing that media is in the center of this issue: The camera. Although it may seem like a stretch, there is more truth to …show more content…
This essay is not attempting to push the ideology that the main issue isn’t because of them. However, the fear and hatred that is driven behind everyone on both positions is being perpetuated by the amount of negative coverage that this issue is receiving. In psychology, there is a term called confirmation bias, which is used to describe a mindset where people will only seek out information that conforms to their preconceived notions about something they believe to be true. (Fontinelle) Because of this, those who are in that mindset will be unlikely to be convinced otherwise that they are wrong. The fact that police are generally only talked about negatively in the news will almost force an individual who keeps up with mainstream media to see only negative things about police officers, and start to believe that police officers are not as trustworthy as they should be. This creates an immediate confirmation bias in people’s mind, which is a problem when the issue is already heated. Statistically speaking, the majority of officers are not the same as those being covered in the news. Good officers, alongside bad officers, have been seen as problematic because of the excess police brutality coverage, which in return negatively affects the entire police
Our society shows how racism and police officers are a focal point within our country. In the United States, many police officers demonstrate racist qualities. Research states that many police officers are only patrolling around predominately African American neighborhoods. People agree that police officers are just sitting in areas where African Americans live instead of just sitting anywhere and waiting for any crimes. (Martin, Trayvon. Racial Profiling). Polices are just waiting for African Americans to make a mistake. Most Police Officers haven’t changed their ways on racism. “Diallo was gunned down by NYPD officers while trying to enter his apartment building. The officers had mistaken Diallo for a suspected rapist—who was also black’’ (Martin, Trayvon. Racial Profiling). NYPD killed an innocent man because he was African American and he looked like the guy they were looking for. Therefore, this just proves police officers have not changed their racist
Police officers, who were once referred to as peace keepers, are now more law enforcement officers. Police agencies around the United States seem to be stuck more on quotas and creating revenue for their county or city. Making many officers strive for many unnecessary arrests. Which as a following result has brought up a lot of tension between the police and their citizens. With increasing violence in cities and states; police officers methods have slowly become more aggressive, bringing a rise in unnecessary police brutality related incidents within the last 10 years. This relationship is substantially disproportionate considering that there are five times as many whites as there are blacks in America. I find this incredibly concerning and it has definitely impacted my view of American law enforcement. Recently, I have tried to become more knowledgeable about racism and prejudice in the United States as issues such as police brutality are becoming more and more prevalent. Although there is still much more for me to learn about the complicated system of racism and white privilege, I do feel that I know enough to recognize unjust and unlawful behavior of police officers. Police brutality has a longstanding history in our country and will be very difficult to overcome. However, I think it is possible if we, as a nation, are willing to recognize the cause and attack the issue at its source. I believe that police brutality can be attributed to an immoral police force, a corrupt
Police Academy and policing are some of the most controversial things in today 's world. This particularly pertains to our society, in which it seems that there is a different incident involving the police every week. It is extremely controversial, the media uses its power of manipulation to “expose” the police often abusing their power. This is leading to a division of our nation. There is a large clash of who 's to blame in this situation, we can even see this in class based on the various opinions of my fellow students.Some of my classmates and many others blame things like police academy, methods of policing, and the cultural separation between police and the community. I interviewed somebody who lived through both. He was in the police force for 21 years and continued on to teach and direct police academy for 25 years.
Within the past year, law enforcement officers across the nation have come under intense scrutiny for police encounters that have resulted in the use of force and police involved shootings. Every time a person of color is killed by a police officer, the media broadcasts the shooting nationwide, inciting hate, anger and racism. Nothing productive is achieved when the media focuses on officers killing people of color. Instead, trust, faith and respect is lost from the public, and law enforcement officers are feared. People fear that when they encounter the police, they will be shot because of who they are. Sadly, all officers across the nation deal with the harsh scrutiny that has resulted from the actions of few. Majority of officers are good, hard working individuals who would put their life on the line to save and protect human life. Yet, on a daily basis, officers across the nation are disrespected and hated, simply for the job they do and who they represent. Despite recent events, police brutality is not an issue; law enforcement officers are still deserving of the public’s trust and this trust can be rectified with the understanding of use of force, increased community policing and continued use of force training for officers.
Those that believe police brutality is an issue argue that it is most likely a much larger issue than we know. They believe that the “blue wall of silence,” in which officers do not report against one another, and the cover up culture actually hide the issue. In addition, they believe that the fact that officers do not get charged with crimes when caught committing police brutality only
The term “Police Officer” by definition is [1]“ :a person whose job is to enforce laws, investigate crimes, and make arrests”.[1] For such a straight-forward position there is quite a massive amount of stigma attached to the title. Police officers are supposed to be seen has community heroes or helpers, but it seems as the year 2016 continues the general public have manifested a resentful standing towards the law enforcement system. There are many factors that play into these emotions, but the reoccurring problem is the presence of police brutality.
