Collins' micro-sociological theory of violence has generated much discussion and critiques. Armstrong (2008) argues that Collin's theory is a quite limited perspective, which neglects other important social/cultural factors. For instance, Collins describes the concept of "forward panic" as a fundamental variable that focuses on a specific emotional state and this is generalised across time, place, race, gender, economics, and culture (Armstrong, 2008). This dismisses the cultural interpretation of the Rodney King beating as a case of racism. However, Collins (2008) explains that racism has little effect on whether individuals will be violent in confrontations, or how successful the violence will be, as racism by itself cannot overcome the …show more content…
First, Collins deviates from the traditional argument that certain "types of individuals" become violent (Aho, 2013), and argues that violence are not committed by "bad" people, but also committed by "good" people like police officers who are usually responsible for public safety. This case also illustrates the importance of recognising emotion as an interaction process involving everyone present: the attacker, the victim, and the audience (Collins, 2008). Karstedt et al's (2011) research found that suspects who turn and run away, or resist arrest in situations when police are in full forward panic mode are more likely to be attacked by police, than those who non-violently stand firm and attempt to verbally engage with police. Even Klusemann's (2012) research on the tipping-points to genocidal ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Rwanda, found micro-situational obstacles and threatened victims sometimes escaped because they showed emotional resoluteness. Perhaps, the Rodney King beating could have been prevented if one or both sides refrained from escalating the conflict, by lowering the tension and putting the situation back in emotional equilibrium (Collins, 2013). Collins recommends that our best defence in confrontations with police is our facial expression, voice, speech, body language, and demeanour. This is a reciprocal interaction; by changing …show more content…
Human emotion is a powerful and complex experience that can influence individuals to go against the conventional morality of normal situations (Aho, 2013). Evidently, emotions can dominate a person to commit acts of violence, even the supposedly professional, rational, and disciplined individuals, such as police officers can inflict harm on others. The emotional dynamics of violent situations are found in the "pathways" that lead into the "tunnel of violence": attacking the weak victim; "forward panic"; and audience encouragement (Collins, 2008). It is through these pathways that came together at a particular time and place that shaped the tension, fear, and the emotional entrainment of the officers to act in ways they would generally not. Such emotional dominance is subject to various situational contingencies; therefore, some individuals who reach the peak of violence (overkill) will not necessarily remain there (Aho, 2013). One of the officers who participated in beating King testified that he told another officer to "get the hell off" King, because the beating became “excessive" (Linder, 2001). While violence is difficult for human beings (Collins, 2013), the Rodney King beating highlights that when there is a build-up of confrontation tension/fear, finding the features of the situation that shape our emotions and acts can help
In a viewpoint by Nicole Flatow titled “History Indicates Varied Results in Improving Police Brutality in America,” She believes that there has been little reforms regarding police brutality. Nicole argues for years, America has barely made any effort on improving the use of force by police officers. For example, victims such as Rodney King and Amadou Diallo, led to some reforms, but did not solve the violence of police brutality. With the beating of Rodney King that was captured on camera, it sparked massive outrage that led to a riot when the police officers received no charges. Because of the riots, it created a momentum for a reform of the police.
In the book Between the World and Me, author Ta-Nehisi Coates shares the experience of a traffic stop through the eyes of a Black man. Recounting a memory to his son, Coates explains, “They took my identification and returned to the squad car. I sat there in terror… At that point in American history, no police department fired its guns more than that of Prince George’s County” (Coates 75-76). Given the increasing number of stories arising of unjustifiable police brutality, when pulled over by the police, understandably, Coates was genuinely concerned that they may take his life away.
The deadly shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Wilson, unveiled numerous issues within local law enforcement, that resulted in social controversy aimed at all of law enforcement. According to the BBC news, Brown was unarmed when he was fired upon by Wilson (“Ferguson unrest”, 2015). A projection from this incident has emerged, claiming that African Americans are killed more frequently than other races when confronted by law enforcement. The statistics have revealed that African Americans who are unarmed have been victim to violence with
Summary The article written by Amanda Taub named, “A Social Reflex: Police and Blacks, Seeing Threat, Close Ranks” discusses the reason as to why the violence between the police and blacks have become exponentially talked about in the matter of months. She argues that it is because of group identity and how the violence committed strengthened the group identity of both the police and the blacks. She mentions in-groups and out-groups and how they each are related to one another, and how threats and violence can heighten “out-group hate” (Tuab). She also states that what contributes to group identity is the fact that “when people see others in their social group subjected to harm because of their membership in that group, they don't just sympathize
The quote stated above by Rodney King is an interpretation of how he feel towards police brutality. Rodney King was an African American male who was brutally beat by police officers when he refused to pull over. This incident showed that officers can be cruel and as a future criminal justice professional, it makes me question the understanding of ethical practices in the criminal justice system. Unlike Rodney King, the man in the video was not beat but he was tortured –twisting of his arm. Both Rodney King and the man in the video were helpless as they continued to scream for help.
