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Regret
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011This is pretty powerful stuff.
39 Responses to “Regret”
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if there is a god, it/he/she/them needs to shower blessings on such an honest man.
There should be such a thing as the Smedley Butler Memorial Prize for this kind of thing.
Repentance is a beautiful thing. I do wish people would stop pretending that it’s only a war against non white people. He said the drug war was against people of color and that it doesn’t occur in “Gated communities” as if all white people live in gated communities and cops don’t fuck with white people because they’re all rich and priviledged.
Anyone care to post a synopsis for those of us who can’t watch the video now?
+ 1 to JS. I know someone who went away for possession, and he was as white as the background of this site. The system is just as happy to chew up white people once they’re caught.
I don’t know, Balko, this sounds like more of this right-wing Koch Brothers stuff. What does Mark Ames think?
Second the notion of #4. A transcript would be ideal, though a summary would suffice. Also, in the same line as #3, plenty of wealthy “minorities” benefit from living in gated communities. making this about race ignores the larger issues of equal-opportunity infringement on personal liberties that such policies demand.
JS.
I suggest you read “The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander. If you cannot get the book you can get a good idea of what is in it from reviews of it and articles related to the book or prompted by its contents on Alan Bean’s excellent Friends of Justice website.
White people do get caught in the drug war crossfire but not to the extent relative to their drug use that brown people are who are specifically targeted. The collateral damage to white people is sufficiently low that Whites are willing to accept it as a price for efficiently answering the Negro Question.
Michelle Alexander’s analysis makes it quite clear that the drug moral panic was started in the Regan years specifically to target poor Blacks. It was the White counter-attack agains the sucesses of the civil rights movement. Association with drugs is used as a convenient litmus test for evil that conveniently indicates that the evil is concentrated in Black and Hispanic communities.
If the lives of white people from the respectable classes were being swrecked at the same rate at which are those of poor brown skinned people, the policy of prohibition would not be tolerated for five minutes. However there are soft options available to such Whites people that are not available to poor people of colour and well off whites are not affected by the loss of goverment help with housing and education as are poor coloured people.
Using mind altering chemical substances is normal human behaviour. When normal behaviour is criminalized the number of breaches of the law is so great that the authorities can only afford to detect and prosecute a tiny proportion of them. In such a case it is easy to concentrate the limited enforcement budget on places where dwell those already known to be evil, with the result that the resulting convictions in only these communities justifies the skewed enforcement.
The civil rights movement removed explicit legal discrimination based on race, but the white racists have become smarter and more subtle. Implicit discrimination via laws that seem race neutral when written in the law books is inevitable because systems involving collective action like the law channel and amplify the effects of prejudice.
#4 and #7 He didn’t say anything that you haven’t heard here on this site, but he is a former officer and he became somewhat choked up about things he’s done in his past that he’s not proud of while he was enforcing our drug policies.
He also stated that the war on drugs affects our communities by making police and people at odds with eachother and making it harder for police to do their jobs in “bad neighborhoods” where they don’t know who to trust. WoD leads to violence and violence leads to bad communities and community-police interactions, particularly in “communities of color.” That’s a synopisis. Safe to say it was highlighted here because of the emotion.
@Howlin’ Hobbit – Few organizations deserve and need our support more than LEAP. And you can shower blessings on that honest man and the organization he works for (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) at this address: http://www.leap.cc/
@JS – You have a point. It’s not exactly a race war, it’s more of a class-war. But most of the harm happens in communities of color.
Caryle Moulton “If the lives of white people from the respectable classes were being swrecked at the same rate at which are those of poor brown skinned people, the policy of prohibition would not be tolerated for five minutes.”
I totally agree. In fact if the lives of black people from the respectable classes were wrecked at the same rate at which those of poor white skinned people then the same thing would apply. I know, I’ve seen it first hand. Cops hate everybody. The rates may be higher for non-whites in some places but in Texas City, Texas cops fuck with white people every bit as much as anybody else.
It’s also an easy cop out to make it a blame whitey thing. It’s an easy way to score street cred and get your ghetto pass back after being a drug warrior all those years.
And you ever notice how most of these guys “get religion” after they have secured a nice retirement? Let one of them sacrifice his career to do the right thing and it would be more convincing.
The three main illegal drugs, opium (heroin), cocaine and marijuana became illegal in conjunction with explicitly racist campaigns against different minority groups that were seen at the relevant times as the main users of these drugs and for whom mainstream White society’s tolerance had been exhausted.
The Chinese used opium as a recreational drug just as Whites used alcohol and tobacco, so when America had too many Chinese outlawing opium was a way to convert the Chinese into criminals. The campaign against opium was conducted with advertisements depicting the dangers to white women of being raped by Chinese in opium dens.
