Contested Word: Police
Minorities are living in fear. Fear, of those who have sworn to serve and protect their lives. Police Brutality is now being brought to the attention of citizens around the world. With the movements like #BlackLivesMatter, citizens are beginning to taking a stand against the injustices placed upon minorities. Being an African American women growing up in Cambridge Ontario, and now The KW area. I’ve always seen myself as a minority. It’s sad to know that those who are said to protect you, are the ones that we fear the most. I chose the contested word: Police. Meaning “Public Order” (Week 6 Slides), and I chose it because I feel personal attachment to this word. After many cases of police brutality that occurred throughout …show more content…
A large issue with police brutality towards minorities is that there is no justice or punishment for their crimes. Cops rarely ever step foot into court, let alone get convicted (Scott 2015). In terms of contextual communication, black and brown minorities are now feeling terror and fear. Fear that the government doesn’t think their lives are worth fighting for. I’m interested in looking into the word Police, and studying the ways in which they act. Today, with social media and cell phones being readily available, we are all able to see police brutality first hand. There are several police encounters which have been filmed and saved for public viewing/sharing. We are now able to share and communicate these images with one another, so that we can all be aware of these injustices. No matter where you’re located the semiotics of the word Police are universal. They’re known to many as the: Police, Cops, Po-Po, Fuzz (Week 6 Slides), and are present in almost every culture. Living in countries as privileged as Canada and America, we have many laws to protect our citizens. And so, these police encounters are extremely unacceptable. Yet, we are placed in a tough spot when we look at virtuous police officers. Many officers do serve and …show more content…
In North America, the system is slipping into a pattern of trying to manage the behavior of the impoverished, who (because of the system) happen to be black (Rusonik 2016). The constant policing (Week 6 Slides) of African Americans is placing tension on the relationship between them and the police. As I researched more on the topic of the police in relation to African Americans. Several articles appeared, some with footage of their encounters. The article that I found by The Sate entitled “Levar Jones urges maximum sentence for Sean Groubert during State House rally” immediately grabbed my attention. On September 4th, 2014, Levar Jones was headed home after a day at work. He stopped at a gas station, and took off his seat belt as he pulled in. Officer Sean Groubert saw this and pulled in beside Jones and asked him to show his ID. Jones (already standing outside of his vehicle) turned around to pull his ID out of his vehicle, and seconds later Groubert was firing shots at Levar (Cope 2016). As I watched the video footage, I was in shock. In front of my eyes, I saw a great injustice. When given the badge, Police officers are given police power. They promise to keep law and order (Week 6 Slides). Not to incite terror and horror within communities. As citizens we are entrusting that they keep our safety in perspective. Yet, for minorities it seems that we cannot
Minorities are living in fear. Fear, of those who have sworn to serve and protect their lives. Police Brutality is now being brought to the attention of citizens around the world. With the movements like #BlackLivesMatter, citizens are beginning to taking a stand against the injustices placed upon minorities. Being an African American women growing up in Cambridge Ontario, and now The KW area. I’ve always seen myself as a minority. It’s sad to know that those who are said to protect you, are the ones that we fear the most. I chose the contested word: Police. Meaning “Public Order” (Week 6 Slides), and I chose it because I feel personal attachment to this word. After many cases of police brutality that occurred throughout …show more content…
A large issue with police brutality towards minorities is that there is no justice or punishment for their crimes. Cops rarely ever step foot into court, let alone get convicted (Scott 2015). In terms of contextual communication, black and brown minorities are now feeling terror and fear. Fear that the government doesn’t think their lives are worth fighting for. I’m interested in looking into the word Police, and studying the ways in which they act. Today, with social media and cell phones being readily available, we are all able to see police brutality first hand. There are several police encounters which have been filmed and saved for public viewing/sharing. We are now able to share and communicate these images with one another, so that we can all be aware of these injustices. No matter where you’re located the semiotics of the word Police are universal. They’re known to many as the: Police, Cops, Po-Po, Fuzz (Week 6 Slides), and are present in almost every culture. Living in countries as privileged as Canada and America, we have many laws to protect our citizens. And so, these police encounters are extremely unacceptable. Yet, we are placed in a tough spot when we look at virtuous police officers. Many officers do serve and …show more content…
In North America, the system is slipping into a pattern of trying to manage the behavior of the impoverished, who (because of the system) happen to be black (Rusonik 2016). The constant policing (Week 6 Slides) of African Americans is placing tension on the relationship between them and the police. As I researched more on the topic of the police in relation to African Americans. Several articles appeared, some with footage of their encounters. The article that I found by The Sate entitled “Levar Jones urges maximum sentence for Sean Groubert during State House rally” immediately grabbed my attention. On September 4th, 2014, Levar Jones was headed home after a day at work. He stopped at a gas station, and took off his seat belt as he pulled in. Officer Sean Groubert saw this and pulled in beside Jones and asked him to show his ID. Jones (already standing outside of his vehicle) turned around to pull his ID out of his vehicle, and seconds later Groubert was firing shots at Levar (Cope 2016). As I watched the video footage, I was in shock. In front of my eyes, I saw a great injustice. When given the badge, Police officers are given police power. They promise to keep law and order (Week 6 Slides). Not to incite terror and horror within communities. As citizens we are entrusting that they keep our safety in perspective. Yet, for minorities it seems that we cannot