Riots In America Show Inner Contradictions Of US Society: Deprived People Must Forge Unity
By Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava
21 August, 2014
Countercurrents.org
18 year old black boy Michael Brown was shot to death in the back by a police man who was a six year veteran and whose identity has not been released by the administration. Police officer seems to be a white one as in the Ferguson town 21,000 people live in which two thirds are blacks and out of total 53 police men , 50 are whites and only 3 are blacks.It seems that teen aged was killed on racial ground for no reason. His human rights were violated. The nation which believes in the ideology of liberty and equality failed to teach its administrative persons what actually these values are.
Brown was walking with his friend Dorian Johnson. According to Reuters Dorian Johnson told television station KMOV that he and Brown had been walking when an officer confronted them, drew a weapon and shot. Johnson said that Brown put his hands in the air and started to get down, but the officer kept shooting.
His autopsy report suggests that he was fired six times in which two were on his head. Very sad day for all deprived people of the world.
This killing of a teen age black boy in USA brings out the inner contradictions prevalent in the American society. It has caused riots. It also shows that Police- Citizen relations in USA are not that much advanced and based on non coercion as is expected from the world leader which daily sings the songs of human rights and civil society values to the whole world.
It also shows that in USA executive has failed to pass such legislations which could prevent such occurrence .As far as this killing is concerned it shows that blacks are not able to gain the equal status in the American society which boasts of so many achievements in science, technology, has established itself a first rate military power , has earned so much capital by its MNCs that none can parallel it but these achievements stand as of no value when the social fabric is taken into account.
The discrimination against the blacks by the whites have always remained a well established feature of the US society. Though none of these can claim as the original inhabitants of this land. The original ones are now pushed into oblivion, the red Indians have no say in the US society , still the whites have exercised their hegemony on the blacks by coercion, a self invented method as well by the ideology as Great Italian philosopher Gramsci say .
This domination and discrimination of the blacks have been observed since a long time. There are many instances of killing the blacks. Tulsa racial riot of 1921 is its living and classical examples after which the Oklahoma could not regain its glory when its own people mainly from African American community were lynched, about 300 died.
The blacks fought for their rights. The political equality in terms of civil liberties was achieved by them by consistent efforts but the society never became fully equalized. The racisms of whites continued and the recent death of young teenage kills again the dreams of many blacks who looked to USA as their land but found that it was not so.
What is then way out, different US governments have done substantial good for the equalization of both the communities but this equality is still not practiced by many whites. This shows that the education system is not able to entrench the good values among these wrong doers. That needs to be relooked again.
Police- blacks relations are under stress.That requires that police training need to be relooked and overhauled.US administration should redesign it.
Civil liberties and its application by the deprived section of the society has always been a cause of conflict for the majority and dominant groups. It is a widely spread evil, very few countries can claim to have lived without it. Neither USA nor India like big and real democracies can say so. Hence one major effort needed is that society should be configurated without the concept and influence of majortinism. All should be allowed for utilizing their civil liberties. For this government needs to be more proactive and act as a equal opportunity provider, particularly also look the interests and problems of the most disadvantageous group first.
The deprived people are everywhere in the world. They may be in the form blacks, poor ones, aboriginal ones and so many of different types of but they share one common thing that is inequality which majority and powerful groups have placed upon them. The blacks of America, SC- ST of India, Tasman of Australia, Red Indians of USA, women from almost all the nations particularly from MENA, South Asia etc. all have similar story. They have been continuously inequalised by the dominant ones and persecuted for no reason. The answer lies not only reforming the thoughts of dominant class as whites with respect to blacks in USA or Male for the women but also in establishing a global solidarity movement where all deprived, persecuted ones come together. They may not have similar condition as women of Afghanistan may have different problems with the blacks people of USA but they have one thing in common that all of them are victims of anti human psychology of many who usually come from the powerful community.
These people should cooperate with each other. They can develop a global resistance front and fight the enemy.
They must raise their issue in their land where many sane people will pick the thread. USA too have sane people who can take the issue but it will be more effective when whole world unites and support such efforts. Blacks must know this fact of strength.
Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava presently Assistant Professor in CSJM Kanpur University[affiliated college],Vice Chairman CSSP, email: [email protected]
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