As a classically-trained journalist, the recent slate of videos showing police brutality directed toward Black men and boys gives me pause — so much violence and so much intrusion into the sacred last moments of people we’ve never met.
I feel so helpless. I vote, I share my opinions, I write to lawmakers, I protest and put signs on my front lawn. Still (being a spiritually-minded person) I have many conversations with the Mystery we have so many names for about the rampant violence and fear in our culture. I wonder what more I can do. I wonder whether anything I do makes any difference. Though I feel helpless, I stay with it and it stays with me. As the song by Jewell says, "We are tired, we are weary, but we aren't worn out." So it is with me.
This is like a poem. You and Mary Ann should probably take over this Substack. On this topic, as I've been watching the Chauvin trial, I am firmly sitting on the fence as to the existence of this endless loop.
I think that human beings in the US need to come to terms with the understanding that every tool has at least two ends. As you say, videos bear witness, but their power in rousing emotions can hurt the already-injured, and can numb the emotions as they accustom watchers to violence, and they are always from a source rather than from some divine perspective, and they are subject to editing. (I am not suggesting that there's anything fraudulent about the video showing the murder of Adam Toledo-- just talking about the medium.)
Similarly, if you don't count those killed by US armed forces you don't make the public aware of what they're paying for-- but people can shrug away human being as "mere numbers," and you can get a Lieutenant Calley trying to fill his quota.
Blame election results on candidates and you don't examine voting systems and who is or isn't enfranchised by them, and you place no expectation on voters to think about more than branding or team insignia.
More and more, I feel that human being in the United States busily turn so many things into trash in our efforts not to think or act like responsible producers of our economy and culture....
Seeing them over and over again is disheartening, but we can hope it can teach lessons. The Chicago video, however, is extremely disturbing. While there are many unanswered questions, the police officer should have exercised restraint when the boy emerged empty-handed and hands up. Let us hope a thorough and unbiased investigation will answer those many questions.
Mary Ann’s statement gives me pause, as did this morning’s NYT OpEd about public perception of George Floyd’s execution by Derek Chauvin dropping by 50%; are we bearing horrified witness in an act of noblesse oblige, or are our sensibilities being numbed by the daily killing and degradation of young black men.
Like you I’ve been conflicted by recent news just as I am watching “The Passion Of The Christ”, wanting to look away but feeling an obligation as an entitled cisgender WASP male to see and try my best to understand the history that has put us all in this place and time.
A good friend from the IAFF with whom I worked on political campaigns described being pulled over on the Beltway by a State Trooper whose Union President he’d been working with all week and immediately put his hands out the window as his momma had taught lest he be shot for DWB; I’ve never considered it.
That’s why we watch; so we can work toward a more perfect Union in which the self-evident truth of our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is inherent to all men and women. So when the big white Policeman looks down at the little black girl and asks “What do you want to be when you grow up” she can have bigger dreams than simply, “Alive.”
That's why we watch. Yes. And you, as a career firefighter, have seen plenty. I, as a career journalist, saw far far less but have a slight (ever so slight) sense of the impact of these crimes on the families. (I mostly wrote features and columns, and would wade in after the fact, after the blood was cleaned up, after the initial jolt of the gunfire was long quiet.) I just keep trying to think about what I would want, but applying the Golden Rule sometimes feel arrogant. How I would feel has no bearing on how these families might feel.
I don't feel right about those videos on endless loop. I intentionally listen to the stories and do not watch the murder in video form. I worry about the how those videos must traumatize people who feel they or their loved ones are at risk of that same violence. I worry that the constant barrage of those videos might desensitize some people to it. I worry that the focus on the violence without the impact on family, friends and community is out of balance. On another forum, I had some conversations with two grandmothers. One talked about having conversations with her grandsons on what to do if stopped with police. She described her husband sitting down with their 7 and 9 year old grandsons to talk about it, while she worried it wouldn't be enough. And the other lady said when there are police who are scared of our kids or are trigger happy or racist, how can we ever say enough? It was heartbreaking. My thought was, also - how can we expect kids who are already traumatized by what's been going on to behave perfectly if feeling threatened by the police? The police need to behave perfectly when kids can't. There was a feeling of hopeless, helplessness, and a sense of not knowing what to do - something a lot of us share, whether we are black or white. I'm sure you've heard all of this before. For me, it makes me wonder if the videos of murder do more harm than good. Should we really need to see a murder to know how awful it must be for the family and targeted community? If we do, what does that say about us? And, what could we focus on to understand the impact due to these murderous acts? What would move people to make change? So far, we seem stuck in inaction.
