Qualified Immunity

Official White House photo: Shealah Craighead

"Inmunidad cualificada" (Qualified Immunity) is an article written by Lluís Bassets which appeared in the June 2, 2020 edition of El País, Spain's most widely read newspaper. It is an opinion piece on the murder of George Floyd and its connection with police violence in the USA, racism, and the presidency of Donald Trump. Below is my translation of the article.

Qualified Immunity

Donald Trump and police abuse are two sides of the same coin

The police are trigger-happy because they're protected by the justice system. 

It's as simple as that.

Donald Trump isn't to blame for George Floyd's death.  Nor is he the prime mover behind the disturbances.  But it's no coincidence that Trump is in the White House. Neither are his irresponsible provocations, which incite violence rather than intending to calm protesters, coincidental

The country torn by a racial divide that brought Trump to the White House is the same one that over the years has enshrined a system of impunity for its police force.  Racism and abuse of power go hand in hand in both cases.  You can't understand one without the other.

Wikimedia

Law enforcement officials, from local police officers to federal agents, are heavily militarized in their formation, training, and deployment tactics.  This is completely logical in a country where the sale, possession and even public display of assault weapons are considered constitutionally protected rights.

Firearms cause as many victims as traffic accidents.  There is a tendency towards disinhibition when using them against defenseless citizens, both by on duty police officers, as well as by the armed civilians who carry out mass killings.  This, too, is a situation where one thing can't be understood without understanding the other.

Everything favors the hair trigger, especially when it comes to shooting at dark-skinned citizens. In this case, it wasn't shooting, but immobilizing a handcuffed citizen to death. Statistics on deaths due to police intervention show that the number of African-Americans killed is five times that of Whites.  Explanations about police force composition, i.e., minorities tending to be proportionally less represented than Whites, are not enough.  It's also important to consider the strong corporate feel of a profession affiliated with powerful unions that has the ability to enforce a special statute called the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights. Recognized in 16 states, it protects its members when they are accused of a crime, by guaranteeing  extraordinary limits on investigation and interrogation.

If it's difficult to prosecute a police officer, it's even more difficult to convict one.  Organizations that advocate against police violence have documented systematic deferential behavior of judges and juries toward accused police officers, along with a lower proportion of guilty verdicts handed out to them than to others.  Since 2005, 78 police officers have been charged with murder or firearm-related homicide.  Only 27 of these have been convicted and sentenced: 14 by public juries and 13 due to pretrial guilty pleas. Only one of those individuals was convicted of murder, and that officer was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Screenshot from original El País article

In light of George Floyd's death, it might appear that little has changed since the bloody days of lynchings and other racist murders in the Deep South.  Not so, if we once again look at the statistics.  In the first decade of this century, the average number of police officers prosecuted for such crimes was five per year, but now the figure is close to twenty.  While the number of police officers accused of murder is growing, that does not mean police behavior has worsened or improved, but rather that the means of documenting their crimes (by video, for example) have increased. That's what happened in the death of Floyd, who was suffocated by being held under the knee of a police officer—an immobilization maneuver widely used in U.S. law enforcement.

Police impunity has a legal basis called qualified immunity, which has been enshrined by the Supreme Court.  A doctrine established  through various court decisions, it aims to protect officers from mistakes made while attempting to enforce the law, but which ends up shielding them from their crimes.

Throwing Trump out of office won't be enough to end this particular plague, which is as lethal as covid-19. But one goes with the other.

https://elpais.com/opinion/2020-06-02/inmunidad-cualificada.html

This isn't about Spain, but I think it's important to share everywhere: please consider signing this petition. So many people of color in my home country suffer abuse and murder by the police, who alonst always get away with it. Even if you are not from the USA yourself, your voice can help the family of this viticm see justice done and may help lead to real change on this issue. Thank you, Carlos

No se trata de España, pero creo que es importante compartirlo en todas partes: considere firmar esta petición, por favor. Muchas personas de color en mi país de origen sufren abusos y asesinatos por parte de la policía que casi siempre se sale con la suya. Incluso si usted no es de los Estados Unidos, su voz puede ayudar a la familia de esta víctima a ver que se haga justicia y puede ayudar a lograr un cambio de verdad en este tema. Gracias, Carlos

Justice for George Floyd / Justicia para George Floyd

George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.
George was handcuffed and restrained and being completely cooperative when this all went down. The officer put his knee on George’s neck choking him for minutes on minutes while George screamed that he could not breathe. Bystanders beg for the police officer to take his knee off George’s neck, but the officer didn’t listen and continued to choke him.
Not that it would matter at all, but George was not even wanted for a violent crime. A grocery store that he was signing a bad check.
We are trying to reach the attention of Mayor Jacob Frey and DA Mike Freeman to beg to have the officers involved in this disgusting situation fired and for charges to be filed immediately.
Please help us get justice for Georg and his family!
#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd     Click here to sign the petition.
 

