Yes, I know it's gone viral and can be seen absolutely everywhere, and for absolutely good reason- I, like so many others, can't stop looking at it. And like any good great photo, there's good reason for that, basically because it works on so many levels, and does so, so very, very well. Composition- check, decisive moment- check, content- check, check and check.
What I first thought when I saw this photo was... superhero. Nefarious, super villains rising from the netherworld to wreak havoc on the lone guardian of the light. Alone, unafraid, strengthened by the very forces of the winds and nature at her command; she is secure and confident in her calm demeanor. Those advancing in attack formation are quick, aggressive and heavily armored- but overwhelmingly cautious all the same, fully cognizant of her latent power.
And then, of course, there's real life- what seems an entire city's police force vs. one lone, very human Black female. And such has it always been, no matter the decade, when men of color have been attacked, beaten and killed by overwhelming forces. Their women have never been far behind, and in fact, often leading many of the various opposing and conciliatory forces at play. And always too... the iconic photo to remind us of just that.
I'm not for the taking of any innocent life; I do not support terrorism, revenge killings or any form of brutal hate attacks. But this killing of unarmed African-Americans and people of color has gone unanswered and ignored for far too long in this country. It hasn't mattered if those "in question" were: armed or unarmed, compliant or obstinate, male or female, healthy or infirm, minor or adult, felon or upstanding citizen- if you're Black or of color, guilt is assumed; your death, a simple statistic on another night's shift...
When the police actively target you, the law fails to protect you, and
the economy sees you primarily as fodder for their prison industrial
complex- why should anyone be surprised that the other side finally countered with some senseless killing of their own?
Gideon's Army is what can happen when people get that chance of a lifetime and fight to try and salvage others in similar circumstances. Call them heroes, call them saints- they're people who actually care and won't turn their backs, or shrug their shoulders, or just keep going on with their own world of problems... like most of us.
Pete Brook recently informed me of his co-curated group exhibit: Status Update. Hadn't seen anything worthwhile up close and personal in months, and happily, this didn't disappoint- not one weak link in the entire show. Robert Gumpert's prison portraits (go toTake A Picture, Tell A Story for some seriously devastating, one-two combinations of portraits/oral histories), and Elizabeth Lo's tightly edited, well executed video were my two personal faves. I can't ever say enough about the simplicity and power of Gumpert's portraiture, and Lo's short video, Hotel 22, just took me by surprise with it's oh so revealing tale of a mobile 'homeless shelter' shuttling about one of the most prosperous strips of American realty. This is one show that seriously needs to be seen, heard and discussed in much larger public venues, throughout the country...
There's a lot that Ms. Hubbard gets right here, a considerable amount she also disregards or glosses over. Of course, White folk will be cheering this on as righteous affirmation that everything they say and believe is absolutely true, case closed- while the facts, and the truth are so infinitely more nuanced.
As an inner city teacher of adolescents who were officially classified as "Extremely Emotionally Disturbed & Socially Maladjusted," one quickly observed and realized (again- depending if one hadboth eyes open) that there was blame aplenty to go around on all sides: parents (or lack thereof), school teachers and administrators, clergy, police, and even the children themselves... yes, society as a whole from the President on down. Plenty of blame- and plenty of reasons. The latter are often shoved aside or conveniently ignored, the former usually short or one sided, and the solutions ranging from ineffective, to non existent.
You can't effectively address, confront or attempt to remedy this madness of spiraling crime and violence without effectively including all sides concerned. And so much of the insanity that occurs within the inner city is a direct result of what occurs (or doesn't occur) far outside it. First and foremost, if there are no jobs to be had in the hood, then you pretty much have to give people the credit for creating them- and you know where those self made jobs are going to be... cue in: drugs, guns and death. Also see: the never ending cycle of crime, incarceration and despair that doesn't just suck in individual lives, but entire generations. What use are good decent schools in the inner city (when they do exist) if there are no institutions of higher learning that are affordable; and ultimately, if there are no jobs or opportunities to be had for all that desperately need and want them- not just for the handful that somehow manage to succeed beyond every and all possible obstacles!
