Planet of Cops
March 26, 2018 7:00 PM Subscribe
You know who thinks everybody’s guilty until proven innocent? The irony of our vibrant and necessary police reform movement is that it’s happening simultaneously to everyone becoming a cop. I mean everyone — liberal, conservative, radical and reactionary. Blogger, activist, pundit, and writer, obviously, but also teacher, tailor, and candlestick maker. Cops, all of them. Cops everywhere. Everybody a cop.
Educationalist Frederik deBoer waxes wroth about the new panopticon.
Also of interest, this article about looking where the light is:
And so I think that perhaps it is time to say that all of the ironizing and jokes and endless meme-ification are not just politically inert, as nearly everyone acknowledges, but actively malignant. A generation of young leftists is being conditioned to fully separate their emotional and communicative engagement with politics from the actual reality of politics. We are creating a vast social architecture to make losing feel like winning. We need not experience the joys of hard-won progress when the temporary thrills of a sick burn are always moments away. The addiction to jokes is like the addiction to anything else – it starts out as a method to achieve pleasure but gives way to pathology, and though victory remains elusive, you can always get another hit, and then another, and then another…. Meanwhile, the world is what it is.
Educationalist Frederik deBoer waxes wroth about the new panopticon.
Also of interest, this article about looking where the light is:
And so I think that perhaps it is time to say that all of the ironizing and jokes and endless meme-ification are not just politically inert, as nearly everyone acknowledges, but actively malignant. A generation of young leftists is being conditioned to fully separate their emotional and communicative engagement with politics from the actual reality of politics. We are creating a vast social architecture to make losing feel like winning. We need not experience the joys of hard-won progress when the temporary thrills of a sick burn are always moments away. The addiction to jokes is like the addiction to anything else – it starts out as a method to achieve pleasure but gives way to pathology, and though victory remains elusive, you can always get another hit, and then another, and then another…. Meanwhile, the world is what it is.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Sorry for the delayed delete. It sounds like the linked piece is something deBoer has taken down, after having a major personal shake-up, and that puts all this into a pretty weird dialectical situation. Especially so for a kind of fightbait article, where it basically leaves people to just fight each other here. Seems like we've had the "leftists are too quick to judge/fixated on trivial matters on social media" fight before,which combined with the odd situation about this sort of disavowed article kind of tips this over the edge to delete. -- LobsterMitten
I'm not sure what victories ol' Freddie has won that would put him in a position to lecture other people about it.
posted by praemunire at 7:09 PM on March 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 7:09 PM on March 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
If there is one thing that I have time for these days, it’s really sitting down and listening to white dudes who think the left has just gone too far and miss how it was in the old days, when they were young.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:15 PM on March 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 7:15 PM on March 26, 2018 [9 favorites]
Actually, you know what, I’m sorry for what I said. I looked for more info on this guy since I commented, and it looks like, in the time since he’s written these articles, he’s been suffering gravely from mental illness, and has sought help.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:19 PM on March 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 7:19 PM on March 26, 2018 [3 favorites]
Can’t say as I agree with much of the piece. That said, I have learned when I read the comments on a news story* about a criminal matter, there is never any doubt that any accused person** is absolutely guilty and should be punished to beyond the fullest extent of the law, while any trial ending in a not guilty verdict is a sham and a miscarriage of justice.
It makes me tired in my soul.
*Note: never read the comments.
**Rich white guys often get the benefit of the doubt, though.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:25 PM on March 26, 2018
It makes me tired in my soul.
*Note: never read the comments.
**Rich white guys often get the benefit of the doubt, though.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:25 PM on March 26, 2018
It's good that he's finally getting the help he's needed, and that he recognizes the damage that he has done. But on the same token, that damage doesn't go away just because he's realized what he's done.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:28 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:28 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Lotta truth to the content of the first piece, though. People seem to enjoy being amateur Stasi agents building dossiers about others, so that a face-off between ideas or approaches can be decided by invoking a bad thing one of the participants said once, completely unrelated to the subject at hand. It's like they're trying to establish who's a Bad Guy, on the wrong side of some line in the sand, so that shows what side we all should take about metal egg spoons.
Of course, the author of this piece can use this argument to tie a disingenuous double-bind. If you don't listen to him this time because of all the other things he's said and done in the past, like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown -- then you're a Cop, man! You're being a Cop! Gotcha!!
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 7:28 PM on March 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Of course, the author of this piece can use this argument to tie a disingenuous double-bind. If you don't listen to him this time because of all the other things he's said and done in the past, like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown -- then you're a Cop, man! You're being a Cop! Gotcha!!
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 7:28 PM on March 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
You know who thinks everybody’s guilty until proven innocent?
Judge Dredd?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:28 PM on March 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Judge Dredd?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:28 PM on March 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
I mean. This dynamic certainly takes place in fandom, with eighteen-year-olds "gently reminding" each other not to reblog content from someone who said something Problematique once five years ago. It's definitely a place where the culture has not yet fully caught up with some of the underlying realities, such as that your old self can be dredged up to haunt you at any moment. I'm sure even a modestly determined search could turn up things I said online ten or even five years ago that would mortify me (though compartmentalization of identities sure helps!). We're going to have to work a little bit more on learning to accept this is a fact without pretending that the harm done then wasn't real.
