Guillermo Jimenez Presents Aaron Cantú
On this edition of De-Manufacturing Consent Guillermo is joined by independent writer, analyst, and researcher Aaron Cantu. Aaron details the case of Eric Garner, the 43-year-old father of six who NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo choked to death last July. The incident was caught on camera, and yet a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo and bring the case to trial.
Aaron explains the failings of the grand jury system, in both the Garner case and the case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and how the state colludes to exonerate those within their own ranks. We explore the role of institutionalized racism in state violence, and why Aaron believes the police are the “most violent parts of white supremacy distilled down to human form.”
Did the Rodney King verdict in 1992 set the precedent for police today to get away with murder, even when caught on camera? Has recording technology and surveillance made things better or worse? Are there comparisons to be made between the state violence experienced in the United States and that in Mexico and other parts of the world, and what is to be gained from mass protest?
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