Cocaine became illegal because it was seen as being used by Negroes who became under its influence both unacceptably uppity and a danger to white women.
Marijuana was seen as a drug used by Hispanics (Mexicans) who were all crazy because of their use of it.
It is not a conspiracy theory to see the US’s attachment to drug prohibition despite the evident damage as being motivated by feelings of satisfaction that the damage is happening to the right people. The racially discriminatory effects of prohibition are not a defect raher a design feature.
Michelle Alexander discusses the history of prohibition making it quite clear that Negroes were the target of the ramped up drug laws that started with the Regan regime in the eighties. She also points out that the courts have closed all options for the convicted to use statistics on the racially discriminatory effects as an argument against them.
JS.
It is quite clear from the video that this former policeman is genuinely ashamed of his former behaviour to the extent that recounting it is difficult for him. His halting delivery and mumbling is the result of the intensity of his shame.
He is hardly the only such reformed drug warrior, there is an organization of police and ex police called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, LEAP campaigning against the drug war.
Again, I agree, but it would still be better of current drug warriors would lay down their arms and refuse to continue this war on the American people. It seems like they always see the light after they start cashing their retirement checks. I hope some do quit before they reach retirement but it sure seems like most of them speaking out waited until they have secured their financial future before suddenly developing a conscience.
JS
“It’s also an easy cop out to make it a blame whitey thing. It’s an easy way to score street cred and get your ghetto pass back after being a drug warrior all those years.”.
One of the things that puzzles me is the number of Black community leaders who support the drug war. Are they stupid or is it a case that that they have been brainwashed by the relentless propaganda?
I wonder the same thing Carlyle. Having seen it firsthand I’d say that there is at least a little bit of it influenced by the churches. A lot of churches (in black neighborhoods that I have been around) preach a conservative pro establishment message the same as a lot of the white churches. I’m sure its more than just that but I think thats a part of it.
JS
“Again, I agree, but it would still be better of current drug warriors would lay down their arms and refuse to continue this war on the American people.”
Learning by experience that almost everyone has got things badly wrong takes time and unfortunately only a minority of our species are capable of such self correction.
Incidentally, my favorite anti-drug war site which I browse daily and recommend to you is Pete Guither’s Drug War Rant.
Carlyle Moulton,
Yes, the federal laws against Pot, Cocaine, and Heroin were passed in a blizzard of the worst “We gotta keep them goddamned N*ggers in line” swill ever heard out of somebody who wasn’t actually wearing a sheet at the time. That said;
1) That was in the 1930′s, some time and one World War before the Civil Rights era. While it may not be intentional on your part, your post about it did not make that at all clear.
2) There is a great deal of evidence that the laws in question were, in fact, ‘full employment for out of work Federal Prohibition Agents’ measures, and that the (virulent and revolting) racism in the sales pitch was a means, not an end. not that that makes it better, just different in its implications.
3) I don’t KNOW what motivated the Reagan era War On (some) Drugs, but I strongly suspect that it was at least in part a bunch of people who had watched the ’60′s and 70′s eras of drug use among rebellious white kids and who (in the wake of Carter’s ineffectuality) simply decided they had HAD ENOUGH OF THIS SH*T. (BTW I disagree with them) In short; a backlash against the “Counterculture”, which to be fair was a bunch of loud, smelly, stupid, self-centered adolescents. Racists may have had input, but the effect on Black culture is so pronounced that I am disinclined to believe it was accomplished on purpose. The government, the Racists, NONE of these people are that effective, except by accident.
Racism isn’t the only motive for the drug war. There is also an agenda to advance authoritarian government, wind back civil liberties and get rid of some of those noxious libertarian amendments to the US constitution.
Moral panic issues such as drugs, pedophilia and terrorism are all used to justify creeping fascism. Maybe with fear of terrorism being more since the kamikaze airlinerings of 2001 the authoritarians can relax and wind back the drug war a bit.
C S P Schofield.
A more appropriate name for the “war on drugs” is actually “the war against Niggers, Poor people and Dirty Hippies”.
I agree dealing with the evil liberal ideas from those who do not have a sufficiently authoritarian mindset is important.
I gotta +1 you again JS for post #14.
While I admire that this man has had his moment of regret and confession, it comes too late for it to do a shit ton of good. I know all about LEAP and have followed them for a while. But as much as they may claim to have current sworn LEO’s in their ranks, you really don’t hear them speak much. Almost everyone I hear speaking out about this is retired. Thus, unable to do much about it. If you had active LEOs speaking out about the drug war publicly, laying down their badges, refusing to arrest people for drug-only crimes, THEN the public might start giving a crap.
