Police shooting of unarmed teen leads to protests and Riot

[Acey]

Yeah... but let's not pretend that limit isn't flexible based on the colour of your skin.

Police here do a great job I've found, and even when it's somewhat obvious they're pulling you over because you're black - simply driving home from late work at a restaurant, 6 times in 2 months and 3 were the same cop... they're generally so polite in the interaction that it ends up being a stretch to call it harassment. The only problem I have with police here is that they selectively enforce traffic laws based on whatever agenda they've been given, which is obviously unrelated to race or anything.

So to sum up, overall, I have absolutely no problem with the police here and the vast majority of friends I have who are also visible minorities would say the same.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Just saying, police blullyin happens all the time and no one is off limits.

Yeah, but it happens to visible minorities more.

In the US, MUCH more. A shocking amount more. A amount that is indefensible as being anything other than racially motivated.

An amount that should be staggering the first time you hear it. Like this latest guy, who was killed after being falsely arrested. Or that other guy who got choked to death for selling individual cigarettes. Or that other guy who got shot to death by an officer that works for a police department that has 93% of their arrests being black folk.

When those cops picked you up on the side of the road to see if you had an outstanding warrant, did you end up dead? Did you end up with a criminal record? Did a cop shoot you and then plant a taser next to your body? Did they take you out into the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter, make you take off your jacket and make you walk back to town? Did they do any of those things because of the colour of your skin? No? Then I'm not sure what your anecdote is supposed to do here other than to attempt to minimize the extent that blacks and visible minorities experience abuse at the hands of law enforcement.

[Acey]

For example... I was pulled over in Lethbridge last year and these were the exact words of the interaction.

Him: Do you know why I pulled you over?
Me: No sir.
Him: Your car looks pretty expensive, just wanted to make sure everything was okay.

lol wtf. But he was smiling and so polite thereafter that I did not immediately realize how ridiculous this was.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Yeah, but it happens to visible minorities more.

In the US, MUCH more. A shocking amount more. A amount that is indefensible as being anything other than racially motivated.

An amount that should be staggering the first time you hear it. Like this latest guy, who was killed after being falsely arrested. Or that other guy who got choked to death for selling individual cigarettes. Or that other guy who got shot to death by an officer that works for a police department that has 93% of their arrests being black folk.
.

Of course the severity and frequency is worse among visible minorities. I didn't say or imply anything otherwise.

There is basically a list of factors that make someone an unfair target for police. Being a minority puts you at the top. Being young and male puts you near the top as well. Not being "clean-cut" will get you as well. What car you drive and how you dress will be a factor.

I certainly sympathize with minorities since they have that automatic strike against them no matter how many other hurdles they get past.

When those cops picked you up on the side of the road to see if you had an outstanding warrant, did you end up dead? Did you end up with a criminal record? Did a cop shoot you and then plant a taser next to your body? Did they take you out into the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter, make you take off your jacket and make you walk back to town? Did they do any of those things because of the colour of your skin? No? Then I'm not sure what your anecdote is supposed to do here other than to attempt to minimize the extent that blacks and visible minorities experience abuse at the hands of law enforcement.

The post I responded to (did you even read it??) was about simply being stopped, ID'd and interrogated without proper cause (the OP stated he was white and it never happened to him, and I said that I was white and it did happen to me). That is the only thing I was responding to in my post. Nor did I diminish it in anyway, quite the opposite. The article said that it happened to the black guy 50 times, and I stated it happened to me 4 times. A white person can never really understand what it is like to experience racism from their side, but that doesn't mean that events can't happen to white people that can help them at least empathize.

I wasn't talking about the wider issue of police brutality and framing people. I have posted on that though and I am sure our thoughts are probably the same on that.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Wait didn't just one guy die?
How is he being charged with a murder, a manslaughter and two vehicular manslaughter charges?

I wonder how much riot fear contributed to these lists of charges.

Just how charges work in 'Murica, I guess... stack em up at your leisure. Ariel Castro pled guilty to 977 charges of kidnapping, rape, murder, assault, etc. despite there only being 3 women.

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Wait didn't just one guy die?
How is he being charged with a murder, a manslaughter and two vehicular manslaughter charges?

I wonder how much riot fear contributed to these lists of charges.

Originally Posted by Acey

Just how charges work in 'Murica, I guess... stack em up at your leisure. Ariel Castro pled guilty to 977 charges of kidnapping, rape, murder, assault, etc. despite there only being 3 women.

Its called over charging. It's common practice. Over charging happens to make sure a plea deal or conviction happens. When a group of people are all over charged like tgis its meant to try to get them to turn on each other to get the truth out.

Remember thereis one officer who has refused to co-operate citing that it's his constitutional rights. What better way to get everyone else talking. It happens all the time.

[Quis_Separabit]

Originally Posted by Acey

For example... I was pulled over in Lethbridge last year and these were the exact words of the interaction.

Him: Do you know why I pulled you over?
Me: No sir.
Him: Your car looks pretty expensive, just wanted to make sure everything was okay.

lol wtf. But he was smiling and so polite thereafter that I did not immediately realize how ridiculous this was.

