A police department in North Miami Beach made headlines last week when it was discovered they were using mugshots of black men for target practice. Now, some unlikely meme-creators are trying to break the internet with a Twitter protest campaign.
The #UseMeInstead campaign was started on a Facebook group for Lutheran clergy. The idea is for priests and other unlikely targets of police brutality to volunteer their own photos to be used for target practice instead of young black men. Initially, the Chief of Police claimed that the practice was necessary for important facial recognition drills. Critics claim that the only thing being practiced in these drills is a reinforcement to keep a single demographic in cops cross-hairs.
According to Dazed:
“It’s such a desensitization thing, that if you start aiming at young black men, and told to put a bullet in them, you become desensitized,” Reverend Joy M Gonnerman told the Washington Post. “Maybe, to change the picture, it’s you know what, dare ya, shoot a clergy person.”
Gonnerman said she intended to email all the #UseMeInstead pictures to the North Miami Beach police department to send a message about what’s acceptable. “Essentially, we’re saying: We’re watching, we’re paying attention to this.”
The use of mugshots for target practice has reportedly been stopped in Miami, but the targeting of young black men in the field will undoubtedly continue.
Dear @myNMBPolice if you insist on using photos for target practice, don’t use young black men #UseMeInstead pic.twitter.com/haCqMJKvdO
— Ruben Austria (@rubenaustria) January 25, 2015
(Photo: Your Old Pal)
