Confronting Police Brutality and Systemic Racism
Psychologist Roy Eidelson has studied the manipulative “political mind games” that the rich and powerful use to preserve America’s oppressive and inequitable systems.
The evidence of racial injustice in our system of law enforcement is overwhelming. Scientific research has convincingly shown that Black Americans are treated much worse than their white counterparts.
First came the new names—Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and others—all added one by one to the long list of tragic, unjustifiable police killings of Black Americans. Then came the batons, the pepper spray, the tear gas, the flash-grenades, the helicopters, the armored vehicles, and the rubber bullets wielded against nonviolent Black Lives Matter protesters across the United States. And then came the chorus of privileged beneficiaries of our country’s discriminatory status quo, denying and defending the reality of brutal, racist, militarized, and unaccountable over-policing.
This sequence—grievous harm and public outrage followed by false reassurances from self-serving voices—is a familiar pattern. It’s one that psychologist Roy Eidelson has studied. Eidelson has focused primarily on the manipulative “political mind games” that the rich and powerful use to preserve an oppressive and inequitable system, one that rewards the few at the expense of the many.
In his essay, Resisting the Propaganda of Status Quo Defenders, Eidelson describes ten mind games used by status-quo defending authorities when their apparent wrongdoing and corruption are too obvious to ignore.
The mind games or propaganda used often target five specific concerns in our daily lives—namely, issues of vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness. Each of these concerns is linked to a key question we regularly ask ourselves: Are we safe? Are we being treated fairly? Who should we trust? Are we good enough? Can we control what happens to us?
Vulnerability: Are we safe? Status quo defenders regularly use the “It’s A Dangerous World” mind game in their efforts to justify aggressive action or authoritarian control. Claiming that they’re keeping everyone safe from ominous threats is how extreme law-and-order advocates defend bloated budgets and military-style weaponry for police departments, and even violent crackdowns against peaceful protesters.
Injustice: Are we being treated fairly? The “No Injustice Here” mind game is used to quell public outrage over wrongdoing. Status quo defenders often deny that misconduct has occurred or insist that it’s been greatly exaggerated. Law enforcement officials will portray instances of police brutality as necessary acts of self-defense. The public’s embrace of deceptive claims like these stands in the way of justice for those who’ve been victimized.
Distrust: Who should we trust? “They’re Different from Us” is another mind game regularly used by the status quo. It takes advantage of our tendency to be more suspicious of people we perceive as outsiders. This is why law enforcement and conservative media often tarnish the reputations of Black victims of police violence by characterizing them as “thugs” to promote negative stereotypes. Black Lives Matter protesters are falsely depicted as anarchists with principles and priorities that diverge from the values of everyday Americans.
Superiority: Are we good enough? Efforts to bolster self-esteem encourages members of the public to perceive others in as negative a light as possible, even to the point of dehumanizing them. With the “Pursuing A Higher Purpose” mind game, status quo defenders solicit the public’s support by claiming that their self-serving enterprises are actually aimed at enhancing the common good. “Law and order” is enshrined as the higher purpose that must be defended regardless of methods or consequences. Black Lives Matter is intentionally misrepresented as a violent movement controlled by terrorists out to destroy the American way of life.
Helplessness: Can we control what happens to us? With the “We’ll All Be Helpless” mind game, defenders of the status quo warn that the reforms they oppose would make it impossible for us to control what happens in the future. This deceptive appeal is used by law enforcement personnel to preserve bloated police budgets at the expense of other, under-funded community needs. Social change efforts are severely hampered when people feel that working together won’t improve their circumstances.
Resisting and Countering Their Mind Games
The evidence that Black Americans are victims of entrenched, systemic racism is overwhelming. From wages to wealth to healthcare to law enforcement and beyond it’s indisputable that people of color are disproportionately the targets of unfair and abusive practices. Research shows that making more funding available to address essential needs in lower-income neighborhoods—improvements to housing, schools, jobs, and hospitals—leads to less crime and safer communities.
Confronting police brutality and systemic racism makes our country stronger, not weaker, because it combats the inequalities that diminish a society’s cohesion, health, and security. We need to neutralize the manipulative messages of status quo defenders who aim to marginalize and disempower the nationwide protests against racial injustice.
The voices of Black activists and community leaders deserve to be heard. Nothing is more patriotic than standing up for democracy and equal rights.
Read the full essay at royeidelson.com/black-lives-matter-resisting-propaganda-status-quo-defenders/
