Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Police procedures ...

When they don't come out with guns blazing, they use the authority society gives them to sexually assault their captives.

From ABC 13 KTRK in Houston, Charnesia Corley, 21, says she was pulled over for allegedly running a stop sign. Deputies told her they smelled marijuana and ordered her to get out of the car.

As she told her story to the Houston Chronicle:

... a male deputy pulled her over for allegedly running a stop sign. He said he smelled marijuana, handcuffed Corley, put her in his vehicle and searched her car for almost an hour. He didn't find any pot, according to her attorney, Sam Cammack.

Returning to his car where Corley was held, the deputy again said he smelled marijuana and called in a female deputy to conduct a cavity search. When the female deputy arrived, she told Corley to pull her pants down, but Corley protested because she was cuffed and had no underwear on. The deputy ordered Corley to bend over, pulled down her pants and began to search her.

I think any woman would call this a public rape ... whatever else there is to this story, this woman is brave.

That's so much of what BlackLivesMatter is accomplishing: unleashing and throwing a spotlight on the bravery of Black people who've been kept down.

H/t TPM.

5 comments:

Rain Trueax said...

What I would like to see is more studies regarding whether this is only happening to black women but also any poor woman. I've also heard stories regarding police overreach where it comes to women and it happens to those that do not have resources. If this all becomes about what is being done to blacks, it ignores the economic aspect which is impacting blacks disproportionately but is definitely hurting our whole nation-- even if the richer don't know it. So, my question is would a black woman driving an expensive car have the same thing happen? If there are those who have gone into police work (a small minority)to take advantage of power and browbeat or sexually abuse those they can, that is a problem that isn't just about race. It's another reason to support Bernie Sanders who is the only candidate speaking about the economic factor in how people are treated.

janinsanfran said...

Hi Rain: these days, I'm feeling grateful to aroused black people who are both taking some of the worst of police abuse -- and modeling how to come together as a community and speak up!

You might be interested in this smart article by Imami Gandi about how some of Bernie's supporters act like privileged white guys, like Ron Paul enthusiasts last time --- but also recognizing that Bernie is closest to her in political convictions. Black people are nearly always stuck in this bind -- voting for what a friend called "the least worst" candidate.

Rain Trueax said...


I read your Gandi link, and frankly it kind of irked me. I have a question-- if white people had come forward and grabbed the microphone, demanded he respond as they wanted, what would happen? She assumes this is all because she’s black. Maybe it’s her approach and the demands for a politician to respond to what amounts to violence—and grabbing a microphone is a violent action. With Obama, we saw it with Code Pink and not sure it helped their issues either.

As I’ve said before, when it was Occupy, to change things, you have to win elections not disrupt things. What did Occupy accomplish yet anyway-- besides maybe cost us the House and then Senate? Whether it’s far left or far right, I believe elections are won by convincing the middle your ideas work, and you can make the country stronger.

That said, I have read many upsetting stories regarding the unfairness to blacks—examples that can be nothing but bigotry. I think that kind of publicity is a good thing. Most of us have been ignorant of what has been going on. Segregating races by neighborhoods has not helped that. Some of our segregation is economic though. Although I have black, Hispanic and Oriental friends, I have to admit that they are all on my same level for education and economics.

Some of the times that blacks have said they were treated unfairly, I am not so sure it was racial but behavioral. Yeah, I know, that’s not a popular view that I’d say our system seems biased unfairly but then add sometimes people make their own grief by their behavior. That’s too middle to suit right or left.

Furthermore, the instance described, of the woman who was assaulted, has happened to young, attractive women of all races. There is a common denominator, appearing weak and without economic resources. What Bernie is trying to address is economic disparity. That impacts all races but some more than others.

While I don't consider it fair for Bernie’s followers to insult or threaten black people over the attacks on him, I only heard that was happening in her article. Yours is the only political blog I read with any regularity. But one thing I do see in the papers-- people are radicalized. Look at the death threats Kelly got for her questions to Trump after the debate. It’s a nasty time and not easy to find places people can discuss issues without rancor or worse.

Although I've said I will vote for Sanders if he gets to the Oregon primary, he's far left for me. He's just the most honorable one out there—and I base my opinion on that over having listened to him for years on programs like Ed’s radio show. If he gets forced into going farther left to placate one group or another, he will lose the election. Just imagine a Trump or Walker or frankly any rightie, with their stands on the issues, and it's not hard to see what is at stake. It's not surprising some get very upset at the idea of taking out one of the few real options we appear to have.

Currently though, I don't yet know enough about O'Malley to say he’s not possible for me to support. Also if Biden gets in, I’d have to seriously consider him. We aren’t donating to any of them yet. I know that I don't trust Hillary and feel she'll not be any friend to anybody but Wall Street and wars. Hers and her husband’s deceptive past will come to haunt her in an election. For someone like me, she might though be my only option, and if she is, I'll vote for her but not donating and it'll be holding my nose. I have voted every election since I was old enough-- and that's a lot of elections-- some of which I have also disliked the choices I had, but I don’t throw away votes. I would like though a real choice and so often we don't have it. Makes you worry as to who runs things and how they manipulate voters to get that power.

Hattie said...

Black people take the lead in civil rights matters, because they are aware every moment of their lives of what discrimination means. I think the Black Lives Matter disruptions are important, because I've been around too many liberals these days who live in white enclaves and believe everything negative they hear about blacks and Mexicans and love the clean white vibes of a man like Bernie Sanders. I'm glad he's being confronted. I know he's a good man and all that, but white liberals have got to get out of their neat little worlds and look around more. They would stop thinking, for starters, that they are being picked on.

Rain Trueax said...

I'd have been pretty angry if I'd been on my way home on I-70 and had people strung across the freeway blocking traffic to make their point. I am not sure for how long they continued to do it (and it wasn't just blacks but demonstrators for the 'black lives matter' cause). I didn't like it any better when those supporting the rancher in Nevada did the same thing for what they saw as their cause.

I understand the grievances but using violent means like blocking access, to make the point, is not going to win friends. That takes winning elections. Worse, if the 'black lives matter' turn off the middle and get us a right winger for president next time, this will be worse with voting regulations used to even more limit democracy. There needs to be more practical approaches to these cultural issues. Ideologues never want that.

Because I live near a university town, I see a lot more mingling of the races than maybe some do-- but not economic levels. That is where a lot of segregation happens. People with fancy homes or expensive property don't want a housing development next door that they fear would lower their values. Until we let housing developments go into anybody's neighborhood, people will continue to only know those of their own economic class.

The police is a separate problem, and my suggestion is more training and higher wages. That means higher taxes. Lots of luck with that.