Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy for 7-year-old Aiyana Jones last Saturday. On the previous Sunday, May 16, 2010, Jones was killed by Detroit police officers during a raid of a home harboring a 34-year-old suspected of the murder of a 17-year-old high school student. While the police allege that Aiyana was killed when an officer’s weapon accidentally discharged during a struggle with her grandmother, members of the family allege police officers fired into the house before entering. An A&E film crew was present, shooting video for the show The First 48 (the police officer who allegedly fired the shot that killed Aiyana was a show regular) that will undoubtedly shed light on what really happened.
Sharpton’s eulogy excoriated black-on-black violence and police misconduct. ”I’d rather tell you to start looking at the man in the mirror,” Sharpton said. ”We’ve all done something that contributed to this.” ”This is it,” he added. ”This child is the breaking point.” Using this frame allows Sharpton to point the finger at black cultural dysfunction and police misconduct at the same time.
In as much as Aiyana’s death occurred while the police were trying to detain a murder suspect, I understand this. Common sense would suggest that there is blame to go around in this instance, right? If the police story is correct, then perhaps young Aiyana’s grandmother shouldn’t have struggled with police, perhaps she shouldn’t have allowed the murder suspect into the house in the first place. Even if the family of the victim is right, the family still bears some responsibility because the murder suspect was able to stay in the house in the first place.
Again, this is the common-sense narrative. It comes to mind without even thinking about it. But I suggest we broaden the perspective to ask another set of questions, a set of more critical questions. Why was a reality TV show on the premise? We now take real-life crime shows like The First 48 and Cops for granted. But these shows not only bring ”real life” into our homes, but they also sensationalize crime, arguably even more than shows like the recently canceled Law and Order, because they are real life.
More here.
I'm not sure if there is a qualitative difference between what A&E is doing and what the embedded reporters in war zones are doing. Press coverage, in general, befits an open, responsible, and responsive society. Nothing should be going on inside of our prisons that warrants a higher than “R” rating, and to an extent, these shows force police officers to remain human and confront their standard operating procedures.
I don't worry about these shows desensitizing the populace to violence. I worry about the degrading effects on both sides of the investigation when the cameras are turned off. I don't think the violence stops.
Took me a while to get back to this because I had to wrap my head around it. We can place this and the dynamic of embedded reporters in the same analytic category. But against this I wouldn't juxtapose the ABSENCE of coverage, but rather PUBLIC coverage. Think the Black Panthers tailing police officers. Think the use of video cameras in police cars.
In the first instance we're talking about introducing the profit motive AND taking the authority's point of view as the objective standard. A&E's first goal in their project is to create compelling narratives they can then use to sell advertisements/increase viewership. And in order to garner access they work with the authority. The authority has its own interest–they want narratives that will further legitimize the work they do. And secondarily they have an interest in getting continued coverage.
The result of this combination are stories that tend toward the sensationalist, that reproduce the authority OF the authority.
You are right. I conflated the work of journalists with the work of entertainment providers. A&E doesn't even have to pretend to try to depict the politically relevant aspects of the criminal system. They are not tasked with uncovering the truth. I'm not saying that the same skewed priorities don't pervade traditional journalism, but at least there is an ethic of truth-telling in journalism. “Cops” may be closer to “The Real World” than it is to CSPAN.
How about addressing the violence itself instead of the relatively ancillary issue of if it's being filmed or not. Black crime is creating an unbelievable crisis in urban America.
You're making a couple of critical errors here. By thinking of this issue as one of “black crime” you make this a problem of cultural. Secondly as a result you confuse cause and effect. The urban crisis GENERATES crime. Unemployment, rampant wealth disparities, urban disinvestment, failing public schools, all create conditions in which crime is more likely to occur.
Poverty exists in many Chinatowns, however the percentage of prostitution, rape, murder, property crimes, etc… is substantially lower. I don't know if the problem is genetic, cultural or any other parameter – just pointing out the existence of the problem.
