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Old 12-17-2014, 02:49 AM
 
Location: Honolulu/DMV Area/NYC
30,566 posts, read 18,069,396 times
Reputation: 34368

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So, following the unfortunate deaths of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, etc. at the hands of police officers (note, I believe that these deaths are "unfortunate" even if I also believe that they were legally justified), we saw the Left and so-called civil rights leadership go into their "[white] police officers are bad" and "[white] police officers are murdering blacks" rants, with some destroying property, intimidating the public, and assaulting police officers in the process (yes, I admit that most of the protesters have been "non-violent," but that distinction means little to the sick/elderly whose ambulance is delayed due to street "shutdowns").

We see such reactions from the Left and so-called civil rights activists--people who otherwise claim to be looking out for "everyone" and standing up against abuse by "anyone"--almost exclusively when a white police officer (or a "white Hispanic" neighborhood watchman) kills a black or Latino individual. We then, by way of protests that do little else than needlessly inflame racial tensions and that are based on ignorance, hear the line about how these things don't happen or wouldn't happen to "white young men" or that if a black cop had been the one to kill a white person in a similar manner, there would have been an indictment/conviction, etc. We see such jumps to unsubstantiated conclusions from PhD holders to lawyers to people just getting out of the lockup.

I've conducted some research into the matter to see whether or not such allegations/charges hold true. Unsurprisingly, they fall flat nearly each and every time. Here are just a few examples that disprove the narrative pushed by the Sharpton types of this country (and that show a double standard of "outrage"):

1) Grand jury in majority white Mobile County, Alabama (you know, the "racist" South) declines to indict black cop for killing unarmed white teen (White teen Gilbert Collar killed by black cop Trevis Austin in Alabama mirrors Ferguson - Washington Times

2) Jury in overwhelmingly white Greece, NY acquits black police officer for killing unarmed white teen who cop claims was running towards him despite being told to "freeze" with the officer's weapon pointed at the teen (sound familiar?) (http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/201...obody-cares/);

3) Grand jury refuses to indict police officer who killed unarmed white man with down syndrome for failing to leave movie he hadn't paid for (this is actually eerily similar to the Garner case as the man died of asphyxiation due to police officer being on his back) (http://thesource.com/2014/12/08/md-g...leave-movie/);

4) Utah grand jury declines to indict black police officer who killed unarmed white man (Salt Lake cop cleared in shooting of unarmed white man | WREG.com).

The list goes on and on (you get the point, though).

These stories haven't made national news as a general matter, led to mass protests and the destruction of property, or otherwise attracted the likes of Sharpton to denounce "police brutality" (when you look at example 3, this is even more surprising as the man with down syndrome arguably posed even less of a threat to the police than Garner did). When looking at the descriptions, its clear why: these aren't incidents that fit the narrative of blacks being killed by white police officers/whites in general (heck, as I alluded to above, the media went out of their way to portray Zimmerman as a "white Hispanic" when he killed Trayvon Martin--this despite no one ever using such language--in order to fit that narrative). When you have a contingent of the society that is content on race-baiting and inflaming tensions based on unsupported, biased allegations and double standards, we are in serious trouble. But this is why the Sharpton types and other so-called civil rights activists, black, white or green, never make any "progress"--society sees their actions for what they are, and then goes on with living their lives.

Interestingly enough, the Left and the Right have a lot of common ground in terms of wanting to rein in what some would call (not my language) an increasingly "militarized" police force. Such collaboration, however, will never take place so long as the Left continues to race-bait and push double standard narratives that are not supported by the facts.

Now, I know that I probably just opened the door for some to bring up the point that blacks/Latinos are still disproportionately killed by police officers in this country, and even disproportionately harassed by police officers in this country. This may very well be true. But, even here, its not so clear the extent that race has to do with anything. Indeed (and let's take this step by step), black and Latino communities tend to have significantly more violent crime than white/Asian/etc. communities in this country. As a result, we tend to see a higher police presence in these areas to combat that crime (despite calls for "policing equity," it doesn't quite make sense to place the same number of police officers in Georgetown as you would in Anacostia, or in the Upper East Side as you would in East New York; likewise, the approach to policing a high violent crime area will be different to policing a low violent crime area just taking into account officer safety and the threat to officer safety . . . these guys and gals want to make it home at the end of the day). Due to the higher police numbers within certain communities relative to the violent crime, you're necessarily (assuming that police officers are doing their jobs) going to have higher police interactions (whether for misdemeanors or felonies) than you'd have elsewhere, despite the fact that certain misdemeanor offenses may be taking place in higher numbers in low violent crime neighborhoods vs. high violent crime neighborhoods. And, along with greater police interaction, you're going have a greater number of allegations of police abuse, whether substantiated or not. But that's not racism; that's a pure policing numbers issue.

Let's be clear: I don't claim that racism doesn't exist (we are, after all, humans) or that there are not racist police officers. From my perspective, however (and I think its pretty telling that the number of cases highlighted by the likes of Sharpton and Jackson represent a tiny, tiny fraction of all of the potential and actual interactions between police officers and communities of color each year), the overwhelming majority of police officers are good, hardworking men and women who put their lives on the line daily to protect and serve our various communities. Before indicting an officer, a police department, or police officers in general, I'm, thus, going to require actual evidence of wrongdoing/racism, instead of skewed statistics without proper context and double-standard outrage and reporting.

