This is why Black Lives SHOULD Matter

[Shadow Wolf]

Well, young lady you are sadly mistaken. Before painting all with a brush maybe you should investage all of the small to middle size towns, not just your big cities.

Yeah, even those small town (it's where I grew up) cops have a rotten streak. A couple have harassed me over how I talk and started interrogating me about being intoxicated. A very small town cop was told by my mom he is the judge and jury. One cop threatened to shoot the mayor (and some others) over a day off he didn't get because he didn't formally request it of. One tased an elderly man with advanced Alzheimers--AT A NURSING HOME--because he was being uncooperative. Racism is a nasty problem with those cops. They also abuse the mentally ill. Oh yeah, and when the weather is nice, they'll look for any reason to search people just to search them, and you can sometimes see a bunch of people all pulled over and getting searched. Very often they have nothing on them (the case of everyone I know, with one exception, who was searched). And, yeah, these small town pigs are just as militarized, with the sheriff of the epitome of "small town America" believing America is a warzone and purchasing an armored personell transportation vehicle you'd see in an actual warzone, not downtown here:

 

[Brickjectivity]

Respect for being honest. I wont lie I cried thinking about my mom and what if that was me. This woman reacted how my mom would. This case was BS because prosecutors gave the cop a three year deal for a plea. The mother didn't even know.

This plea deal stuff gives power to unelected officials.

Oh I agree. The entire judicial system is interconnected. District Attorneys in bed with the mayor, the mayor in bed with the governor, chief of police in bed with all of them. One hand washes the other. I highly doubt we will see true American justice so long as men of power with no moral compass retain their power. It's really going to take a true progressive system to completely overhaul the judicial system. Even at the Supreme Court level because Trump has set up conservative judges that will be on the bench for a long time which is why I fear places like Planned Parenthood are in trouble which may lead to a delay of progrssivism in our legal ecosystem. I'm not a law student so I cannot even articulate any policy or remedy to even address these disparities.

I am also not a law study, however my opinion is that juries ought to be running trials, ought to be selecting prosecutors and judges. The juries are weak and unable to do much about injustices.

 

[esmith]

Yeah, even those small town (it's where I grew up) cops have a rotten streak. A couple have harassed me over how I talk and started interrogating me about being intoxicated. A very small town cop was told by my mom he is the judge and jury. One cop threatened to shoot the mayor (and some others) over a day off he didn't get because he didn't formally request it of. One tased an elderly man with advanced Alzheimers--AT A NURSING HOME--because he was being uncooperative. Racism is a nasty problem with those cops. They also abuse the mentally ill. Oh yeah, and when the weather is nice, they'll look for any reason to search people just to search them, and you can sometimes see a bunch of people all pulled over and getting searched. Very often they have nothing on them (the case of everyone I know, with one exception, who was searched). And, yeah, these small town pigs are just as militarized, with the sheriff of the epitome of "small town America" believing America is a warzone and purchasing an armored personell transportation vehicle you'd see in an actual warzone, not downtown here:

When you and others have re-invented law enforcment don't be surpised when they aren't there when you need them.
It has already began in many places.
Police not responding to calls in certain areas
Inability to hire police offiers
Police looking the other way when a crime is committed (or told to do so in some cases....see problem in San Fransico)
rapidly increasing crime

But you have a nice day.

 

[Friend of Mara]

Don't get me wrong; yes I agree that there are problems in certain areas, but not all areas of the country that exhibit anomisity or prejudice against blakcs.
However, what I do not see is the outcry against what, for example, went on in Chicago over the 4th of July holiday period, or the problems in New York City and lthe majority of large cities in the country.
In the words of VP Harris....what is the root cause.
The idea that it is a "gun" problem is nothing more than a defelection; guns don't walk around and shoot people...people shoot people. Yes, there is an issue of guns in the wrong hands; but you have to look beyond the easy explaination.
Chicago’s most violent weekend of 2021: 104 shot, 19 of them killed. 13 kids among the wounded
NYPD Announces Citywide Crime Statistics for May 2021
US crime rise not letting up in major cities - CNN

The main reason that the US has such a problem with police killing citizens is the pervasiveness of guns in our society. If an officer isn't quick enough to react there is a real danger that someone could kill them. One of the most common defenses in shooting an unarmed person is that they "thought they had a gun". Reaching for your wallet, opening the dash or any sort of quick motion is immediately recognized as an immanent threat to the life of the officer. There was a news story I saw a few years back where an elderly white man was gun down in his house by police. They didn't have flashing lights on or any real indication they were police other than their uniforms. So the elderly man grabbed his gun to have on him when he opened the door. When he did open the door the cops saw the gun and shot him. Even though it was perfectly legal what the man did.

