[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Byte1

I have seen and heard the word "systemic" quite a bit lately. It is being used improperly in my opinion.
White (and males of color) males are being targeted by law enforcement more often than females, therefore according to the above analogy, there is systemic sexism against males. Female population is a little over half the country, therefore if we do not have half the prison population females then there is a problem with systemic sexism. Or whatever fancy word you wish to call it.

Bottom line is that us males commit crimes and get caught much more than females.

However from what I read females are working to close the gap.

[Swoop]

Originally Posted by VillageLiberal

It's a good thing that blacks are in law enforcement, but yet people of color somehow out number white people in prison. There's an old saying "To someone with a hammer everything looks like a nail" , we've allowed black people and people of color to become the nail for law enforcement and that needs to change. When police officers need to fill their quota for the week the easiest place is to head to the black neighborhood. In either neighborhood you'll find someone driving drunk, riding with their high beams on, loitering, jay walking. But going to the black neighborhood is much easier than going shaking down some white kids in an affluent neighborhood, less pushback from affluent whites, and because whites have been hypnotized to believe that blacks are inferior, inclined to criminal behavior, etc... ,probably from watching COPS and Live PD, we argue that it ok.

In 2017, blacks represented 12% of the U.S. adult population but 33% of the sentenced prison population. Whites accounted for 64% of adults but 30% of prisoners. And while Hispanics represented 16% of the adult population, they accounted for 23% of inmates.

Black males make up roughly 6% of the population, yet commit over 50% of the murders in the US.

[Holpat39]

How quickly the people who want to dismantle or defund the police departments forget 9/11. It was the police and firemen who ran towards death, not the politicians, protesters/rioters but the news media vilifies the police and glorifies the protesters. What a topsy-turvy world we live in.

[GoodLife]

When police officers need to fill their quota for the week the easiest place is to head to the black neighborhood.

I don't think you've asked any Police officers about this.

[mneumann02]

Originally Posted by VillageLiberal

Some people believe its a "Nature" problem - Blacks are just inferior, naturally inclined to violence, etc..., I believe its a "Nurture" problem, our society is forcing these people to become this way. Forcing them both physically and mentally. It wasn't that long ago that our country was segregated, and the perception, and maybe the reality, black education was behind that of whites. As such why should we hire an uneducated black person for any technical well paying job, and in many places the laws were such preventing black people from getting advanced education so as a society we were preventing black people from advancing (I'd recommend the movie Hidden Figures). Many will say, oh that was a long time ago, we don't have those problems today, laws have been put in place to prevent racism, etc... - trust me, I've seen it first hand, racism is alive and thriving, people who practice it know how to try and not get caught at doing it. I've only been in The Villages for a few months, however its been my observation that the racial make-up of the Villages does not match that of the rest of the country. There are, as far as I can tell, very few people of color that live in The Villages. Has there been any research as to why that is? Some might say its too expensive to live in the Villages and blacks can't afford it (racist thinking), some might think its too hot in Florida and blacks don't like the heat (more racist thinking), some might say blacks don't play golf or like to swim (again racist). I don't know the answer, only what I observe, but it would be a great case study.

Sir, don't you understand that many of your statements only harden conservative views and give them great ammunition to attack liberal beliefs like "our society is forcing these people to become this way. Forcing them both physically and mentally." Society is NOT the biggest problem. It is the breakdown of the Black family unit. Too many children are being raised by one parent or none. This leads to lack of education- too many high school dropouts, not enough higher education. Lack of education leads to lack of good paying jobs. Lack of good jobs leads to criminal activity. Too many young girls having babies before they are 20, which dooms them to a life of poverty. Too many involved in drugs. This is NOT society's fault. Unless we recognize these are THE real issues keeping minorities down, we can not solve them. Tearing down a Confederate statue is maybe number 25 on the list of things we should be spending our time on. Here is one small step- how about every Black Lives Matters member and every Black church member become a mentor so each at-risk child in kindergarten has someone who will stay with them through high school graduation and either then get them into a technical school or college. Bingo- better education, better jobs, better life.

[Villagerjjm]

Originally Posted by JonWilliams

Dr. Birx said that 70 COVID-19 testing sites were destroyed by the "protests."

Dr. Birx Says George Floyd Protests Have Resulted in the Destruction of 70 Covid-19 Testing Sites | National Review

Your quote goes to a post by The Daily Beast. I would suggest that you choose another source for your information. Even FOX News does a better job with quotes and facts.

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by davem4616

I'm trying really hard to stay neutral and support these protestors...but they are really stretching it with all the damage that they are doing, for what damn reason???? It's their own damn neighborhoods that they are trashing

Because it not the protesters doing it the rioters from the outside cause the damage

[twinklesweep]

Originally Posted by billethkid

... At least not until the silent major stands up and demands enough is enough.