Cheers.

Last edited by prospectheightsresident; 12-17-2014 at 03:01 AM..
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Old 12-17-2014, 04:02 AM
bUU
 
Location: Florida
12,077 posts, read 10,680,765 times
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What an excellently written excuse for the status quo within which right-wingers get to ignore the racism still institutionalized in society.
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Old 12-17-2014, 04:12 AM
 
20,948 posts, read 19,017,002 times
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Don't throw the truth at lefties......it's not how they operate.
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Old 12-17-2014, 04:17 AM
 
79,908 posts, read 44,075,058 times
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How does one read all of that and discuss something with someone that thinks choking someone to death over selling cigarettes is justified?
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Old 12-17-2014, 04:21 AM
 
20,948 posts, read 19,017,002 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pknopp View Post
How does one read all of that and discuss something with someone that thinks choking someone to death over selling cigarettes is justified?
He wasn't "choked to death".

Facts are elusive to lefties, aren't they? Therein lies the problem.
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Old 12-17-2014, 04:44 AM
 
79,908 posts, read 44,075,058 times
Reputation: 17204
Quote:
Originally Posted by alphamale View Post
He wasn't "choked to death".

Facts are elusive to lefties, aren't they? Therein lies the problem.
Just label someone into a corner. Is it my pro-life stance that makes me a lefty? My desire to see a balanced budget? Being against ignoring the millions who came here illegally?

So tell me. (As has been pointed out over and over the coroner said he died from a compressed throat.

Where people mess up is this is not a black or white issue. Its an issue with an out of control government and justice system.

The story above about the guy killed in the movie theater was discussed in many places with few if any believing justice was served. Maybe the protests should have started earlier but just because they weren't isn't a reason to never start them. They are way past due.

Those with the proper connections or in the right place can get away with nearly anything. How many Wall Street types went to jail for their crimes? Not a one, but we are going to go across town and arrest a guy for selling loose cigarettes?

Are you really not able to see something wrong there?
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Old 12-17-2014, 04:58 AM
 
20,948 posts, read 19,017,002 times
Reputation: 10270
Quote:
Originally Posted by pknopp View Post
Just label someone into a corner. Is it my pro-life stance that makes me a lefty? My desire to see a balanced budget? Being against ignoring the millions who came here illegally?

So tell me. (As has been pointed out over and over the coroner said he died from a compressed throat.

Where people mess up is this is not a black or white issue. Its an issue with an out of control government and justice system.

The story above about the guy killed in the movie theater was discussed in many places with few if any believing justice was served. Maybe the protests should have started earlier but just because they weren't isn't a reason to never start them. They are way past due.

Those with the proper connections or in the right place can get away with nearly anything. How many Wall Street types went to jail for their crimes? Not a one, but we are going to go across town and arrest a guy for selling loose cigarettes?

Are you really not able to see something wrong there?
Sure I am.....when approached by police while performing illegal activity, simply comply.

Easy Peasy!
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Old 12-17-2014, 05:27 AM
 
79,908 posts, read 44,075,058 times
Reputation: 17204
Quote:
Originally Posted by alphamale View Post
Sure I am.....when approached by police while performing illegal activity, simply comply.

Easy Peasy!
Not that you addressed much of anything I said but I've had to cover this over and over also and in every case the person retreated on this position.

So Rosa Parks should have simply complied and found her seat at the back of the bus?

Those filming police officers on the street when told to stop filming should have just stopped filming even though court after court has ruled they are permitted to film an officer while doing his job in public?
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Old 12-17-2014, 05:57 AM
 
Location: Honolulu/DMV Area/NYC
30,566 posts, read 18,069,396 times
Reputation: 34368
Quote:
Originally Posted by alphamale View Post
Sure I am.....when approached by police while performing illegal activity, simply comply.

Easy Peasy!
You're making too much sense, which is something that we can't expect from all on these issues. When the other poster mentioned that the officer wasn't justified being "choked to death" (firstly, Garner wasn't choked to death) over loose cigs, s/he shows that s/he doesn't have a grasp on the legal issues at hand. What Garner was doing to get police attention isn't relevant to the law in the way the other poster tries to make it seem. Rather, what matters is that the police were justified in trying to make an arrest at all. From there, we get into whether excessive force was applied, which, as a matter of law, a grand jury decided was not.

But, as I mentioned in my OP, the outrage we see over this and other cases is often suspect and racial, with people often showing they care less about allegations of police abuse and use of force for all, and only that a white officer acts and a black or Hispanic person dies as a result. Those people lack such integrity that it often isn't worth debating these issues with them except for the benefit of providing the truth to others.
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Old 12-17-2014, 06:00 AM
 
Location: Honolulu/DMV Area/NYC
30,566 posts, read 18,069,396 times
Reputation: 34368
Quote:
Originally Posted by bUU View Post
What an excellently written excuse for the status quo within which right-wingers get to ignore the racism still institutionalized in society.
What a simply written, yet typical, response that ignores reality and facts and instead makes unsubstantiated allegations of racism that the evidence shows are false or that there's often a much more complicated picture for.
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