I hear you, Truth, and I don't disagree with you. His point, and the reason I posted the link to start with, is simply to highlight the starkly different reaction by police to nearly identical situations: 1) white man with rifle ranting and cursing at police = 40 minutes spent defusing the situation, no shots fired. 2) black boy with a realistic looking weapon = dead within seconds of police arrival without a word being said. I was raised in an all white neighborhood of Queens in the '60s and yes, I still look around if I hear footsteps and am as relieved as you are if it's someone who's white. And yes, it was 2 different cops in 2 different cities making difficult decisions. But if you can't see that one potential criminal was given the benefit of the doubt while the other was not, with the only apparent difference being skin color, I can't explain it to you. Pitts also makes the point about male privilege and I agree with that as well; I've seen it myself multiple times. I've sat with female friends in car dealerships where salesmen were trying to sell them a vehicle at sticker price while acting as though that's the norm; seen the same thing at repair shops as well, with ridiculous explanations of why a simple repair will cost thousands of dollars- and when I spoke up, somehow prices dropped and repairs were magically simpler. All I'm saying is his article rings true to me based on what I've seen in my 65 years of observing life. Just 2 days ago I was on a Greyhound bus in east Texas surrounded by a "minority majority" while going to pick up a vehicle. A couple of folks in different seats got very loud and started talking among each other about white people with me sitting right in front of them. I'd call the verbal abuse and name-calling an example of what you referred to above as Black Privilege. "They" were the majority and felt they could act with impunity with no concern for my reaction. An interesting and eye-opening experience to say the least. I happen to believe the police feel the same way in what could be called Police Privilege, i.e. the Blue Code of Silence. I've seen that first hand as well when I worked as a civilian in a Queens precinct and know it exists.
The officers knew him well. He wasn't going to run or overpower anyone with the shape and condition he was in.
A 350-400 LB man was not going to overpower anyone? He may have been a little out of shape and man not have been able to run but I once got hit by a 390 LB guy who was not in the best of shape and it still knocked me 10 feet back and I blacked out even though he didn't put his full force into it. Someone that size your training tells you not to let up until he is subdued. They could have possibly tried reasoning with him a little longer but he made it clear he did not intend to comply. Once the take down was in progress you do not stop until the person is subdued.
take your white privilege nonsense shove it directly up your ass! if a white guy resists arrest he gets fucked up just as quickly as a black guy. if you know how to act and don't resist you probably won't get fucked up. it's not the fault of white people if you don't respect the police.
I do think the officer in the incident with the kid may have acted too quickly but hard to tell from the video how he was taking the gun from his waist. If you get a call that there is an armed individual and when you arrive they begin to remove a gun from their waist you may be forced to make that split second decision. He was a dumb kid that was trying to scare people and by removing the orange tip from the gun it gave the appearance of a real gun. The parents were the real ones at fault here. The white man with the rifle if it was held in port position, or another non threatening position with one hand as it sounds from the other hand gestures being made then there is no threat. Had he brought it up to offhand position then we have a different story I am sure. Which picture below shows the greatest threat?
Yeah, I'm having a hard time buying the harmless victim narrative. This guy was huge, he was waving his arms and barking at the cops in a progressively more belligerent manner. The fact is, two small guys are going to have to use some force against the guy if he refuses to comply. Which is exactly what happened. I think the fact that he was unarmed is irrelevant. As far as the whole White Privilege issue goes, the only thing I can say is that if I was a poor black kid growing up in a shitty neighborhood doing the exact same things I did as a youth, I'm balls out certain I'd have a criminal record right now. You get a number of second chances and near misses in life and that number certainly has something to do with pigmentation. This doesn't excuse bad behavior on the part of anyone, but whites who believe that they are held to the exact same standards as blacks are deluding themselves.
Well I didn't grow up in the worst neighborhood but it was certainly not a nice neighborhood, we had shootings, stabbings, high drug use, etc. I did pretty well for a while and made it through high school for the most part pretty good but then I got arrested for a crime I did not commit. Even though I was in John Jay Criminal Justice College on a mini scholarship, never been arrested before and had alibi witnesses placing me at home at the time I was still convicted by a 10 black and 2 Spanish jury. A couple years after getting out of prison I was shot by 2 black youths that couldn't have been older than 15 years old. My prison record combined with some physical limitations due to having been shot have limited my life for the last 25-30 years. So you'll have to excuse me if I don't buy into the white privilege thing. Being where I was from and the racial make up of the neighborhood I would say my breakdown of good friends worked out to about 40-50% black and Hispanic and the rest white. I may have some leanings towards siding with law enforcement but that is probably because originally that was where my life was taking me before I went to prison and know how the other side thinks. I point these 2 things out to show why I think the way I do, it's not because of the racial aspect, it is the law abiding and law breaking aspects. If you break the law there is generally an extremely much higher chance of a confrontation with the police and if you resist in your confrontation then things get worse. As pointed out by a few in this thread there are some much more egregious cases of police brutality that really should have been the poster child for these protests. Using these 2 cases of criminals, that both resisted, as an impetus was what has had a lot of people resisting in joining that side.