While the war on drugs clearly arose out of racism, it is continued more by issues of power and class. Too many people have too much power to let it go–cops, politicians, the prison industrial complex. And yes the war on drugs targets and victimizes mainly poor people–whatever their race–because they lack the influence to push for change.
It stopped being about race a long time ago. Where I live, the victims of the war on drugs are overwhelmingly black–but so are the mayor, the city council, the police dept., the sheriff’s dept., and all of the prosecutors’ offices.
I don’t KNOW what motivated the Reagan era War On (some) Drugs, but I strongly suspect that it was at least in part a bunch of people who had watched the ’60′s and 70′s eras of drug use among rebellious white kids and who (in the wake of Carter’s ineffectuality) simply decided they had HAD ENOUGH OF THIS SH*T.
There was that, but most of it was driven by the Christian Socons, who wanted everybody to be like a 1950s family sitcom and felt they could legislate morality.
There is also quite a bit of support for anti-drug policies by middle- and lower-class minorities, who see the havoc that drugs create in their communities and, like their white counterparts, feel that “there oughta be a law.”
“I am a police officer in recovery”
One can’t help but wonder how amazing our society would be if all LEOs came to the same realizations this man has.
Can anybody find any of the early posters and written propaganda used by those who pushed the criminalize movement?
I’ve seen a couple but can’t seem to find them.
They speak a VERY powerful message to those choosing to continue the killing fields of the drug war.
As #14 and others have pointed out, it is frustrating that the fervor to end the war on drugs tends to come from people who no longer have the power to do anything about it. Witness, for example, the upcoming press conference to call for drug prohibition reform announced here http://transform-drugs.blogspot.com/2011/05/former-presidents-of-brazil-colombia.html
It would be hard to find a more distinguished list of FORMER heads of state and other FORMER powerful government officials. George Papandreou is the only member of that commission still in power, and kudos (heh) to him. It would be nice to find a commensurate list of CURRENT leaders calling for an end to the war on drugs.
White people caught in the drug war are victims of “friendly fire”.
If the Drug War ever ends, the fight to punish the fuck out of the people who carried it out for decades begins. That’s how it works, right? No, they skate.
If the cost of ending the drug war is letting the drug warriors skate, I’ll make that deal gladly.
Unfortunately, I think they will just invent some other “public purpose” to keep sucking on the public tit.
Boyd “If the Drug War ever ends, the fight to punish the fuck out of the people who carried it out for decades begins. That’s how it works, right? No, they skate.”
I don’t know why but deep down I honestly feel like there is going to be a day of reckoning for American domestic police. I don’t know how, or who will be the agent of payback but I realy don’t think they’re gonna skate. I know that doesn’t make any sense but I really feel like there is gonna be a payday someday.
What is the drug war “about”?
By this point, it’s about as many things as there are drug warriors and enforcers fighting it. It’s about keeping the black man down, it’s about answering the Mexican Question, it’s about law’n'order and The Rule of Law and Personal Responsibility, it’s about saving druggies from themselves, it’s about saving Us from The Druggies, it’s a way for assholes to feel self-righteous about people getting fucked by the irresistable force of the powers that be, and it’s an excuse for goddamned adrenaline junky macho shitheads and wannabe soldiers in ninja costumes to indulge their urge to rob, terrorize, dominate, and destroy someone suitably unsympathetic.
I’m sure I’ve missed a few important aspects of what the drug war is, and is ‘about’. In any case, invisible hand processes work within and between government agencies as much as they do anywhere else, and by now the War on Drugs has just become a kind of cultural background that gets rationalized and re-rationalized with every change in popular and political culture. I’m not sure ending it would even do anything anymore. There are too many interests vested in its smooth continuation.
JOR “…and it’s an excuse for goddamned adrenaline junky macho shitheads and wannabe soldiers in ninja costumes to indulge their urge to rob, terrorize, dominate, and destroy someone suitably unsympathetic.”
Unless they’re unsympathetic Afghans or Iraqis. those guys fight back! No we’d rather stay at home and bravely make war on Americans, we know they won’t fight back!
Well to be fair, JS, some portion of said shitheads who get off on terrorizing unsympathetic Americans spent some quality time in Afghanistan and Iraq (though I wouldn’t be surprised if the dynamic in those wars is similar to the one over here, with the asshole ninja wannabes preferring to unleash hell on relatively harmless people and approaching the dangerous ones more diplomatically and cautiously). I guess for some thugs, kicking people around and trashing their homes and stuff is just so much fun, they can’t give it up when they come back to America.