George Floyd fue asesinado por un oficial del policía de Minneapolis, Estados Unidos.
George fue esposado y detenido y estaba siendo completamente cooperativo cuando todo se fue abajo. El oficial puso su rodilla en la nuca de George asfixiándolo por varios minutos mientras él gritaba que no podía respirar. Varios espectadores que estaban en el lugar, le rogaron al policía que quitara su rodilla del cuello del hombre, pero el oficial no escuchó y continuó asfixiándolo.
No es que este dato sea de gran relevancia, pero George ni siquiera estaba siendo requerido por un crimen violento. Una tienda de abarrotes lo reportó porque estaba firmando un cheque sin fondos.
Estamos tratando de llamar la atención del Alcalde de Minneapolis Jacob Frey y del Fiscal Mike Freeman para rogar que despidan a los oficiales involucrados en esta desagradable situación y que se presenten cargos de inmediato.
¡Ayúdenos a hacer justicia para George y su familia!
#JusticiaParaGeorgeFloyd    Haga click aqui para firmar la petición. 

Spanish man fined for calling police slackers on Facebook; King and Queen to visit St. Augustine, Florida for its 450 birthday

Excerpts from Newsvine seeds. Click on headline for more:

Spanish man fined for calling police 'slackers' on Facebook

The first known individual to fall foul of Spain’s controversial new “gag law” has spoken out against what he sees as the repression of free speech after he received a fine for describing his local police force as "slackers" on Facebook. Eduardo Diaz, a 27-ye …

King and Queen of Spain to attend 450th celebration of St Augustine, Florida

King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain are scheduled to visit in Sept. 18, 19, and 20 which is when St. Augustine is hosting the annual U.S. – Spain Council. This will be the first ever visit for the royals to the United States as heads of state. "We've been celebrating  …

San Fermin bull-run gore count; Hug, Kiss, Steal; Granada mayor tells teen girls 'nearly naked' looks best; One thing Left & Right agree on; More Spanish speakers in USA than Spain

Click here or on the individual links below for my latest Spanish stuff on Newsvine.

Spain's San Fermin closes with no gorings on final day's running of the bulls, but 37 gorings and other injuries during 9-day fiesta

No-one was gored this morning in the final 'encierro,' or bull run, of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain, but so far today five people have been taken to hospital for other injuries, including craneofacial, cervical, foot and arm traumas. According to local officials, t …

Busted: Gang of thieves who hug and kiss victims

Spain's national police have broken up an organized band of thieves using hugs and kisses to distract victims.  Authorities have charged nine people in various cities across the country with using a technique called 'abracitos' ('little hugs') to commit robbery. The me …

Mayor tells group of Honor Students, 'The more naked women are, the more stylish; and men, the more they wear, the more stylish.'

The mayor of Granada, Spain, has told a group of recent high school graduates that the less clothes women wear, the better they look. Mayor José Torres Hurtado had just finished awarding certificates to the city's 10 students who received the highest scores on univer …

In Madrid, the Left and Right agree: Spain is not Greece

According to Spain's ruling right-wingers, the Popular Party:

US now has more Spanish speakers than Spain – only Mexico has more

The United States is now the world’s second largest Spanish-speaking country after Mexico, according to a new study published by the prestigious Instituto Cervantes. The report says there are 41 million native Spanish speakers in the US plus a further 11.6 million who ar …

White House responds to request for support of Catalan referendum on independence from Spain

The White House responded on Saturday to a petition that asked Washington to support the right of the people of Catalonia to decide on what future “is best for them through a fair and democratic referendum.”

Caitlin Hayden, a spokesperson for President Barack Obama's National Security Council, said the issue was an internal matter for Spain, while acknowledging the distinctiveness of Catalan culture and tradition.

“The United States recognizes the unique culture and traditions of the Catalan region, but considers the status of Catalonia to be an internal Spanish matter. We are confident that the Government and the people of Spain will resolve this issue in accordance with their laws and Constitution,” Ms. Hayden said.

