Philosopher Cop clearly explains the difficulties of police work that civilians have trouble understanding. We must also consider that Mr. Wright allegedly embarked on a career in violent crime, prompting a judge to order police officers -via the warrant- to take him into custody. Wright forced an encounter where a terrible mistake was made under stress. Thanks, Nancy for airing a perspective that is mostly unexamined by the media.
Thanks for this post. Cops seldom get an opportunity to publicly address shooting incident from their side of the badge. The deficiency in training Philosopher Cop discusses is apparent, even to this civilian, from the body-cam footage, not just in regard to Officer Potter’s terrible error, but in the circumstances that led to the struggle with Mr. Wright. The officer who has Mr. Wright get out of the vehicle initially has him restrained against the vehicle with his hands behind his back, but then seems to fumble getting the cuffs on Wright, giving him enough time to free himself and get back into the vehicle, with tragic results.
> Most by now have seen video of the Daunte Wright shooting.
Does anyone remember Netflix's 2018 sci-fi/horror/fantasy movie Bird Box, based on the excellent novel by Josh Malerman? In the movie/book there were "creatures" that, when you look upon them, you're (basically) instantly driven insane by their "beauty". This quickly leads to you violently killing others around you and then yourself.
I still haven't watched the footage of George Floyd's death. Or Daunte Wright, or the others. I submit to you that these videos of cop killings are those "creatures" from Bird Box. For most people, watching these sorts of videos seems to drive them at least a little bit crazy. When they watch too many, they are driven a lotta bit crazy. Thus, the last 10 months.
But it's not only those videos -- they're just the most salient form it takes.
Early last summer, amid the rioting across the country, I was on Twitter far too much and watched many videos of cities burning and people being beaten half to death. It drove me a little bit crazy. I really mean that. There was a span of a couple days where I felt like I was floating through a dizzying haze, questioning what I thought I knew of reality. I have a receipt for that -- I wrote in to the Fifth Column guys during the tail end of my haze (I was still a little crazy), and they ended up reading part of my message in Special Dispatch #24. I'm glad they didn't read the whole thing. The point of saying this is that it isn't just videos of killings. It's other videos, and it's a certain kind of news article or podcast.
Some people suggest that it is somehow our duty to watch videos like George Floyd's death. The argument for (random people unconnected to the event) watching videos of people being killed by police seems to rest on the implicit assumption that the most emotional possible reaction is the most valid one. I categorically reject that. The insane people in Bird Box (apparently already-crazy people aren't affected by the "creatures" the same way that most people are) also insist (sometimes forcefully) that not-yet-crazy people have a duty to look upon the creatures.
Anyway, the point is mostly that you should be careful, because you can't always predict or control how the content you consume will affect you. And the form of that content matters. What do you get from watching the last 9 minutes of George Floyd's life that you don't get from reading a description of it -- other than that extra emotional gut punch, and that crazy-making combination of feeling both like you have to do something to stop what's happening but knowing you are powerless? If the gut punch doesn't lead you to a different conclusion, then was it worth it? If it does lead to a different conclusion, is it the right one? There is, of course, a caveat for certain subject matter experts, that may come to better conclusions if they judge it for themselves.
I could say more, but I doubt anyone will read this far as it is. I actually think there are a handful of interesting connections that can be drawn between Bird Box and the pandemic (people dying everywhere, becoming a hazard to others; people killing people; people locking themselves in their homes, etc), though obviously some of these connections can be made with a plethora of other movies/books.
Add in mental health monitoring, please. I know little about Chauvin, but I do know he was a big city cop for 19 years. In addition to high stress incidents, there has to be a low-grade day-to-day stress....an officer is always on cautionary alert during patrol. How does this mess with one's head over 19 years?
I am not Daunte and won't play mind-reader but if you talk to officers, they will tell you, the main thing those about to be arrested want to do is not be arrested. Also, he was 20, when our belief we are immortal often outstrips our judgment
Terrific essay. About time we heard some solid practical recommendations. Holding cops to a minimal amount of training is just begging for problems.
