Stop Dissing The Police Already
In which a young gay man says something unthinkable during a national debate about police brutality: "Not all cops are bad, and not all civilians are innocent."
If you’ve been walking around with your eyes closed, fingers in ears and singing “tralaladiladilala” for the past 72 hours, then welcome home, we’re currently up in arms over police brutality.
To recap: an 18-year-old gay guy named Jamie Jackson was arrested for swearing at a copper during the Sydney Mardi Gras parade last Saturday. Unfortunately for Jamie he apparently resisted arrest and was unceremoniously slammed to the concrete twice, once with his hands cuffed behind his back, unable to protect his head.
Fortunately for Jamie, people filmed it. What followed was a rainbow-coloured supernova of viral outrage that exploded across social media Australia-wide, before ending up on almost every news-producing network from here to A Current Affair. There’s already a “Prosecute the Mardi Gras Criminal Officer” Facebook page, a protest planned for tonight at Taylor Square, and, naturally, a meme or two:
The exact details of what happened are still hazy, even to Jamie. Some say he was merely enjoying the festivities before the brutish po-po pictured above unleashed his anger at life on the poor defenceless lad. Others claim the drunk teenager verbally abused the officer, slapping and kicking him before being secured. Either way, Jamie ended up on the floor weeping and, to many people’s discomfort as well as his own, bleeding.
No one, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, creed or credentials, should ever be subjected to excessive force by anyone trusted and paid to protect the public. Violence is not the answer, no matter who you are.
Saying that, I have to admit that my first reaction, even as an LGBTI activist myself, was that Jamie probably wasn’t all that innocent. This speculation was backed up last night, when footage emerged on Nine News of what had happened moments before the violence. The footage showed Jamie throwing punches and kicking the officers.
The level of force used by the policeman, and his blatant ignorance of civil rights, are of course inexcusable, but I can’t help but wonder: if Jamie wasn’t gay, or the officer was a woman (for example), would people be so bothered?
The level of force used by the policeman, and his blatant ignorance of civil rights, are of course inexcusable, but I can’t help but wonder: if Jamie wasn’t gay, or the officer was a woman, would people be so bothered?
What bugs me is that far too many people are taking this opportunity to police bash. Whether or not this particular member of the force was indeed a homophobe isn’t important. What is important is that we don’t start tarring the entirety of Sydney’s thin blue line with the same brush of anger, outrage and hatred we falsely assume they must wield when it comes to gay people.
Before Christmas, my boyfriend and I were verbally abused boarding a plane to London from Sydney airport by a balding middle aged man. He shouted at us in front of everyone else on the bridge that we were “disgusting” and that it was (FLACID CLICHÉ ALERT) “Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve”, before enquiring if “anyone had a machete”.
Cut to five minutes and a few heated exchanges later, and seven federal police officers were less-than-kindly explaining to the ignorant prick that if he dare move from his seat or utter another word, he’ll be arrested the moment the plane touched down on foreign soil. One officer in particular was noticeably angered by the entire event and informed us that people who refuse to “treat others with respect” made him feel sick to his stomach.
While it was Jamie Jackson’s victimisation that’s made the most noise online, there were two other reports of police violence over the Mardi Gras season. One came from Bryn Hutchinson, the co-convenor of Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH), who alleges he was thrown to the ground by several officers and kicked after he tried to cross the road on Saturday night. The second came yesterday from a man named Gary Leeson, 55, who told News Ltd that he was “humiliated and bullied” at Harbour Party after a drug search.
Don’t be surprised if more people come forward over the next few days. Of course we should be outraged about it. But it’s important to remember that not all cops are bad, and not all civilians are innocent. If we are to preach fairness, let’s not forget to practice it.
Mardi Gras was born out of police brutality 35 years ago, and has since evolved into a celebration of Australian diversity at its best. But we’ve still got a long way to go.
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Jack Arthur Smith is one of those foolish people trying to make a living writing words for money. He’s also a firm believer in equality and fruity cocktails. Follow his escapades around Sydney here, or find him on Twitter.