Catalonia is one of the 17 Autonomous Communities that makeup the Kingdom of Spain. The Community has a population of over 7.5 million. Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain, is the capital of Catalonia, a bilingual region with Catalan and Spanish serving as 'co-official' languages.

The petition, which was submitted to the White House's “We the people” website last November 24th, read:

“The People of Catalonia, the Northeastern region of Spain, would like to hold a referendum on whether or not they would like to become independent from the Spain. The Catalan people have their own distinct language, culture and traditions that are not being respected by the Spanish government; many Catalans do not feel Spanish, but rather a Catalan citizen without their own State. In 2012 during their national holiday, 1.5 million people took to the streets of Barcelona to demand independence, yet the Spanish government simply ignored them. In adherence to the guiding principles of our own Declaration of Independence, we ask the United States government to stand with the Catalan people's right to decide a future that is best for them through a fair and democratic referendum.”

More than 33,000 people signed onto the appeal.

Interestingly, the day after the petition's submission happened to be election day in Catalonia. Artur Mas, the president of the Autonomous Community's government, had called a snap election in the hope that his Catalan nationalist party could ride the rising tide of independence fervor to an absolute majority in the regional parliament. His side ended up losing seats, but managed to hold on to control of the assembly. Meanwhile, several smaller separatist groups increased their numbers, as did a couple of the parties that favor remaining part of Spain.

This week Mr. Mas met with Spain's King Juan Carlos to 'explain' his push for self-determination. No official comments were made afterward. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose government has indicated it will go to the constitutional court to fight any attempt to hold a referendum, has said that independence for Catalonia “makes no sense.”

While talk of independence dates back at least as far as the 1600s, the idea of secession has gained popularity recently as the Spanish economy has faltered. Until 2011, polls routinely showed from around 20 to 30 percent of the local population in favor of independence, with about 40 to 50 percent opposed. Since then those numbers have been reversing.

All of these developments seem to assure only one thing: the heated debate over what future “is best” for Catalonia will surely continue.

Spain joins the world in celebrating the inauguration of President Obama

The photo on the right can be found on the El Pais web site with the words: "El sueño americano accede al poder," or "The American dream comes to power." And today I have found Spaniards to be optimistic about President Barack Obama and expressing good will towards the USA.

An American friend and I took time off from work this afternoon to come to my apartment for a "multi-media" observance of the inaugural event. We watched Spanish television, saw an American web-cast on my computer and listened to NPR's live radio broadcast. We cheered, laughed, teared up, clapped and felt hopeful for our country and the world.

At the same time, in Madrid Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero reportedly watched the inauguration and listened to the new American President's speech in his home -- Moncloa Palace. The media reported that he claimed to believe that the ascension to office of President Obama "opens an opportunity" that the Spanish Government will not "waste." The PM, who did not exactly have a good relationship with former President G. W. Bush, was quoted as saying that Spain and the United States are "on a good road for a smooth and and fruitful relationship."

Zapatero described the American President's inaugural speech to reporters as something "very positive, that corresponds to the project that he advocated during...his campaign. A speech...that keeps alive the hope to achieve a more just international order, and for peace and dialogue to find a place in the conflicts that exist in the world today, and that the distribution of wealth is fairer."

Obama and Zapatero spoke on November 7, when the then President-elect returned the PM's congratulatory telephone call. On November 17th the then Vice President-Elect Joe Biden telephoned Zapatero to inform him of Obama's intention to tour Europe, and stop in Spain, sometime in early 2009. Zapatero and Obama will also have a chance to meet at the international economic summit to be held in London next April, and then again a few days later at the NATO summit in Strasbourg that will mark the 60th anniversary of that North American-European organization.

Meanwhile, I joyously join Spaniards and people around the world in saying "¡Bienvenido y buena suerte Presidente Obama!"

Carloz

P.S. Almost immediately after Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the USA, the White House web site reflected that change had come. Visit the site's home page here -- and the site has a blog! That's right, A BLOG!!

Artist to create massive Obama portrait near Barcelona beach

Sorry I have not written in a while. I was very busy with the beginning of the new school year and then I got addicted to reading, commenting on, seeding and writing articles on Newsvine. Have you heard of it? It's a site for discussions about news stories. Part of my addiction has had to do with the hottest topic on Newsvine: the US Presidential race. So, I think I will be able to taper off after November 4th.

Meanwhile, here is an excerpt from a story from CNN that I found on Newsvine:

Artist to create massive Obama portrait near Barcelona beach

"[An] artist plans to create a gigantic face of Obama sculpted from gravel and sand, which will cover nearly 2.5 acres (1 hectare) of Barcelona beachfront before the U.S. elections.

