This entry is from guest blogger AVIII:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/nypd-accused-of-discrimination_n_1213164.html?ir=Black+Voices
The above article I found has a lot of interesting findings about the New York Police Department and should be ripe with points of discussion.
Firstly, the main article deals with alleged discriminatory practices towards African-Americans and Latinos in New York City's police force. While these allegations are still under investigation, a lot of controversy lingers around Facebook comments made by police officers in regards to the West Indian Day Parade. Words such as "savages" and "animals" were used to describe the spectators and participants in attendance; one police officer called the parade detail "ghetto training."
The New York Civil Liberties Union has spoken out against the discriminatory practices, but interestingly, also supports the police officers' harmful rhetoric, arguing the officers' First Amendment Rights should be upheld regardless of the NYCLU's feelings about the language.
This serves as a prime example of oppressive rhetoric that goes unchallenged due to misguided efforts to uphold First Amendment liberties. Personally, I feel the NYCLU has sent very mixed-messages in supporting such polarizing ideologies. Perhaps it is time we reevaluate the condemning nature of what we consider "free" speech.
AVIII
First Amendment rights like all freedom in the US is limited by the clause of, 'so long as it does not infringe on another person's freedom' Is calling someone savage an infringement? Would the 'savages' then be able to call the cops 'Pigs' with their first amendments rights too? Unfortunately that becomes a vicious circle of oppressive language.
ReplyDeleteThe seemingly racial glass ceiling embedded in the promotion process and the lack of action taken from higher ups in regards to the derogatory language used by some of the officers on the public Facebook page promotes a rhetoric of racial intolerance and an attitude of indifference to racial and cultural discrimination. This type of rhetoric is a form of White supremacy. There are so many grey areas within First Amendment rights and the ways different institutions reinforce them in society varies drastically. As an employee for a company, you represent the company and the companies values and ideals. Most employers have code of conducts that influence the actions of its employees. As representatives of the NYPD, the officers who posted derogatory comments in the Facebook group are producing offensive rhetoric that is indirectly representative of the police department. And, the lack of action taken against the publishing of the comments is somewhat equivalent to those in charge saying "carry on".
ReplyDeleteThere's a saying, "If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything"! And I believe America falls for anything-"free speech" should not be an excuse to disrespect and demean any one or any particular group and until America stands up to stop misuse of "free speech", then language of oppression will be able to be allowed as "free speech" and language of liberation will always struggle for attention in our society.
ReplyDeleteAnother view-if the crowd was actually acting like savages, animals, or ghetto then the terminology would be correct no matter what the gender and/or race.
Just add this to the growing list of problems with the NYPD...
ReplyDeleteNYPD, or LAPD, or DPD, all police departments are ripe with racism because they are staffed with individuals who have have been taught how to think and feel.....of coarse it is going to carry over into any workplace, unfortunately all our biases and how we view people come with us no matter what our job description says. What we need to address first is when this behavior is is developed and thwart it at that point.
ReplyDeleteRebecca Tanner