Must-read from Asha Rangappa on the importance of recording what ICE is doing

[highplainsdem]

Unfortunately the Substack title is mangled - The Power of Being Watched - when what she's talking about is the power of watching and recording ICE.

https://asharangappa.substack.com/p/the-power-of-being-watched

In my discussion earlier this week with psychologist and professor Catherine Sanderson on how to turn bystanders into moral rebels, we discussed why one of the most powerful acts of resistance in our current moment is for ordinary people to record what is happening in front of them. It’s because it does the following three things that make it harder for people to become complicit in what is taking place:

Awareness

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That’s what has happened with the video of ICE’s shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis. Greg Sargent writes in The New Republic that videos of the shooting have made a significant impact on the public, with 76% of national voters having seen video footage and 86% saying that they have heard at least “a little” about it. In our oversaturated information environment, that is a LOT. And it is driving opinion: Sergeant writes that among young and working class voters — major segments of the MAGA base and ones that Democrats have had trouble breaking through to — 51% (working class) to 70% (young voters) disapprove of ICE’s actions.

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Empathy

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Video footage is powerful in countering and neutralizing these propaganda narratives because visual images, by their very nature, not only show the truth, but also evoke emotional and visceral responses. As we have seen in the aftermath of Renee Good’s murder, official “accounts” simply don’t match up with what people can observe directly and they quickly realize that they are being asked “to reject the evidence of [their] eyes and ears,” to quote George Orwell.

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Accountability

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The same will be true in the murder of Renee Good, I predict. For one thing, the sheer number of angles of video footage that have been released — including this synchronized footage by The New York Times — provide visual proof of a number of legal issues related to liability. This becomes especially important in light of the Justice Department’s obstruction of a state criminal investigation, as it opens up the possibility that state prosecutors may be able to move forward even without the feds’ help.

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[Dawson Leery]

1. kick

[H2O Man]

2. Asha Rangappa

is one of the most important voices today.

Recommended.

[The Roux Comes First]

3. We Remember George Floyd! These Are Just Cheaper, Sleazier Thugs, with a Convicted Felon Egging Them On

[SheltieLover]

4. Kick

[Iggo]

5. The power of reminding them that they're being watched. (n/t)