Serial: S03 Episode 07: The Snowball Effect

October 26, 2018 6:29 PM

"If you listen closely to the trash-talking, you start to get the message." Follow up on the cases of Jesse Nickerson, who feels he's continually harassed by police after winning a lawsuit against them, and Erimius Spencer, beaten by a cop subsequently fired for excessive force.

Even more follow up, an arbitrator has just this week ruled that officer Amiott, who beat up Erimius Spencer and went viral beating up another black man, must get his job back.

posted by dnash (7 comments total)

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this episode. Choosing to profile someone who's not an angel is a bold move. Especially when you're talking about a young Black man to an NPR audience. But, the guy is so obviously an idiot, it feels a bit exploitative. (To be clear, idiots deserve the same rights and liberties as the rest of us.) There's a lot more, "both sides," language in this than the last few shows, especially given the cops' shocking behavior. They seem to have strayed pretty far into the victim-blaming weeds with this one.

None the less, the season has been the most engaging yet.
posted by eotvos at 2:32 PM on October 27, 2018

The scene with the old sergeant, followed by the conversation with Jesse Nickerson afterwards was incredible. Really, like few other things I’ve listened to in terms of narrative heft and complexity. It was an amazing piece of podcasting.
posted by Kattullus at 2:50 PM on October 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

They seem to have strayed pretty far into the victim-blaming weeds with this one.

I think I don't agree. For sure, some of his antics like forever changing his mind about taking a plea deal or not seem infuriatingly stupid from the distance of a podcast listener. But I felt like the lingering question behind it was "how exactly did he get that way, given his history with the police and the system?" The system has made it clear to him that it's totally stacked against him anyway, so from his perspective exactly why is he supposed to revere it and play by the rules?
posted by dnash at 3:41 PM on October 27, 2018 [4 favorites]

I don't think Nickerson is an idiot at all. He's frustrated and indecisive because there's no justice for him. He is helpless. Juxtaposing Nickerson's story against Spencer's is even more poignant. Even Spencer won't get justice. And not only won't he get it, he will have to smile and thank the people giving him the most meager crumbs of it.
posted by gladly at 6:40 PM on October 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

He behaved in this episode like roughly 20-25% of defendants in his position, ime. dnash has it - it's part of what makes criminal defense so difficult: the judges (and juries, if you get there) are generally so far away in perspective and life experience from the xps of the people that appear before them that they don't really speak the same language. Defense attorneys are both advocate and interpreter, which is a difficult position to occupy and from which to build a relationship/trust.
posted by likeatoaster at 6:36 AM on October 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

"how exactly did he get that way, given his history with the police and the system?" The system has made it clear to him that it's totally stacked against him anyway, so from his perspective exactly why is he supposed to revere it and play by the rules?

He's frustrated and indecisive because there's no justice for him.

I agree. I also think the excessive drug and alcohol use probably isn't helping his decision-making ability. This episode didn't entirely come across like victim-blaming to me but I do think the producers took advantage of someone they knew was impaired. Yeah, a bit exploitative since his participation in this series will likely benefit them a lot more than it does him.
posted by fuse theorem at 10:56 AM on October 28, 2018

I can't believe how tone-deaf the ZipRecruiter ads are and how much they come across as parodies. In every episode, we go from a harrowing depiction of racialized brutality to a bouncy advertisement for the most absurdly white and bougie businesses, each worse than the last. A service that comes and fastens your child into their carseat? A guy in a yellow tuxedo who bought a minor league baseball team? They all seem like they're out of The Onion.
posted by painquale at 12:48 AM on October 29, 2018 [6 favorites]