The White Hand
The White Hand
State Magic and Signs of War
This chapter examines the subtle, hidden, and magical racial politics of state policing through a reading of Culture Shock's “Terrorism” vignette, the history of policing in Bahia, and cases of police killings. Secret-police raids and assassinations are spectacular performances of authority that embody the magical codes of secrecy of the state. It then considers the white hand seen in community-policing signs in Salvador. The white hand positioned overtop the black hand, palms facing one another, and the black hand with fingers spread and the white hand clasped, gives the viewer the distinct impression that the pharse “Community Police, the Protection in Your Neighborhood” entails the repression and control of black bodies by white bodies.
Keywords: state terror, Bahia, state policing, white hand, Culture Shock, community policing, black bodies, secret police raids
Illinois Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
