#Blacklivesmat

[Catholic_Lady]

You make a valid point. Yes, of course black lives matter. But they should always matter. There seem to be people out there who only get upset about a black life when it's taken away by a white cop.

Why do you specify "white" cop? This issue is one about racist cops.

But what started all this, the shooting of Michael Brown, was proven not to have been racially motivated at all. It just seems like the same outrage wouldn't have happened if Darren was black.

[SteelCurtain]

But what started all this, the shooting of Michael Brown, was proven not to have been racially motivated at all. It just seems like the same outrage wouldn't have happened if Darren was black.

You are missing the context of that situation in Ferguson. If Darren Wilson were black, it would have still been an issue. The Police as a unit were at odds with the entire community.

Police in Ferguson, MO, were abusing power, beating up and extorting residents, writing superfluous tickets solely to fund the courts, etc.

For example:

Even relatively routine misconduct by Ferguson police officers can have significant
consequences for the people whose rights are violated. For example, in the summer of 2012, a
32-year-old African-American man sat in his car cooling off after playing basketball in a
Ferguson public park. An officer pulled up behind the man’s car, blocking him in, and
demanded the man’s Social Security number and identification. Without any cause, the officer
accused the man of being a pedophile, referring to the presence of children in the park, and
ordered the man out of his car for a pat-down, although the officer had no reason to believe the
man was armed. The officer also asked to search the man’s car. The man objected, citing his
constitutional rights. In response, the officer arrested the man, reportedly at gunpoint, charging
him with eight violations of Ferguson’s municipal code. One charge, Making a False
Declaration, was for initially providing the short form of his first name (e.g., “Mike” instead of
“Michael”), and an address which, although legitimate, was different from the one on his driver’s
license. Another charge was for not wearing a seat belt, even though he was seated in a parked
car. The officer also charged the man both with having an expired operator’s license, and with
having no operator’s license in his possession. The man told us that, because of these charges,
he lost his job as a contractor with the federal government that he had held for years.

(bold mine)
http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/fil...report.pdf (page 6)

Please, just peruse that document and tell me honestly that you think it was the color of that cop's skin that was the reason that the people of Ferguson finally said enough.

[Cecelia]

Actually, Black Lives Matter started after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

[Catholic_Lady]

But what started all this, the shooting of Michael Brown, was proven not to have been racially motivated at all. It just seems like the same outrage wouldn't have happened if Darren was black.

You are missing the context of that situation in Ferguson. If Darren Wilson were black, it would have still been an issue. The Police as a unit were at odds with the entire community.

Police in Ferguson, MO, were abusing power, beating up and extorting residents, writing superfluous tickets solely to fund the courts, etc.

For example:

Even relatively routine misconduct by Ferguson police officers can have significant
consequences for the people whose rights are violated. For example, in the summer of 2012, a
32-year-old African-American man sat in his car cooling off after playing basketball in a
Ferguson public park. An officer pulled up behind the man’s car, blocking him in, and
demanded the man’s Social Security number and identification. Without any cause, the officer
accused the man of being a pedophile, referring to the presence of children in the park, and
ordered the man out of his car for a pat-down, although the officer had no reason to believe the
man was armed. The officer also asked to search the man’s car. The man objected, citing his
constitutional rights. In response, the officer arrested the man, reportedly at gunpoint, charging
him with eight violations of Ferguson’s municipal code. One charge, Making a False
Declaration, was for initially providing the short form of his first name (e.g., “Mike” instead of
“Michael”), and an address which, although legitimate, was different from the one on his driver’s
license. Another charge was for not wearing a seat belt, even though he was seated in a parked
car. The officer also charged the man both with having an expired operator’s license, and with
having no operator’s license in his possession. The man told us that, because of these charges,
he lost his job as a contractor with the federal government that he had held for years.

(bold mine)
http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/fil...report.pdf (page 6)

Please, just peruse that document and tell me honestly that you think it was the color of that cop's skin that was the reason that the people of Ferguson finally said enough.

But if racism is what caused the riots, and they would have happened even if Darren were black, would that mean then that a black cop can be racist against blacks?

[SteelCurtain]

But if racism is what caused the riots, and they would have happened even if Darren were black, would that mean then that a black cop can be racist against blacks?

