There have been hundreds of killings by cops this year. Of course not every one makes the news.
There are also mass shootings every day. Of course not every one makes the news.
Of course there is bias to what the media does and doesn’t cover. There’s only so much violence that they can devote resources to.
On the flip side to “a white kid was killed by black cops and no one covered it!” is this: when is the last time that a Black or Brown child or teen made national news for being kidnapped? We prefer our national kidnap faces to pretty white girls.
The police who killed the 6 year old have been charged. They have not yet been tried–which is honestly not that unusual for a case like this, I don’t think. The process can be slow. They were both in jail but I think both are currently out on bail. That case did get some national coverage (Washington Post did a fairly long story on it). But not as much as some cases, sure. There’s no public video, so that’s part of it.
It is extremely relevant if you are the police with your life on the line.
It is nice and all to believe and want that we should all be treated the same, but the stats show quite clearly that all suspects do not behave the same. And, not all policeman are the same either, as black officers are more fearful and cautious than white officers.
I saw no less than three black police captains say things that, at first, I did not think were correct (I was thinking hyperbole a bit) until I realized they all cited the FBI’s and Washington Post’s own numbers.
It turns out that a police officer is 40% more likely to shot and killed by a young black male than by all other groups of people combined. That is not a racist statement; it is a fact. And thus, it makes sense that a police officer would be more wary and ready to react when interacting with a young black male, as his chances of dying are 40% higher.
It also turns out that black officers are acutely aware of this in that they are some 330% more likely to draw their gun and shoot a black suspect than a white officer. From many of the narratives I have seen on TV and read in many supposed reputable newspapers, the exact reverse impression is given. However, the stats show white officers actually show more restraint across all officer-suspect interactions.
Look the stuff for yourselves; the numbers are very easy to find, but if you want to believe an agenda narrative, then I assume the stats would mean nothing to you. However, for police officers, the stats do mean something (life or death), and they are not just blindly approaching everyone they stop the same because, clearly, the people they stop do not treat them all the same.
Just to make sure, I went to the Washington Post database a couple of the black police captains mentioned and darn it did not take anything but a little bit of entry-level statistics to see that the numbers they cited were correct.
Any update on the legal situation of the two marshals who opened fire on the man whose poor autistic son was killed in the process? The article sited by zobroward states that the two officers were charged with 2nd degree murder and attempted 2nd degree murder, and that a prosecutor who is the father of one of the LEOs recused himself from the case. Is there any information as to why the man was stopped by police in the first place? Busted headlight? Expired inspection sticker? Outstanding warrant? Did the marshals claim they “feared for their lives” or thought the “suspect was armed”? Has there been a trail? Did the LEOs in this case each manage to raise the 1 million in bail?
This case is undoubtedly tragic, but I guess I fail to see how this relates as a counter argument to the BLM movement’s claim that LEOs get away with implementing excessive and lethal force far too often during encounters with blacks? What do you think the chances are that the marshals Involved in the unshooting of the father and child will be acquitted?
I can’t speak for zobroward, but my take on it is that it isn’t police brutality that BLM is really fighting, it’s racism. Which is a noble cause and probably not unrelated in some cases, perhaps completely the case in the recent ones. But by making it a Black Lives and White Cops thing, it leaves the issue of police brutality aside, in reality, since police brutality is not a white-on-black only issue. Instead of asking the whole of society to join the effort to stop all police brutality, it’s instead a Black vs White issue. Or I guess more specifically, a Black vs White Cop issue, which only serves to alienate and divide.
But what am I worried about? Heck, the president said we are not as divided as we seem. Guess it’s all in my head. ^:)^
Not to mention that the license plate does not tell the whole story, such as who is driving? In many states, these tickets are successfully contested. Additionally, think of the number of crimes that are caught in action or are thwarted because of the perpetrators in their haste commit a basic driving error.
Ah, the stories my sheriff buddy has told me about people they stop for simple things and it turns out that the person driving DOES NOT own the car, but is wanted on something else. It turns out that stopping cars for noticeable minor offenses is a rather important element of overall crime prevention, assuming one wants crime to be reduced.