Police brutality has given officers a bad reputation for targeting certain races and killing for no reason. For example, in the article, “There is conflicting Information on Police Brutality,” author John Wihbey explains
Police Brutality is a very serious problem that deals with our personal rights and it happens a lot around our world today. I want to focus this whole paper over this problem all over the world. Today there are many protests, stories, and first hand experiences with police brutality. One thing that makes this problem huge is how kids or civilians see law enforcement. According to one of my articles, natives or blacks were twice as likely to be killed by law enforcement. This being because of stereotypes on their race or ethnicity (Amaya, "Police Brutality in America.”). Police in the U.S. are the ones people are aiming to get in trouble for doing their job, only because they can use excessive force if
An article in the Washington Post revealed that across the nation 963 people were shot and killed by police in 2016. This puts police in a losing situation. Not only have they lost the trust of many, but they are now portrayed as the enemy. A police officer’s duty is to protect the people and enforce the law. After the shootings, people don’t see them as protecting anyone, but instead harming the population. More than often now the perception is that they are the bad guys who take advantage of their power.
The ‘War on cops’ some say that there is a war waging on America's police officers , and others believe otherwise. Thomas Sowell's article “The War On Cops” is on his perspective that there is a war on cops “occurring across the country” and that there are those who generate an acrid atmosphere of “blind hatred”. Clayton Jenkins article “ My Police Academy Teaches the ‘War on Cops’ Myth” , is on Jenkins considers the ‘War on Cops’ to be an inaccurate response to recent police killings , that there is not enough evidence to even support the idea. Upon my assessment of both essays I believe that there isn't a ‘War on cops’- but there is a distrust between people of color and the police, because of the aftermath of the ‘war on drugs’.
With the recent shootings of African Americans, protest in the streets, and the tension between the community and police officers, the media has falsely stated that there is a war on cops. A few weeks ago there was video footage of police officers shooting two African American men, the video spiked outrage in the communities and large protest across the country raised the tension. The media has had a field day of all of the violence of the between the police and the citizens. The first statement media has made is that police have the deadliest job, which is false. According to the Bureau of Labor, “In 2013 there was less police officer killed by a firearm than 1887.” Also, between 1980 through 2014 police deaths have decreased from 231 to 113 per year. (Bureau of Labor Statics 2014).
With all the negative media attention police departments and law enforcement agencies are receiving, it is not surprising factor that the police would be less inclined to work with the community to fight crime. It seems as if the citizens are against the police and that is only going to cause more issues and problems. Police have to live in constant fear that they are being criticized and their every move is being analyzed for wrong-doing. They have to second-guess every movement and action they make, which can quickly become highly dangerous. Police are expected to be perfect robots and the public seemingly forgets that they are also human. What has caused our police officers to work in constant fear? What is making our police
In the past couple of years, many people have started protesting “Black Lives Matter” against police officers. The “Black Lives Matter” movement is an international activist movement that campaigns against violence and systematic racism toward black people. Large amounts of people have started to believe that once one police officer steps outside their line of duty towards a black person that all police officers act the same way and believe the same thing. This movement has caused many Americans to believe that black people are facing a dangerous threat from their own law enforcement officers. This in turn is causing the police profession to be in danger with applications decreasing each year.
These days, police are often stereotyped as aggressive, corrupt beings. The growing hatred for police officers widens the divide between citizens and law enforcement, causing tension and intensely aggressive feelings on both ends. The recent shootings of young African-American men have also added to the societal hatred of law enforcement. Through media exposure, these shootings have been portrayed as cruel, often times revealing the victim to be an unarmed man.
When we think of the police, we normally think of the brave men and women out on the street, enforcing the law, catching criminals, helping out the public in cases of emergency and making us feel safe in general. Most of the Police in most of the world is like that which is a good thing, However in the United States of America the police here are a bit more ruthless. Most of the police officers are very nice people and they really do want to help out in their community, but unfortunately there are some bad and corrupt cops in the system that will break the law and do some bad things. In the Modern world most bad cops are seen as racist and trigger happy. They don’t kill for fun of course but whenever they feel threatened they are trained to feel as though they need to take down their target since they are taught to make sure they don’t do something that will end up killing them. While nobody is at fault with these cases it is unfortunate that it does happen. Thankfully most of those cops are not as bad as the actual corrupted ones where they do business with drug lords and take their money just so that the criminals don’t get ratted out and so that they can continue their business. While there are some organizations that are corrupted the people in America do have power and a decent morality to do something about it. There are many organizations and cases that happened in the supreme court that has changed how the police behave and act when they are out on the