Sen. Nikema Williams (D-Atlanta) of the Georgia Senate “was
arrested along with more than a dozen other protesters” at the Georgia Capitol
on November 14, 2018.[1]
The demonstration asked Georgia’s government to count every vote in the
gubernatorial election. As a civil rights advocate, Williams had organized
domestic workers for Stacy Abrams when she was running for Governor. Protesters
shouted, “Let her go!” as the Capitol police handcuffed Sen. Williams and led
her from the rotunda. No sitting legislatures in Wisconsin had been arrested
(as far as I know) when huge constituent protests erupted in the Wisconsin
rotunda against Gov. Scott Walker’s successful effort to remove
collective-bargaining from powers of public sector unions there. As odd it may be
for the police of a Capitol building to arrest a sitting senator, the
observations of another senator, who witnessed the arrest, are even more
chilling concerning an ominous trend then well underway in American cities.
Rep. David Dreyer (D-Atlanta) of the General Assembly, which
was in session at the time, later said he had gone down to the rotunda about
the same time as Williams, “but for some reason, Sen. Williams was treated
differently than I was treated.”[2]
He was insinuating the presence of racism in the Capitol police. “Because of
our system, because of the bias and the way that our laws are enforced, just
like I went down with Sen. Williams to try to de-escalate the situation, Sen.
Williams was taken away,” he said. “We understand she’s been left in a van for
a very long time on a cold and rainy day.”[3]
Was there political pressure on the police to teach the senator a lesson? The
gubernatorial election had been called for Brian Kemp, before which he had lost
several court cases over “his attempts to block voters of color from the polls.”[4]
In other words, as secretary of state, the Republican had not only exploited a
giant yet virtually ignored conflict of interest in being the head of elections
in Georgia even as he was a candidate for the highest office. It is thus
conceivable that he pressured the Capitol police to arrest his former rival for
the governorship—maybe even to punish her for having stood up to him in
contesting his conflict of interest.
Yet beyond race and garden-variety partisanship, what more Rep.
Dreyer had to say is even more critical in terms of Americans’ daily lives. “For
some reason,” he continued, “I saw Capitol police lined up three abreast, row
after row after row, looking like they were trying to stop a riot, when we were
standing up for people’s right to vote. So this is not democracy; this looks a
lot more like an authoritarian government. And it seems like that’s happening a
lot these days, doesn’t it.”[5]
Yes, it does.
In the Phoenix metropolitan area, especially in the city of
Phoenix, local residents with sufficient longevity were noticing an increased
police presence. Armed police standing outside certain stores and banks as a
matter of routine, four or five police vehicles showing up to issue minor
traffic tickets, police standing next to security guards just inside many
grocery stores—police even going aisle to aisle as a routine rather than in
responding to an incident or theft—police and security guards stationed in
light-rail cars (sans incidents) and on the platforms, and generally very rude
police; all these data-points are indications that an authoritarian government—at
least in terms of political culture—was already well ensconced in Arizona.
I lived in the Phoenix metro area at the time. Coming from
California and major cities in the Midwest, I was stunned by not only the
number of police cars I saw on a daily basis, but also the number of security
guards stationed on a light-rail car (sometimes up to six) as a matter of
policy rather than incidents.
Three guards, two of whom are just on the other side of the small passageway.
Four guards: two at the outer edges of this picture, and two others at the middle of picture (standing at one of the back doors.
Four or five guards: one perhaps watching me take the picture. The other three or four (two visible) are in the car on the other side of the passageway.
In none of these pictures has an incident induced the coverage. Rather, it had become all too common. On several occasions while I was standing near the door, I would look up only to see three uniformed guards standing "point blank," side by side, staring at me behind dark sunglasses. They were apparently just fine with their combative, over-the-top stance. Talking with a security manager at the city's light-rail company about the excessiveness on the trains, I learned that the company (or the subcontracted guard company) believed that so many guards are necessary for the guards to feel safe because one had been hit. I suggested that two might do, hence enabling the company to cover more trains at a time. The manager saw the efficiency in this, but the manager did not understand why people would feel uncomfortable or even intimidated being watched by several guards at close range. The normal reaction of regular folks to being watched combatively by so many guards at close range was something the manager just couldn't grasp, which in itself was a red flag. In such an unconscious state of denial, a police-state can grow unimpeded, without internal checks.
Interestingly, in spite of the presence of four to six guards at times in a car, none of the ticket-checkers ever gave out a citation! The guards were more interested in intimidating a car of passengers than devoting the surplus manpower to writing citations, especially to the people who were fraudulently using low-income passes.
Interestingly, in spite of the presence of four to six guards at times in a car, none of the ticket-checkers ever gave out a citation! The guards were more interested in intimidating a car of passengers than devoting the surplus manpower to writing citations, especially to the people who were fraudulently using low-income passes.
In fact, only twice while on the light-rail did I see citations being written, and this was done not on the trains but by pulling a few passengers off onto one of the platforms. On the first occasion, I saw 14 police
and security guards suddenly enter the car I was in while only two of the guards checked
tickets. The other passengers and I were very uncomfortable. It felt as if a raid were in progress, but it was actually only about giving citations!