And he told that some 8% of drivers stopped have revoked licenses for drunk driving or drug use, but they forget to inspect their cars and get caught. These people should not be driving and cameras do not help here either.
The big difference between the anti-vaxxers’ position (I can’t really believe someone is actually defending them!) and that of people protesting police brutality and unequal justice is that there’s zero evidence whatsoever for the former. There isn’t even a legitimate argument; it’s in a class with homeopathy, belief in chemtrails, and Sandy Hook truthers. There’s plenty of evidence for the latter. Terrible, awful analogy.
Whatever you say. ^:)^ I wasn’t making an analogy between them and those who fight injustice, my analogy was between them and those who have stated that crime statistics are unreliable because of “insert annecdote.” It’s loosely similar to saying that vaccines are bad because they knew someone who had a bad reaction to one and died. Not on the same scale by far, I grant you, but similar logic. That was my only point.
That is the same impression I get, as I saw a video this afternoon of BLM protestors shouting “racist pigs.” But how is this possible?
I thought black people cannot be racist - that is what the narrative used to be at least. Given that black officers shoot and kill some 3X more black males than white officers, I do not get that BLM is about racism, even if they say they are.
Well, I guess BLM could be about racism if the narrative that black people cannot be racist because they have “no power” is passé and black officers are now being seen as racist as well.
Something is not adding up here for the rhetoric and the stats tell disparate stories. Someone at BLM needs to call a meeting and get its narrative straight.
I have never heard that the store owner said it wasn’t Michael Brown in the video stealing the cigars/cigarettes and shoving the owner just a short time before the encounter. I’d like to see a reputable source to that. If it’s true, I’ll change my mind.
This thread is getting weirder by the moment, though. Anti-vaxers don’t believe in scientific truth; that’s why they are rightly derided as idiots who endanger us all bevause they don’t understand herd immunity. And the NYT is most assuredly a reputable paper. So much craziness out there.
Good going, you macho studs who open-carried during the protests!
Even though you were “good guys,” you made it more difficult for the police to know who was the attacker and who wasn’t, this making their job infinitely more difficult. AND as it turned out you didn’t keep us any safer despite the fact that we are always being told one good guy w a gun saves the day and rescues all the princesses.
An American place where people walk around openly displaying firearms. Like a Third World war zone. How repulsive. The article describes it as a common sight. I haven’t been to Dallas in the past 2 years so I can’t really speak to it, but dear God, how grotesque.
Fine, I got overstated/overheated re Michael Brown. I apologize if I was offensive. Any life lost is a shame.
Nonetheless, my point isn’t about the relative merit of him vs other people. My point is that for BLM to gain traction, it absolutely must focus on the clean-as-a-whistle guys like Castile. That’s what average people can relate to.
When I saw the Castile shooting, I thought of my grandfather. An everyday working class guy, simple pleasures, don’t want to cause no trouble, yes sir let me get my ID. And the unfairness of his life wasted. That is what really humanized the whole thing for me.
I don’t get the same sympathy/empathy because I don’t recognize any of my family/friends in people like Brown.
Because I am a mother, I identify with all mothers, and any story of losing a child, even a grown up & less than perfect child, just horrifies me and keeps me awake at night. I just can’t imagine the pain of losing a child in such circumstances.
Obviously, the Dallas Police Chief is woefully misguided in his assessment that protesters carrying AR-15 and dressed in camouflage and gas masks caused any confusion during the shooting. I’ve been assured many times that just wouldn’t happen.
I have also been told I shouldn’t be scared of people who carry guns yet the police officer in Minnesota was scared of a person who carried a gun. How can that be when I’ve heard many many times my fear is unfounded and guns don’t kill people? Didn’t the officer know that? Even if the gun was on his lap ( which I don’t believe it was but for arguments sake) a gun on someone’s lap can’t kill anyone. It’s just sitting there.