As far as your apologetics for crime:
Many blacks seem to have the idea that jobs and “investment” just fall from the sky. This is emblematic of the “gimme” approach. It takes economic ingenuity to create jobs and growth. I suggest that blacks troubled by unemployment CREATE economic growth instead of depending on others for it. Go out and start a business instead of depending on investment and handouts from some other person who supposedly owes you something.
david, i'm not your normal blogger. this isn't my hobby. so the following questions are going to be hard questions, ones you may not have the inclination or the resources to answer. but hopefully thinking about them may be helpful for you.
On chinatown/detroit comparison: Detroit at one time was the tenth largest city in the nation and even now is the largest black run municipality in North America. How many chinatowns are there? How big are these towns, both absolutely and in comparison to cities like Detroit? What is their poverty rate EXACTLY? Their crime rate?
I ask the above questions because y0u appear to be making a set of inappropriate assumptions about black-Asian differences because you don't appear to understand the difference between a neighborhood and a city.
On black attitudes: When you talk about black attitudes about investment where exactly do you get your data? Is it survey research? Is it qualitative interviews? Is it elite pronouncements? What are the rates of black business ownership? Of black small business ownership?
Your knowledge of black attitudes, of black business development and its roots, and of the role of government, appear to be similarly truncated. I imagine that your attitudes are ones you've held for a while. But you'd benefit from careful study.
What must be done to eradicate the root causes of this sickening violence in the black community?
I live in flint mi.
Black on black crime has nothing to do with the police.
It has to do with children being raised by someone who lives by the adage, “Kick their ass!”
The level of ignorance here is evident every time you ride down the road.
Cameras in cruisers have documented cops shoot in the head as soon as they approach a car pulled over. They are great for keeping cops in line as well as proof of criminal behavior.
Cities are full of kids with guns. Chicago had 52 shooting on father's day weekend. Care to drive around that city? Children are hit by stray bullets all the time.
Here are some recent hometown headlines
Flint aims to attract 100 new volunteers to fight crime through Blue Badge Volunteer Corps
Published: Tuesday, June 15, 2010,
FLINT, Michigan — The city hopes to see new volunteers assisting police fight crime in Flint after an orientation was held for its Blue Badge Volunteer Corps Tuesday.
City officials asked those in attendance to volunteer some of their time and assist in the city's police mini stations or set up a crime watch.
Warrant issued for father of 2-year-old who shot 3-year-old sister in Flint
Published: Friday, June 11, 2010, 12:15 PM Updated: Friday, June 11, 2010, 12:14 PM
FLINT, Michigan — The Genesee County Prosecutor's office issued a warrant today against the 30-year-old father of a 2-year-old girl who shot her 3-year-old sister in the hand.
Police said the 2-year-old found her father’s loaded pistol sitting on his bed Wednesday afternoon before the shooting.
The father faces second-degree child abuse, felon in possession of a firearm and felony firearm charges, according Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton.
The shooting happened about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at a two-story, blue-and-white house on the corner of E. Lorado Avenue and Martin Luther King Avenue.The mother was not at home at the time of the shooting, said police.
Man shot at while sitting in parking lot in Flint
Published: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 7:52 AM Updated: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 8:01 AM
FLINT, Michigan — A man's vehicle was struck by two bullets as he waited in a store's parking lot Wednesday morning.
The man told police his girlfriend was inside of a store at the time of the shooting around 10:30 a.m. near Dupont Street and Flushing Road, according to police reports.
He saw a brown 1990s Buick LeSabre stop on Stevenson Street and a passenger in the backseat began firing shots, according to police reports.
Flint aims to attract 100 new volunteers to fight crime through Blue Badge Volunteer Corps
Published: Tuesday, June 15, 2010,
FLINT, Michigan — The city hopes to see new volunteers assisting police fight crime in Flint after an orientation was held for its Blue Badge Volunteer Corps Tuesday.
