Police are human beings

[retiredguy123]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.

[oldtimes]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.

I agree. People are so judgmental without knowing all the facts. There is no more innocent until proven guilty just guilty by social media.

[Stu from NYC]

Lot of truth in what you say.

[Boomer]

We are all human beings.

This whole mess is making me beyond sick and it is being used to collapse what we know as a democracy.

The violent and destructive behavior out there is vile and is to be condemned, not encouraged for ulterior motives as is happening right under our noses.

Remember this? (Some 8th grade teacher might have made you memorize it):

. . ."our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."


Years before Lincoln gave that speech, Ben Franklin said, "We have given you a republic -- if you can keep it."

(Haunting words -- here we are.)


Do not categorize me so you can dismiss me. Please read on:

In my family there are two police officers, both women. One is my age so she is retired. She was the first female officer in her city so she often had to face down the territory that came with that. The other one is young. I respect and admire her -- and I worry about about her. I think police work is often a calling -- like it is for truly dedicated teachers and nurses. But I have to wonder how long it will be before we have very few who will want to answer any of those callings.

Our country is starting to look like Oceania, the country in Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the book the government made sure the Proles were saturated with violence, brought to them on screens, to keep them in a constant state of anger and fear in order to control and rule over them.

And now, in real life, not a novel -- the times -- they are Orwellian.


Boomer

[New Englander]

Just for a moment, imagine what police must deal with on a daily basis. There are people out there that resist arrest, don't follow instructions. Walk away from the police and reach into their vehicle. The cops have a split second to make a decision on deadly force. The media, and the looter/protesters don't care about this!

[John41]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Not really racism, profiling based on history.

[John41]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Not racism just profiling based on history and experience. Totally understandable.

[blueash]

Given your ridiculous scenario, I totally blame the cop. Here is a law abiding citizen who is mistreated by someone who is sworn to protect him because he can't see beyond skin color. Then give up your badge and become a commenter on TOTV. The cop is given special rights and special protection and special treatment and special honors and is still a racist in your scenario.

All of you who say this is just fine, it is human nature are exactly the same people who claim there is not such thing as white privilege. Yet you are presented a simple clear example of white privilege and defend it, even think it is completely reasonable. After all, those blacks are criminals and thugs and rapists and murderers and druggies and so they and anyone who shares their skin color deserves what they get.

Even if the driver in your little thought experiment is a former convicted felon he deserves to be treated with respect and exactly the same as any lily white driver unless he is at the time he is stopped committing a crime. Period.

[Bucco]

We are all human beings.

This whole mess is making me beyond sick and it is being used to collapse what we know as a democracy.

The violence and destruction out there is vile and is to be condemned, not encouraged for ulterior motives as is happening right under our noses.

Remember this? (Some 8th grade teacher might have made you memorize it):

. . ."our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."


Years before Lincoln gave that speech, Ben Franklin said, "We have given you a republic -- if you can keep it."

(Haunting words -- here we are.)


Do not categorize me so you can dismiss me. Please read on:

In my family there are two police officers, both women. One is my age so she is retired. She was the first female officer in her city so she often had to face down the territory that came with that. The other one is young. I respect and admire her -- and I worry about about her. I think police work is often a calling -- like it is for truly dedicated teachers and nurses. But I have to wonder how long it will be before we have very few who will want to answer any of those callings.

Our country is starting to look like Oceania, the country in Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the book the government made sure the Proles were saturated with violence, brought to them on screens, to keep them in a constant state of anger and fear in order to control and rule over them.

And now, in real life, not a novel -- the times -- they are Orwellian.


Boomer

I am 81 years old, fought for my country, and as news developed the last 24 hours and became legit, I literally had tears in my eyes.

You are correct with your book comparison.

Sleeping will be difficult tonight. No control any more

[Taltarzac725]

It does depend somewhat on where you are a law enforcement officer. There are parts of NYC that would be a whole lot safer than other parts. Parts of Los Angeles that are a lot safer than other parts. And most of the parts of the Villages are a great deal safer than probably any place in NYC, Los Angeles or many other cities.

There was/is a retired cop from the South Side of Chicago in our neighborhood of the Villages and he probably had to adapt his reactions to his immediate environment a great deal after retiring and then moving to the Villages.

I have met law enforcement officers from many different parts of the country in the fifteen years we have been here in the Villages and all of them have different stories depending on where they lived and what kind of law enforcement they did.

[GOLFER54]

I’ve never been referred to as ‘Lilly White.’

[thecinks1@gmail.com]

Well said!

[camaguey48]

Given your ridiculous scenario, I totally blame the cop. Here is a law abiding citizen who is mistreated by someone who is sworn to protect him because he can't see beyond skin color. Then give up your badge and become a commenter on TOTV. The cop is given special rights and special protection and special treatment and special honors and is still a racist in your scenario.

All of you who say this is just fine, it is human nature are exactly the same people who claim there is not such thing as white privilege. Yet you are presented a simple clear example of white privilege and defend it, even think it is completely reasonable. After all, those blacks are criminals and thugs and rapists and murderers and druggies and so they and anyone who shares their skin color deserves what they get.

Even if the driver in your little thought experiment is a former convicted felon he deserves to be treated with respect and exactly the same as any lily white driver unless he is at the time he is stopped committing a crime. Period.
If you are stopped by the police for a traffic violation, do this:

1- Don't admit to anything.
2- Keep Your mouth shut. Don't argue. Obey his/her instructions and be respectful
3- Keep your hands on the wheel
4- Turn off the engine
5- If at night, turn the cabin lights on.
Go to court if you don't agree with the officer. It's better than going to jail.

How hard is that?

[Coal Miner]

Are you saying that being a racist is justifiable and acceptable behavior? Gee, I hope not

[louie34]

Amen!!! Blue lives matter!!!!!

[Dahabs]

Given your ridiculous scenario, I totally blame the cop. Here is a law abiding citizen who is mistreated by someone who is sworn to protect him because he can't see beyond skin color. Then give up your badge and become a commenter on TOTV. The cop is given special rights and special protection and special treatment and special honors and is still a racist in your scenario.