I had been on a train in which 20 police and their dogs ran into the car because the smell of weed had been reported. At the time, pot was legal in several U.S. states, but to Arizona law-enforcement, you would think the stuff could blow up cities. The sheer excessiveness, the (passive) aggression, and the reputation of the Phoenix police for rudeness even to ordinary citizens (i.e., not suspects) all came together for me while watching the bizarre scene unfold on the train.
I had been on a train in which 20 police and their dogs ran into the car because the smell of weed had been reported. At the time, pot was legal in several U.S. states, but to Arizona law-enforcement, you would think the stuff could blow up cities. The sheer excessiveness, the (passive) aggression, and the reputation of the Phoenix police for rudeness even to ordinary citizens (i.e., not suspects) all came together for me while watching the bizarre scene unfold on the train.
On the two sweeps by a massive showing of police and security guards to issue citations--always after commuting hours, interestingly enough--three or so passengers without passes or tickets (one of which was merely without the transit ID to show with a low-income pass!) were taken off the respective trains and told to sit on seats at the platforms (see the picture above). Four or five police and guards would then surround each person, as if he or she were to be arrested for assault or worse! To conflate writing out a citation and arresting someone for a violent crime suggests the presence of a serious psychological issue that might be widespread in police departments.
Besides those two sweeps, I had never witnessed (over four months) a guard give out a citation; a guard would merely ask a person without a ticket or pass to leave the train at the next platform, which had a very mild punitive effect even as the company claimed that 43% of its ridership were using low-income passes. At no time on a train did I witness a security guard ask to seek the transit ID that was in theory at least necessary for the low-income pass. The passengers obviously had the impression that no such ID was needed during the actual travel. Yet I only heard this request on the first time I witnessed 14 security people running into a car for the writing of three citations. The second time I witnessed the same event from across the street. I never saw 14 police surround a vehicle in order to write a traffic ticket. I suspected that the police's overkill was connected to a bias against poor people. The deplorable conditions facing the legions of homeless in Phoenix supported my sense that the powers there didn't care about the poor, and even were prejudiced.
Besides those two sweeps, I had never witnessed (over four months) a guard give out a citation; a guard would merely ask a person without a ticket or pass to leave the train at the next platform, which had a very mild punitive effect even as the company claimed that 43% of its ridership were using low-income passes. At no time on a train did I witness a security guard ask to seek the transit ID that was in theory at least necessary for the low-income pass. The passengers obviously had the impression that no such ID was needed during the actual travel. Yet I only heard this request on the first time I witnessed 14 security people running into a car for the writing of three citations. The second time I witnessed the same event from across the street. I never saw 14 police surround a vehicle in order to write a traffic ticket. I suspected that the police's overkill was connected to a bias against poor people. The deplorable conditions facing the legions of homeless in Phoenix supported my sense that the powers there didn't care about the poor, and even were prejudiced.
Another way that Phoenix stood out as a whole as being a proto-police state lied in vague sense of always being watched, not only in public outside, but also while entering stores.I and other people, I would discover, stopped going to a grocery store chain (Fry's) in the Phoenix metro area because in
walking into a store, a customer had to pass not only a security guard, but also
a policeman wearing a bullet-proof vest! The police would even walk from aisle to aisle! Imagine a young mother shopping
with her daughter in an aisle only to look up and see an uptight man wearing a bullet-proof vest labeled "POLICE" at
the end of the aisle staring. While at waiting at the deli once, I asked the assistant store manager about this. His reply revealed that he did not perceive the excessiveness. "We want our customers to feel safe," he stated. At what cost to the customers? I wondered. The lack of balancing safety with the uncomfortability of being aggressively watched plays a major role in an authoritative police state getting worse and worse.
To catch the light-rail, I used to walk down a sidewalk with a 1st Bank on one side. I noticed one day that the security guard was not only stationed outside the bank, but that he wore a bullet-proof vest. I thought all this was too much, even given the so-so neighborhood. Worst still, he would walk around the side of the building to watch people getting off the bus cross the intersection to the light-rail platform (which is in the middle of one of the streets). On another occasion, I saw the guard follow me as I crossed the street and walked up to the platform. Utterly excessive! On a Friday morning while I was speaking with two Jehovah's Witnesses who were sitting in chairs on the sidewalk (i.e., not on the bank's property), I looked up to see the creeper-guard staring at me. That he had a bullet-proof vest on, and was standing "point blank" (i.e., combatively) facing me was enough of a red flag. This was confirmed when the two religious women told me that the bank's guard had told them he would protect them as well as police the area. The women, enjoying the convenience of such protection, were not bothered by the fact that the guard was not keeping to his job-tasks by going beyond the bank's property on a regular basis. Visibly, the two woman did not need protection from me, yet the guard stared at me anyway, though when I took his picture, he turned his head as if he had not been starring. The placement of his feet, however, revealed exactly where he had been looking!