Can you imagine having to tell your son how to act around the police, other than -- as I told mine -- don't be an asshole. Be polite. I do not know how the family manages with those videos on endless loop, yet if I look away, I feel like I'm not being respectful to those last moments. That's even while I feel like it's disrespectful to watch, that there's something sacred about a person's last moments.
I understand what you are saying and hear your conflict. For me, the constant replaying of actual murders feels wrong and dehumanizing in a way. I also worry about how it affects and further traumatizes communities and kids, especially.
I’m not sure where I stand on the videos but for the most part we don’t see the actual moment. The videos are typically stopped, maybe the audio continues. To that degree it’s sanitized, making it easier to watch. We know we’re desensitized to fake violence and it sure seems we’re being desensitized to real violence. I don’t know that seeing these videos complete and unedited would make a difference but I can’t help but think about Mamie Till insisting on an open casket for her son Emmett or the Newtown mom insisting that Dan Malloy accompany her to view her son’s disfigured face and head. Maybe aspirational truth is dependent on the ugly truth for there to be any progress.
I'm thinking one answer may not be right for every family who lost a family member. Susan, do you know if the media asks the families before broadcasting? I get the sense they have no say.
Sadly, we haven't seen progress, despite plenty of ugly truth. Seeing hasn't made a difference yet, which is so sad and horrifying.
I was thinking that the loved ones should be asked if they want those videos made public or not. I'm not sure they all do watch. I bet there are mixed answers to that. I don't think they are even asked. Susan probably knows.
I feel so helpless. I vote, I share my opinions, I write to lawmakers, I protest and put signs on my front lawn. Still (being a spiritually-minded person) I have many conversations with the Mystery we have so many names for about the rampant violence and fear in our culture. I wonder what more I can do. I wonder whether anything I do makes any difference. Though I feel helpless, I stay with it and it stays with me. As the song by Jewell says, "We are tired, we are weary, but we aren't worn out." So it is with me.
This is like a poem. You and Mary Ann should probably take over this Substack. On this topic, as I've been watching the Chauvin trial, I am firmly sitting on the fence as to the existence of this endless loop.
I think that human beings in the US need to come to terms with the understanding that every tool has at least two ends. As you say, videos bear witness, but their power in rousing emotions can hurt the already-injured, and can numb the emotions as they accustom watchers to violence, and they are always from a source rather than from some divine perspective, and they are subject to editing. (I am not suggesting that there's anything fraudulent about the video showing the murder of Adam Toledo-- just talking about the medium.)
Similarly, if you don't count those killed by US armed forces you don't make the public aware of what they're paying for-- but people can shrug away human being as "mere numbers," and you can get a Lieutenant Calley trying to fill his quota.
Blame election results on candidates and you don't examine voting systems and who is or isn't enfranchised by them, and you place no expectation on voters to think about more than branding or team insignia.
More and more, I feel that human being in the United States busily turn so many things into trash in our efforts not to think or act like responsible producers of our economy and culture....
Such a thoughtful response. I will be thinking about tools and their two ends now.
Seeing them over and over again is disheartening, but we can hope it can teach lessons. The Chicago video, however, is extremely disturbing. While there are many unanswered questions, the police officer should have exercised restraint when the boy emerged empty-handed and hands up. Let us hope a thorough and unbiased investigation will answer those many questions.
Amen.
Mary Ann’s statement gives me pause, as did this morning’s NYT OpEd about public perception of George Floyd’s execution by Derek Chauvin dropping by 50%; are we bearing horrified witness in an act of noblesse oblige, or are our sensibilities being numbed by the daily killing and degradation of young black men.