City officials asked those in attendance to volunteer some of their time and assist in the city's police mini stations or set up a crime watch.
Warrant issued for father of 2-year-old who shot 3-year-old sister in Flint
Published: Friday, June 11, 2010, 12:15 PM Updated: Friday, June 11, 2010, 12:14 PM
FLINT, Michigan — The Genesee County Prosecutor's office issued a warrant today against the 30-year-old father of a 2-year-old girl who shot her 3-year-old sister in the hand.
Police said the 2-year-old found her father’s loaded pistol sitting on his bed Wednesday afternoon before the shooting.
The father faces second-degree child abuse, felon in possession of a firearm and felony firearm charges, according Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton.
The shooting happened about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at a two-story, blue-and-white house on the corner of E. Lorado Avenue and Martin Luther King Avenue.The mother was not at home at the time of the shooting, said police.
Man shot at while sitting in parking lot in Flint
Published: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 7:52 AM Updated: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 8:01 AM
FLINT, Michigan — A man's vehicle was struck by two bullets as he waited in a store's parking lot Wednesday morning.
The man told police his girlfriend was inside of a store at the time of the shooting around 10:30 a.m. near Dupont Street and Flushing Road, according to police reports.
He saw a brown 1990s Buick LeSabre stop on Stevenson Street and a passenger in the backseat began firing shots, according to police reports.
Flint aims to attract 100 new volunteers to fight crime through Blue Badge Volunteer Corps
Published: Tuesday, June 15, 2010,
FLINT, Michigan — The city hopes to see new volunteers assisting police fight crime in Flint after an orientation was held for its Blue Badge Volunteer Corps Tuesday.
City officials asked those in attendance to volunteer some of their time and assist in the city's police mini stations or set up a crime watch.
Warrant issued for father of 2-year-old who shot 3-year-old sister in Flint
Published: Friday, June 11, 2010, 12:15 PM Updated: Friday, June 11, 2010, 12:14 PM
FLINT, Michigan — The Genesee County Prosecutor's office issued a warrant today against the 30-year-old father of a 2-year-old girl who shot her 3-year-old sister in the hand.
Police said the 2-year-old found her father’s loaded pistol sitting on his bed Wednesday afternoon before the shooting.
The father faces second-degree child abuse, felon in possession of a firearm and felony firearm charges, according Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton.
The shooting happened about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at a two-story, blue-and-white house on the corner of E. Lorado Avenue and Martin Luther King Avenue.The mother was not at home at the time of the shooting, said police.
Man shot at while sitting in parking lot in Flint
Published: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 7:52 AM Updated: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 8:01 AM
FLINT, Michigan — A man's vehicle was struck by two bullets as he waited in a store's parking lot Wednesday morning.
The man told police his girlfriend was inside of a store at the time of the shooting around 10:30 a.m. near Dupont Street and Flushing Road, according to police reports.
He saw a brown 1990s Buick LeSabre stop on Stevenson Street and a passenger in the backseat began firing shots, according to police reports.
RACISM and WHITE SUPREMACY is the real problem! Reaganites would keep Blacks in their place! Whites must address and their violence pathology: electing Bush and Cheney, for example? No other industrialized country has this degree of violence! White supremacy violence or greed costs this country over 2 trillion dollars a year. This is money we're suppose to invest in the education of the next generation to compete GLOBALLY!
Sure…. and those capitalist pigs are responsible for my personal debt.
You’re mistaking individual level analyses-what is responsible for an individuals actions–for aggregate level analyses. John Smith may get shot by police because he deserved it. But I’ve never heard of a brutality incident involving non-black suspects. Police “accidents” appear to be distributed non-randomly.
Please help me circulate my song and video for Aiyana Jones 7 year old girl killed by Detroit police.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIE7efHPIvM
On Aiyana Jones and Black on Black Crime http://t.co/OHBsPeR7