This Al Jazeera article details plans laid out by Barack Obama and Eric Holder to reform law enforcement in response to the grand jury decision regarding an increase in public concern due to These steps include demilitarizing the police, bringing an end to racial profiling, and forming a task force to find further solutions. According to the article, numerous activists are left unsatisfied by these proposals and instead believe the role and training of police should be re-examined.
What are your thoughts on the proposals set forth in this article? Would the plans of the administration, in particular, be effective? Are there other solutions or are none needed?
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
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I support the ERP Act, but ferguson is the absolute worst example. Mike Brown punched a cop in the face and tried to grab his gun, his death likely had little to do with racism and more to do with being a violent criminal. Racial profiling does happen, but by focusing on Mike Brown, a thug, we condition people to think that all black men who get shot deserved it like he did, which simply isnt true.
ReplyDeleteI support the initiatives Obama is taking to restore trust between communities and police officers, but this issue should not only be applied to one race. I believe the killing of Brown was the wrong approach, and that it also had nothing to do with race. I agree that police responses need to be less militarized, and that body cameras would be a great investment. It is hard to believe that in 2014 people would still feeling belittled because of their race, but it is clear that this is still a pressing issue.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Rachel and Emmanuel in that I support the reform laws Obama has proposed and that Michael Brown's death had very little to nothing to do with race. While it is unfortunate that someone had to die, Darren Wilson was just trying to do his job. We need to move past race and not make assumptions based on it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what most of my classmates are saying here. I think Obama has the right idea with this proposal. I think the real problem is the cultural of America and racism. The big problem is that no law or proposal can change the cultural. We have to change it.
ReplyDeleteWhile President Obama's plan would definitely decrease the number of attacks on unarmed black citizens, I agree that simply putting body cameras on police officers won't truly help the issue. The issue is racial profiling, and requires much more than new technology or legislation to fix. I think the best course of action is the restorative justice model combined with the testing and training of our police officers for racial anxiety. However, in addition to the plan presented in the article, this testing and training should be extended to citizens of the U.S., or middle school students so that this doesn't persist into future generations.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that some things need to be changed within law enforcement and a plan like this is a good starting point. However, I agree with Emmanuel that Ferguson is not a great example. In that particular instance, race had little to do with the cause of death. As Mike said, a law can't change the culture of America and racism. Only we can do that ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree with what everybody is saying here. The current plan by Obama to address some of these issues is a good start. However, it is the culture and trust between races that needs to be fixed in addition to the law. I particularly think Antonella's idea of extending racial anxiety training and testing to regular citizens would be an effective way of changing the way people think and ultimately ensuring that this problem doesn't continue on into future generations.
ReplyDeleteThe measures Obama is taking are good steps forward but the only thing that is going to make our society a better and safer place is if we change it ourselves. Yea if we put a law in that's great but people break laws all the time. The only way to fix racism is to have a social intervention which is on us as a country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with basically everyone that commented. The Ferguson case could have gone both ways, but the approach was wrong and like Peaches said it has nothing to do with race. I thought the body cameras would be a great investment until the Eric Garner incident happen. The grand jury saw the video of him being chocked to death...Something needs to be done. I completely agree with Mike, we are the only one who can change how we react to the American culture and racism, and not a law.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that we should extend racial anxiety training within the police force. In addition, the police should be de-militarized (we need to stop sending military surplus to police). If the police are dressed and equipped like soldiers, they will think like soldiers, not protectors of domestic peace. However, I am a little on the edge when it comes to the body cameras. While I believe they may very well be necessary, I feel like it will be signaling to our entire police force that we do not trust them, when in reality, many police officers are honorable men and women who risk their physical well beings for us everyday. Before we attach cameras to every police officers chest, I think there should be some sort of trial period. Will police officers hesitate stepping into a situation for fear of being prosecuted if they have a camera strapped to them? It is definitely something that should be taken into account.
ReplyDeleteI support the proposals listed in the article, especially the application of cameras on to officers uniforms. I disagree with Emmanuel's belief that Michael Brown was a violent criminal who was handled correctly. A trained police officer should be more than capable of subduing an attacking unarmed civilian using non lethal force.
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