All of you who say this is just fine, it is human nature are exactly the same people who claim there is not such thing as white privilege. Yet you are presented a simple clear example of white privilege and defend it, even think it is completely reasonable. After all, those blacks are criminals and thugs and rapists and murderers and druggies and so they and anyone who shares their skin color deserves what they get.

Even if the driver in your little thought experiment is a former convicted felon he deserves to be treated with respect and exactly the same as any lily white driver unless he is at the time he is stopped committing a crime. Period.

Totally agree. I also think that police fraternities, unions, need to stop supporting (and sometimes covering for) bad behavior from bad cops. The blanket "we support all cops all the time regardless" is not helpful and needs to change. Bad cops need to be weeded out. Likewise, community leaders such as Al Sharpton cannot be supporting bad actors. They need to be more discerning with their support.

[J1ceasar]

Racism IS profiling with history

[Ndomines]

Your supposition goes much deeper. It’s found in your need to rationalize unacceptable behaviors. In a nut shell pointing out racial divide requires one to focus on superficial differences. Drop the color and replace it with culture. We all can work on culture equally. Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.

[tsmall22204]

You miss the whole point. The police officer ONLY enforces the law. When the officer takes the role of judge and jury, he crosses the line. Not everyone will be treated the same, but no officer issues any form of punishment. That is for the courts to decide.

[joseppe]

Given your ridiculous scenario, I totally blame the cop. Here is a law abiding citizen who is mistreated by someone who is sworn to protect him because he can't see beyond skin color. Then give up your badge and become a commenter on TOTV. The cop is given special rights and special protection and special treatment and special honors and is still a racist in your scenario.

All of you who say this is just fine, it is human nature are exactly the same people who claim there is not such thing as white privilege. Yet you are presented a simple clear example of white privilege and defend it, even think it is completely reasonable. After all, those blacks are criminals and thugs and rapists and murderers and druggies and so they and anyone who shares their skin color deserves what they get.

Even if the driver in your little thought experiment is a former convicted felon he deserves to be treated with respect and exactly the same as any lily white driver unless he is at the time he is stopped committing a crime. Period.


Why do you think the Cop is a 'racist'? Is it because he was raised by racists who instilled that mode of thinking or is it possible because he has witness the actions and behavior or most blacks and formed a racial bias? When I was younger and had long hair and rode a motorcycle I was often stopped by police and treated in a harsh manner much differently that I was later in life or today. I think its human nature to react to what we've be taught or leaned to expect in any given situtation.

[La lamy]

Given your ridiculous scenario, I totally blame the cop. Here is a law abiding citizen who is mistreated by someone who is sworn to protect him because he can't see beyond skin color. Then give up your badge and become a commenter on TOTV. The cop is given special rights and special protection and special treatment and special honors and is still a racist in your scenario.

All of you who say this is just fine, it is human nature are exactly the same people who claim there is not such thing as white privilege. Yet you are presented a simple clear example of white privilege and defend it, even think it is completely reasonable. After all, those blacks are criminals and thugs and rapists and murderers and druggies and so they and anyone who shares their skin color deserves what they get.

Even if the driver in your little thought experiment is a former convicted felon he deserves to be treated with respect and exactly the same as any lily white driver unless he is at the time he is stopped committing a crime. Period.

I agree. Well said.

[Stu from NYC]

Totally agree. I also think that police fraternities, unions, need to stop supporting (and sometimes covering for) bad behavior from bad cops. The blanket "we support all cops all the time regardless" is not helpful and needs to change. Bad cops need to be weeded out. Likewise, community leaders such as Al Sharpton cannot be supporting bad actors. They need to be more discerning with their support.

When you call Sharpton a leader you lose me. He is only interested in fomenting trouble and enriching himself.

Not to mention should have gone to jail some years ago for non payment of a substantial amount of taxes.

[Kahiland]

Would he still be worthy if he didn't marry or have children? Just curious.

[Girlcopper]

If you are stopped by the police for a traffic violation, do this:

1- Don't admit to anything.
2- Keep Your mouth shut. Don't argue. Obey his/her instructions and be respectful
3- Keep your hands on the wheel
4- Turn off the engine
5- If at night, turn the cabin lights on.
Go to court if you don't agree with the officer. It's better than going to jail.

How hard is that?
Exactly. And if this is so hard for you to understand, how about you ride with a police officer for one day and see what they go through. And I dont mean take a ride with them thru the Villages and the town square. How about you ride through downtown Ocala or any low income crime ridden area. Im sure you will be crying to get back to a safe area within 5 minutes. Dont judge unless you know what youre talking about. CNN isnt an accurate assessment of anything

[Get real]

Suppose a white man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is beaten by black thugs, just for fun, while they use racial slurs. They all have extensive criminal histories. The police track down the thugs but the animals are never charged with a hate crime. Who should he blame? The police officer because they are obviously racist? The thug animals because they are just misunderstood and expressing their first amendment rights and peacefully protesting "something"? The racist "system" because blacks are given a pass from hate crimes? But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of dirty politicians who pander to criminals and are hypocrites. Sorry liberals...it is true,

[Dilligas]

Exactly. And if this is so hard for you to understand, how about you ride with a police officer for one day and see what they go through. And I dont mean take a ride with them thru the Villages and the town square. How about you ride through downtown Ocala or any low income crime ridden area. Im sure you will be crying to get back to a safe area within 5 minutes. Dont judge unless you know what youre talking about. CNN isnt an accurate assessment of anything
Watch LivePD on A&E Friday’s and Saturday’s at 9 PM. They have Live cameraman riders with police patrols across the country. You will see what a cop has to go through with all kinds of people from domestic arguments to hard and dangerous criminals. This is not scripted nor staged. You will have tremendously more respect for the police.

[Biggles]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.

Very well stated, that's all it takes. Especially true the first couple of sentences and the last few sentences. Regardless of skin color just comply no big deal! Not all police officers are racist and looking to confront or make trouble for anyone, just doing what they are there for and I thank them for it!

