Hands up, don't shoot: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Protesters with signs in Ferguson.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"Hands up!" sign at a protest in Ferguson]] |
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"'''Hands up, don't shoot'''", or simply "'''hands up'''", is a saying and gesture originating from the August 2014 [[shooting of Michael Brown]] in [[Ferguson, Missouri]]. The gesture was seen in [[2014 Ferguson unrest|demonstrations in Ferguson after the shooting incident]], and throughout the United States following the Ferguson grand jury’s decision not to indict the police officer involved in the shooting. <ref name=Alter>{{cite journal|last1=Alter|first1=Charlotte|title=St. Louis Cops Condemn Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Gesture|journal=Time|date=December 1, 2014|url=http://time.com/3611556/st-louis-cops-rams-hands-up-dont-shoot-nfl-ferguson/|accessdate=December 2, 2014}}</ref> |
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==Usage== |
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===Members of the St. Louis Rams football team=== |
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[[File:St. Louis Rams - Hands Up (Nov 30, 2014).jpg|thumb|St. Louis Rams players making the gesture as they enter the field]] |
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On November 30, 2014, several players on the [[St. Louis Rams]] ([[Tavon Austin]], [[Stedman Bailey]], [[Kenny Britt]], [[Jared Cook]] and [[Chris Givens]])<ref name=Woody>{{cite journal|title=NFL Won’t Discipline Rams Players for ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Gesture|journal=Time|date=December 1, 2014|url=http://time.com/3613211/rams-ferguson-nfl-gesture-fine/|accessdate=December 2, 2014|first1=Christopher|last1=Woody|first2=Molly|last2=Geary}}</ref> entered the field during a [[National Football League]] (NFL) game making the gesture. |
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The St. Louis Police Officers Association said the act was "way out-of-bounds" and the organization "is profoundly disappointed with the members of the St. Louis Rams football team who chose to ignore the mountains of evidence released from the St. Louis County Grand Jury this week and engage in a display that police officers around the nation found tasteless, offensive, and inflammatory."<ref name=Alter/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://time.com/3611556/st-louis-cops-rams-hands-up-dont-shoot-nfl-ferguson/| title=St. Louis Cops Condemn Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Gesture | publisher=TIME | accessdate=4 December 2014 }}</ref><ref name=Bump>{{cite news|last1=Bump|first1=Philip|title=Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) brings ‘Hands up, don’t shoot’ to House floor|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/12/01/rep-hakeem-jeffries-d-n-y-brings-hands-up-dont-shoot-to-house-floor/|accessdate=December 2, 2014|work=The Washington Post|date=December 1, 2014}}</ref> |
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Rams Coach [[Jeff Fisher]] and a team spokesman said that they were unaware of the players’ plans before the game and the players "were exercising their right to free speech."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11963218/the-five-st-louis-rams-players-saluted-slain-teenager-michael-brown-sunday-game-not-fined | title=No fines for Rams players' salute | publisher=ESPN | accessdate=4 December 2014 }}</ref> Against the St. Louis Police Officers Association's request, the NFL did not punish the players, because the gesture was political and unlike other major professional sports leagues NFL does not punish players for political gestures.<ref name=Woody/> The NFL's vice president of communications said, "We respect and understand the concerns of all individuals who have expressed views on this tragic situation."<ref name=Woody/> |
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Jared Cook, a Rams player, has since received threats after the gesture.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/04/us/rams-threats-ferguson/| title=Rams player says he received threats after 'Hands up, don't shoot' protest | publisher=CNN | accessdate=4 December 2014 }}</ref> |
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===Capitol Hill=== |
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[[File:Cspan hands up don't shoot.jpg|thumb|Reps. [[Hakeem Jeffries|Jeffries]] (D-NY), [[Sheila Jackson Lee|Lee]] (D-Tex.), [[Al Green (politician)|Green]] (D-Tex.) and [[Yvette Clarke|Clarke]] (D-NY) making the gesture]] |
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On December 1, 2014, several lawmakers in the [[United States House of Representatives]] made the gesture to protest the shooting and [[police brutality]]. Rep. [[Hakeem Jeffries]] (D-[[New York]]) said on the floor: {{Quote|Hands up, don’t shoot. It’s a rallying cry of people all across America who are fed up with police violence. In community, after community, after community, fed up with police violence in Ferguson, in Brooklyn, in Cleveland, in Oakland, in cities and counties and rural communities all across America.<ref name=McCalmont>{{cite web|last1=McCalmont|first1=Lucy|title=Lawmakers make 'hands up' gesture on House floor|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/lawmakers-ferguson-hands-up-113254.html|publisher=Politico|accessdate=December 2, 2014|date=December 2, 2014}}</ref>}} |
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Other members of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]] joining Jeffries were Reps. [[Yvette Clarke]] (D-New York), [[Al Green (politician)|Al Green]] (D-[[Texas]]) and [[Sheila Jackson Lee]] (D-Texas), who praised the football players who made the gesture the night before.<ref name=McCalmont/> |