" 'The size of the piece is intrinsic to its value," the artist, Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, said Saturday.

"He hopes it will be big enough to be seen on Google Earth.

" 'Obama's personality -- his youth, personal history and message of a new politics -- has fused with the historical moment to create someone larger than life,' says the artist's dossier about the work, titled "Expectation.'

"The huge size also alludes 'to the global impact of this election,' the dossier adds.

"Rodriguez-Gerada, 42, is a Cuban-born American who grew up in North Plainfield, New Jersey, near New York, and now lives in Barcelona."

The project is known as EXPECTATION and the artist is seeking donations from the public to fund it.

I'll let you all know if I come across Senator Obama on the beach!

Chao amig@s,

Carloz

P.S. I use another "nom de plume" on Newsvine, not Carloz. If you happen to look at Newsvine and see some of the "authors," can you guess which one I am?

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

If you haven't been yet, go! If you have, then you know why I say this.
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The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao provided me with one of the best museum experiences I have ever had -- and art museums are not my favorite types of museums. I usually prefer history museums. However, this art museum is fascinating on so many different levels, that I think it would appeal to almost everyone. Words like light, joy, curiosity, wonder, fun, dynamic, fresh, imagination, inspiration, relaxation, meditation and activity come to mind when remembering the full day I spent there. Indeed, I arrived just after the 10am opening and stayed until it closed at 8pm.
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Of course, the museum building and the site itself are a true wonder of a work of art. It is well worth taking the time to use the audio guide provided for a tour of the grounds and interior of the "titanium icon," which both echos and compliments the Guggenheim Museum building in New York City. Nestled between Bilbao's Nervión River and its Moyúa neighborhood, the limestone, glass and titanium structure billows out like a series of giant sails caught in the wind.
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On the riverside is a curving walkway that winds around fountains and works of art, such as Louise Bourgeois' Maman (French for "Mama"), a giant spider cast from of bronze, stainless steel and marble. Just past Maman, the building stretches beneath the modern Puente de la Salve bridge that spans the river. Then the museum shoots up a limestone tower-like facade on the opposite side of the bridge. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Bilbao Guggenheim, a Red Arch designed by Daniel Buren was added to the bridge in 2007. It is well worth the walk up the stairs set into the tower to see the views of the museum, the bridge, the river and the city.

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On the side of the building facing Iparraguire Street, visitors are welcomed to the museum's entry plaza by another artistic beast: Jeff Koons' 40 meter tall Puppy, a giant flower sculpture constructed of a steel frame covered by 6500 kilos of earth and 40,000 plants. (On a stroll around the museum area a few nights later, I saw a frisky little cat playing with some of the flowers at Puppy's base.)
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Inside the building there is a bright reception area with friendly people prepared to greet visitors in English, Spanish or Basque -- and probably a few other languages, as well. After paying the 10.50 euro entrance fee, a hand-held audio guide device is provided, with a choice of several languages.
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The next room is the atrium, which is warm and welcoming, despite it's size. Measuring 650 square meters, it rises 50 meters to the skylight above, and has a glass curtain looking out towards the river on one side. On the other sides it is encased in limestone and includes a couple of glass elevators and an open air stairwell. (For those who don't like heights, there are also an enclosed stairwell and an enclosed elevator.)
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On the day I visited, we were greeted by Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa's large cream colored fabric panel dangling down from the floor above, with the following question painted on it in red and black letters: "¿Habeis cedido a vuestro deseo?" ("Have you all given into your desires?)
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Just outside the atrium is a large terrace, covered by a limestone canopy supported by a central column. The terrace looks over a shallow pond installed next to the river. The terrace holds Jeff Koons' Tulips, while the pond sports two water-art-works: Fire Fountain by Yves Klein and Fog Sculpture # 08025 by Fujiko Nakaya.
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Back inside the building, the exhibition spaces extend out and up from the atrium. There were two exhibitions when I was there:

• Art in the USA: 300 Years of Innovation, which surveyed the history of the country's visual arts through approximately 200 works of art filling the galleries on the first and second floors floors of the building, and


• Chacun à son goût (Each to their own taste), a selection of works by 12 artists who were Basque by either origin or residency. These were displayed in the exhibition spaces on the third floor.