[LoisR]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.
"Only human" is not an excuse for a police officer being a rascist. Perhaps more education than a hs diploma, more than several months of police academy training, and better background and family checks to weed out a rascist upbringing, will allow better decisions to be made by the police.

[rlcooper70]

Your headline is perfect ... and then you explain why the police are justified in their treating blacks and whites differently.

My friend's dark skinned son drives his Mercedes through Washington DC and gets pulled over every two to three blocks ... and you are saying "understandable"?

You excuse the actions .... and explain the actions .... how do you feel about it?

[Two Bills]

Your headline is perfect ... and then you explain why the police are justified in their treating blacks and whites differently.

My friend's dark skinned son drives his Mercedes through Washington DC and gets pulled over every two to three blocks ... and you are saying "understandable"?

You excuse the actions .... and explain the actions .... how do you feel about it?

No exaggeration there then!

[diva1]

Why can't Blue Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter co-exist? Along with all the other colors? One slogan does not mean the other one is not legitimatel

[MandoMan]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.

Good point. It’s a bit like what happens when someone picking romaine lettuce in the San Joaquin Valley of California has to relieve himself, has diarrhea, but has no hand washing facilities, and a few dozen heads get contaminated with e-coli. Someone in New Jersey gets very sick, and the culprit turns out to one of the few dozen bad heads, grown in one field. But then many thousands of bags from that company and field are pulled off the shelves and destroyed. The news reaches consumers by television, and millions of people not only throw away all the romaine lettuce in their refrigerators, even from other companies, and even from other states, but stop buying romaine for a month, a year, forever. That seems really silly. (But I still get nervous in the face of a Caesar salad after the outbreak several years ago.) But meanwhile, government inspectors from the Department of Agriculture or wherever are grabbing more heads of romaine in the packing plants and testing it. Store owners may decide to keep it off the shelves. All romaine is suspected, just because of a couple dozen heads grown in one field out of a hundred million from around the country, with no more outbreaks.

Now, what if it’s not one head in ten million, or one in a million, or one head in a thousand, or one in a hundred, or one in ten, but 28.5%? If nearly three out of ten heads of male romaine lettuce was likely to be contaminated, the inspectors would be very careful to examine and test the male heads thoroughly, simply because they are more likely to make people sick. If 28.5% of male romaine can harm you, but only 4.4% of male iceberg lettuce, you would probably want all lettuce destroyed, period. But meanwhile, you’d expect inspectors to be checking the heads of romaine even more carefully. It’s just common sense, for the public welfare. Maybe even every head of all lettuces should be tested. That would be expensive, but if it’s necessary, so it goes.

What if someone gave you tickets to some event, say a real football game, with 50,000 people in the stands. Would you go if you knew there were ten COVID-19 positive people there? How about 500 (1%)? How about if there were 2,200 COVID-19 positive people in the stands (4.4%). What if it were 28.5% COVID-19 positive, nearly a third? Would you want everyone tested? I would. If fans wearing home team paraphernalia were 28.5% likely to be positive or become positive, wouldn’t you expect extra attention to be paid to testing the home team fans? Wouldn’t you hope you are sitting among the away team fans (not that that would be safe, either). Testing like that makes everyone safer, whatever their favorite team.

[Paul1934]

Missing from the comments is the fact that all officers are not White. Willing to wager that most of the DC officers the youth may have encountered were Black/Hispanic.

[Adagio43]

Given your ridiculous scenario, I totally blame the cop. Here is a law abiding citizen who is mistreated by someone who is sworn to protect him because he can't see beyond skin color. Then give up your badge and become a commenter on TOTV. The cop is given special rights and special protection and special treatment and special honors and is still a racist in your scenario.

All of you who say this is just fine, it is human nature are exactly the same people who claim there is not such thing as white privilege. Yet you are presented a simple clear example of white privilege and defend it, even think it is completely reasonable. After all, those blacks are criminals and thugs and rapists and murderers and druggies and so they and anyone who shares their skin color deserves what they get.

Even if the driver in your little thought experiment is a former convicted felon he deserves to be treated with respect and exactly the same as any lily white driver unless he is at the time he is stopped committing a crime. Period.

I agree completely with this post. Everyone should be treated the same. Most of the other responses to this point are perfect examples of White Privilege in action. Some of you know it and don’t care because you know you are special.

Others also know it but try to justify/ deny their privilege with additional “facts” to justify their privilege.

It’s time to come to grips with your bias and change or admit it, you are a racist.

[dewilson58]

Why can't Blue Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter co-exist?


Because Black Lives Matters is a marxist organization.


Black lives matter is a statement.


Huge difference.

[Nannyof3]

Thank you, thank you, thank you

[Mikee1]

The posts in this thread are an example of I'm right.

When you have a few minutes google "The Five Stages of a Society", read it and ponder and post which stage you feel we are in currently.

Can't wait to read the answers.

[BlackhawksFan]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job...

This happens every day. There's no supposition about it.

Now change the words "Black man" and insert the name if you or your spouse or one of your children or grandchildren. How do you feel about it now? You might feel profiled especially if you didn't do anything wrong.

[JoelJohnson]

Former NASA Astronaut Says Getting Stopped by Police as a Black Man Is Scarier Than Going to Space
"It's when I've been stopped by police officers that I didn't even know... I was starting to sweat and just holding the steering wheel really hard," Leland Melvin said

[BlackhawksFan]

gWhy can't Blue Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter co-exist? Along with all the other colors? One slogan does not mean the other one is not legitimatel

Because Blue isn't a race. There are no blue people but there are Black ones. Blue goes home at night and takes the blue off. Black doesn't get the opportunity to do that.

When you say Blue Lives Matter you might as well say accounts lives, architects lives, chefs lives, etc.

Blue is what they do. Black is what they are.

