Memory and forgetting
Why we must remember Ian Tomlinson, and those that the powerful would rather us forget.
Screencap of Ian Tomlinson from footage obtained by Guardian.co.uk
Milan Kundera wrote that “the struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”
I thought of this and the role the media plays as our collective memory when I read about Ali Dizaei this week. A corrupt cop, this “criminal in uniform” was sentenced to four years for wrongfully arresting a man for personal reasons. After being brutalized and nearly framed, his victim complained to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. They acted, Dizaei was brought to court, and having been convicted he faces expulsion from the Metropolitan Police.
I thought of the struggle against forgetting because, for several minutes after reading this story, I felt a surge of patriotic pride: in Britain, our people are free and our officials accountable. I felt that here was demonstrable evidence that in this country, the corrupt are held to account.
Unfortunately, I then remembered Ian Tomlinson; he was murdered by the police on the same day as thousands of others were brutalized to a far greater extent than Dizaei’s victim. On April 1st last year, at the G20 protests, the police went to war with the people who dared to exercise their democratic rights.
The man who killed Ian Tomlinson is known. He committed his crime in the most photographed square mile the world. He was deliberately concealing his identity at the time that he struck his victim. And yet, ten months later he has still not been charged; he is simply suspended on full pay.
For the first week after his crime, the police ran a campaign of deliberate misinformation to prevent it being revealed; every statement they gave about the incident has been exposed as a lie. The IPCC bought their claims, and warned the media not to pursue the story. Finally they were forced to investigate by a home recorded video of Tomlinson being struck from behind and thrown to the floor.
Their investigation was concluded in early August, and the results handed to the Criminal Prosecution Service to determine whether to launch criminal proceedings. Absolutely nothing has happened since, and nobody is asking why.
The media play an essential role in forcing the powerful to face up to the facts they would rather forget. There is always a tension in liberal free market democracies; the press must of course be free of the state, but the alternative is to throw it upon the whim of the market. The consequence of this latter choice is a perpetual conflict of interest, between what it is good for the public to know, and what the public think it is worth paying to know. In pursuing the latest story to capture the markets fleeting interests, the long term abuses of power can slip through the gap. Those with things to hide are experts at burying bad news in this collective memory blank.
The case of Ian Tomlinson is a dramatic example of a criminal in uniform escaping justice, because there is no financial reward for making us remember a tired story. Al Dizaei was flagrant in his abuses; the police had no interest in protecting him, and so justice was swift. The story came ready packaged. But we must not let it lull us into thinking that public scrutiny exists independent of us, the consumers. It is only by using our collective weight that we resolve the tensions of the free press; only if we financially support the responsible press can we force the powerful to behave responsibly.
Topics: Crime, Media, Politics
So glad that you found a moment (of brief) to let patriotism in to your heart, James. But you are wary with good reason; it is so important that such vigilence as yours remains alive and heard.