Days before Christmas in 2018,
Jermaine Massey was on a phone call with his mother. It being personal, he was
in a remote area and was thus not disturbing anyone—that except for Earl,
Doubletree’s security guard. Massey subsequently accused Earl of harassment. While
the video that Massey took of the guard during the altercation shows Earl to be
quite calm, the passive aggression was doubtless off the charts. The incident
points to a growing problem at the time as American businesses were increasing
their security presence, at the very least in terms of exposure, and last but
not least, with considerable discretion and thus power. The incident shows that
guards were well aware of how to mask personal power with the air of staid
professionalism. This only makes the
latent authoritarian mindset more dangerous to the public.
The full essay is at "Businesses as Police-States."