I called the bank's centralized customer service twice, asking that only a district manager or a customer service manager contact me if needed. Not the branch manager and certainly not the guard. Yet both of them left messages on my phone! I called customer service a third time and finally talked with a supervisor, who promised he would get to the bottom of why my requests had been ignored. I even emailed him the picture below to support my initial claim regarding the creeper guard, for I worried that the lack of accountability at 1st Bank could enable the guard to turn the tables on me. In the message he left me, he practically ordered me to call him back. Or else? I thought. This is another way in which authoritarian police-states can grow--by protecting their sense of entitlement by threatening people who object. This may be partly why the Georgia Capitol police arrested Sen. Williams.
Back in Phoenix, an authoritarian police state was well underway, with at least two Christian women just fine with it. Moreover, enough of the safety-obsessed people of the city were just fine with it too. In fact, the political culture there could be labeled as at least sporting values that enable a proto-fascist police state that takes liberties from and with respect to "civilians." The police and security guards even assume that anyone even just noticing the excessiveness is thereby a threat.
I called the bank's centralized customer service twice, asking that only a district manager or a customer service manager contact me if needed. Not the branch manager and certainly not the guard. Yet both of them left messages on my phone! I called customer service a third time and finally talked with a supervisor, who promised he would get to the bottom of why my requests had been ignored. I even emailed him the picture below to support my initial claim regarding the creeper guard, for I worried that the lack of accountability at 1st Bank could enable the guard to turn the tables on me. In the message he left me, he practically ordered me to call him back. Or else? I thought. This is another way in which authoritarian police-states can grow--by protecting their sense of entitlement by threatening people who object. This may be partly why the Georgia Capitol police arrested Sen. Williams.
Back in Phoenix, an authoritarian police state was well underway, with at least two Christian women just fine with it. Moreover, enough of the safety-obsessed people of the city were just fine with it too. In fact, the political culture there could be labeled as at least sporting values that enable a proto-fascist police state that takes liberties from and with respect to "civilians." The police and security guards even assume that anyone even just noticing the excessiveness is thereby a threat.
Going into a Goodwill store once, I was astonished to see an
armed policeman standing outside the door. Thinking that an incident might be
going on, I made my way around him, and turned to check him just as I was
walking in. “Trying to sneak a picture of me?” he said dismissively. I did turn on my phone's video by mistake once I had entered the store (hence no sneaking around). He entered the store after me, while I was complaining to a cashier about the police employee's rudeness. Incredibly, the policeman stood near the cashier and me; we both ignored his presence--this too I took to be overkill on the policeman's part, for no reason for suspicion existed--only the human urge to eves-drop with impunity. In this video, the policeman coming in and standing near the cashier and I can be seen. I had no doubt that the motive concerned me even though it is hardly illegal to complain to a store employee or manager about the security guard, even if he is (strangely) an on-duty police employee.
I went on to tell the store manager about the policeman's rudeness, but the manager merely replied that he didn’t mind if the local police were being rude to his customers because the strip-mall’s property management
arranges for the presence of the on-duty police. There was also a security guard inside the store. Only in Arizona had I seen both a policeman and a security guard standing at the front of a store to monitor things (i.e., sans incident).
Incredibly, some Arizonans told me that such a police
presence was necessary for safety. I would inevitably reply, so two security
guards are not enough on a train car? Incredibly, many native Arizonans relied,
“Yes.” I realized that the political culture in that republic was very
different—even enabling of the encroaching police state.
If a security guard or police employee are to add
to their routine measures stemming from each incident so it is not repeated,
then the status quo on the streets and in businesses will become increasingly
strangling for a people. Put another way, if a city’s police department is to
increasingly rely on shows of intimidation (i.e., when no incident is
occurring), then people will feel less comfortable, distrust will increase in
the public square, and the passive-aggressive tyranny will have dimmed the
natural flame of liberty. The relative comfort of the home will increasingly
paint “being out in public” in increasingly stressful colors. An authoritarian
police-state was already well in place at least in two major American cities
when Sen. Williams was arrested amid rows of Capitol police in riot gear; such
gear itself heightens the smell of aggression in the air. Mayors and heads of
police departments must have at the very least enabled to trend to continue; I
suspect the sheer lack of awareness of the excess and especially how people react psychologically to it on a
daily basis—an indifference to how citizens could be affected—is rife
throughout many police departments in the U.S. Given the extremely rude
comments I heard from police employees when I lived in Phoenix, I also suspect
that the low-level (or low class) police employees
let the power go to their heads, even in
just being rude. Such an entitlement is a symptom of an authoritative
police state, which the American people have allowed to grow as if the changes
were invisible or inevitable. One effect societally may be increasing levels of accumulated passive-aggression--a sort of psychological carbon that also heats the atmosphere. The problem is thus societal in nature.
On conflicts of interest such as the one exploited by Georgia's Secretary of State, see Institutional Conflicts of Interest, available at Amazon.
On conflicts of interest such as the one exploited by Georgia's Secretary of State, see Institutional Conflicts of Interest, available at Amazon.
1. Laura
Bassett, “Georgia
Legislature, Arrested at Work, Says She Was ‘Singled Out As a Black Female
Senator’,” The Huffington Post, November 14, 2018.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