[sloanst]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human. I disagree that the police officer is racist. Nothing of what you stated illustrates that the officer thinks he is superior to the black man in any way. The officer IS prejudiced. He has pre-judged the situation because of his past experience. One can be prejudiced without being racist. Word definitions matter. :icon_wink:

[billethkid]

Those who cry "discrimination" promote being discriminated!!

[wamley]

You are full of WHITE GUILT guilt and a total lack of knowlege concerning the police and the job they need to perform for a society that has produced a large number of very troubled people and they come in all shades of color. Training and experince teaches the young Police Officer to be leary of everyone and be on guard when dealing with anyone. Human nature teaches us that an area well known to be a high crime area will present more frequency of dangerous situations then a non high crime area.

I have taught young PO, on the street and in the PA, that have taken their way of acting from TV shows and movies. Those are not good examples for the most part to base the way you handle people. I agree that any approach to a car stop or any contact an Officer starts off in a resonable manner. You assume that they don't. Escalations caused by the subjects actions creates escalation from the PO. The Marcus of Queensbury are not in play in these situations. When an incident progresses from verbal to physical, resisting arrest, then the Officer uses force to overcome the that resistance. Many times PO's have been killed or seriously injured in situations that start off calmly and end up violently because their is so much not know about the subject, they are strangers to each other. The subject knows that he he/she is dealing with the police. The PO sometimes doesn't know who or what he is dealing with and some times has information that someone answering a describtion that committed some crime that spurred him to question the subject. Getting complicated isn't it? Basically you resist, force to overcome resisitance is needed, you use your fists PO uses his nightstick, you use a weapon that could cause serious physical injury OR death then you will likely be shot. In most if not all the current shootings their was prior knowledge by the PO that a crime was commited or a warrant was issued by court. Resistance followed and we are where we are today. Blaming WHITE PRIVILEGE

[Marine1974]

If someone actually thinks cops are given special rights and protections , one has to wonder if that person is living under a rock and the gaslighting has been successful on them . Haven’t we seen over the course since George Floyd’s death
daily rioting, people getting in the faces and using profanity , throwing objects at the police , who are there to restore order and protect property and the livelihoods of innocent people who are black , white ,
Hispanic and Asian . Now we see police under attack by their own mayors in large cities around our nation . The police do not determine who they protect by the color of their skin . Isn’t the images of looters
have an effect on how we view them , ourselves? More police are killed
in the line of duty than police killing civilians. But some people are trying to make us by into their agenda . Im offended

[kathy1516]

If you are stopped by the police for a traffic violation, do this:

1- Don't admit to anything.
2- Keep Your mouth shut. Don't argue. Obey his/her instructions and be respectful
3- Keep your hands on the wheel
4- Turn off the engine
5- If at night, turn the cabin lights on.
Go to court if you don't agree with the officer. It's better than going to jail.

How hard is that?
Amen! Is it possible that black children are raised to fear every police officer? Is it possible that because if this indoctrination that the blacks do not abide by the police officers command to stop and follow his instructions? Is it possible that because of this that blacks are shot because they did not follow the rules? It’s time that blacks take some responsibility in this situation. Stop telling your children to run from the police and rather teach them to obey police instruction. This would make a whole lot of difference in life and death situations.

[72lions]

Given your ridiculous scenario, I totally blame the cop. Here is a law abiding citizen who is mistreated by someone who is sworn to protect him because he can't see beyond skin color. Then give up your badge and become a commenter on TOTV. The cop is given special rights and special protection and special treatment and special honors and is still a racist in your scenario.

All of you who say this is just fine, it is human nature are exactly the same people who claim there is not such thing as white privilege. Yet you are presented a simple clear example of white privilege and defend it, even think it is completely reasonable. After all, those blacks are criminals and thugs and rapists and murderers and druggies and so they and anyone who shares their skin color deserves what they get.

Even if the driver in your little thought experiment is a former convicted felon he deserves to be treated with respect and exactly the same as any lily white driver unless he is at the time he is stopped committing a crime. Period.

You are, of course, exactly right, but this is the villages, home to 100k+ white privileged (don’t read rich or hard working) elders. I was taught to respect authority, although the 60s did influence that. Police, like most, are very fine individuals. Unfortunately, most now come from brief stints in the military with combat training. Many have a desire to wear a uniform, shoot a gun and feel more superior than their position warrants. This attitude is encouraged by training and culture (the blue line).

We are racists. Some more than others, but racist nonetheless. Just a few days ago, a mentor at the charter school was walking around the school waiting for her student to be let out. Sure enough, the police showed up demanding to know her reason for being there.

A few years ago, my Johns Hopkins educated son-in-law, a world class triathlete, was training in our village. A neighbor warned me noting that he had called the SCSO asking for increased patrols. Oh yes, my son-in-law’s family hails from Barbados and thus is dark skinned.

If all you watched were Fox News, you would believe there is only rioting and looting. The truth is almost all local demonstrators are peaceful. Those few agitators should obviously be the subject of police action, but repeatedly the law and order mentality, with all the training and firepower takes over.

Finally, the tragic death of a black man just released from the hospital naked on the streets was not treated like the mentally disturbed person he was but like some wild, vicious animal. Despite having been subdued and handcuffed, he was hooded, his head pressed against the pavement. It is exactly for these interactions that the poorly named Defund Police movement is designed to address. Trained social workers rather than trained police would have gandered this encounter differently.

Let’s support law enforcement while not tolerating police abuse of power. We can do both.

[alk1939]

Has anyone ever been killed for NOT resisting the police? Asking for a friend

[Bay Kid]

Has anyone ever been killed for NOT resisting the police? Asking for a friend

None known, but I'm sure somebody can create this hate.

[Nanny32162]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.

Why was he pulled over? Was his crime "driving while Black." NO ONE should be pulled over and stopped by the police without a valid reason. I will not accept that he should be pulled over because of the number of crimes committed by Black people. Whites probably commit as many crimes, they just get away with it. Whites can afford more expensive lawyers; commit white collar crimes, about which we don't always hear; and people don't call the police because a white person walks past their house after dark, as they might if that same person were Black. There are many dedicated wonderful police officers; however, there seems to be a lack of sensitivity, and there appears to be actin of racism by some officers.