Oh look at me I have a nice car . Only kidding he probably just wanted to check your car out.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Quis_Separabit

Oh look at me I have a nice car . Only kidding he probably just wanted to check your car out.

That's the thing. My car costs well under $20k new, and I'd be surprised if he didn't know that. Just wanted to see where I was going, ran my info in his computer, and let me go. This is not an uncommon encounter in southern Alberta, but I've never had them BS me with that ruse.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Acey

That's the thing. My car costs well under $20k new, and I'd be surprised if he didn't know that. Just wanted to see where I was going, ran my info in his computer, and let me go. This is not an uncommon encounter in southern Alberta, but I've never had them BS me with that ruse.

Just outside of Strathmore I was pulled over because they said that said they had a report that someone with my vehicle description was shipping drugs. They did a little search of my vehicle (checked the ashtray, the glove compartment and under the seats) and then let me go with nothing said. Fortunately they didn't rip anything apart or plant anything. If they really had a report though, I would imagine the search would have been more extensive.

It was a pretty shocking thing to experience. I couldn't imagine if that sort of thing was a daily or weekly experience like it is for some minorities.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Just outside of Strathmore I was pulled over because they said that said they had a report that someone with my vehicle description was shipping drugs. They did a little search of my vehicle (checked the ashtray, the glove compartment and under the seats) and then let me go with nothing said. Fortunately they didn't rip anything apart or plant anything. If they really had a report though, I would imagine the search would have been more extensive.

It was a pretty shocking thing to experience. I couldn't imagine if that sort of thing was a daily or weekly experience like it is for some minorities.

Yeah they keep pulling me over and checking the back of my jeep for bodies.

then they ask me about the bag of Lye in the backseat.

[rubecube]

Oh good, another tangent of anecdotal evidence. Always so reliable relevant.

[Acey]

If it's me you're talking about, I'll reiterate that my experiences are not representative of the general minority population. My anecdotes are reliable in that they're true, but I don't claim that normal black people deal with the police as often as I do.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Acey

If it's me you're talking about, I'll reiterate that my experiences are not representative of the general minority population. My anecdotes are reliable in that they're true, but I don't claim that normal black people deal with the police as often as I do.

No, I wasn't referring to you. If white people want to go anecdotal in this thread, then we should also bring back #CrimingWhileWhite from a few months ago.

[FlamesAddiction]

If you were referring to me, I specifically indicated in my post that my anecdotal experience was not comparable to the experience of minorities.

[rubecube]

Guys, I wasn't referring to any one single person. It's been happening throughout this thread and it's really just a distraction from what the issue actually is. All it does is end up in a back and forth of who has had what happen and when. I think all of us have dealt with some dickbag cops. The difference is, for the white folks, I can pretty much guarantee it had nothing to do with your skin colour.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by polak

Why are African Americans so highly represented versus Latin Americans? Genuine question.

I think part of it is you have self propagating issues for African Americans that occurred as a result of having a massive enslaved, uneducated, neglected population that had broken families as a result of the slave trade, suddenly freed with no personal wealth, connections, home or land ownership, and minimal rights as compared to white people. As we've seen with our Native populations, those issues can easily persist for decades.

The Latin American population faced many challenges, as many came into the US poor and desperate, but Latino populations soared starting in the 70s, where they had a much more accepting society and had way more individual rights than African Americans did at the end of slavery, and faced fewer of the complicating factors, or to lesser degrees than all of the freed slaves.

My theory, no clue how much water it holds.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

I think part of it is you have self propagating issues for African Americans that occurred as a result of having a massive enslaved, uneducated, neglected population that had broken families as a result of the slave trade, suddenly freed with no personal wealth, connections, home or land ownership, and minimal rights as compared to white people. As we've seen with our Native populations, those issues can easily persist for decades.

The Latin American population faced many challenges, as many came into the US poor and desperate, but Latino populations soared starting in the 70s, where they had a much more accepting society and had way more individual rights than African Americans did at the end of slavery, and faced fewer of the complicating factors, or to lesser degrees than all of the freed slaves.

My theory, no clue how much water it holds.

I think you're over complicating it. Humans are prejudiced against those that look different, your average latino doesn't stand out as much as your average black person. And there are multiple studies showing that the darker a person's skin tone is the more likely they are to be discriminated against

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

The Latin American population faced many challenges, as many came into the US poor and desperate, but Latino populations soared starting in the 70s, where they had a much more accepting society and had way more individual rights than African Americans did at the end of slavery, and faced fewer of the complicating factors, or to lesser degrees than all of the freed slaves.

My theory, no clue how much water it holds.

That is probably the major factor. It's probably also worth mentioning that there are parts of the U.S., namely California and Texas, that are as much a Latino homeland as Mexico. The border that divides them is strictly political and not based on ethnic divisions. Latinos have historically been able to draw on cultural, political and even sometimes economic support from south of the border. There was a natural homegrown powerbase for many Latino communities. African Americans were segregated, largely landless and with little or no outside support.

[rubecube]

Has there ever been long and protracted campaigns to show how Latinos are behind whites on the evolutionary scale and to justify segregation based on this?

[rubecube]

And for that argument earlier that said the comic about whites was offensive because they don't get handed everything. Jesus, have you seen the South? The entire region is/was a caste system.