The people who appear in these crowd shots are often suspected of occupying a privileged tier of society. They may be affluent and white, or at least young and healthy — the kinds of people least likely to be seriously harmed by the virus, or by police. The pier photos circulated just as video emerged of a New York police officer beating and arresting a black man while enforcing social distancing. Of the 40 people the New York Police Department has arrested for social-distancing violations in Brooklyn, only one has been white; during a pandemic, black New Yorkers have several reasons to feel unsafe outside. Social-media shaming is often analogized to “violence” or “policing,” but it looks nothing like actual violent policing.

Source: New York Times May 11, 2020 14:00 UTC