On the other hand, the white men I see complaining about this dynamic are mostly not saying, "Okay, that was some dumb shit I said when I didn't know any better. I regret it. I'm sorry for the harm I caused with my thoughtless words. This is what I'm doing better now." They're mostly kvetching about having any kind of accountability at all.
posted by praemunire at 7:58 PM on March 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
On the other hand, the white men I see complaining about this dynamic are mostly not saying, "Okay, that was some dumb shit I said when I didn't know any better. I regret it. I'm sorry for the harm I caused with my thoughtless words. This is what I'm doing better now." They're mostly kvetching about having any kind of accountability at all.
posted by praemunire at 7:58 PM on March 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
It definitely feels like there's a new reputationalism ascendant and I think it'll get worse, probably until someone like Mr. Rogers is swept up in it (and he might). Where it stops says something about the values of society for sure, but we're going to have to ride it out. I've definitely been reckoning with my past the last few years, and it's no fun, but still I'm glad it isn't up for public comment.
As for the above, Freddie used a lot of words to do a Degenerate Art song and dance. We know where that leads, and we can thank Freddie in arrears for not ending up taking us there.
posted by rhizome at 8:04 PM on March 26, 2018
As for the above, Freddie used a lot of words to do a Degenerate Art song and dance. We know where that leads, and we can thank Freddie in arrears for not ending up taking us there.
posted by rhizome at 8:04 PM on March 26, 2018
Oh, fuck Freddie. He was a problem-and-a-half all the way back when he was given a guest blogging spot at Balloon Juice and proceeded to piss all over the community there. Yeah, he's cognizant of the fact that he was an ass prior to seeking help, but that's one of many steps he'll need to take.
posted by stannate at 8:14 PM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by stannate at 8:14 PM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
I mean. This dynamic certainly takes place in fandom, with eighteen-year-olds "gently reminding" each other not to reblog content from someone who said something Problematique once five years ago.
It depends on the fandom, honestly, and on what faction in the fandom one belongs to.
In my fandom, it's less people being called out, and more someone obsessively following people online because they didn't agree that his being banned from WorldCon was the Greatest Crime Ever Which Means They Aren't Actually Christians, with his "friends" egging him on. Or trying to screw over the Hug Awards for what, four years running because Somebody was not treated like a superstar in his first WorldCon. The same people tend to be amazingly forgiving of famous white male authors having Harassed women. Of course this tends to be an older crowd.
Meanwhile over on gaming, it's everybody with the anime avatars pile on against any woman or man who criticizes the form in any way whatsoever, no we're not misogynistic or racist, look this one's a woman, who's not like the other girls, she's a fan, an she has no problem with the rape or death threats, hahaha it's a joke.
And granted, all the information that's easily available just makes this worse. But Gods sometimes I long for the gentle cal-out culture of late LiveJournal.
posted by happyroach at 8:25 PM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
It depends on the fandom, honestly, and on what faction in the fandom one belongs to.
In my fandom, it's less people being called out, and more someone obsessively following people online because they didn't agree that his being banned from WorldCon was the Greatest Crime Ever Which Means They Aren't Actually Christians, with his "friends" egging him on. Or trying to screw over the Hug Awards for what, four years running because Somebody was not treated like a superstar in his first WorldCon. The same people tend to be amazingly forgiving of famous white male authors having Harassed women. Of course this tends to be an older crowd.
Meanwhile over on gaming, it's everybody with the anime avatars pile on against any woman or man who criticizes the form in any way whatsoever, no we're not misogynistic or racist, look this one's a woman, who's not like the other girls, she's a fan, an she has no problem with the rape or death threats, hahaha it's a joke.
And granted, all the information that's easily available just makes this worse. But Gods sometimes I long for the gentle cal-out culture of late LiveJournal.
posted by happyroach at 8:25 PM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
You know who weren’t cops? All the radicals and queers and artists and dreamers that were there while I grew up
Things were better when I was a kid too.
One of the things I see people dealing with is accountability, and how we haven't had it may not have ever had it. What would accountability look like? What would reparation or restoration look like?
I don't know, but erasing our mistakes and moving on isn't it.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:26 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Things were better when I was a kid too.
One of the things I see people dealing with is accountability, and how we haven't had it may not have ever had it. What would accountability look like? What would reparation or restoration look like?
I don't know, but erasing our mistakes and moving on isn't it.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:26 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've no idea who the author is, but there's little in the first article I disagree with. But instead of calling 'em cops, I prefer the label kapo.
posted by Rash at 8:33 PM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Rash at 8:33 PM on March 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
just to be clear, because it seems some people are assuming otherwise: you can still campaign for social justice while decrying this "planet of cops" trend. some of the most effective, compassionate, tireless activists i know would agree with every word of that first deboer article.