Originally Posted by alfredpopcorn@gmail.com

Excuse me . So protestors and rioters are one in the same ? Just the fact that all pandemic rules were not followed is similar to committing murder ? Isn’t that what we where told ?

Originally Posted by jbrown132

The media does not report the peaceful protests because it does not fit their agenda.

Originally Posted by karostay

Protesting peaceably for what one believes in should be embraced

Destruction stealing and causing bodily harm under the pretense of protesting should dealt with harshly and swiftly

Originally Posted by smacquart

Sad that violent and looting infiltrators ruined peaceful demonstrators image.

Originally Posted by billethkid

Any discussion becomes confusing as folks continue to use protestors and rioters/looters as one and the same. They are not. Protestors do not riot and loot Those who riot and loot do not protest. They could care less. They are activists/thugs bent on destruction. Why there is not more aggressive measure taken against the rioters/looters remains a mystery......and the major cause of the problems. Obviously burn baby burn is more newsworthy than peaceful protesting.

Originally Posted by IvorT

I think the majority of protesters are well intentioned. I also believe that there are anarchists who just want to overthrow the system, whatever that system might be. I just saw pictures of the tearing down of the slave-traders statue in England. The people who did it were white guys. No blacks in sight. I blame anarchists in both countries. In fact I suspect that all countries have this small minority of people, who just want to insight chaos.

Protesters are protesters; rioters, looters, and arsonists are criminals. Unfortunately, just reading the comments in this thread, it seems apparent that lumping both together fits a specific agenda. We might turn out to be concerned at the possibility that the protesters WERE the "silent majority"—and at least for the moment.

There appears to be a deliberate focus of covert groups to get people to associate protesters with criminals. I was told the extent to which people don't want to be confused by the facts (for example, the protesters themselves are, well, protesting; the criminals are burning and looting), because to blur them together fits that agenda.

One comment I read baffles me—about the friend who says EVERY "cop" is bad based on the misdeed of one. Really. Speaking personally: I'm involved with various groups—some political (some party, a couple bipartisan, one extremist), some community oriented non-political, some support groups, and on and on. From time to time the subject of law enforcement comes up, and there are some forceful views expressed, but I have NEVER known or heard anyone EVER express a view like that, nor has one ever been reported to me.... I have no way of knowing, but just from your story, the man sounds like a bigot! And that's a "friend"?

If only an unarmed, handcuffed man had not been murdered in the street in public view by a police officer in the presence of three fellow police officers who did nothing to stop him, none of this would be happening. Darn!

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

One comment I read baffles me—about the friend who says EVERY "cop" is bad based on the misdeed of one.

I don't recall reading that, but I do recall the general sentiment that the set of "cops who know a bad cop just did something bad, and they kept silent and didn't report it" is bad. I don't remember the exact meme but something like:

If 10 cops are bad and 1000 cops know about it and don't do anything about it, then 1010 cops are bad.

And that is correct. How many times do we hear "if you know something, say something." "If you see something, say something."

Should we not hold the police to at -least- the same standard that we're expected to maintain?

[Swoop]

Originally Posted by twinklesweep

Protesters are protesters; rioters, looters, and arsonists are criminals. Unfortunately, just reading the comments in this thread, it seems apparent that lumping both together fits a specific agenda. We might turn out to be concerned at the possibility that the protesters WERE the "silent majority"—and at least for the moment.

There appears to be a deliberate focus of covert groups to get people to associate protesters with criminals. I was told the extent to which people don't want to be confused by the facts (for example, the protesters themselves are, well, protesting; the criminals are burning and looting), because to blur them together fits that agenda.

One comment I read baffles me—about the friend who says EVERY "cop" is bad based on the misdeed of one. Really. Speaking personally: I'm involved with various groups—some political (some party, a couple bipartisan, one extremist), some community oriented non-political, some support groups, and on and on. From time to time the subject of law enforcement comes up, and there are some forceful views expressed, but I have NEVER known or heard anyone EVER express a view like that, nor has one ever been reported to me.... I have no way of knowing, but just from your story, the man sounds like a bigot! And that's a "friend"?

If only an unarmed, handcuffed man had not been murdered in the street in public view by a police officer in the presence of three fellow police officers who did nothing to stop him, none of this would be happening. Darn!

Actually an unarmed handcuffed man was murdered in the street, in public view, by a police officer, in the presence of three fellow police officers who did nothing to stop him. His name was Tony Timpa, but because he was white, his story wasn’t even picked up by the national news networks... No white lives matter protests, no looting, no politicians talking about defunding the police. All because of the color of his skin. Now that sounds racist to me...

[Bwolf1]

Those who are causing damage and destruction are not protesters, they are thugs, looters, anarchists and criminals. There have been thousands of peaceful protesters. The others hide behind peaceful protesters and should face the full impact of our laws. They must be held accountable as criminals, which is exactly what they are. They belong in jail!