Yes, it's easy to blame individuals for lack of personal responsibility, and individuals certainly must take responsibility- but how can anyone be expected to succeed in a society that has given up on them and cast them aside, looking their way only when the situation inevitably arises to cast blame, and accusation... or as a possible source of personal revenue in one of the few growth industries left in the country- the prison industrial complex.
Education is not held in very high esteem by much of "minority" youth, often it's looked upon more as a sad joke than anything else, something for other people with lighter skin in another world where they don't have bullets buzzing by their heads. Those scant few grants and scholarships, and those far fetched possibilities cannot protect you from the violence all around you each and every day.
Cops are not concerned with societal cause and effect, they want to go home in one piece to their nice peaceful neighborhoods where some measure of hope and sanity can still be salvaged. They don't have any skin in the game other than their own, "Protect and Serve" starts and ends with them.
So yes, Peggy, it's a goddamn shame that little girl was killed by one of her own, and the idiot that died by the gun (like so many others, before and after in his circumstances) got what he gave; but you really should know that TV's talking heads wouldn't have covered her death anyway, and countless others just like her. They both died statistics, together in their separate world.
This madness is all consuming, it sucks the very life out of you even if you survive it. Every inner city is a little Iraq and Afghanistan where PTSD runs rampant at every age and every household. To succumb to a one sided blame game is both very human, and very understandable. Ultimately, it just continues to perpetuate and conceal the very madness it so inadequately seeks to address.
1) First, the age old truism of what can happen when ya give someone a uniform.
2) How closely the study environment resembled a real life prison- and how true to life the accompanying results mimicked real life prison culture (in just 6 days), from Attica to Abu Ghraib.
3) How big a dick Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo was at the time for allowing himself to become so personally involved in the study and not conducting the "experiment" as an actual scientific experiment, so that his research and conclusions would be beyond reproach.
4) How easy it is to create a Nazi (see #1)- although can't help but think had the study been done with some say... students from NYC (rather than the burbs of CA), the "prisoners" would have been considerably more rebellious- though with probably similar results, considerably faster.
No, this did not happen in some ruthless Central American dictatorship or some lawless African semi-state. It happened in New York City, that historical hub of Liberalism and over regulation. Welcome to the subhuman nightmare in which a minor is allowed to rot for three years without jury, trial or conviction- much of that time in complete isolation... Welcome to Kalief Browder's world of injustice:
I remember thinking even as a kid how stupid adults had to be to burn books like they did in Nazi Germany. But really, how different is it to live in a society where an average college tuition can set you up for a near lifetime of debt? And where even the very college professors meant to educate you into a better life can die penniless, homeless and w/o healthcare. That more than anything clearly SHOUTS just how little our society values the role of educators, and lays bare the lip service we pay to the desire of having an educated population.
So when you hear about how crime is going up- remember, many of those embarking on a life of crime got the message loud and clear, weighed their opportunities (or lack thereof), and acted quite... rationally. Educating yourself with money you don't have for jobs that don't exist is not a viable option. Maybe we should think twice before automatically condemning each and every criminal as chronically lazy or inherently crazed bad guys. They're not the crazy ones, they made a logical decision based on the facts and their reality, our reality as it exists today. No, it certainly ain't the best for all concerned: certainly not for the victim, society as a whole, or even the criminals themselves who eventually end up dead or incarcerated.* But before you condemn them for being amoral, irresponsible, cold hearted subhumans, think about a society that lets a college professor of 25 years die in the streets like an unwanted dog- and thinks nothing of it...
It's hard for me to even admit this, but growing up a rich spoiled brat with uncaring parents is almost (almost) as bad as growing up dirt poor under same said parents- of course, the key here is the latter; absent, abusive or uncaring parents create the ideal breeding ground for tomorrow's sociopaths. Being rich provides an opportunity to be exposed to alternatives, but without that parental love and guidance, those are usually wasted opportunities. What's needed for these "AFFLUENZA" sufferers however is an immediate crash diet of reality writ large.* Not just another slap on the wrist- isn't that what White folk always prescribe Blacks and Hispanics?
* along with the necessary therapy that should be available and mandatory to either side.
Quick- What's the best way to get those suspicious looking brown and black malcontents off the streets and give some down on their luck, unemployed white folk a career (talk about Win-Win)?