[VillageLiberal]

Suppose a white man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is beaten by black thugs, just for fun, while they use racial slurs. They all have extensive criminal histories. The police track down the thugs but the animals are never charged with a hate crime. Who should he blame? The police officer because they are obviously racist? The thug animals because they are just misunderstood and expressing their first amendment rights and peacefully protesting "something"? The racist "system" because blacks are given a pass from hate crimes? But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of dirty politicians who pander to criminals and are hypocrites. Sorry liberals...it is true,

Please stop using the FoxNews dog whistle terms like "thugs" and "animals", it doesn't help make your case it only makes the reader understand that you're a Tucker Carlton viewer and probably hold racist beliefs. Do some research on "sundown" and Jim crow laws. Sundown laws were enacted in small cities/towns throughout the country to keep African American out, it you were black and caught in the city or town you where either lynched or arrested and then forced to work city projects until your debt was paid off, which typically included additional costs for your room and board and meals in jail, which only extended your forced labor. These African Americans where killed or forced to work only because they were caught in city/town limits after sundown. While I'm sure that many of "Nice" people in the Villages are thinking, "well maybe we should go back to them laws, and Make America Great Again!" I can assure you we are not!

Get your head out of Fox News and watch a movie like Hidden Figures.

[Villagesgal]

Your headline is perfect ... and then you explain why the police are justified in their treating blacks and whites differently.

My friend's dark skinned son drives his Mercedes through Washington DC and gets pulled over every two to three blocks ... and you are saying "understandable"?

You excuse the actions .... and explain the actions .... how do you feel about it?

So glad you brought this point up. This happens every day in cities throughout the U.S.. My adopted mix raced son, who attended the best private schools and a well known private University was continually pulled over in his teens, and when they could find nothing, was given tickets for not having a bag for trash in his vehicle. This was always thrown out in court, but we could add up over 32 tickets for this, this was after he was asked to get out of the car, the car searched and nothing found. He was pulled over for being a minority driving a BMW, no other reason. He was always respectful, but also always felt humiliated. He is now a CFO of a tech company and continues to be pulled over a few times a month, nothing found and "let go". Really, this needs to end.

[newgirl]

Wow, this thread shows just how white this area is. Sad.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

If you are stopped by the police for a traffic violation, do this:

1- Don't admit to anything.
2- Keep Your mouth shut. Don't argue. Obey his/her instructions and be respectful
3- Keep your hands on the wheel
4- Turn off the engine
5- If at night, turn the cabin lights on.
Go to court if you don't agree with the officer. It's better than going to jail.

How hard is that?

1: Cop asks "do you know how fast you were going?"
2: Keep your mouth shut.
2: Cop says "Answer me!" obey the orders of the police.
2: Keep your mouth shut.
You are about to turn the cabin light on when the cop says "put your hands on the wheel!" So you can just forget about #5.


If you say "I don't know how fast I was going, officer." you will be accused of distracted driving (since you should've been paying attention). If you admit to speeding, you will be admitting that you violated the law, and that you knew you were violating it. If you say you were going under the speed limit (or at it) you will be arguing with the police, who pulled you over for speeding.

Since when do the rules have to be different for black people than it is for white people? Answer: since black people are held to different standards. As a white person I know I can say "I don't know how fast I was going Officer, but I definitely wasn't going faster than the guy ahead of me in the white volvo." And I won't get arrested, or threatened for being argumentative, or anything of the sort. I also know if I'm black and say the same thing, they're more likely to look for something wrong with the car so they can tack on more violations.

That is how it is.

[waltwl]

Sorry can't believe he gets pulled over every two or three blocks

[Boomer]

Those who cry "discrimination" promote being discriminated!!


May I extrapolate from this statement that the same thing would have been said to and about the suffragettes, 100 years ago?

Sincerely,
Susan B. Boomer

[PugMom]

BTW, re: several posts here: Has anyone here ever seen 'Wag the Dog'?

[rmd2]

Your headline is perfect ... and then you explain why the police are justified in their treating blacks and whites differently.

My friend's dark skinned son drives his Mercedes through Washington DC and gets pulled over every two to three blocks ... and you are saying "understandable"?

You excuse the actions .... and explain the actions .... how do you feel about it?

His getting pulled over is based on probabilities and I don't blame the police.

[Byte1]

Wow, this thread shows just how white this area is. Sad.

"Sad" because folks are white? Is that supposed to make folks feel guilty? Why? What is wrong with being white, black, red or yellow?
NO! One should only feel guilty for how they treat someone, not what they look like and how someone else perceives them. One is not guilty of being a racist, based only on their color.

[Number 10 GI]

Your headline is perfect ... and then you explain why the police are justified in their treating blacks and whites differently.

My friend's dark skinned son drives his Mercedes through Washington DC and gets pulled over every two to three blocks ... and you are saying "understandable"?

You excuse the actions .... and explain the actions .... how do you feel about it?

Gets stopped every two or three blocks? There aren't that many cops in DC. Your credibility just went to zero.

[Tom2172]

Some white cops are pricks has nothing to do with race
Being a cops a tough job a life and death job very high stress and generally they deal with the dregs of society criminals.
Blacks also been conditioned to believe their victims by media and politicians, this doesn’t help.
Believing you’re a victim means nothing is ever your fault for your poor decisions.
It allows everything to be blamed on racism, when it’s not.
Blaming everything on racism Is very addictive like a drug.

[Dust Bunny]

But what id the police officer was also black?

[Red Rose]

Black police stop black people also. Are they racist? No. So why make it all about race when a white police officer stops a black person. If you're stopped for any reason, just comply with the officer. It's called respect. If you have nothing to hide, you have no reason to act beliggerent. If you do have something to hide, own up to it and don't escalate the situation.

