Several weeks ago in the Bay Area a man was shot by police officers after he was detained on the platform of subway stop. What’s most shocking about the shooting is that the man was completely incapacitated by the police officers when he was shot. (He was face-down with two officers above him; one officer had his knee on his neck and the officer who fired his gun stepped back and shot him in the back while he was on the ground). Californians protested the killing last Wednesday night and riots eventually broke out in downtown Oakland. Here’s a NY Times article on last week’s events:
New York Times article
We’re sharing this event because it’s a classic AS artifact. While it might be easy to accept or disseminate a highly biased telling of this narrative, we need to ask ourselves these questions: why was the man shot? What’s his story? What are the police officers’ stories? Where’s bias in the video that captured the shooting? Of the various news reports? Where do these narratives intersect to reveal the truth?
And more importantly, this example connects with our unit on Agency and Oppression. How was this man oppressed? How are his family and friends oppressed? How will individuals attempt to turn this into an opportunity for agency? How have community members sought agency in this tragedy? Is protesting a meaningful way of asserting agency? What about rioting?
And lastly, we need to ask this question: did the man’s race impact the fact that he was shot? Would this have happened if he weren’t black? While this question might seem to blatantly insert race into this discussion (a move Americans frequently criticize) I’d argue it’s a fair and obvious question given our country’s history of violence towards blacks. Dodging the question would simply avoid a crucial aspect of this narrative.
Here’s a clip of the video captured by a bystander on a cell phone, and as a disclaimer, it’s graphic, so don’t watch if you think it will be too disturbing.
