Sessions praises "Anglo-American Heritage of Law Enforcement," faces fresh criticism of racism
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[quote]Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whose political career has been dogged by allegations of racist comments, faces a fresh backlash after harkening back to the “Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement” during a speech to the National Sheriffs' Association on Monday.
“Since our founding, the independently elected sheriff has been the people's protector, who keeps law enforcement close to and accountable to people through the elected process," he said at the organization's winter conference. "The office of sheriff is a critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement. We must never erode this historic office."
The Anglo-American comment may have been unscripted as it did not appear in a copy of his prepared remarks published by the Department of Justice. That copy reads: "Since our founding, the independently elected Sheriff has been seen as the people’s protector, who keeps law enforcement close to and amenable to the people. The Sheriff is a critical part of our legal heritage."[/quote]
[quote]"Under any other administration I’d call this an innocuous historical footnote; in the current context, my 'benefit of the doubt' reserves are pretty well depleted," tweeted Julian Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.
Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, tweeted a quote from her mother's 1986 opposition to Sessions's nomination for a federal judgeship.
"The irony of Mr. Sessions's nomination is that, if confirmed, he will be given a life tenure for doing with a federal prosecution what the local sheriffs accomplished twenty years ago with clubs and cattle prods,” Bernice King tweeted. [/quote]
[url]http://www.newsweek.com/jeff-sessions-racism-anglo-american-sheriff-803624[/url]
Racist shitbags are getting too comfortable
Racist Keebler Elves is something I'd never envision seeing in my entire life, yet here we are.
Considering the role of sheriff does come from medieval England, I'd be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt were it not for the fact that he went oddly off-script to drop it, and the fact that he has been accused of racism in the past.
That's fucked up.
This really isn't nearly as racist as it looks. He botched the delivery enormously, but it's pretty obvious that he was referring to the American usage of common law, which really is Anglo-American in origin. The office of sheriff is rooted in British common law, and basically exclusively exists in former British colonies - Australia, the U.S., Canada, etc.
At least to me, it's pretty obvious that Sessions was trying to shoehorn in a reference to our very real common law heritage, which we share with Britain. It's just that the phrase "Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement" looks real ugly in a headline. He wasn't talking about the racial makeup of police - he was talking about the history of the sheriff, which is tied into the shared common law heritage of England and American.
Poor phrasing, nothing else. Not worth dragging Sessions through the mud for this when it's pretty obvious he's a racist shit anyways.
[QUOTE=Raidyr;53126864]Considering the role of sheriff does come from medieval England, I'd be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt were it not for the fact that he went oddly off-script to drop it, and the fact that he has been accused of racism in the past.[/QUOTE]
I really don't think the benefit of the doubt is a benefit he's earned, given his history. The man was so famously racist that he was denied a federal judgeship in the 80's, with MLK's wife leading the charge. Somehow, I doubt he was referring to medieval England lol
Having read a study on the origins of law enforcement in the United States just the other day, he's not actually wrong about that. The first modern police department in the United States formed in Boston in response to a riot which the watchmen (basically mandatory neighborhood watch) were not capable of stopping. It was modeled after the London Police, and soon every other major city quickly followed, modelling theirs after Boston and London.
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;53126895]Having read a study on the origins of law enforcement in the United States just the other day, he's not actually wrong about that. The first modern police department in the United States formed in Boston in response to a riot which the watchmen (basically mandatory neighborhood watch) were not capable of stopping. It was modeled after the London Police, and soon every other major city quickly followed, modelling theirs after Boston and London.[/QUOTE]
its not that he's strictly factually wrong its just both a very awkward way to say that, which he himself inserted, and the phrasing itself sort of discredits the non-anglican police officers and families that have been also a part of the US police system
[QUOTE=Sableye;53127141]its not that he's strictly factually wrong its just both a very awkward way to say that, which he himself inserted, and the phrasing itself sort of discredits the non-anglican police officers and families that have been also a part of the US police system[/QUOTE]
Yeah imo the weirdest part was that he just sort of ad-libbed it. I wonder what the thought process behind that was.
I’m inclined to agree with the idea that, yes, Sheriff is a tradition of British law and has been a staple of Anglophone nations law enforcement around the world. The problem is though I really doubt that Sessions is honoring its historical context.
Were it somebody else then I don’t think people would get as hanky considering this guys dirty fuckin history
[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;53127221]I’m inclined to agree with the idea that, yes, Sheriff is a tradition of British law and has been a staple of Anglophone nations law enforcement around the world. The problem is though I really doubt that Sessions is honoring its historical context.
Were it somebody else then I don’t think people would get as hanky considering this guys dirty fuckin history[/QUOTE]
I agree with Reenactment Lizard. I don't think people are iffy on this because they are ignorant of the origins of the force, it's more that they aren't ignorant of the origins of the person saying it.
It's the classic "I'll say something that can be construed as sort of acceptable but you all know what I REALLY mean right guys nudge nudge" gross dog-whistle-ish veil that I'm getting really sick of that they always rely on basically every time they open their mouths now.
[QUOTE=Xion21;53127279]gross dog-whistle-ish veil that I'm getting really sick of that they always rely on basically every time they open their mouths now.[/QUOTE]
I don't think there's anything remotely "ish" about this, it's an absolute dog whistle. There's definitely a historical angle, but this isn't being said for people who see that historical angle, it's being said for people who think that the white man is the bastion of order and justice - as seen by him tacitly implying that going away from that anglocentric model is 'erosion'
for anyone else it'd be a sort of weird but maybe understandable ad-lib, but coming from Sessions, it's pretty obvious what it is
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