[deestatham@aol.com]

Totally agree. One can only go by statistics in a situation like this, police officer or not. When the statistics change, so will public opinion and perception. It’s a shame, buts it’s true. Decent blacks are paying the price for the statistics created by their own. I hope I live to see it change. There are plenty of wonderful, salt of the earth blacks paying the price for the actions of their own.

[Doctorcrime]

i think you hit the nail on the head. Not really racism, profiling based on history.


well said!

[Rosebud1949]

She lived with a dealer, kept money and goods for him. He even called her from jail to ask for the money she held, to get him out on bond. The police acted on the house being STILL USED for drug business. I am not saying that all cop shootings are good or bad.. but they go on the evidence they have. This girl was NOT an angel, nor was floyd.


Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.

[VillageLiberal]

Some white cops are pricks has nothing to do with race
Being a cops a tough job a life and death job very high stress and generally they deal with the dregs of society criminals.
Blacks also been conditioned to believe their victims by media and politicians, this doesn’t help.
Believing you’re a victim means nothing is ever your fault for your poor decisions.
It allows everything to be blamed on racism, when it’s not.
Blaming everything on racism Is very addictive like a drug.

Some white cops are pricks has nothing to do with race : Some white cops are racists and their behavior has everything to do with race

Being a cops a tough job a life and death job very high stress and generally they deal with the dregs of society criminals. - Being Black in America is tough, constantly being viewed as a criminal, thug, or animal, hard to get a decent job because of systemic racism, people think you're lazy, on drugs, welfare queen, its very high stress being black, being black can be a death sentence

Blacks also been conditioned to believe their victims by media and politicians, this doesn’t help. Police have been conditioned by the media and politicians to believe that all Americans think all Police are racists when people know that the number of racist police is low but exists nevertheless

Believing you’re a victim means nothing is ever your fault for your poor decisions. Whether your black, white, police, or just taking a jog

It allows everything to be blamed on racism, when it’s not. Whether your black, white, police, or just taking a jog

Blaming everything on racism Is very addictive like a drug. Whether your black, white, police, or just taking a jog

[NJRICHARD]

suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.
i have a beard, i'm a male, white, and i get pulled over because i look suspicious. I did not commit any crimes. Blacks commit 70% of all crimes, just figure the odds. There is a 70% chance you might have stopped someone that commited a crime??

[VillageLiberal]

i have a beard, i'm a male, white, and i get pulled over because i look suspicious. I did not commit any crimes. Blacks commit 70% of all crimes, just figure the odds. There is a 70% chance you might have stopped someone that commited a crime??

I think we'd all love to see your source for the statistic you just stated that blacks commit 70% of all crimes.

[dewilson58]

i have a beard, i'm a male, white, and i get pulled over because i look suspicious. I did not commit any crimes. Blacks commit 70% of all crimes, just figure the odds. There is a 70% chance you might have stopped someone that commited a crime??


No, the posted stat doesn't work that way. For your statement to be true......70% of blacks would have to be criminals.

[1couple]

I am a white man and never been arrested driving a nice car and got pulled over and 3 cop cars pulled up all pulled guns on my. I found out later that I looked like a guy they were looking for. So I don’t see racism every time a black person is stopped

[Otis64]

Add to that: Some police officers act as judge, jury, AND executioner. We have recently witnessed instances of this; imagine what we have NOT been witness to. I DO have respect for men & women in blue...when they are doing their jobs as they were trained. However, the "bad apples" are tarnishing their ranks. The "blue wall of silence" must come down. As we teach our children, "If you see something, say something."

[jimjamuser]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.
OK, all well and good about the "disproportional" amount of Black crime. I will concede that as a beginning thesis. Now, I want to take the problem back - back to 1965 when LBJ did civil rights but had to stop SHORT of integrating ALL new residential communities - back to Jim Crow - back in History 400 years to the 1st Black slave brought here.

....Pretend, as a thought experiment, that Blacks had colonized the US before the White got here. Just forgetting about Native American rights for this experiment. Then the Blacks brought in UNEDUCATED and culturally unsophisticated White SLAVES, that remained 15 or so % of the US population. Then, the Whites would be more imprisoned and hurt by the Judicial system. Whites would be systemically racially prejudiced against. You need to imagine that Brave New World in order to relate to the Reality that Blacks are faced with every day. You need to go BACK to the original WHY things are this way for your answer. It is just LUCKY to be born WHITE. It is no great accomplishment and not to be bragged about!

[Ramone]

Very well said and hitting the point right on!

[jimjamuser]

We are all human beings.

This whole mess is making me beyond sick and it is being used to collapse what we know as a democracy.

The violent and destructive behavior out there is vile and is to be condemned, not encouraged for ulterior motives as is happening right under our noses.

Remember this? (Some 8th grade teacher might have made you memorize it):

. . ."our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."


Years before Lincoln gave that speech, Ben Franklin said, "We have given you a republic -- if you can keep it."

(Haunting words -- here we are.)


Do not categorize me so you can dismiss me. Please read on:

In my family there are two police officers, both women. One is my age so she is retired. She was the first female officer in her city so she often had to face down the territory that came with that. The other one is young. I respect and admire her -- and I worry about about her. I think police work is often a calling -- like it is for truly dedicated teachers and nurses. But I have to wonder how long it will be before we have very few who will want to answer any of those callings.

Our country is starting to look like Oceania, the country in Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the book the government made sure the Proles were saturated with violence, brought to them on screens, to keep them in a constant state of anger and fear in order to control and rule over them.

And now, in real life, not a novel -- the times -- they are Orwellian.


Boomer
Well done post!

[Gerryk12]

How do you know he was not treated as well as a white man? Generalities are not much to discuss.

[jimjamuser]

Given your ridiculous scenario, I totally blame the cop. Here is a law abiding citizen who is mistreated by someone who is sworn to protect him because he can't see beyond skin color. Then give up your badge and become a commenter on TOTV. The cop is given special rights and special protection and special treatment and special honors and is still a racist in your scenario.

