The Kaepernick Syndrome and the Manhunt Tradition

This book, The Kaepernick Syndrome and The Manhunt Tradition: Police Shootings as Race-Based Standards and Practices for Control of Black Communities, is geared toward providing historical, social and ideological information regarding police-community relations as they relate to the spate of police shootings of unarmed black men, a point that has been brought to the fore by former NFL quarterback turned activist Colin Kaepernick. The book, with emphasis on "The manhunt tradition," as coined by the late great Dr. Oliver C. Cox in his incredible work, Caste, Class and Race: A Study in Social Dynamics, describes the background of the "policing" of black communities with emphasis on the hunting down of African-American males. This information is being offered so that those who do not study will understand the gravity and importance of young Kaepernick's "movement" and how long these kinds of policing actions have been occurring. The book offers insights and information in several ways. There is a chapter that defines the "manhunt tradition" followed up by a section that applies the tradition to traditional police tactics. There is a section that describes such a tradition, as conducted by everyday townfolk as described in a short story by Thomas Wolfe called, "The Child By Tiger." Another short story, "The Most Dangerous Game, places emphasis on the "manhunt tradition" and the idea of using human beings as targets "for fun." Then we turn back to reality with the story of young Omar Thornton, a black man who grew tired of harassment and ridicule at work and, in 2010, picked up a gun, said goodbye to his loved ones, and began gunning down the racist white people who, for years, had made his life a living hell. Following his taking of his own life after being surrounded, the response to white folks in the town is worthy of notice because they are akin to what is heard today in 2018 when the police explanations are immediately backed up by their captains, then by a grand jury, and then "excused" as the community moves on as if nothing ever happened. In the final chapter, the manhunt tradition is summarized and kudos are paid to Colin Kaepernick for taking a stand against what appears to be a "blue epidemic" when it comes to these "oops I did it again" type police shootings of Black men.