riots will always be remembered not only by the residents who lived in the city during the time but also all victims of racism. King’s beating shocked the nation with the violence of police brutality and the riots proved that it leads to dire consequences. Nevertheless, people today can learn that being prejudiced against one another will ultimately result in destruction to both sides. For instance, in 2013, the movement “Black Lives Matter” began as a fight for equality and ending police brutality. It helped inspire the fight against prejudices, especially after George Zimmerman’s trial in 2012 when he was found not guilty of killing 17 year old Trayvon Martin.
A news report released by CNN on April 10, 2015 displayed three examples of use of force abuse by on duty officers. Of these three incidents the results were a man dying in police custody after a dog allegedly mauled him, a mentally ill man being was shot dead after his family called police asking for help, and an officer who shooting into a vehicle after a car chase, killing a man who was initially suspected of drunk driving. Of all three incidents the deceased happened to all be Black men. Incidents like so have led to the formation of groups like Black Lives Matter. Instances such as these open up debate about if police are using excessive force based upon the suspect’s race.
Police brutality is a serious injustice which impacts many individuals in the United States and is an issue that needs to be addressed and resolved. Millions of American citizens interact with law enforcement, “about 1 million of these civilians experience police threat or use of force during these interactions”(Law Enforcement Epidemiology Project). Police brutality against Black people in the US is nothing new; it has existed here for a very long time. Historical evidence confirms that Black people are the victims of police brutality.
Hollywood and social media has blown the police subculture way out of proportion, portraying police officers as crooked cops who abuse their authoritative powers and beats every suspect they encounter during their tour of duty. Critics who are opposed to law enforcement services can argue that a police organization is nothing but a bunch of racist, power hunger, and trigger happy individuals. On the other hand, supporters of law enforcement will work cooperatively with the department in order to prevent crime, enforce the law, preserve the peace, and provide a safe environment (Houston Police Department General Orders, 2012). Studies from Wine (2014) revealed that “black and white officers were equally likely to shoot African-American suspects” (para. 6). When a police officer (white or black officer), conducts a routine traffic stop, and the officer immediately observes the driver of the vehicle pointing a handgun directly at him, the officer does not have time to ponder about the suspect’s skin color, and decide whether to discharge his firearm or not.
Police Brutality and Racial Profiling Black people who were unarmed were killed more than whites by police last year. “Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police in the United States than white people (BBC Podcast, 2015).” Although the extent of police racial bias and their previous abusive behavior is unknown (if any), there are other issues that are known. The purpose of this paper is to argue that race and ethnicity, social class, and bias are reasons that lead to police atrocity among African Americans.
There is a belief among some people that racist white police officers are hunting down innocent black men(Bandler, 2016). But thanks to a series of numbers brought to our eyes by the hand of a Heather Mac Donald, statistics from 2015 show that cops kill almost twice as many white people as black people (Mac Donald, 2016). On top of these statistics, the majority of the black victims were handling some kind of deadly weapon(Bandler, 2016). This does have a direct correlation with the amount of force used within the police force simply because of judgement and the way an intense time could alter the way people think or feel about specific situations(Bandler, 2016). Today, these specific situations almost seem like any traffic stop or crime confrontation(Bandler, 2016).
In “Etiquette of Police Violence” Rion Alamar Scott talks about some of the things cops first assume to do when approaching someone of color. He then continues to tell his audience about events that have happened numerous times. Even goes into detail about the prosecution of the accused officers and how they went. Scott makes a lot of good points about how cops
An occurrence observed by the population of Los Angeles, California conveys the existence of racism and police brutality. According to The Polls-Trends: Racial Differences in Attitudes Toward the Police, “…three quarters of blacks, but only 38 percent of whites, continued to view police brutality as a common occurrence” (Tuch and Weitzer
Police officer’s reputations are reduced and they lose the public’s trust as protectors. Specifically, society talks about the act of a white police officer savagely attacking a black citizen. The black population was enraged by this act and formed activist movements to prevent any police brutality brought upon them. As the controversy rise, society starts picking a side to defend. In this case, the nation is split into two sides.
Esbensin, Peterson, Taylor and Freng (2010) implies that “ young people who have committed serious violent offenses have the highest level of impulsive and risk-seeking tendencies.” Moreover, extreme violent criminal activity being performed in front of youth increases the risk of them performing acts of extreme violence themselves. Because youth see those acts as acceptable so committng those violent activities make youths to become ruthless. Smith and Green (2007) assert that violent activities becoming ruthless and the perpetrators even more ruthless.