I enjoyed both exhibitions -- almost as much as the building itself! Art in the USA will run until April 27, 2008; Chacun à son goût until February 3, 2008.
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Chao amig@s,
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P.S. The Guggenheim Bilbao web site offers a great virtual tour.

Interesting difference in Spain and US newspaper coverage of the same story

There has been a story in the news recently that today I saw mentioned for the first time in an American newspaper. The article, in the International Herald Tribune (IHT), revealed something I have not seen mentioned in Spanish coverage of the same story. Before I say what that was, let me give you a little background.
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Manel Blat Gonzalez has been fighting to have his name removed from the rolls of the Spanish Roman Catholic Church. It started a few years ago when the archbishop of Valencia refused Mr. Gonzalez' request to add a note to his baptismal record stating that he no longer considered himself Roman Catholic. Next Mr. Gonzalez asked the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (the Spanish Data Protection Agency) to intervene. The archbishop twice refused the Agency's order that he comply with the request and the Church eventually appealed to the courts. The case ended up in Spain's Audiencia Nacional (National Court), which this week ruled in favor of Mr. Gonzalez and the Agency. The archbishop is considering appealing to Spain's highest court, the Tribunal Supremo.
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So, what was different about the IHT report? Well, it mentioned that Mr. Gonzalez was gay. That was news to me because his sexual orientation had not been referred to in any of the Spanish articles I had read, including the most recent one in El Pais.

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Of course, I don't read all of the Spanish papers and I haven't read every Spanish news story about this, so I imagine it probably has been mentioned somewhere. However, I just did a quick Internet search of various Spanish media outlets and did not see his sexual orientation talked about anywhere. This leads me to believe that perhaps the Spanish media doesn't find it a very relevant fact.
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While I can see why it would be considered newsworthy by the IHT, what with the Roman Catholic Church's position on homosexuality and the Spanish Church's opposition to gays being allowed to marry in Spain, it is still an interesting difference, don't you think?
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If you're interested in reading the El Pais article, click here for the on-line version. For the IHT article, click here.
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Chao amig@s,
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Carloz

Globalization: The BBC pays Spanish speakers to speak Spanish in America

The British Broadcasting Corporations' BBC Mundo (the Spanish version of BBC World) has sent two bi-lingual Spanish-English speakers traveling across the USA speaking only Spanish. Reporter Jose Baig and video producer Carlos Ceresole are going from Florida to California over the next week days in a rented truck on a project called "¿Hablas español?" Their goal is, "to cross the country without uttering a word of English."
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Baig claims that, "there are a lot more Spanish speakers in the US than one tends to think. It's just a matter of asking: 'Do you speak Spanish?' "
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There are certainly a lot of Spanish speakers in the US, but it's still a relatively small minority of the entire population. Therefore, I think these guys will be severely tempted to fall back on their English at times, despite their having chosen a route along the frontier with Latin America, where the heaviest concentration of Spanish speaking immigrants and their descendants live.
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I wonder if they know they're following a route similar to Cabeza de Vaca's; although, he only made it from Florida to Arizona - and it took him eight years, instead of eight days! Regardless, Baig's and Ceresole's latter day version should be interesting, if rather rushed.
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Readers of Spanish can follow their progress via Baig's blog. If you are a Spanish speaker living in one of the places on their itinerary, they would like to hear from you and, who knows, maybe even do an interview. And they are interested in hearing from anyone who speaks Spanish, not just native-speakers. The cities and towns are:
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St. Augustine, FL (sorry, they were there yesterday);
Tallahassee, Fl;
Mobile, AL;
New Orleans, LA;
Houston, TX;
San Antonio, TX;
Pecos, TX;
El Paso, TX;
Nogales, AZ;
Yuma, AZ;
Los Angeles, CA.
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(There are four stops in Texas, yet they are totally ignoring New Mexico and completely bypassed Miami!)
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If you live in one of these locations (or know someone who does) and are interested in talking with the pair, go to this link, look for your location and click on the appropriate spot to send a message. The link also lists the date they will be in each place and a little about why they chose it.
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I've but my two cents in, here as well as by submitting a comment to their blog. Why don't you do something similar, here, there or on both?
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Chao amig@s,
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Carloz,
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P.S.
It's interesting that they use the familiar "tu" form in the project title. I wonder if they'll find that US Spanish speakers are more likely to use the formal "usted" form with strangers.
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P.P.S.
I wrote them that I wanted to do a similar trip across Spain, only speaking English. Do you think the BBC would take me up on a "Do you speak English" tour of España? If not, do any of you have any contacts at PBS or NPR? ;-)