All of you who say this is just fine, it is human nature are exactly the same people who claim there is not such thing as white privilege. Yet you are presented a simple clear example of white privilege and defend it, even think it is completely reasonable. After all, those blacks are criminals and thugs and rapists and murderers and druggies and so they and anyone who shares their skin color deserves what they get.

Even if the driver in your little thought experiment is a former convicted felon he deserves to be treated with respect and exactly the same as any lily white driver unless he is at the time he is stopped committing a crime. Period.
Very thoughtful. Kudos!

[jimjamuser]

I am 81 years old, fought for my country, and as news developed the last 24 hours and became legit, I literally had tears in my eyes.

You are correct with your book comparison.

Sleeping will be difficult tonight. No control any more
Thank you for your service. Hang in there - Abe Lincoln said that you can NOT fool ALL of the people All of the time. sorry to repeat the obvious - but if not NOW, then when.
......as some great past Chinese Philosophy once said, " and THIS too shall PASS".

[nn0wheremann]

Suppose a black man grows up in a good family, gets a good education, gets a good job, gets married, and has a few children. He never breaks the law, never gets arrested, and is a good family man. One day, he is pulled over by a white police officer and is not treated in the same way that the police officer would normally treat a white man. But, the black man obeys the police, shows his valid license and registration, and is eventually released, even though he feels like he should have been treated with more respect. Who should he blame? The police officer because he is obviously a racist? Maybe. But, how about placing at least some of the blame on the disproportionate number of black men who did not follow the same law abiding course in life, and had some influence on the police officer's perception about life. Police officers are supposed to follow a standard procedure, but they are only human.
No excuses. One puts on the uniform, assumes the responsibility and mist live up to it, or get out of the job. Substandard performance is not tolerable under any circumstance. End of discussion.

[VillageLiberal]

No excuses. One puts on the uniform, assumes the responsibility and mist live up to it, or get out of the job. Substandard performance is not tolerable under any circumstance. End of discussion.

I agree, you know when you join the military they make you strip down and show all your tattoos, if you have any offensive tattoos Nazi symbols etc... They reject you or make you get the tattoo removed. They should do the same for all police officers.

[Topspinmo]

"Only human" is not an excuse for a police officer being a rascist. Perhaps more education than a hs diploma, more than several months of police academy training, and better background and family checks to weed out a rascist upbringing, will allow better decisions to be made by the police.

So reading bunch of books and passing test makes difference? I can read about dipstick‘S, pass test about dis-stick. But can’t fine it under the hood, let alone know how to properly check and read it. That comes from skill not from readiing about it.

[Byte1]

i have a beard, i'm a male, white, and i get pulled over because i look suspicious. I did not commit any crimes. Blacks commit 70% of all crimes, just figure the odds. There is a 70% chance you might have stopped someone that commited a crime??

What you mean is that 13.4% of the population of America is black and 30% of the arrests in America are of minorities. So, actually 70% of the arrests are white which are 76.4% of the population.

Another poster quoted a 2013 chart so:

One fact checker states:
"In 2013, the FBI has black criminals carrying out 38 per cent of murders, compared to 31.1 per cent for whites. The offender’s race was “unknown” in 29.1 per cent of cases."
"...93 per cent of black victims were killed by blacks and 84 per cent of white victims were killed by whites."

I could use more facts, but to generalize minorities commit a disproportionate amount of violent crimes in America as compared to their population ratio to whites. Surely, our liberal friends do not excuse violence based on a perception of racism.

There is no systemic racism in America. There is some racism, but we have come a long way since REAL lynching style racism. The only answer to racism is ASSIMILATION. Once folks realize that we have an American culture and stop attempting to be separatist and insisting on their own individual cultures borrowed from other countries, Americans will become blind to skin color and accents.

Per the subject of this thread, COPS are our line of defense against anarchy in this country. Now, city leaders are removing that factor by putting governors on them and tying their hands behind their backs. COPs are not inherently racists. Racism is only a tool of those wishing for monetary gain derived from a fabricated perception of police racism. Booker T. Washington was so right and must have seen the future when he said:
“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”

[VillageLiberal]

So reading bunch of books and passing test makes difference? I can read about dipstick‘S, pass test about dis-stick. But can’t fine it under the hood, let alone know how to properly check and read it. That comes from skill not from readiing about it.

Didn't the recent administration just remove educational requirements for Federal Government jobs. Now the administration is removing all training for employees to identify racial biases. Kinda see where this is going

[coffeebean]

Watch LivePD on A&E Friday’s and Saturday’s at 9 PM. They have Live cameraman riders with police patrols across the country. You will see what a cop has to go through with all kinds of people from domestic arguments to hard and dangerous criminals. This is not scripted nor staged. You will have tremendously more respect for the police.

Live PD has been cancelled by A&E. Are they airing reruns?

[coffeebean]

Good point. It’s a bit like what happens when someone picking romaine lettuce in the San Joaquin Valley of California has to relieve himself, has diarrhea, but has no hand washing facilities, and a few dozen heads get contaminated with e-coli. Someone in New Jersey gets very sick, and the culprit turns out to one of the few dozen bad heads, grown in one field. But then many thousands of bags from that company and field are pulled off the shelves and destroyed. The news reaches consumers by television, and millions of people not only throw away all the romaine lettuce in their refrigerators, even from other companies, and even from other states, but stop buying romaine for a month, a year, forever. That seems really silly. (But I still get nervous in the face of a Caesar salad after the outbreak several years ago.) But meanwhile, government inspectors from the Department of Agriculture or wherever are grabbing more heads of romaine in the packing plants and testing it. Store owners may decide to keep it off the shelves. All romaine is suspected, just because of a couple dozen heads grown in one field out of a hundred million from around the country, with no more outbreaks.

Now, what if it’s not one head in ten million, or one in a million, or one head in a thousand, or one in a hundred, or one in ten, but 28.5%? If nearly three out of ten heads of male romaine lettuce was likely to be contaminated, the inspectors would be very careful to examine and test the male heads thoroughly, simply because they are more likely to make people sick. If 28.5% of male romaine can harm you, but only 4.4% of male iceberg lettuce, you would probably want all lettuce destroyed, period. But meanwhile, you’d expect inspectors to be checking the heads of romaine even more carefully. It’s just common sense, for the public welfare. Maybe even every head of all lettuces should be tested. That would be expensive, but if it’s necessary, so it goes.