The aspect of race is amplified through this. I don't see police violence as a specifically black issue but it is worse in black communities.

I guess the long winded buildup is what do you think is a viable solution to the predicament that police HAVE to be on guard against this threat which leads to such tragedy?

I guess we also have plenty to talk about with respect to people who obviously were not threats and lethal force was used anyway. But I feel like reducing the lethality of the police can't even really start to be considered till the previous issue is dealt with.

 

[Jose Fly]

When I moved across the country to a very small town in Oregon, I was pulled over at least once a week by the local police. Each time they asked the same thing...."Who are you and what are you doing here?" Not once had I done anything wrong. After I'd lived there a few months it stopped.

In another small town I lived in it was not at all unusual for police to pull people over for no reason at all and not even pretend to make up an excuse. They'd just pull you over, start asking you questions, and oftentimes search you and your car. One time when a roommate of mine challenged a stop in court, the officer said he pulled him over because he'd gone over the center line when making a turn. The judge went along with it even though it was a gravel road (with no center line)!

Another small town in Kentucky I lived in had a 12:00 closing time for the bars. At 11:30 police (state, county, local) would start lining up outside the bars and arrest anyone who did anything other than walk quietly in a line, such as talking or laughing loudly, playfully pushing each other, or walking crooked. They'd charge them with public intoxication, lock them up for the night, and run them through a kangaroo court in the morning where they'd set a fine, usually for around $250.

From my experiences, small town police are at least as corrupt as their big city counterparts.

 

[Kooky]

The idea that it is a "gun" problem is nothing more than a defelection; guns don't walk around and shoot people...people shoot people.

Using... what? Finger guns?

 

[Jose Fly]

The main reason that the US has such a problem with police killing citizens is the pervasiveness of guns in our society. If an officer isn't quick enough to react there is a real danger that someone could kill them. One of the most common defenses in shooting an unarmed person is that they "thought they had a gun". Reaching for your wallet, opening the dash or any sort of quick motion is immediately recognized as an immanent threat to the life of the officer. There was a news story I saw a few years back where an elderly white man was gun down in his house by police. They didn't have flashing lights on or any real indication they were police other than their uniforms. So the elderly man grabbed his gun to have on him when he opened the door. When he did open the door the cops saw the gun and shot him. Even though it was perfectly legal what the man did.

The aspect of race is amplified through this. I don't see police violence as a specifically black issue but it is worse in black communities.

I guess the long winded buildup is what do you think is a viable solution to the predicament that police HAVE to be on guard against this threat which leads to such tragedy?

I guess we also have plenty to talk about with respect to people who obviously were not threats and lethal force was used anyway. But I feel like reducing the lethality of the police can't even really start to be considered till the previous issue is dealt with.

That's precisely what I hear from the law enforcement people I've known.....we live in a society that is awash in guns, so police have to assume that everyone they pull over has one. That makes them skittish and reactionary, which are never good things for armed people to be.

It also relates to the issue of police acquiring military equipment. Much of the public debate and discussion is over how police departments get this equipment, but rarely is it about why they do so. As one officer put it to me.....Look at the equipment and weapons that militia groups all have. If they go off, the police are going to need a lot more than bulletproof vests and 9mm handguns to take them down. So as long as that sort of weaponry is out in the streets, police will always need whatever it takes to overcome it.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

When you and others have re-invented law enforcment don't be surpised when they aren't there when you need them.
It has already began in many places.
Police not responding to calls in certain areas
Inability to hire police offiers
Police looking the other way when a crime is committed (or told to do so in some cases....see problem in San Fransico)
rapidly increasing crime

But you have a nice day.

I didn't reinvent anything. Those are some examples of bad cops in small towns. And after being in a cop car twice and harassed over the way a mental illness makes me talk I felt very uncomfortable around the cops.

 

[esmith]

When I moved across the country to a very small town in Oregon, I was pulled over at least once a week by the local police. Each time they asked the same thing...."Who are you and what are you doing here?" Not once had I done anything wrong. After I'd lived there a few months it stopped.

In another small town I lived in it was not at all unusual for police to pull people over for no reason at all and not even pretend to make up an excuse. They'd just pull you over, start asking you questions, and oftentimes search you and your car. One time when a roommate of mine challenged a stop in court, the officer said he pulled him over because he'd gone over the center line when making a turn. The judge went along with it even though it was a gravel road (with no center line)!