Yup. If you treat a particular race differently (read: worse than) another whether you are a member of that race or not, that is racist.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

See I don't even know if BLMs purpose is to point out police brutality against blacks. But I think my point still stands that instead of singling one group out that experiences police brutality, they should include everyone. Black people aren't the only ones who suffer from police brutality, even if they are subject to it the most. Or do we need a #Hispaniclivesmatter, #Asianlivesmatter #Whitelivesmatter too? Huh?! how outrageous there can't be a movement for white people! They are so privileged  and nothing bad ever happens to them! How racist!

Cops have always been agents of oppression used by the majority against the minority population in every country in the world.  Police departments in America have been especially racist in the origanization, recruitment, and enforcement of the law.  They are essentially nothing but organized gangs of thugs that act like the old slave patrols.  A common example is the NYPD which went all Jim Crow under the Jewish mayor with the stop and frisk BS.  That should be insulting to every decent American who values freedom and equal protection of the law.

When hispanics, Asians, and whites get tired of cops blowing away their friends and family members they will get off of their butts and demonstrate in their own movements as well.  Right now a lot of them participate in the BLM protests but tens of millions of people of all kinds should be demanding reform changes in the justice system.  It's a serious mistake to think that you are exempt from police brutality just because you are white and love cops.   One day you or one of your family members will find that out.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

I think one thing this thread reveals is that the US is still very much obsessed with 'race' politics, even going so far as to introduce race into subjects that don't necessarily warrant it (not saying this is an example, mind).

That's not to say that Europe and the UK don't also suffer from this, but I think considering the US' history and the animosity felt towards other racial groups as very much evidenced in recent race relations rows there is perhaps a larger underlying problem than simply police brutality and campaigns on #blacklivesmatter.

From an outsider looking in, it would appear there is almost a general consensus on how the police treat people in custody or as suspects, and that consensus is that it can be pretty bad.

[Dystopia]

The thing with blacklivesmatter and similar hashtags is that people often miss the point - It isn't saying white lives don't matter, or that we shouldn't protest against whites being killed, or that white people are always evil and black people are always good - It is just saying that, in some cases, you are more likely to be shot, killed and suffer violence if you're black, particularly against the police. I can't name every single case in history when a black person suffered at the hands at the police, and while I don't think all of them are due to racism, I also believe some of those people wouldn't have been killed if they were white.

Saying that there's more black on black crime is missing the point - Most crimes are intraracial, meaning that whites get killed by whites more often and blacks by blacks, etc - It makes sense, but it's a whole different topic with no relevance to blacklivesmatter.

[Dystopia]

I think one thing this thread reveals is that the US is still very much obsessed with 'race' politics, even going so far as to introduce race into subjects that don't necessarily warrant it (not saying this is an example, mind).

That's not to say that Europe and the UK don't also suffer from this, but I think considering the US' history and the animosity felt towards other racial groups as very much evidenced in recent race relations rows there is perhaps a larger underlying problem than simply police brutality and campaigns on #blacklivesmatter.

From an outsider looking in, it would appear there is almost a general consensus on how the police treat people in custody or as suspects, and that consensus is that it can be pretty bad.

I think the US created a healthy culture of political correctness (in the good sense of the word) and identity politics - In the US there seem to be groups to support every racial minority's rights, while in Europe you're pretty much seen as an immigrant if you're not white - This is actually something the US does better than Europe, there's even words like African-American or Asian-American and an effort to make racial groups feel American, but in Europe the majority just treats racial minorities like they're immigrants and nothing else.

[Mister Agenda]

See I don't even know if BLMs purpose is to point out police brutality against blacks. But I think my point still stands that instead of singling one group out that experiences police brutality, they should include everyone. Black people aren't the only ones who suffer from police brutality, even if they are subject to it the most. Or do we need a #Hispaniclivesmatter, #Asianlivesmatter #Whitelivesmatter too? Huh?! how outrageous there can't be a movement for white people! They are so privileged  and nothing bad ever happens to them! How racist!

Dude, they're not even asking not to be killed by cops. They're just asking not to be killed by cops so much. And you're like, 'why are they complaining about being killed by cops at such a high rate when other people are also being killed by cops, just at a lower rate?'

WTF?