The most racist news story of the year?
by digby
You have to see this to believe it:
My favorite part of that is where they admit that the fellow has no gang affiliation. I do like the new “gang” uniform of fluffy white hat and scarf with a red t-shirt and clipboard though. Very menacing.
Shaun King at Daily Kos calls that the most racist story of the year and that may be right:
Does the Minneapolis ABC affiliate KSTP not have a filter in which something that smells this bad gets flagged for poor journalism?
Sadly, only racism allows such an ugly story and stereotype to be advanced about a young man who was clearly not flashing a gang sign with the mayor of Minneapolis. He deserves a public apology and heads should roll at this station for even allowing it to ever make it to the air.
Furthermore, some real investigative journalism needs to uncover just why the police were willing to get behind such a phony story. Something smells off in a major way. Could it be because the mayor is behind the police wearing body cameras and the police faked this story hours before the pilot program was due to launch? Or could it be that she called out police corruption and vowed to clean it up last month?
Since KSTP ran this awful story, the hashtag #pointergate has gone viral with hundreds of photos of regular people and celebrities all over the world pointing at people in photos.
Like this:
In case you were wondering what dastardly things this mayor has done that might make the police angry enough to pull this stunt, it is probably this statement from the mayor:
Running the city well for everyone means making sure that every resident of Minneapolis feels safe and is safe, in every neighborhood. Hundreds of police officers serve respectfully and collaboratively every day to keep people safe and make neighborhoods across our city stronger. But not all do: some officers abuse the trust that is afforded to them, and take advantage of their roles to do harm rather than prevent it. Minneapolis has, and has had, officers like that. These officers do not represent a majority of the department, but their behavior disrupts community trust for all officers in the community. When left unchecked, their behavior fosters a culture inside the department that gives a shove downward to police and community relationships. When that culture exists, good cops face even more hurdles to fostering a positive culture and bad cops have even more room to maneuver, and the downward spiral continues. This is why it is so important to check bad behavior and end it, once and for all.
Every leader must acknowledge that this history and this culture in Minneapolis have made the goal of true community safety a challenge to reach. We must also acknowledge the pain and anger in community about it. If part of our community does not feel safe calling the police, if people do not report a crime or come forward as witnesses because they do not feel safe in relationship with the police, then nowhere in our city, and none of us, is safe.
This is why over many years, including eight years on the City Council, I have worked to improve police accountability and police–community relations. I have fought to strengthen civilian review of police misconduct and to create accountability measures for police chiefs that include racial equity, the incidence of misconduct, and effective discipline. While on the City Council, I voted against the reappointment of former Chief Dolan, based on issues of community relationships and management. I called publicly for early intervention systems for cops, and for the legal and contractual authority to impose stronger sanctions on officers who engage in misconduct. And as mayor, I have proposed to invest several million dollars next year and beyond to improve accountability and trust. My budget puts our money where my and our city’s values are.
Below is the vision and platform for police accountability that has guided my work over time, and guides me as mayor. It reflects my values, my history, and my determination to eliminate racial disparities, to transform the parts of police culture that perpetuate disparities, and to continue to build a department that looks like our city and is responsive to and respectful of all our cultures and communities.
I’ve seen cruder examples of payback from police for crossing their blue line than this “news” story but not in several decades. And naturally, they revert to the most racist tropes they can find. This one’s a doozy.
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