What if someone gave you tickets to some event, say a real football game, with 50,000 people in the stands. Would you go if you knew there were ten COVID-19 positive people there? How about 500 (1%)? How about if there were 2,200 COVID-19 positive people in the stands (4.4%). What if it were 28.5% COVID-19 positive, nearly a third? Would you want everyone tested? I would. If fans wearing home team paraphernalia were 28.5% likely to be positive or become positive, wouldn’t you expect extra attention to be paid to testing the home team fans? Wouldn’t you hope you are sitting among the away team fans (not that that would be safe, either). Testing like that makes everyone safer, whatever their favorite team.

What I came away with from your post..........I did not realize there are male and female heads of lettuce.

[VillageLiberal]

Live PD has been cancelled by A&E.
Are they airing reruns?

Anyone who watched LivePD quickly realized that the officers would go to specific areas, kinda like fishermen finding a fishing hole, these cops would find a fishing hole and sit there waiting for a fish to get on the line, then "act" for the camera as they made some BS charges. It's easy to find people breaking the law, even in the Villages, put a Sheriff at every country club with a film crew, trust me you'll find plenty of offenses and lots of great television

[VillageLiberal]

What you mean is that 13.4% of the population of America is black and 30% of the arrests in America are of minorities. So, actually 70% of the arrests are white which are 76.4% of the population.

Another poster quoted a 2013 chart so:

One fact checker states:
"In 2013, the FBI has black criminals carrying out 38 per cent of murders, compared to 31.1 per cent for whites. The offender’s race was “unknown” in 29.1 per cent of cases."
"...93 per cent of black victims were killed by blacks and 84 per cent of white victims were killed by whites."

I could use more facts, but to generalize minorities commit a disproportionate amount of violent crimes in America as compared to their population ratio to whites. Surely, our liberal friends do not excuse violence based on a perception of racism.

There is no systemic racism in America. There is some racism, but we have come a long way since REAL lynching style racism. The only answer to racism is ASSIMILATION. Once folks realize that we have an American culture and stop attempting to be separatist and insisting on their own individual cultures borrowed from other countries, Americans will become blind to skin color and accents.

Per the subject of this thread, COPS are our line of defense against anarchy in this country. Now, city leaders are removing that factor by putting governors on them and tying their hands behind their backs. COPs are not inherently racists. Racism is only a tool of those wishing for monetary gain derived from a fabricated perception of police racism. Booker T. Washington was so right and must have seen the future when he said:
“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.”

There is absolutely, 100 percent, no doubt, systemic racism in America. BTW nobody in America uses the word "coloured"!

[jimjamuser]

You are, of course, exactly right, but this is the villages, home to 100k+ white privileged (don’t read rich or hard working) elders. I was taught to respect authority, although the 60s did influence that. Police, like most, are very fine individuals. Unfortunately, most now come from brief stints in the military with combat training. Many have a desire to wear a uniform, shoot a gun and feel more superior than their position warrants. This attitude is encouraged by training and culture (the blue line).

We are racists. Some more than others, but racist nonetheless. Just a few days ago, a mentor at the charter school was walking around the school waiting for her student to be let out. Sure enough, the police showed up demanding to know her reason for being there.

A few years ago, my Johns Hopkins educated son-in-law, a world class triathlete, was training in our village. A neighbor warned me noting that he had called the SCSO asking for increased patrols. Oh yes, my son-in-law’s family hails from Barbados and thus is dark skinned.

If all you watched were Fox News, you would believe there is only rioting and looting. The truth is almost all local demonstrators are peaceful. Those few agitators should obviously be the subject of police action, but repeatedly the law and order mentality, with all the training and firepower takes over.

Finally, the tragic death of a black man just released from the hospital naked on the streets was not treated like the mentally disturbed person he was but like some wild, vicious animal. Despite having been subdued and handcuffed, he was hooded, his head pressed against the pavement. It is exactly for these interactions that the poorly named Defund Police movement is designed to address. Trained social workers rather than trained police would have gandered this encounter differently.

Let’s support law enforcement while not tolerating police abuse of power. We can do both.
That is correct about many things, Mr. 72. It is unfortunate that the "defund the Police" slogan was initially started as a rally cry. The thing to do is to improve the Police by lowering the power of Police unions and not allowing the "BAD" cops to just relocate to another city or state. Police are better trained in Europe and they have MUCH greater success in deescalating situations. I continue to believe that Police should carry one pistol with lead bullets and one with rubber bullets (it could be made lightweight). Mr Blake could have been shot and brought to his knees by a RUBBER bullet hitting him as he came around the front of his car. Why not experiment with the carry of rubber bullets? It could POTENTIALLY de-esculate Many, Many situations. And as a famous person once said, "What have you got to lose?"

[retiredguy123]

I find it very interesting how people view this issue in totally different ways. I look at it in a more primitive manner. Human beings are not much different from other animals, except they are more intelligent. But, do you really believe that humans are that much different from other animals when it comes to their behavior based on experience? It seems as though some people think humans can just ignore their experiences and their prejudices, and change their behavior because society passes a law against discrimination? I don't think so. How long would the human race have survived if their behavior was constantly being controlled by these kinds of laws? You cannot regulate how people think. We could replace police officers with robots and program them to ignore skin color and other factors, but I don't think they would be very good at law enforcement.

[Byte1]

There is absolutely, 100 percent, no doubt, systemic racism in America. BTW nobody in America uses the word "coloured"!

In case you didn't comprehend the quote or just didn't completely read it, I quoted from Booker T Washington. I'm pretty sure he was an American. Since I copied the quote from the Internet, it could be in error. If you find a more accurate quote, perhaps you can share it?
And there is no direct evidence that "racism" is systemic in America, regardless of someone's theory.