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One thing that seems to be present here is the question of authority and it's utility in a free society. Some see the police as an occupying army, not unlike the Brit army presence in Northern Ireland, a deep hatred by the police/military for those they are sworn to protect, coupled with--a hate filled response by the citizens who are on the receiving end of all that organized hate. Yeah, hate is a strong word but we know it exists on both sides of the question. Disrespect breeds contempt, whether you are wearing a badge or a bad attitude. Personally, I fail to see the clashes between police and citizens as anything more than a sign of our societal ills that we are failing to address. Bad people make headlines--the good, not so much..
When my daughter was in college, she interned for a local radio station. That gave her the opportunity one time to interview several candidates for police chief of that smallish city. I got a chance to hear her recordings.
One candidate was a veteran of impressive experience with police in major cities and all around the world. He had taken a few walks around the city, particular on the poorer side (the city didn't really have ethnic neighborhoods per se, just a poorer side where a higher percentage of blacks and Latinos were likely to live among the poorer whites. But of course, it was also the area of higher crime.
This veteran police officer stated that in a town of that size, there was no reason why neighborhood police should not know the stable, long-term residents by name and face. They should know the grandmothers and grandfathers, the working people...the people who hoped for and counted on life in a safe neighborhood. The police officers should spend time chatting with those people ever day.
He said that such people desire a "homeostasis" of order in their neighborhoods, and they would work with police to preserve that homeostasis...as long as they believed the police were willing to work with them to preserve it. During a common chat, they would let that trusted police officer know "You know about those break-ins that have been happening? Well, there are some knuckleheads new on the street...they've been hanging out at that house down there."
But that couldn't be a cop that would at the same time examine them for any and every possible minor infraction and throw them into jail. It had to be a cop who would say before a no-knock arrest, "Hmm...I know the old woman who lives at this address. Let me knock first."
This video highlights some of the problem.
Being black v black, it's not "racist." But note the body language, incessant taunting, and aggressive posturing. Even the children are mimicking their parents.
Maybe. There is a difference between policing like Andy and policing like Barney. Andy policed to preserve the peace, Barney policed to "enforce the law."
I've told this story in these forums before:
Back in the 60s, I was a teenager with a learner's permit, as was was my cousin. My father was in the Army and overseas at the time, so my mother drove his car to work (she owned a barber shop) and left her car in the garage.
Using typical teenaged male logic, one fine Saturday my cousin and I calculated that two learner's permits equalled a drivers license, so we took my mother's car out for a neighborhood spin.
My cousin was driving. He was driving slowly but clipped a parked car, ripping off its chrome side strip. We stopped in dismay. The owner came boiling out of his house, having already called the police.
Finally, the police officer arrived--a tall Oklahoma cop in a Smokey-bear hat, aviator glasses, high leather boots, and a long-barreled .357 magnum "car stopper" on his waist. He rattled off about five crimes and told us we were going to be spending a long, long time in juvenile detention.
I felt close to passing out.
Then the officer looked closely at us and said, "I don't know you boys. If you were troublemakers, I'd know you."
So he took us home. By that time, my mother was home wondering where we were...and wondering where her car was.
The officer explained the situation and ascertained from my mother that she was willing to pay the damages. I also suspect he noted the fire in her eyes and the mop handle she had clutched in her hands. He said, "Well, then, ma'am, I'll leave these boys in your custody."
My cousin and I, rather than having police records, went on to finish high school near the tops of our classes (actually, I was at the top of mine), went to college, had we both had long and successful military careers.
Looking back, I think the police officer did some "profiling" of his own. He probably noted that we had waited docilely for him to arrive. He probably studied our faces as he described our crimes (I think that's what he really meant by "If you were troublemakers, I'd know you").
He probably saw the Army post sticker on my mother's car and noted that we were in a middle class neighborhood. He probably noted the neatly cut lawn and planted flowers around my house.
He still could have ignored all that and like Barney Fife, "Enforced the law." But he decided to be Andy instead.
And in today's world he could have been sued by the "victim" or had a chit storm of allegations generated by social media for a variety of grievances, if you boys had been _______ you would have been arrested, if you wouldn't have been ____________ you would have been arrested and on and on. Officers today best follow the letter of the law which means no personal logic or decision making. If we dont want them to enforce particular laws or only in particular circumstances we need to do away with those laws or specifically define when they can be discarded least someone be offended.
We had officers in my small town pretty much the same way. They had much respect from most all of the citizens, teenagers included, because they used that same logic but that doesn't fly these days.
After reviewing comments attached to the forum I've realized the slight ignorance of many posting members.
Each community maintains a healthy dose of aggressive unruly types [from the wealthiest to the impoverished]. Oddly we to include information outlets; highlight specific segments of society.
I shall not give a pass to any group for unruly behavior and I will suggest we highlight and inform the masses of negligence from each side of the fence. I understand why the black community becomes infuriated with the stigma and highlighted negativity. We do not project the same tactics while reporting (not reporting) many instances where our (white American) members commit equally unruly offenses.
We must admit if the fellow in the video below- possessed dark skin he very well would have endured extreme aggression or "probably" (not possibly) shot.
