Police of USA killing black people : From Selma to Ferguson
6 mai 2015, 05:24
The widespread murderous behavior of the police in this country has been exposed for all to see. The murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, broke the silence. The people of Ferguson refused to be ignored. They took to the streets – day after day and month after month demanding justice and refusing to be silenced.
Now the focus is on Baltimore, Maryland where thousands have taken to the streets because of the refusal of the authorities to respond to the killing of Freddie Gray by the Baltimore cops. Gray was chased down after he fled from a cop when they exchanged glances. He was beaten and thrown in a police van and when he arrived at the police station he had suffered severe injuries – his spinal chord was severed, he had three fractured vertebrae and a crushed voice box. He fell into a coma, was taken to a trauma center and died a week later. None of the cops admitted to using any force, none have been charged. Finally six cops were suspended, with pay.
We shouldn’t be surprised at the attitude of the authorities. This is business as usual. Last year grand juries let the cops off who murdered Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York. Since then, video after video has been posted of cops shooting people down in cold blood, among them 12- year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland.
Tens of thousands of people across the country have demonstrated against the brutality of this system and its cops. This has forced some officials to do more than conduct the usual cover-ups. There have been promises of investigations and even a few prosecutions. But the reality is, nothing has really changed. This past March, the police killed 111 people – 10 more than last year.
There have been many proposals to stop police violence. Some hope to reform the police or hope the federal government will crack down on racist cops. Others demand better training or monitoring of the police, or for the cops to wear cameras.
Asking those in power to monitor their police is like putting arsonists in charge of the fire departments. We can’t depend on them. We need to depend on our own forces. And the growing anger and mobilizations could be a start. People have begun to put those in power on notice that we will not tolerate the violence of their police. And, if tens of thousands of people respond each time a cop brutalizes someone, they may not be so quick to beat or shoot people.
We must stand up against this police violence. We must demand an end to these murderous practices. But, the reality is the police are the perpetrators of the violence of this system. In the poorest neighborhoods, wracked by the violence of poverty, the cops ride the hardest. Where people live more comfortable lives, police violence and other violence is minimal.
To put an end to the violence of the police means putting an end to violence of this society – the exploitation and the dehumanization that capitalism causes. Is this possible ? Yes ! We really have no other choice, if we are to have a livable future
The widespread murderous behavior of the police in this country has been exposed for all to see. The murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, broke the silence. The people of Ferguson refused to be ignored. They took to the streets – day after day and month after month demanding justice and refusing to be silenced.
Now the focus is on Baltimore, Maryland where thousands have taken to the streets because of the refusal of the authorities to respond to the killing of Freddie Gray by the Baltimore cops. Gray was chased down after he fled from a cop when they exchanged glances. He was beaten and thrown in a police van and when he arrived at the police station he had suffered severe injuries – his spinal chord was severed, he had three fractured vertebrae and a crushed voice box. He fell into a coma, was taken to a trauma center and died a week later. None of the cops admitted to using any force, none have been charged. Finally six cops were suspended, with pay.
We shouldn’t be surprised at the attitude of the authorities. This is business as usual. Last year grand juries let the cops off who murdered Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York. Since then, video after video has been posted of cops shooting people down in cold blood, among them 12- year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland.
Tens of thousands of people across the country have demonstrated against the brutality of this system and its cops. This has forced some officials to do more than conduct the usual cover-ups. There have been promises of investigations and even a few prosecutions. But the reality is, nothing has really changed. This past March, the police killed 111 people – 10 more than last year.
There have been many proposals to stop police violence. Some hope to reform the police or hope the federal government will crack down on racist cops. Others demand better training or monitoring of the police, or for the cops to wear cameras.
Asking those in power to monitor their police is like putting arsonists in charge of the fire departments. We can’t depend on them. We need to depend on our own forces. And the growing anger and mobilizations could be a start. People have begun to put those in power on notice that we will not tolerate the violence of their police. And, if tens of thousands of people respond each time a cop brutalizes someone, they may not be so quick to beat or shoot people.
We must stand up against this police violence. We must demand an end to these murderous practices. But, the reality is the police are the perpetrators of the violence of this system. In the poorest neighborhoods, wracked by the violence of poverty, the cops ride the hardest. Where people live more comfortable lives, police violence and other violence is minimal.
To put an end to the violence of the police means putting an end to violence of this society – the exploitation and the dehumanization that capitalism causes. Is this possible ? Yes ! We really have no other choice, if we are to have a livable future