A common argument made in the ongoing national discussion about police brutality and violence is, very roughly, “We should be careful in criticizing the police because we have little idea of how difficult and dangerous their work is.” Which reminds me: some ten years ago, when discussing the Abu Ghraib tortures and sundry atrocities withContinue reading “Thou Shalt Know All Before Offering Critique (Of The Police)”
Tag Archives: Abu Ghraib
Drop The Whistle; Shoot A Black Kid Instead (or Torture Prisoners)
Chelsea Manning has been sentenced to jail for thirty-five years for committing the heinous crime of whistleblowing. Manning knows that she didn’t just commit a crime, she committed the wrong sort of crime: Manning spoke to reporters after the hearing, to admit his disappointment at the sentence, telling those gathered, “I look back to thatContinue reading “Drop The Whistle; Shoot A Black Kid Instead (or Torture Prisoners)”
Girl, Napalm, and ?
So what did you fill in the blanks? Vietnam, I’m guessing ((Chrome’s autofill suggests “photo” and “attack” when I begin typing in “girl napalm”). And the reason for that in all likelihood is Phan Thi Kim Phuc, the subject of Nick Ut’s iconic, Pulitzer-prize-winning image of the Vietnam war. That straightforward association of “girl” andContinue reading “Girl, Napalm, and ?”
Samir Chopra 