The Sean Bell Murder Defense Team Uses Similar Tactics as Workplace Employers

When Sean Bell was murdered by NYPD undercover officers, I quickly wrote a post about how the smear tactics used against him, starting the day after his murder, were quite similar to tactics used by employers, when they face charges of racism against Black workers.

When I opened the newspaper this morning, I was again reminded of that connection. Here’s how the defense team characterized Sean Bell during the opening day of the trial:

-- Sean Bell wasn’t described as “inebriated” or as having had “one too many” or as having been “drunk” or as being “two sheets to the wind” or as having gotten “sh*t-faced.” No. Those expressions weren’t good enough for the defense. So, they called this dead Black man “pissy drunk.”

-- The defense wondered what kind of man held a bachelor party at a place where patrons, “watch women shake their booty and fulfill a sense of twisted sexual prowess.”

Boy! Talk about using racism and racial stereotyping to cloud the real issues that are being examined. Listening to this defense, you could mistakenly surmise that:

1) White men don’t get “pissy drunk;”
2) White men don’t drink at bachelor parties;
3) White men don’t get “pissy drunk” at bachelor parties;
4) White men don’t go to strip clubs;
5) White men don’t have bachelor parties at strip clubs;
6) White men don’t get strippers to perform for them at bachelor parties outside of strip clubs (e.g., in hotel rooms, etc.); and
7) White men, in general, don’t like to observe women in sexual situations AND they don’t like to see their “booty” or breasts, etc. (e.g., watching strippers, watching porn, etc.)

A man is being attacked for having a bachelor party that features strippers and drinks (and the prosecution says he had ONE DRINK)?! Are you kidding me?

Likewise, in the workplace, routine and normally accepted behavior is often twisted and used in a sick campaign to discredit a worker or to justify discrimination, harassment and/or retaliation against them.

That’s why this defense reminds me of workplace racism. The defense boils down to an overwhelming reliance on racial stereotyping, twisting reality, and character assassination!

I’ve said it before, when employers have a race-based issue happen with a Black worker, many times they become ultrasensitive, they stereotype the Black employee to defend themselves and justify their actions, they over-rely on character assassination, they will paint the Black employee as having brought any actions and consequences on themselves (blaming the victim), they will say there were communication problems with unintended results, they will defend the offending employee and will declare them unaccountable for any actions that resulted as a consequence of their behavior (even if it was illegal or unethical), and they will often refuse to display even the slightest bit of remorse for any loss (reputation, promotion, salary, the job itself, etc.) suffered by the Black worker.

There is no gutter many employers aren’t willing to roll in and no reality that many employers will not twist to suit their needs.

In my case, and in the case of a coworker, I was attacked for playing a radio in my office. This was done after I complained and participated in an external investigation of my employer. There wasn’t a single policy against radio playing. In fact, even executives and VPs often listed to the radio or played CDs in their offices. But, I was called out for this, as if I committed a great act of unprofessionalism or did something unethical or illegal. I wasn’t even accused of playing the radio loudly, of singing along loudly or doing anything inappropriate. The argument was that I played a radio, as if that somehow opened me up to corporate attack in some legitimate fashion.

In another attack, my employer went after me for shutting my office door. This is also normally accepted social behavior at my workplace—and was never an issue before I complained of mistreatment. However, my employer said that it showed that I was “closed off,” wasn’t manager material, “was unavailable,” and that closing my door somehow justified me being denied a promised promotion. I was told by an executive, “If you crack your door, that’s the final piece in you getting a promotion.”

A few problems for my employer, included; a previous supervisor told me that I could shut my office door, I worked with confidential salary information and always had staff trying to stare at salaries on my computer screen, I was being subjected to a hostile and offensive work environment (including being told that I was being “watched” by members of management), and White staff routinely shut their doors.

When White staff shut their doors, they were just busy or assumed to be on a conference call or tight deadline. But, I was supposed to be up to no good, even though there was never a written or unofficial policy stating that office doors had to remain open. Despite that, my employer stated they had an “open door policy,” even though everyone knows that means that staff must have access to management and not that all doors must remain open!

This is how low some employers will go to twist reality and to alter perceptions. This is how far some people will go to discredit a good employee and to protect an employee, who’s exposed the company to financial and legal jeopardy. I was attacked because of a radio and a door! I wasn’t accused of lying about my allegations. I was accused of misunderstanding the racists! I just somehow suddenly came under attack and somehow brought it on myself, even though there was no evidence of real behavior or work-related problems on my part.

When it comes to racism, this trial (like so many others) shows that racists and those that defend them seem to work from the same blueprint. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about the workplace or the criminal justice system. All you have to do is:

-- Blame the victim
-- Engage in character assassination
-- Don’t accept any responsibility for your actions
-- Rely on stereotypes
-- Pander to racist impulses
-- Twist events to suit your whims
-- Warp “perceptions” into reality
-- Claim misunderstandings and miscommunication
--Turn normally accepted behavior into character defaults

Nice plan of defense, huh?

This is why many Black workers remain silent, rather than fight back against workplace racism. The attacks are often so overwhelming and so baseless that it makes fighting back seem like a useless endeavor.

But, some battles are worth waging, regardless of the outcome. Sometimes you have to throw down the gauntlet and say "enough is enough."

African Americans have a proud history of triumphing over adversities. We will not succumb to anyone's blueprint!!