Saturday, June 4, 2011

Re-packaging oppression: What do you think?

2008 Dodge Charger police cruiserImage via Wikipedia
The Portland Police Bureau just unveiled the redesign of its squad cars, with a nod to Portland's love for social media, featuring its Twitter handle where it would have conventionally had something like "Call 911." (This probably does not, however, mean that the dispatchers will respond to DMs.)

Sometimes rebranding and repackaging are done to present a "new image" after a series of scandals or publicity nightmares.  The Portland Police has suffered from a series of PR problems for years, from the allegations of sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and string of murders of the mentally ill people and those without housing.

It is quite telling that the PPB decided to put the slogan, "sworn to protect, dedicated to serve" back on the cars.  What is not explicit is that the police is there to protect and serve the interests of those who help elect the mayor into office, not the interests of those whom the same special interest groups marginalize.  The sight of a police squad car slowly cruising through downtown streets and parks causes discomfort and fear among the homeless population, while the presence of this same car makes the upper-middle-class business executives walking through downtown to a power lunch meeting and tourists who are about to dump hundreds of dollars into Portland's economy "feel safe."


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