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 8:43 PM on March 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 8:43 PM on March 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
If you want to see the call-out culture in action, follow a celebrity gossip blog. Even better, follow one of the celebrity gossip blogs on livejournal. The call-out culture is a reaction to the (older?) culture that makes excuses and apologies for celebrities, but taken pretty far in the other direction. And it can spill into IRL social scenes as well, for example I've heard our local music scene has a lot of self-appointed police.
posted by subdee at 8:52 PM on March 26, 2018
posted by subdee at 8:52 PM on March 26, 2018
> People seem to enjoy being amateur Stasi agents
People who call out supposed allies for racist or misogynist bullshit are not being Stasi agents or cops. Jesus fucking Christ, get a grip.
What Freddie conveniently leaves out in his rose-colored and poisonous nostalgia for the queers of his childhood (and I'm older than he is) is that a lot of those folks were more than happy to shut down people who themselves felt excluded - because of their sex or race just for instance - by telling them to please wait quietly at the back of the bus until important issues got solved, and then their issues could be attended to.
Do I remember who has said and done shitty stuff all while claiming to be my ally? The ones who insist they know what my priorities are better than I do? The ones who never seem to be able to recognize the harm they cause? You bet your ass.
posted by rtha at 8:57 PM on March 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
People who call out supposed allies for racist or misogynist bullshit are not being Stasi agents or cops. Jesus fucking Christ, get a grip.
What Freddie conveniently leaves out in his rose-colored and poisonous nostalgia for the queers of his childhood (and I'm older than he is) is that a lot of those folks were more than happy to shut down people who themselves felt excluded - because of their sex or race just for instance - by telling them to please wait quietly at the back of the bus until important issues got solved, and then their issues could be attended to.
Do I remember who has said and done shitty stuff all while claiming to be my ally? The ones who insist they know what my priorities are better than I do? The ones who never seem to be able to recognize the harm they cause? You bet your ass.
posted by rtha at 8:57 PM on March 26, 2018 [5 favorites]
"A cop culture is one where a mob forces a company to patch its game because the treatment of video game parrots is somehow deficient. Do you buy that narrative at all? Do you think any single human being is so fucking daft as to believe that lots of children are going to be inspired by Minecraft to feed their real parrots real chocolate chip cookies?"
Yes, because children are inexperienced and that is why we need to be mindful of what we teach them.
The author complains about cops so much he glides right over the assumption of sanction. The "Cop" in this situation doesn't get to punish you. The cop can suggest you be punished and then apparently it gets sent to a mysterious "They" who judge you but it's really just everyone hearing the story and forming a new opinion. That isn't a new thing. We've always been able to do that. We are just finding out more about people. The people that aren't talking to you are choosing not to talk to you. They aren't under threat of jail time.
Also, no of course mob rule isn't justice. That's why its mob rule.
posted by Ziabatsu at 9:13 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yes, because children are inexperienced and that is why we need to be mindful of what we teach them.
The author complains about cops so much he glides right over the assumption of sanction. The "Cop" in this situation doesn't get to punish you. The cop can suggest you be punished and then apparently it gets sent to a mysterious "They" who judge you but it's really just everyone hearing the story and forming a new opinion. That isn't a new thing. We've always been able to do that. We are just finding out more about people. The people that aren't talking to you are choosing not to talk to you. They aren't under threat of jail time.
Also, no of course mob rule isn't justice. That's why its mob rule.
posted by Ziabatsu at 9:13 PM on March 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's possible that the first linked article doesn't reflect the author's current views at all.
I wrote a bunch of text responding to the content of that article (and engaging with some of the reactions here), then deleted all that text after I realized that he had deleted that article.
To those that have negative things to say about the words he wrote - he very well may agree with you; he certainly seems to not stand by those words today. Doing a little digging (although not enough?) perhaps it was the fact the folks on the (far?) right were linking to his essay he decided it wasn't appropriate.
I guess I'm okay with a post on the blue linking to an (archive of an) author's content that they have since deleted, but it seems super-weird not to mention that in the post.
posted by el io at 10:19 PM on March 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
I wrote a bunch of text responding to the content of that article (and engaging with some of the reactions here), then deleted all that text after I realized that he had deleted that article.
To those that have negative things to say about the words he wrote - he very well may agree with you; he certainly seems to not stand by those words today. Doing a little digging (although not enough?) perhaps it was the fact the folks on the (far?) right were linking to his essay he decided it wasn't appropriate.
I guess I'm okay with a post on the blue linking to an (archive of an) author's content that they have since deleted, but it seems super-weird not to mention that in the post.
posted by el io at 10:19 PM on March 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Rash: But instead of calling 'em cops, I prefer the label kapo.
Maybe don't toss that bit of Holocaust history around in a problematic way just to escalate things?
posted by JiBB at 10:39 PM on March 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
Maybe don't toss that bit of Holocaust history around in a problematic way just to escalate things?
posted by JiBB at 10:39 PM on March 26, 2018 [7 favorites]
also thanks to this post i heard about frederik deboer and i'm really enjoying reading thru the archive on his site. seems like a very intelligent, very sensitive, very troubled person. learning a lot here.
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 10:48 PM on March 26, 2018
posted by Cpt. The Mango at 10:48 PM on March 26, 2018
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posted by NoxAeternum at 7:04 PM on March 26, 2018 [9 favorites]