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On December 11 more than 150 black congressional staffers staged a walkout and silent protest in a display of unity with demonstrations against the [[Death of Eric Garner|Eric Garner]] and Brown grand jury decisions. [[Chaplain of the United States Senate|Senate Chaplain]] Dr. [[Barry Black]] led the crowd in prayer. They were gathered there, Black said, to be a "voice for the voiceless". After prayer, the crowd of staff and lawmakers posed while making the gesture.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/black-congressional-workers-stage-moving-protest.html | title=Black Congressional Staffers Stage Powerful ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest | website=New York Magazine | accessdate=12 December 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/10/black-congressional-staffers-plan-ferguson-garner-walkout.html | title=Capitol Hill's Black Staffers Walk Out to Say ‘Hands Up, Don't Shoot!’ | website=The Daily Beast | accessdate=12 December 2014 }}</ref> |
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===''CNN Newsroom''=== |
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On December 13, after a story about the ongoing protest, three members of the ''[[CNN Newsroom]]'' panel held up their hands while a fourth held up a sheet of paper reading "I can't breathe", a reference to the [[death of Eric Garner]]. "Our hearts are with [the protesters]" was stated, but "hands up, don't shoot" was not said during the broadcast. The gesture attracted criticism because it appeared on a non-opinion-based program.<ref name=cnnunderfire>{{cite web|last1=Connor|first1=Jackson|title=CNN Hosts Under Fire For Putting 'Hands Up' On Air, Critics Claim Bias|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/15/cnn-hands-up-host-under-fire-critics-claim-bias_n_6327546.html|publisher=The Huffington Post|accessdate=17 December 2014|ref=cnnunderfire}}</ref> |
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=="Hands up" as a metaphor and a movement== |
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Witness accounts differ whether Michael Brown actually had his hands up or uttered the words "don't shoot." Among some who support the gesture as means of expressing opposition to police violence, "hands up, don't shoot" has a symbolic meaning, independent of whether Brown's hands were raised. As one protester remarked, "Even if you don't find that it's true, it's a valid rallying cry... it's just a metaphor."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/27/hands-up-dont-shoot-becomes-rallying-cry-despite-questions-whether-hands-were/ | title=For some, location of Brown's hands irrelevant | publisher=AP | accessdate=4 December 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://sports.vice.com/article/hands-up-dont-shoot-is-bigger-than-ferguson-and-bigger-than-the-rams | title='Hands Up, Don't Shoot' Is Bigger than Ferguson and Bigger than the Rams | publisher=VICE Sports | accessdate=4 December 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/10/no-indictment-ferguson-no-justice-michael-brown | title=Beyond 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot': what if there's no indictment in Ferguson? | publisher=The Guardian | accessdate=4 December 2014 }}</ref> |
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Speaking to the [[Daily Mail]], Elizabeth Brondolo, a psychology professor at [[St. John's University]] in New York, said "The truth always really matters, but it's important to recognize that past experience to stereotypes also influences the perception of hands being raised."<ref name=basedlie>{{cite news|last1=Evans|first1=Sophie Jane|title=Did Michael Brown ever really say, 'Hands up, don't shoot'? Ferguson protesters' rallying cry may be based on a lie|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2854388/Did-Michael-Brown-really-say-Hands-don-t-shoot-Ferguson-protesters-rallying-cry-based-lie.html|accessdate=17 December 2014|work=Daily Mail|date=November 29, 2014|ref=basedlie}}</ref> |
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=="Pants up, don't loot"== |
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The saying "pants up, don't loot" emerged in response to the gesture.<ref name=Lovelace>{{cite journal|last1=Lovelace|first1=Ryan|title='Pants Up, Don’t Loot'|journal=National Review|date=August 18, 2014|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/385681/pants-dont-loot-ryan-lovelace|accessdate=December 3, 2014}}</ref> |
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"Pants up" is an allusion to [[Sagging (fashion)|sagging]]. Supporters of Darren Wilson, the officer involved in the shooting, raised more than $3,000 on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo to purchase a billboard ad in the Ferguson area displaying "pants up, don't loot" in black text on a white background, along with "#PantsUPDontLoot".<ref name=Koplowitz>{{cite news|last1=Koplowitz|first1=Howard|title='Pants Up, Don't Loot' Billboard Planned By Darren Wilson Supporters As Ferguson Grand Jury Decision Nears|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/pants-dont-loot-billboard-planned-darren-wilson-supporters-ferguson-grand-jury-1725029|accessdate=December 3, 2014|work=International Business Times|date=November 17, 2014}}</ref> Despite reaching its goal, the campaign cancelled the project due to controversy. |
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==See also== |
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{{Portal|Sociology}} |
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* [[Hands Up United]] |
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* [[List of gestures]] |
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* [[List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, August 2014]] |
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{{Clear}} |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist|30em}} |
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{{2014 Ferguson unrest}} |
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[[Category:2014 introductions]] |
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[[Category:Gestures]] |
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[[Category:Phrases]] |
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[[Category:Race and crime in the United States]] |
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