Police corruption combined with racism creates a large
problem within communities. The New York City Police Department has been
accused of combining these two problematic qualities multiple times in past and
most recently with the highly controversial Stop and Frisk policy. Many
citizens complain that the NYPD racially profiles when using the Stop and Frisk
tactic. As a result of the tension between the citizens of New York City,
especially the Black and Hispanic, and the NYPD, there is mistrust in the
police that nobody benefits from. The mistrust in the police creates an unsafe
place to live because citizens do not cooperate with the police allowing
criminals to commit crimes without being punished or caught.
This
image, taken from www.bordc.org, shows a silent
protest in New York City campaigning to stop racial profiling and the NYPD
policy of Stop and Frisk. The photograph shows a diverse group of people
marching down the streets in New York City in June of 2012. The boy holding the
sign saying “hey NYPD, AM I NEXT?” represents the mindset of many other
citizens in New York City, especially those of color. The current fear among
people subject to the NYPD is that of being stopped and frisked for no reason
at all besides the color of their skin. The communal mistrust in the police
leads citizens to feel vulnerable to possible abuse and hate crimes like in the
tragic case of Abner Louima or in everyday racial profiling. The simple,
unfortunate truth is that trust in the police by the community and crime have
an inverse relationship; as trust goes down, crime goes up. This situation
occurs in New York City and part of the blame has to go to the NYPD and their
Stop and Frisk tactic. The NYPD may have actually caused crime in an effort to
reduce it.
Marches
led by the community, like in the photo shown above, intend to put an end to
the potentially racist practices of the NYPD. Not only do Black and Hispanic
people realize the racism and act out about it, but White people see the racism
too and cannot help but to support the victims. The discontent with the NYPD’s
practices should hopefully act as a warning to the police and result in fairer
practices and a better relationship between the New York City Police Department
and the citizens of New York City.
Works Cited
"From
NY to SF: Rising up to End “Stop & Frisk”." BORDC Newsletter: July
2012. Bill of Rights Defense Committee, July 2012. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
"Stop
And Frisk Facts." New York Civil Liberties Union. New York Civil Liberties
Union (NYCLU) - American Civil Liberties Union of New York State, n.d. Web. 02
Mar. 2014.
2012.
Photograph. New York City. Bordc.org. Bill of Rights Defense Committee, July
2012. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
Hey Den! For starters, the image you chose is fantastic. It communicates the message very well. It also really made me think about the dangers of racism when dealing with the law. This is great, because from then on I was excited to keep reading. Second, I didn't know what the "Stop and Frisk policy" was. I'm sure most people do, however, it's always safe to explain things at the beginning just in case your audience is not familiar with such policies. In addition, this piece was well written and easy to read from start to finish. I did find a couple sentences that were a bit wordy though.
ReplyDeleteThree sentences stuck out to me:
The first was "Not only do Black and Hispanic people realize the racism and act out about it, but White people see the racism too and cannot help but to support the victims." To me, this sentence could be worded differently to avoid awkwardness.
The second sentence was “As a result of the tension between the citizens of New York City, especially the Black and Hispanic, and the NYPD, there is mistrust in the police that nobody benefits from.” Maybe say “As a result of the tension between the Black and Hispanic communities and the NYPD, there is mistrust…” Also avoid ending sentences with prepositions.
The third being “The discontent with the NYPD’s practices should hopefully act as a warning to the police…” Clarify which police you are mentioning. Aren’t “the NYPD” and “the police” one in the same?
(Just a side note) I think that if you were to elaborate on the case of Abner Louima or others who have been mistreated due to racism, it would add to the piece. I think that though the image produces a connection of pain from the Blacks or Hispanics the piece as a whole does not. With the addiction of a case where people have suffered for the mistreatment of racism your piece would portray the same message that your image does.
Great job!!
Denis, Rebekah's comments about the writing are spot on. Take her advice.
ReplyDeleteI know, having read your other stuff, that you do offer explanation about Stop and Frisk and Abner Louima elsewhere in your paper. I think you are alright not elaborating here.
Avoid wordy sentences, and this will be very strong in your paper.