Anarchy

The way the police and media responded to the anarchists of Europe and the way they respond to today’s racial conflicts are very similar. The anarchists and today’s groups look for social justice and to vocalize their issues. The police interpret it as a threat to a peaceful social order and feel the need to squash it immediately and the media looks to sensationalize it for their own personal gains.

            During the time of the anarchist movement the police, specifically in Europe, were not properly trained to combat the anarchists, and often made the situation worst. The police used brutal tactics but, this was counter productive, as it only helped spread the anarchists influence. One of the last countries in Europe to understand how to deal with such attacks was Spain. “…the Spanish government’s policy of brutally and arbitrarily repressing dissent and strike activity and its failure to develop an effective policing apparatus, explain the continued incidence in the Iberian Peninsula of extreme forms of political violence,” (Jensen, 2009, p. 100).

            This is very similar to the way modern day police tactics are used. In the United States there is an increase in use of force. One of the aspects of the force is the militarization of the police. This creates more of an “us versus them” mentality. Maria Haberfeld, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice said, “[m]ilitary equipment is used against an enemy. So if you give the same equipment to local police, by default you create an environment in which the public is perceived as an enemy,” (Doherty, 2017, pp. 39). This does not solve the issue of the violence, and instead pushes the two groups further apart.

            During the Anarchist movement, there were many isolated attacks by people who may not have been directly affiliated with the anarchist movement. The anarchists were a confusing organization due to their belief that everyone was equal and there was no one person who was more powerful than another. This made it difficult to keep track of all members and orchestrate well planned attacks. The media also played a role in the terror by spreading the news of attacks making it sound like the anarchists were much more powerful than they actually were, “…misperceptions and sensationalism of the popular media once again collaborated to reinforce the picture of a mighty international conspiracy undermining the entire established order,” (Jensen, 2004, pp.125). This was not accurate and created more fear than was necessary.

            The same is also true for the Black Lives Matter movement. Although some see them as a violent group, as a whole, the group condemns the use of violence. An instance of this was the shooting in Dallas, Texas, where five police officers were killed during a Black Lives Matter rally. The ambush was done by only one man, and was condemned by organizers of the rally. Jeff Hood, a Black Lives matter organizer in Dallas, was at the rally during the shooting. After the shooting he said, “This is a devastating time for us as activists and organizers. We cannot bring about justice through violence,” (Reeves & Whack, 2016). This shows that the violence committed by one hurts the rest of the group because of the negative connotations. The media spreads this false view and others start to view the whole group as violent.

            Although the ideology of the two movements is very different, how they were dealt with by the police and how they were portrayed by the media was very similar. This shows that although there will always be opposing groups in society, the problem with how violence is reduced still stands, as well as how the media causes problems by spreading aggregated fear. This just increases violence and increases the misunderstanding and miscommunication between different social groups.

Work Cited

DOHERTY, J. B. (2016). US VS. THEM: THE MILITARIZATION OF AMERICAN LAW

ENFORCEMENT AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT ON POLICE OFFICERS & CIVILIANS. Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, 25(2), 1-51.

REEVES, J., & Whack, E. Black lives matter condemns Dallas shootings, plans

protests. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from http://bigstory.ap.org/article/dae6c38b396f400b93d0ccf0c4289b10/leaders-black-lives-matter-condemn-violence-dallas

Jensen, R. (2004): DAGGERS, RIFLES AND DYNAMITE: ANARCHIST TERRORISM IN NINETEENTH

CENTURY EUROPE, Terrorism and Political Violence, 16:1, 116-153

Jensen, R. (2004): DAGGERS, RIFLES AND DYNAMITE: ANARCHIST

TERRORISM IN NINETEENTH CENTURY EUROPE, Terrorism and Political Violence, 16:1, 116-153