Confederate flag raises eyebrows in Palos Verdes Estates (Freedom: felony, living)

[OneBeachBum]

Originally Posted by Silver_Surfer

The better question is why would someone want to proudly fly the flag of losers and racist traitors? Who wants to identify with that? It also makes you a target.

I like how you slid "losers" into your argument to make the point that Americans were "traitors" to England, held slaves, but won void, and that you slid the word "traitors" into your argument to make the point that England didn't abolish slavery until 1833, but were losers in the Revolution that ended in 1783, void.

Sneaky Surfer, sneaky.

[OneBeachBum]

Originally Posted by NyWriterdude

Oh, and the war on drugs has been a war on Black people, as Black people use drugs about the same rate as white people but are 5 or 6 times more likely to go to prison for it. Battling that is much more important than caring whether or not someone has a confederate flag on their truck or not.

I used to work for the DPS in Texas as well as a local court in Harris County, Texas. It's been my experience that people constantly say black people are unfairly and disproportionately sentenced for drug crimes, but that's really not the case.

Do black people, from time to time get unfairly sentenced based on their race? Sure. However, it's been my experience that most judges will give harsher sentences to habitual offenders.

For example, Criminal A, is a 28 year old white male and was arrested for being pulled over with an ounce of marijuana. Criminal B, is a 28 year old black male and was arrested for being pulled over with an ounce of marijuana. This is the first time Criminal A has ever been in trouble with the law, the judge sentences him to 6 months in county jail followed by 6 months of probation.

Criminal B has been arrested for drugs multiple times, domestic violence, and DUI in the past. Criminal B has been in and out of jail since he was 14 years old. The judge notices his criminal past and sentences Criminal B to 5 years in state prison.

Is it fair? That's debatable. However, that's how our justice system works. If you can't stay out of trouble, our court system looks at your criminal history when determining what your current punishment will be.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by OneBeachBum

I used to work for the DPS in Texas as well as a local court in Harris County, Texas. It's been my experience that people constantly say black people are unfairly and disproportionately sentenced for drug crimes, but that's really not the case.

Do black people, from time to time get unfairly sentenced based on their race? Sure. However, it's been my experience that most judges will give harsher sentences to habitual offenders.

For example, Criminal A, is a 28 year old white male and was arrested for being pulled over with an ounce of marijuana. Criminal B, is a 28 year old black male and was arrested for being pulled over with an ounce of marijuana. This is the first time Criminal A has ever been in trouble with the law, the judge sentences him to 6 months in county jail followed by 6 months of probation.

Criminal B has been arrested for drugs multiple times, domestic violence, and DUI in the past. Criminal B has been in and out of jail since he was 14 years old. The judge notices his criminal past and sentences Criminal B to 5 years in state prison.

Is it fair? That's debatable. However, that's how our justice system works. If you can't stay out of trouble, our court system looks at your criminal history when determining what your current punishment will be.

You just worked in one state. The statistics disagree with you and state that Black people are disproportionately affected. It's been a big part of the legalization push, and where weed has been made legal now there's the push to expunge those related criminal records.

From a study at the National Institute of Health itself.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5614457/

[Silver_Surfer]

Originally Posted by OneBeachBum

I used to work for the DPS in Texas as well as a local court in Harris County, Texas. It's been my experience that people constantly say black people are unfairly and disproportionately sentenced for drug crimes, but that's really not the case.

Do black people, from time to time get unfairly sentenced based on their race? Sure. However, it's been my experience that most judges will give harsher sentences to habitual offenders.

For example, Criminal A, is a 28 year old white male and was arrested for being pulled over with an ounce of marijuana. Criminal B, is a 28 year old black male and was arrested for being pulled over with an ounce of marijuana. This is the first time Criminal A has ever been in trouble with the law, the judge sentences him to 6 months in county jail followed by 6 months of probation.

Criminal B has been arrested for drugs multiple times, domestic violence, and DUI in the past. Criminal B has been in and out of jail since he was 14 years old. The judge notices his criminal past and sentences Criminal B to 5 years in state prison.

Is it fair? That's debatable. However, that's how our justice system works. If you can't stay out of trouble, our court system looks at your criminal history when determining what your current punishment will be.

There's a tremendous sentencing disparity for crack versus powder cocaine possession and distribution. This is a way to ensure poor blacks are imprisoned longer and more often for the same drug being used by wealthy whites. Clinton eventually acknowledged it many, many years later when addressing the concept of mandatory minimums.

A comprehensive examination of the 100-to-1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a minimum 5-year federal prison sentence, while distribution of 500 grams of powder cocaine carries the same 5-year mandatory minimum sentence.

In the United States, the incarceration rate is three and half times the European rate. The United States also far exceeded Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. In the U.S., the prison system is a racket where profit is the main objective.

[DKM]

A lot of Americans today are from families who immigrated after the 1860's. We don't really care about your ancestors' grievances towards each other and that goes for both sides. Get over it

[Silver_Surfer]

Originally Posted by DKM

A lot of Americans today are from families who immigrated after the 1860's. We don't really care about your ancestors' grievances towards each other and that goes for both sides. Get over it

Tell that to the justice system.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by Silver_Surfer

There's a tremendous sentencing disparity for crack versus powder cocaine possession and distribution. This is a way to ensure poor blacks are imprisoned longer and more often for the same drug being used by wealthy whites. Clinton eventually acknowledged it many, many years later when addressing the concept of mandatory minimums.

A comprehensive examination of the 100-to-1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a minimum 5-year federal prison sentence, while distribution of 500 grams of powder cocaine carries the same 5-year mandatory minimum sentence.

In the United States, the incarceration rate is three and half times the European rate. The United States also far exceeded Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. In the U.S., the prison system is a racket where profit is the main objective.

The sentencing disparities for cocaine were changed via federal law nearly a decade ago. Is this still a thing to you?

There is a huge crime problem in the United States, and most definetely in the black community. This explains our very high incarceration rates. Obfuscating doesn't change the facts.

[Silver_Surfer]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

The sentencing disparities for cocaine were changed via federal law nearly a decade ago. Is this still a thing to you?

There is a huge crime problem in the United States, and most definetely in the black community. This explains our very high incarceration rates. Obfuscating doesn't change the facts.

And people are still sitting in prison for these minor drug offenses. Yep, it's a thing to me.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by OneBeachBum

I like how you slid "losers" into your argument to make the point that Americans were "traitors" to England, held slaves, but won void, and that you slid the word "traitors" into your argument to make the point that England didn't abolish slavery until 1833, but were losers in the Revolution that ended in 1783, void.

Sneaky Surfer, sneaky.

One of the motivations of the Revolution, specifically in the Southern states, was a fear that emancipation was imminent. They were right because slavery was abolished Empire-wide 50 years later.

A Mexican flag would have been more appropriate in this setting. Of course the conservative California xenophobes would be screaming that Mexico is taking over again. (Projection much?) Flying the Confederate flag on the West Coast definitely marks yourself as a carpetbagger!

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by OneBeachBum

It's ironic, I remember when the voters of Georgia demanded that the "confederate flag" be removed from the Georgia State flag and cheered when they changed it to the current flag.

What most people never realized, was that Georgia's state flag was using the confederate battle flag as their flag and when there was outcry over its racist past and a demand for change, the politicians in Georgia just changed it to mimic the "actual" confederate flag.

Georgia's current state flag:



The actual real "confederate flag":



They got the voters in Georgia good...

Ironic, but at the same time, the people who were very pro-Confederate didn't realize it either. To be honest, both the southern cross Confederate flag and the Confederate flag you show both represent the Confederate cause.