Saw this seven times yesterday on the television. All white spokespeople giving us the message about white racism and/or racist cops. “We need to face the issue of racism before we can fix it”
They are correct. These are issues that need to be addressed. Police accountability and “Qualified Immunity” are a big issue.
But no one, not one person, is pointing out the fact that there is another issue:
Black crime.
Wanna stop of greatly reduce the issue? Fully half of the issue is that a segment of our black population refuses to follow the laws. Are unwilling to behave according to the rules of society. Not bad people, perhaps, by their own moral standard, but still, can’t follow the rules of society. And that just plays up to the stereotype that many have about black people. Some (white) folks just can’t see past the extra melanin. But the high crime, the fact that any excuse to loot amongst many inner city people…. that doesn’t help either. Stereotypes exist for a reason, you know. Black people kill each other at a much higher rate than whites kill them. And cops arrest them when they break the law.
Does white racism exist? Absolutely. And yes, we need to do something to stop it. Lots of work to be done there.
Do we also get to do something ,….face the other issue….about thievery, robbery, and the fact that black people commit crimes (both major and minor) at a rate 4 or more times higher than their fellow races? Let’s face that fact as well, and fix that too. (and, lets face it, it isn’t ALL black people, but only a small subset that is the issue…and that group has the issues with police interactions). Fact is that most people interacting with the police have interacted with them more than once in the past, be they white or black or another race.
Could that fact have something to do with the perceived racism of cops? Of white people? The fact that (some) black people won’t obey the rules of society? (there is a small portion of whites and Hispanics and other races that have the same issue with police…and oddly, they get treated the same way…and killed when they resist)
Do we get to simply face and deal with the fact that a significant portion of the black population (more than most people are comfortable to admit) especially men, can’t seem to obey the law? And therefore, since cops are supposed to enforce the law, this brings them into conflict.
Forget the fact that cops cause the deaths of significantly more white criminals than black criminals (by overall number)….The perception is that cops kill more blacks than whites…which is simply not true.
But the best way to get killed by a cop is to start with the interaction with them:
First rule: don’t break the law.
Second rule: When confronted for a crime you have committed, don’t be an asshole.
Third rule: When yer gonna be arrested, do’t fight back, or things might get somewhat kinetic.
Fourth rule, when given a ticket or a fine, deal with it, don’t ignore it…deal with it. Pay the fine, show up for court…..otherwise, when the cops run your file, yer gonna get….arrested…..Which puts you in the hot seat….which leads to rules two and three (especially three)
But stop being criminals. (Note: I am NOT saying all black people are criminals…but a higher percentage are. I know many folks who are not criminals, are, in fact, decent law abiding citizens, wonderful human beings…and they abhor the issues with their race and culture as much as I do)
Mr Floyd had a long criminal record…which led to his last interaction with the police. He was intoxicated with meth and fentanyl at the time of his attempted arrest and subsequent death…he had been charged with and convicted of both robbery and theft in the past….He’d been in jail several times…..not unknown to the police… He was not the paragon of virtue as we were told he was by the media. Hardly a choirboy, as it were….
Lets face that issue as well…Black Crime…..While we are facing the issue of racism.
Both need to be fixed.
Note that this disproportionate amount of crime is not limited to the USA. We have a similar problem in the UK where black people make up just 3% of the population. The polices current focus, despite the stabbing of 3 people by a Libyan at the weekend – Far-right extremists. There is an agenda here and not limited just to the USA.