Thank you Mr. Franklin, that took courage. I commend you and LEAP for your efforts.
Many commenters have lamented the fact that LEAP is made up mostly of former and/or retired police. I share your frustration, but I agree with Carlyle Moulton in #17 that it takes time for people to come to the realization that “almost everyone has got things badly wrong.” Unfortunately, police officers are trained to focus on policies, procedures, protocols, etc. and are strongly discouraged from deeply analyzing criminal justice policies. They also know deep down that if they speak out, their bosses, will make their lives miserable or find a reason to terminate them. They will also face the derision of those police who still actually have the drug war fever.
Those of us who are opposed to the drug war should not pretend that this is an easy decision. How many of you have the resources and disposable income to leave your job at the drop of a hat because you disagree with the policies in your workplace? If it would be easy for you, then you live a truly charmed life. I have recently made the decision to stop looking at opportunities in policing because of my opposition to prohibition style policing. It was not easy, as I had considered this career option on and off for more than ten years. Having had this experience, I tend to feel a bit more sympathy for those who are still on the job and dealing with some of the same questions I have been asking myself for so long.
Short of “laying down their badges” as some commenters have suggested, police can take intermediate steps to at least slow down the drug war. One easy way to do this is to be less curious on traffic stops. Don’t try to talk people out of their fourth amendment rights. At the department level, administration can develop a policy that prohibits “consent searches” of vehicles/residences. Police can also “look the other way” when it comes to drug-related offenses. Police discretion could be used very effectively to whittle away at prohibition.
Citizens must to their part, as Franklin inferred. Stop calling the cops because your neighbors are smoking weed. Stop calling the cops because “those boys” are on the corner slinging rock again. Remember, they are their because shitty government policy gave them a shot at easy money. And remember that jury nullification is legal and has a long history in the U.S.. Refuse to convict for possession or low level dealing! If people of conscience–inside and outside of law enforcement–work together, we can end this bullshit in our lifetimes! I am in my early thirties and I intend to do my part to make that happen!
Helmut ” I have recently made the decision to stop looking at opportunities in policing because of my opposition to prohibition style policing.”
Thanks Helmut. Seriously. You’ll make a great cop somewhere if thats what you really want to do. I hope you become chief of police or head of the FBI or something where you can do some good.
“Those of us who are opposed to the drug war should not pretend that this is an easy decision. How many of you have the resources and disposable income to leave your job at the drop of a hat because you disagree with the policies in your workplace?”
Depends on how and why I disagreed with the policies. If some of the boys started dressing up in ninja costumes and trashing people’s houses, burning their kids to death with grenades, shooting their dogs – or even just low intensity stuff like harassing and kidnapping and highway robbery – and expected me to, at least, cover their asses (if not join in the fun). Well, maybe I would have the guts to do the right thing, and maybe I wouldn’t, but I don’t think I should get a free pass for my actions (of course I might sing a different tune if my moral fortitude failed me and I did tag along on the banditry or protect those that did; but that would be a problem with me, not with the people judging me).
In that situation, I should be judged no more or less harshly than the typical cop.
Helmut #34.
“Don’t try to talk people out of their fourth amendment rights.”
I suspect that police bosses would specifically instruct their troops in ways to circumvent that stupid evil 4th amendment and be very displeased if they did not follow their advice. To decent respectable authoritarian Americans the 4th amendment is a terrible nuisance, luckily the US supreme court is well on the way to rendering it ineffective.
#34 JS:
Thank you very much for your kind words. It is encouraging to hear that.
If I do go over to the public sector at this point (at this point I work in private protection, specifically healthcare security at a major hospital), it’s more likely you will find me in probation. I don’t mean to idealize community corrections, because the drug war has truly damaged all aspects of criminal justice, but it would be different. Probation has, as its premise, a goal of dealing with the individual offender and evaluating his or her risk potential. Theoretically, maybe I will be able to spend more time dealing with high risk offenders and only give a cursory glance to those people that pose little risk to the community. I would not be expected to go out and scrutinize the general population: you know, right cheesy seat belt tickets, pop people for possession, chase black guys around in the ghetto for sport, etc. Indeed, that would not be a part of my job description. And that is already an improvement over some of the jobs in policing that I have explored.
#37 JOR:
Your point is well taken. You do have to draw a line. If your principles are severely copmpromised, or if you try to call for change and you are “black listed,” then yes, it is probably time to turn in your badge. I refuse to make “war” on fellow citizens simply because the government decides it must have control over what we smoke/ingest, what we do with our bodies, etc.. So I have decided to look elsewhere before I am faced with those decisions.