Another small town in Kentucky I lived in had a 12:00 closing time for the bars. At 11:30 police (state, county, local) would start lining up outside the bars and arrest anyone who did anything other than walk quietly in a line, such as talking or laughing loudly, playfully pushing each other, or walking crooked. They'd charge them with public intoxication, lock them up for the night, and run them through a kangaroo court in the morning where they'd set a fine, usually for around $250.

From my experiences, small town police are at least as corrupt as their big city counterparts.

What State was your license plate?

 

[Wandering Monk]

Reactionary right-wingers seem to read 'Black Lives Matter' as 'Only Black Lives Matter' and are infuriated. I read it 'Black Lives Matter Too.'

 

[Friend of Mara]

What State was your license plate?

Not to already play devil's advocate but an out of state license plate still isn't enough to get you pulled over.

Edit:

Though a funny story is I saw my first ever Hawaii plate and it made me do a double take. Still haven't seen an Alaskan one.

 

[Jose Fly]

What State was your license plate?

In OR I had an out of state plate. But given that the town was popular with tourists, it didn't make sense for them to pull over everyone with out of state plates.

The one with the gravel road involved people with in-state plates.

The one in KY didn't involve cars.

 

[Revoltingest]

Reactionary right-wingers seem to read 'Black Lives Matter' as 'Only Black Lives Matter' and are infuriated. I read it 'Black Lives Matter Too.'

Reactionary left-wingers have their issues too.
- They're unaware that more whites are shot by cops than
blacks (who are only shot in a greater percentage of their
population). This is something I've had to correct, even on
RF.
- Another is that they make the problem solely about racism
of white cops. Yet racism towards blacks is exhibited by black
cops too (research I heard in a Hidden Brain podcast.) Diversity
hires can be useful, but won't fix that problem.
- Their excessive demonization of cops is making the problem
worse by making it difficult to retain & hire cops...even good ones.
- This attitude....

So I can find both sympathy for & shortcomings
in all sides of this contentious issue.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

This plea deal stuff gives power to unelected officials.


I am also not a law study, however my opinion is that juries ought to be running trials, ought to be selecting prosecutors and judges. The juries are weak and unable to do much about injustices.

of course not

 

[Lyndon]

50% of police shootings involve minorities revolting

Fatal Police Shootings Among Black Americans Remain High, Unchanged Since 2015 - Penn Medicine

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Reactionary right-wingers seem to read 'Black Lives Matter' as 'Only Black Lives Matter' and are infuriated. I read it 'Black Lives Matter Too.'

Maybe cause you are smarter than them in the english language.

 

[Lyndon]

the only way to make Black lives matter as much is to make Black lives matter more

 

[Epic Beard Man]

When I moved across the country to a very small town in Oregon, I was pulled over at least once a week by the local police. Each time they asked the same thing...."Who are you and what are you doing here?" Not once had I done anything wrong. After I'd lived there a few months it stopped.

In another small town I lived in it was not at all unusual for police to pull people over for no reason at all and not even pretend to make up an excuse. They'd just pull you over, start asking you questions, and oftentimes search you and your car. One time when a roommate of mine challenged a stop in court, the officer said he pulled him over because he'd gone over the center line when making a turn. The judge went along with it even though it was a gravel road (with no center line)!

Another small town in Kentucky I lived in had a 12:00 closing time for the bars. At 11:30 police (state, county, local) would start lining up outside the bars and arrest anyone who did anything other than walk quietly in a line, such as talking or laughing loudly, playfully pushing each other, or walking crooked. They'd charge them with public intoxication, lock them up for the night, and run them through a kangaroo court in the morning where they'd set a fine, usually for around $250.

From my experiences, small town police are at least as corrupt as their big city counterparts.

I want to say I'm sorry for your experiences but did you watch the video? She is like many black mothers who hurt

 

[Epic Beard Man]

How come when conservative right-wingers come in they don't watch the video? They chime in with stupid pictures

 

[Jose Fly]

I want to say I'm sorry for your experiences

Not necessary. In the bigger scheme of things, what I described were minor annoying inconveniences and were in no way meant to be comparable to the tragedy of the OP. I was responding to the notion that small town police are less corrupt than their urban counterparts.

but did you watch the video? She is like many black mothers who hurt

I did and it breaks my heart. I don't know what else to say.....it's just awful.