Much has been said — and much more should follow — about the militarization of the police in American cities. The images coming out of Ferguson, MO these past weeks testify to the distribution of military-grade hardware, gear, guns, and vehicles to your everyday police officer.
Here I’d like to focus on just one small part of this distribution of military-grade equipment: the uniform. It’s not, by a long shot, the most straightforwardly dangerous, but it is a powerful symbol. It’s a “dead giveaway,” writes a political scientist at Gin & Tacos, that there is something amiss with the “mindset of law enforcement.” He’s referring to the swapping of blue or tan in favor of camouflage, like in this photo by Whitney Curtis for The New York Times.
From Gin & Tacos:
Of what conceivable practical use could green or desert camouflage be in a suburban environment? Gonna help you blend in with the Taco Bell or the liquor store? Even if they did wear something that helped conceal them, that would be counterproductive to the entire purpose of policing in a situation like that; law enforcement wants to be visible to act as a deterrent to violent or property crimes in a public disturbance.
He concludes that “[t]here is only one reason those cops would wear camo” and, if I can put words in his mouth, it’s to be frightening and intimidating. And, perhaps, to enjoy being so.
This is clear when we think about the role that camo plays in everyday fashion. For women, it’s a fun appropriation of masculinity. For men, it’s a way to signal “I’m tough” by reference to hunting or soldiering. What irony, after all, that black men in Ferguson were also photographed wearing camo during the unrest that followed Brown’s death.
On their bodies, of course, the camouflage is much more benign. In contrast, alongside kevlar, automatic rifles, and riot shields on cops, it’s terrifying. It sends a clear message to the people of Ferguson: you are now enemy combatants.
Cross-posted at Pacific Standard.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 42
Bill R — September 2, 2014
The threat of terrorism or whatever is certainly changing the nature of policing in America. In 2002+ the sight of the National Guard in full tactical regalia, including large hardware, in Penn Station NYC was an amazing site; now its another day. I was used to this in the islands and sometimes in the EU, but here...?
I for one think of these terrorist groups as low-lifes funded by middle-eastern oil money that can't be productively deployed and who can be annihilated in short order with the right political will in play. I'm not afraid of them and if they killed some more of us somehow in the states so be it; they'll only be exposing their friends and families back home to mass decimation.
The folks we hire as cops are actually great people...as cops. They're hard working and sincere and do the job well. They expose themselves to the worst of society and deserve our respect. Give them other roles and military equipment and they're out of place. Let's stop doing that.
If we give up freedom for safety we deserve neither (someone said that...Franklin?). He was right.
Josh Petyt — September 2, 2014
I'm not so sure that camouflage is benign on civilians either. I once heard a refugee saying how much she'd wish people wouldn't wear it because of what it evoked. For her and many others camouflage was what the perpetrators of violence against her, her family, friends and community wore whether they were military or paramilitary or whatever. Escaping to the west saved her life but seeing people in camouflage still scared the proverbial out of her.
mark nine — September 2, 2014
Why would you want to put our Policemen at a disadvantage wearing slacks and shiny shoes with a patrolmen cap- this is not an appropriate way to dress in a combat mission. Combat boots for one thing would help out a lot . cargo pants much better than a dress uniform for running shooting and rounding up criminals I really don't think the camouflage pattern should make ANY difference and if it does matter to anybody - your just fishing KEEP THE GOOD GUYS WELL EQUIPPED WITH THE BEST STUFF this is most important - not what color or pattern they are wearing STOP OVER THINKING THIS THING !
Stockholm — September 3, 2014
This reminds me of the wise words of Admiral Adama on Battlestar Galactica, ten years ago : "There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people."
http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/8/14/6002211/battlestar-galactica-had-the-perfect-argument-for-keeping-police-and
Biggus Disqus — September 3, 2014
Protesting police misconduct while wearing the minimum amount of clothing needed to avoid "indecent exposure" charges might be an interesting response as it would make the contrast between citizens and these paramilitary robocops rather jarring and hopefully inspire lots of "hey, wait a minute..." moments among the normally-apathetic majority watching it on TV. So at the next protest, just wear your underwear and some sandals.
Or conversely, if protesters went to Army surplus stores and outfitted themselves so as to mimic their well-accessorized paramilitary robocop outfits as closely as possible then it might make for some amusing/confusing scenes. A lot of the gear they carry (zip ties, electric human-prods, Batman-belts with assorted flat-black plastic thingys, etc.) can be improvised with stuff painted black so as to look real enough. It'd probably be best to not bring fake pistols/rifles/shotguns though.
Since cops don't want to shoot, club, zap or gas each other it would make for an interesting scene if everyone looked like a member of the riot squad.
Vegan — September 4, 2014
"For women, it’s a fun appropriation of masculinity. For men, it’s a way
to signal “I’m tough” by reference to hunting or soldiering"
While this was generally a great post and discussion, I expect better than this from this blog. This is sexist. Women have also long been involved in "hunting and soldiering" and other uses of camo. It is not just "fun appropriation of masculinity". You might want to rethink your ideas of feminitity and masculinity to be a bit more broad.
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