America's Neo-Nazi Policing - Pt 18: Where's the Outrage Over Oklahoma Cop's Alleged Assault on Black Women?

Is one punch by a black NFL player named Ray Rice more important than eight rapes by a white police officer named Daniel Holtclaw? The key factors seems to be the race and notoriety of the perpetrator.

Ray Rice (left) and Daniel Holtclaw: Rice was fired and suspended from the NFL indefinitely after a video surfaced of him assaulting his then fiance; Holtclaw was sent home to relax with his family after a judge lowered his bond to allow him to do so. Rice's incident caused mass outrage among pundits and massive media coverage, Holtclaw's did not.

By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Ken Holtzclaw has been hit with a 16 count indictment on charges of first degree rape, sexual battery, indecent exposure, stalking, forcible oral sodomy and burglary. These are charges would virtually insure that any other man so charged would be buried so deep in a prison cell that he'd be lucky to ever see the light of day in his lifetime. But Holtclaw will do more than see the light of day. He's free on bail. He walked out of court for a fraction of his initial $5 million dollar bail. His only stipulation is that he remain at home and wear a GPS device pending his upcoming trial. In the weeks after his August arrest on the charges, dozens rallied to his defense and donated thousands of dollars for his defense. Oh, and he's being paid while awaiting trial. To add to the outrage, his attorney has screamed conspiracy in the charges.

Despite the mind boggling charges, and subsequent kid glove treatment of Holtzclaw, there's been no indignant spate of articles and features in the national press on this injustice, no rallies, demonstrations, and marches from women's groups, and most tellingly, not a word of protest from civil rights groups. This is more than puzzling; it's a double outrage -- the fact that someone facing these types of off-the-charts-serious sexual violence charges was released on bail, and the virtual silence about it. I believe there is a terrifying reason for the mute silence. Holtzclaw is white, a police officer, and his family is well connected in law enforcement circles. But most importantly, even tragically, his rape victims were all black and female.

During the past decade, black women have been hammered by racial and gender stereotypes, criminal violence, and toss-away-the-key punitive laws.

Their grotesque treatment has had horrific consequences.

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America's Neo-Nazi Policing

Part 1          Part 2         Part 3          Part 4          Part 5

Part 6          Part 7         Part 8          Part 9          Part 10

Part 11        Part 12       Part 13        Part 14        Part 15

Part 16        Part 17       Part 18        Part 19        Part 20

Part 21        Part 22       Part 23        Part 24