Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Bumface
I've been talking through all of this with a hardcore right winger in the US I used to work with. He's a very smart guy, always seemed nice enough, but he's deep in an echo chamber. It's been interesting and disturbing seeing the lens a lot of people put on this.
His one point has been that there isn't systemic police racism, but police develop stereotypes because of negative interactions with groups of people over time, and they can be a good thing that is actually a protective mechanism.
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I had a chat with a friend's mom last night who's pretty with it and sharp but a little Trumpish. She asked who George Floyd was. I was like...well, he's a dead black guy. But was he famous? Not before the cops killed him. Well then why are people rioting? Cause of racism. Then in a perfect SNL moment...Well I don't know about that.
I thought the horse analogy would work well explaining systemic racism. It did not.
Let's say you ride your horse every day and he's a really good horse. He does everything you want him to do. But one day you decide to stop riding him and stop taking care of him. And then you stop being nice to him. And eventually you're really mean to him. Then one day you decide to go for a ride again and he bucks you off. Who's fault is that?
I was surprised to learn how many red necks respond with..."No horse is gonna buck me off. That horse would be on the plane to France"...and so on.