Philosopher Cop clearly explains the difficulties of police work that civilians have trouble understanding. We must also consider that Mr. Wright allegedly embarked on a career in violent crime, prompting a judge to order police officers -via the warrant- to take him into custody. Wright forced an encounter where a terrible mistake was made under stress. Thanks, Nancy for airing a perspective that is mostly unexamined by the media.
Thanks for this post. Cops seldom get an opportunity to publicly address shooting incident from their side of the badge. The deficiency in training Philosopher Cop discusses is apparent, even to this civilian, from the body-cam footage, not just in regard to Officer Potter’s terrible error, but in the circumstances that led to the struggle with Mr. Wright. The officer who has Mr. Wright get out of the vehicle initially has him restrained against the vehicle with his hands behind his back, but then seems to fumble getting the cuffs on Wright, giving him enough time to free himself and get back into the vehicle, with tragic results.
> Most by now have seen video of the Daunte Wright shooting.
Does anyone remember Netflix's 2018 sci-fi/horror/fantasy movie Bird Box, based on the excellent novel by Josh Malerman? In the movie/book there were "creatures" that, when you look upon them, you're (basically) instantly driven insane by their "beauty". This quickly leads to you violently killing others around you and then yourself.
I still haven't watched the footage of George Floyd's death. Or Daunte Wright, or the others. I submit to you that these videos of cop killings are those "creatures" from Bird Box. For most people, watching these sorts of videos seems to drive them at least a little bit crazy. When they watch too many, they are driven a lotta bit crazy. Thus, the last 10 months.
But it's not only those videos -- they're just the most salient form it takes.
Early last summer, amid the rioting across the country, I was on Twitter far too much and watched many videos of cities burning and people being beaten half to death. It drove me a little bit crazy. I really mean that. There was a span of a couple days where I felt like I was floating through a dizzying haze, questioning what I thought I knew of reality. I have a receipt for that -- I wrote in to the Fifth Column guys during the tail end of my haze (I was still a little crazy), and they ended up reading part of my message in Special Dispatch #24. I'm glad they didn't read the whole thing. The point of saying this is that it isn't just videos of killings. It's other videos, and it's a certain kind of news article or podcast.
Some people suggest that it is somehow our duty to watch videos like George Floyd's death. The argument for (random people unconnected to the event) watching videos of people being killed by police seems to rest on the implicit assumption that the most emotional possible reaction is the most valid one. I categorically reject that. The insane people in Bird Box (apparently already-crazy people aren't affected by the "creatures" the same way that most people are) also insist (sometimes forcefully) that not-yet-crazy people have a duty to look upon the creatures.
Anyway, the point is mostly that you should be careful, because you can't always predict or control how the content you consume will affect you. And the form of that content matters. What do you get from watching the last 9 minutes of George Floyd's life that you don't get from reading a description of it -- other than that extra emotional gut punch, and that crazy-making combination of feeling both like you have to do something to stop what's happening but knowing you are powerless? If the gut punch doesn't lead you to a different conclusion, then was it worth it? If it does lead to a different conclusion, is it the right one? There is, of course, a caveat for certain subject matter experts, that may come to better conclusions if they judge it for themselves.
I could say more, but I doubt anyone will read this far as it is. I actually think there are a handful of interesting connections that can be drawn between Bird Box and the pandemic (people dying everywhere, becoming a hazard to others; people killing people; people locking themselves in their homes, etc), though obviously some of these connections can be made with a plethora of other movies/books.
Add in mental health monitoring, please. I know little about Chauvin, but I do know he was a big city cop for 19 years. In addition to high stress incidents, there has to be a low-grade day-to-day stress....an officer is always on cautionary alert during patrol. How does this mess with one's head over 19 years?
I have ADD. I put hair gel on my tooth brush once. That poor lady. I know, I know. What about the guy that got killed? Obviously he had it worse.
Why did Wright try to get back in the vehicle? Did he think he could just drive away?
I am not Daunte and won't play mind-reader but if you talk to officers, they will tell you, the main thing those about to be arrested want to do is not be arrested. Also, he was 20, when our belief we are immortal often outstrips our judgment