am honest too lazy to look up current numbers, but in 2016, ~90 unarmed americans were killed by police. of those ninety, a smidge over 50% o' the dead and unarmed persons were black... and almost invariably, "armed" meant the person were in possession o' a handgun.
various people is gonna look at such numbers based on own personal lens. 2nd amendment folks will balk at suggestion (reality) handgun possession leads to a much higher rate o' getting death by cop or death by accident. many white conservatives will see higher rate o' black deaths from cop as no more than proof blacks is committing more crime and resisting more frequent. some folks will look at 90 when compared to total arrests and police confrontations and wonder what all the concern is 'bout... qq over yet another nothingburger, or somesuch. blm supporters will see disproportionate black killings as unconscionable and mere tip o' the iceberg when all police killings is considered.
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discuss race insta polarizes folks. is particular tough on law enforcement. tell a moderate/liberal white cop how he is a bigot whether he realizes or not is probable a less than constructive way to get such cops to buy-in to a program for changing use o' force schemes. is a good chance a white cop passed over for promotion twice in favor o' a minority applicant is gonna secret be grumbling 'bout affirmative action even if the minority applicants were clear more qualified-- again starting at disadvantage to buy-in. got a non-minority cop who has faced multiple ia investigations 'cause minorities complained 'bout treatment and even if the cop had started as a blm supporter who marched along with protesters after michael brown shooting, there is a good chance cop is no longer as sympathetic. etc.
there is a race problem for cops and daniel shaver incident(s) don't in anyway diminish the need for change. the fact a large % o' times cops go rogue the victim is white don't somehow erase what is disproportionate happening to minorities. that said, given current environment and America's inability to discuss race w/o it turning into a metaphorical blood bath (or worse-- have angry white participants to such conversations simple holding their opinions to themselves and getting angrier and angrier,) has us dubious 'bout the success o' a race-focused plan to deal with cop violence.
cop violence in the US is bad and is bad regardless o' the race o' the cop or the victim. and yes, cop violence is levied disproportionate 'pon minorites. fact. the thing is, am believing there is a cop solution to cop violence, but pretend as if there is a solution to cop racism without a broader and more general fix to USA cultural and social racism is a pipe dream. you aren't gonna somehow fix cop racism without addressing centuries o' systemic racism which lead to our current income disparity issues. you aren't gonna fix cop racism without addressing historical racism which has lead to minority distrust o' government institutions. you aren't gonna fix cop racism until you fix educational and healthcare racism.
look to board responses and see just how resistant is more than a few folks to wanna recognize cop racism as a problem and then imagine how much more difficult it will be to engage actual cops in meaningful change.
am thinking an attempt to address cop racism is laudable but ultimately a waste o' effort w/o simultaneous addressing broader race concerns and problems. raise your hand if you believe such a sea change o' American culture and law is gonna happen anytime soon.
cop violence is not an issue beyond the ability o' state and local governments to address. is a difficult problem but is one which offers room for improvement and a legit possibility for short and long-term change. try and fix cop racism, as if such improvement may be achieved w/o larger (and less likely) societal changes, strikes us as being o' being beyond any sorta realistic hope in 2020.
am not suggesting folks ignore cop racism. contrary, we need learn to discuss race issues in this country w/o everybody having their brains dribble outta their skulls whenever race is mentioned. learn to deal with racism is an enormous problem and is a generational fix. as a people we need to deal with US racism, but we also need deal with cop violence. general rule: when faced with a seeming insurmountable problem, am finding it is always beneficial to choose to focus on one aspect o' the problem which may be fixed. be paralyzed by the enormity o' an obstacle benefits none. obstacles typical appear less monolithic once you make constructive headway, even if change is small. so focus on cop violence w/o ignore cop racism. even so, recognize you ain't gonna fix cop racism w/o changing American racism.
HA! Good Fun!