Everyone has a choice you can do the right thing or the wrong thing. Skin color and socioeconomic status are just excuses. We wouldn't need cops if people didn't fuck up. The only cops I detest are traffic cops because that is just pure taxation there. All these protests are bullshit. They are just as relevant as the protests against the 1%. Fucking sheep.
I work with many retired NYPD officers and CO's. After hearing them continually refer to blacks and hispanics as 'savages' it is clear as day to me that there's an institutional problem between LE and the black community. Many people who say 'don't resist and there won't be any deaths' need to walk a few blocks in the other man's shoes before they so casually dismiss there being any issues.
After re reading what I posted I realize how one sided it sounds and would like to add that every black that gets arrested isn't a victim of racism. The Ferguson situation is one of the worst possible examples to bring the disparity to light (probably why the race baiting media focused so hard on it). But the reality is that racism is still alive and well in this country at the institutional level.
That's a tough story ad I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. That said, when you say, "So you'll have to excuse me if I don't buy into the white privilege thing," and use your life story as evidence, you are missing the point. Anecdotes are not data. Just because it wasn't as evident in your life doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I'm in a similar boat as Dierking. If I were black, I would most assuredly have a criminal record. I lived in a middle income, fairly diverse city/town in upstate New York. We did stupid things, as kids do. Was arrested a couple of times. Got let off even more. But had other friends/acquaintances with darker skin who got ticketed/arrested far more frequently, for the same things that I was let off for. Trespassing in a state park after dark? Minor in possession? They let me go. Other dudes got convicted. Just as your anecdote isn't conclusive proof on its own, neither is mine. But when you add up all the stories, you'll find a lot more fit my version than yours. Again, I'm sorry for what you've had to deal with, but your life doesn't represent the entirety of reality. I feel like the world would be a better place if more people realized this and took some time to try to walk in someone else's shoes.
That's a chilling story, and you have my condolences. Certainly class and wealth have something to say in the conversation obviously. A "wealthier" white kid from a "better" family in a "good" neighborhood might never get arrested, let alone convicted. At least he could probably afford a better lawyer to defend him. It adds up, almost imperceptibly over generations. I'm not advocating the opposite mind you, but your situation in which you where arrested, convicted by what is implied to be a racially motivated jury, and served time when you were innocent is hardly a strong way to recommend NOT resisting arrest. What happened to the two black youths who shot you?
It comes down to more socioeconomic privilege not white privilege. In your middle class neighborhood I am sure there is less crime, with that comes less thought of someone having a weapon that the officer may have to deal as well as an overall less criminal prone populace. I saw it through out growing up that none of us got a real break from law enforcement, some of us tended to steer clear and others drifted more to the criminal and drug using life, those that drifted to the criminal side, whether black, white or Hispanic were the ones that got arrested more. There are direct correlations between higher socioeconomic and lower crime rates, more so than race alone and crime although it could be argued that the lower socioeconomic status and race are what brings it right back up. It is a cyclical argument that can be argued from both sides. Best solution in my eyes is to put together a nationwide program where any high school student that keeps an A average while doing an acceptable amount of community service is guaranteed 100% of their college tuition covered as long as they maintain an acceptable GPA in college, B Average they get guaranteed 75%, C Average 50 percent and on down. Also decriminalize marijuana but increase sentences for illegal gun possession and other violent crimes. Increase academy time for police recruits to include more non lethal take down methods, sensitivity training and then longer supervised patrols before heading out on their own, couple that with a review board that would determine whether they pass their probationary period and move on or if they are better suited for a career outside law enforcement. I realize I got way off on a tangent but there are many changes that need to be made and bringing up the educational level overall while eliminating petty crimes like marijuana and putting a higher onus on having qualified law enforcement on the streets rather than who ever they can get I think can have a great impact on reducing many incidents that have been in the news lately.
My story was not one about resisting arrest just one about whether white privilege truly exists, I am sure it does in some way but I feel it is more tied to socioeconomic status as I posted above. I sure there are many studies that would prove me wrong just as there are many that would support my stance. Back in the late 80's early 90's the laws regarding youth mugshots did not allow them to show me any pictures of young kids so the pictures of 18-20 year olds they brought in did not match up with anyone.
white privilege is a racist term that is socially acceptable for some reason. wealthy people are privileged. The more wealth the more privilege. It has nothing to do with skin color. There are many privileged blacks in this country and many piss poor whites. Go build yourself some wealth and you can experience that privilege yourself. we all have that opportunity in this country. it's difficult to move up the social ladder in America but much easier than many other places. most of us are towards the bottom of the ladder and will never change that.