And in today's world he could have been sued by the "victim" or had a chit storm of allegations generated by social media for a variety of grievances, if you boys had been _______ you would have been arrested, if you wouldn't have been ____________ you would have been arrested and on and on. Officers today best follow the letter of the law which means no personal logic or decision making. If we dont want them to enforce particular laws or only in particular circumstances we need to do away with those laws or specifically define when they can be discarded least someone be offended.
We had officers in my small town pretty much the same way. They had much respect from most all of the citizens, teenagers included, because they used that same logic but that doesn't fly these days.
Look at my post #66. Even on today's streets, the smartest cops get to know their neighborhoods, get to know the people, get to know who is a stabile resident and doesn't police like Barney.
In instances of physical alterations with cops or cops shooting the suspect, do you feel this resulted from the race of the suspect or the aggressive verbal and non-verbal communication used by the suspect in addition to resisting arrest? I'm white and was taught to speak in a respectful manner when dealing with police. The time to fight the police isn't on the street when they have a gun. The time for that is through proper channels. Even if you don't win, at least you're alive or not beaten. I have relatives who got a beating. They had whiskey muscles. I've had cousins stopped by the police because they matched the description of a suspect. In those cases they calmly complied with the officer's instructions and was let go once they verified he wasn't the suspect. We've seen the TV show Cops. Whether black, white, brown, or yellow; what made the difference was aggressive behavior and resisting arrest.
I would like to first establish the context. The context that we live today is characterized by the political rights ideology and philosophy, socially, wanting to deny that racism is something that is real. They will admit that racism exists, but they have a far greater time admitting that it ever manifest as a cause or partial cause, or motive or partial motive in incidents involving black white interactions or conflicts.
The platform and ideology of the right is antithetical to the ideal that racism manifest and produces negative consequences. For to admit that it is a real thing that produces a real negative effect, would threaten the foundation of social conservatism and its mantra that everything boils down to personal responsibility.
Thus, it is in this context that the OP ask the question.....and its a question, likely, being asked from the perspective of the political right and hence, likely, wants caste aspersion on the role of "racism" in such incidents. Indeed, the anecdote given in the body of the post suggest to me that the question is rhetorical in nature, as the OP has "poisoned the well" so to speak, with his anecdote.
To answer the OP question, I think you have all types of people on police forces. You have really good people, you have people who are closet cowards using their profession to project bravery and strength, you have people on the police force who are "power tripping" over having a gun and a badge and being able to say and do things to people that they could not without a gun and a license to kill. You also have people who are likely deeply religions. You have people who are racist. You have people who are trying to make a difference. You have crooked cops. There are all kinds of people in the police force. Thus, it stands to reason that you will have many different reasons or motives that people end up getting shot by police, if the victim is unarmed.
Every incident has to be judged on its own merit. It seems like people want to look at it the way they look at Africa in that they ignore that there are nearly 60 countries in Africa, all of them unique in their own way. If there is a famine in Ethiopia......Africa is in famine and not Ethiopia. Likewise, OP wants to summarize all these incidents as being rooted in ONE mutually exclusive thing. In fact, it could be all the factors the OP mentioned combining and resulting in the actions taken by the officer. It could be that one of the incident was mostly racially rooted, while another was rooted in belligerent attitudes, while another the result of something else.
In regards to race and racism, from what I read most people do not even know what the official definition is......that is true of whites and blacks. I am talking about the dictionary definition of racism and its primary usage. Hence, you have people denying racism and you have people claiming racism both often made with a false definition of what racism really is. If you do not know what racism really is....then you have not a clue of how prevalent it is or is not or what damage it is doing or is not doing.
In America people have been culturally conditioned to believe white is superior and black is inferior (credit the Black Eagle). This attitude has led people to either at the conscience level or sub-conscience level undervalue black lives. This attitude is very apparent by looking at how police brutality is viewed by the masses in the US.
In today's environment the police are quick to escalate volatile situations and use excessive force. They tend to be confrontational and pull the trigger quickly. When the majority is oppressed by these heavy handed tactics you hear cries of "police state", "federal overreach", etc. But when blacks are killed you barely hear a peep because of the culture conditioning that is present.
'Culturally conditioned' is such a cop out, like calling every white conservative a racist. You think whites undervalue black lives? It's not whites who are gang banging and drug dealing in Chicago, LA, NY, Baltimore etc. Too many blacks, especially young men, have little regard for their own family, let alone other black people. Complain all you want about the police, but the biggest killers of black people ARE other black people. It shall remain that way until black people have the guts and honesty to recognize the truth, and start to DO SOMETHING about it.
Tonight on the news they aired a video in which two black boys attacked and shot a 71 y.o. man. That is two of Kaepernick's oppressed blacks shot an innocent a senior man doing nothing more than watering his lawn. After he was shot the oppressed black pushed him to the ground and robbed him.
We have a choice to back criminals or police. The police get my vote.
Tonight on the news they aired a video in which two black boys attacked and shot a 71 y.o. man. That is two of Kaepernick's oppressed blacks shot an innocent a senior man doing nothing more than watering his lawn. After he was shot the oppressed black pushed him to the ground and robbed him.
We have a choice to back criminals or police. The police get my vote.
Here's the trouble with your post:
Have White boys ever attacked and shot a senior? Could you show me your posts about those incidents?
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