Police Behaving Badly 10.25.16

More than 800,000 people serve as local and state law enforcement officials in the United States. These police officers are charged with upholding and enforcing the law, maintaining order, and providing general services. To carry out these duties, police officers possess certain powers, granted by the state. If the situation calls for it, police officers can frisk, detain, and arrest civilians, as well as seize property. In addition, depending upon the situation, police officers are empowered to use force to defend themselves or civilians (the amount of force extends along a spectrum from police presence through deadly force). Given the powers that police officers have, it is incumbent upon them to maintain a level of professionalism in the course of their duties and to wield their powers responsibly and ethically. Unfortunately, there are countless examples of cops engaging in a range of irresponsible, unethical, immoral, and/or illegal activities from bribery and unjustified arrests to illegal search and seizure and the use of excessive force. Here are five examples of

Police behaving badly

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Police Behaving Badly 10.25.16
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Pushing back against ableism

Content Note:
Ableism thread
Contains ableist slurs, racial slurs, and homophobic slurs

Text image reading "Ableism- A form of discrimination against people with disabilities. A social prejudice."
Text image reading “Ableism- A form of discrimination against people with disabilities. A social prejudice.”

There are words in the English language that many, Many, MANY people use without giving thought to. These are words that were once medical terms used to describe people with mental illnesses. While these words are no longer used by medical professionals to describe people with mental illnesses, society at large still uses these words. These words are connected to the perceived intellect of others. Invariably, they are used to disparage others based on intellectual ability.

These words need to be abandoned by everyone bc they have the effect of maligning those with mental disabilities. And people with disabilities are deeply marginalized in society.

Generally speaking, it is socially unacceptable to use racial slurs against black, Asian, Indigenous, or Latinx people. As a society, most people agree that using such slurs is denigrating to blacks, Asians, Indigenous folks, and Latinx people. Likewise, it is frowned upon to use slurs that denigrate gay or lesbian people. That is bc those words are demeaning and disparaging to Lesbians or Gays. Because PoC and LG people are deeply marginalized in society, most decent people agree that using such slurs is unacceptable.

But we have a long way to go before we purge ourselves of another group of words. Words that draw upon the actual or perceived intellectual ability or lack thereof of others. Words that are ableist.

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Pushing back against ableism

Speakeasy #14

Welcome to the social thread at the Progressive Pub. Here at the Speakeasy, you can metaphorically put your feet up, grab a virtual beverage from your resident bartender (me), and socialize with the regulars. Gab, share recipes, share news, rage about your problems or the problems of the world, discuss impending vacations, share book recommendations, talk about your jobs and your families, your hopes and dreams, and pretty much anything else you want. Everyone is welcome, just be kind to one another.

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Speakeasy #14

“You just can’t take a joke”

Are you a comedian who complains about people being too “PC” these days? Do you complain about people being “too uptight” or unable to take a joke?
Are you a non-comedian who dislikes seeing others criticize comedians for their use of racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or ableist humor? Do you feel that it’s all in “good humor”?
If you belong to either of those groups, please listen up, because I have something to say.
That “good humor” you’re talking about? The “rape jokes are funny” humor? That “it’s just a dumb blonde joke”? That joke that relies upon stereotypes about black people? Or the one that makes a punchline about the death of a trans woman?
 
That’s not “good humor”. In fact, so-called “humor” like that is pretty awful, because it involves Punching Down (capitalized for emphasis, not for grammatical reasons).

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“You just can’t take a joke”