Like you I’ve been conflicted by recent news just as I am watching “The Passion Of The Christ”, wanting to look away but feeling an obligation as an entitled cisgender WASP male to see and try my best to understand the history that has put us all in this place and time.
A good friend from the IAFF with whom I worked on political campaigns described being pulled over on the Beltway by a State Trooper whose Union President he’d been working with all week and immediately put his hands out the window as his momma had taught lest he be shot for DWB; I’ve never considered it.
That’s why we watch; so we can work toward a more perfect Union in which the self-evident truth of our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is inherent to all men and women. So when the big white Policeman looks down at the little black girl and asks “What do you want to be when you grow up” she can have bigger dreams than simply, “Alive.”
That's why we watch. Yes. And you, as a career firefighter, have seen plenty. I, as a career journalist, saw far far less but have a slight (ever so slight) sense of the impact of these crimes on the families. (I mostly wrote features and columns, and would wade in after the fact, after the blood was cleaned up, after the initial jolt of the gunfire was long quiet.) I just keep trying to think about what I would want, but applying the Golden Rule sometimes feel arrogant. How I would feel has no bearing on how these families might feel.
I don't feel right about those videos on endless loop. I intentionally listen to the stories and do not watch the murder in video form. I worry about the how those videos must traumatize people who feel they or their loved ones are at risk of that same violence. I worry that the constant barrage of those videos might desensitize some people to it. I worry that the focus on the violence without the impact on family, friends and community is out of balance. On another forum, I had some conversations with two grandmothers. One talked about having conversations with her grandsons on what to do if stopped with police. She described her husband sitting down with their 7 and 9 year old grandsons to talk about it, while she worried it wouldn't be enough. And the other lady said when there are police who are scared of our kids or are trigger happy or racist, how can we ever say enough? It was heartbreaking. My thought was, also - how can we expect kids who are already traumatized by what's been going on to behave perfectly if feeling threatened by the police? The police need to behave perfectly when kids can't. There was a feeling of hopeless, helplessness, and a sense of not knowing what to do - something a lot of us share, whether we are black or white. I'm sure you've heard all of this before. For me, it makes me wonder if the videos of murder do more harm than good. Should we really need to see a murder to know how awful it must be for the family and targeted community? If we do, what does that say about us? And, what could we focus on to understand the impact due to these murderous acts? What would move people to make change? So far, we seem stuck in inaction.
Can you imagine having to tell your son how to act around the police, other than -- as I told mine -- don't be an asshole. Be polite. I do not know how the family manages with those videos on endless loop, yet if I look away, I feel like I'm not being respectful to those last moments. That's even while I feel like it's disrespectful to watch, that there's something sacred about a person's last moments.
I understand what you are saying and hear your conflict. For me, the constant replaying of actual murders feels wrong and dehumanizing in a way. I also worry about how it affects and further traumatizes communities and kids, especially.
I’m not sure where I stand on the videos but for the most part we don’t see the actual moment. The videos are typically stopped, maybe the audio continues. To that degree it’s sanitized, making it easier to watch. We know we’re desensitized to fake violence and it sure seems we’re being desensitized to real violence. I don’t know that seeing these videos complete and unedited would make a difference but I can’t help but think about Mamie Till insisting on an open casket for her son Emmett or the Newtown mom insisting that Dan Malloy accompany her to view her son’s disfigured face and head. Maybe aspirational truth is dependent on the ugly truth for there to be any progress.
That's precisely what I wonder.
I'm thinking one answer may not be right for every family who lost a family member. Susan, do you know if the media asks the families before broadcasting? I get the sense they have no say.
Sadly, we haven't seen progress, despite plenty of ugly truth. Seeing hasn't made a difference yet, which is so sad and horrifying.
In general, no, the media does not ask. If an official source releases it (the police, for instance), the media tends to run it.
Yes - that’s it exactly. And if their loved ones can take the pain of watching, who am I to demur.
I was thinking that the loved ones should be asked if they want those videos made public or not. I'm not sure they all do watch. I bet there are mixed answers to that. I don't think they are even asked. Susan probably knows.