What infuriates me is that cops brutalize people, and they do it because they are brutes, not because they are racists. It also infuriates me that their actions strongly tend to get press attention when the cops are white and their victims black, and the coverage conveys the impression that black cops aren't also dangerous, and only black citizens have anything to fear.
Only I know what goes on my mind, and I request that you cease assigning motives to my statements.
Steve: I am trying to document on this blog instances of police brutality, in an attempt to assess if it has a component of racism to it, and in any case to draw attention to it in order to end it for all people. In no way do I believe that white citizens have any guarantee that brutality committed against them by cops will automatically get noticed and remedied, nor do I believe that black cops are any more or less likely to brutalize black citizens than they or white cops are to brutalize black citizens.
If racial bias exists in police brutality statistics, I would like to see this evidence; otherwise, I want people without such evidence to stop making a claim that they cannot support, and simply oppose police brutality wherever it occurs.
"It also infuriates me that their actions strongly tend to get press attention when the cops are white and their victims black, and the coverage conveys the impression that black cops aren't also dangerous, and only black citizens have anything to fear."
This is all in your mind.
White cops REGULARLY mistreat black citizens and it rarely reaches the press.
I was a witness to a black man being pulled from his vehicle in Philadelphia back in February by a white cop. The man offered no resistance yet the cop punched him and pepper sprayed him.
I was going to get closer to get the cops badeg number and my wife screamed "NO".
So we reported the location of the incident to the local precinct, gave the squad car number, and our phone numbers when our testimony was needed.
We've called the stationhouse several times since February and have continually been blown off.
Do you doubt that the same thing happens to white guys? Do you doubt that black cops don't do this? Do you believe that if a white witness stepped forward he would have not been in danger from the brutal cops?
I wish that you had a video cell phone to capture the incident and provide the best chance at justice.
I predict that if you surveyed your black friends, few have ever been beaten and/or pepper sprayed by cops, and that such rarely happens as part of their life experiences.
"Do you doubt that the same thing happens to white guys?"
To use one of your favorite phrases "Percentage wise, it isn't even close."
"Do you doubt that black cops don't do this?"
Sure but when they do it to white people they are punished if not fired.
"Do you believe that if a white witness stepped forward he would have not been in danger from the brutal cops?"
Sure. Cops don't like snitches, period.
"I predict that if you surveyed your black friends, few have ever been beaten and/or pepper sprayed by cops, and that such rarely happens as part of their life experiences."
And your point is what Paul?
My friends feel the same way I do.
The guy being pulled out of his Jeep Cherokee looked like he was in his late 30s or early 40s, neat haircut, and dressed in jeans and a golf shirt.
In other words he didn't look like a gangbanger or a street thug.
Yet the cops were beating him.
We know that could have been any one of us and it could happen at any time.
And yet, as far as you or I know, this brutality is as rare among black folks as it is among white folks, something that has never happened to you or any of your friends.
I agree that Steve witnessed police abuse, I agree that the police do abuse, and I want to fight this abuse. If racism plays a role in this abuse, I want statistics to demonstrate this; if not, I want police abuse fought within the context of the facts. Packaging police abuse falsely as a racial problem will not be as effective as fighting this effort within a factual basis.
I have witnessed two of my friends, black, get abused by cops who were also black, and another friend (black) abused by white cops. I, white, have been abused once by black cops and once by white cops. In the three cases where I have seen black friends abused by cops, these cops were off-duty, and pulled out their badges and guns in response to getting into a confrontation with my civilian friends.
In the case where white off-duty cops abused my friend, it made the newspapers in Pensacola, FL. The friend is an engineer, and we were visiting there for his wedding. The incident created a huge media sensation there. I became my friend's media rep. The city divided racially, with blacks and liberal whites supporting the innocent hometown black dude on his wedding night abused by drunken off duty racist cops, and the the non-liberal whites supporting the law-enforcing cops attempting to deal with an out-of-town rogue from Detroit.
The local paper's editor wrote a stinging editorial calling for maximum prison for my friend; the paper published a rebuttal written by me. I claimed in my essay that the white cops were not racist, they simply represented that minority fraction of any police department that overreacts and bullies people in situations that would otherwise be resolved if handled by the majority of cops who are reasonable people.
A local red neck right wing talk show host saw my op-ed, but didn't read it; he just contacted me to appear on his show via a phone line. I called in at the start of the show, before I got put on, and listened for a solid 10 minutes while this host and his caller excoriated my friend and proudly defended the cops. Then the host put me on. Within 10 minutes I changed the mind of the host, and every single call into the show from that point on supported my friend. The host and his callers wanted the cop arrested and the charges dropped against my friend. Public opinion dramatically turned in our favor, and by the time the case came to court, the judge dismissed the charges.
This would not have happened if I would have taken the tact of all other supporters of my friend, who presented this as a racist cop situation.
8 comments:
Why do you post nonsense like this Paul.
There is no need for Jesse and Al to get involved because when white folks are victimized and the culprits are apprehended, justice is served.
White folks like you hate Jesse and Al because they are black America's watchdogs.
They are going to keep white folks aware that there is somebody always watching their actions vis-a-vis black folks.
And THAT infuritates you.
What infuriates me is that cops brutalize people, and they do it because they are brutes, not because they are racists. It also infuriates me that their actions strongly tend to get press attention when the cops are white and their victims black, and the coverage conveys the impression that black cops aren't also dangerous, and only black citizens have anything to fear.
Only I know what goes on my mind, and I request that you cease assigning motives to my statements.
Steve: I am trying to document on this blog instances of police brutality, in an attempt to assess if it has a component of racism to it, and in any case to draw attention to it in order to end it for all people. In no way do I believe that white citizens have any guarantee that brutality committed against them by cops will automatically get noticed and remedied, nor do I believe that black cops are any more or less likely to brutalize black citizens than they or white cops are to brutalize black citizens.
If racial bias exists in police brutality statistics, I would like to see this evidence; otherwise, I want people without such evidence to stop making a claim that they cannot support, and simply oppose police brutality wherever it occurs.
"It also infuriates me that their actions strongly tend to get press attention when the cops are white and their victims black, and the coverage conveys the impression that black cops aren't also dangerous, and only black citizens have anything to fear."
This is all in your mind.
White cops REGULARLY mistreat black citizens and it rarely reaches the press.
I was a witness to a black man being pulled from his vehicle in Philadelphia back in February by a white cop. The man offered no resistance yet the cop punched him and pepper sprayed him.
I was going to get closer to get the cops badeg number and my wife screamed "NO".
So we reported the location of the incident to the local precinct, gave the squad car number, and our phone numbers when our testimony was needed.
We've called the stationhouse several times since February and have continually been blown off.
Do you doubt that the same thing happens to white guys? Do you doubt that black cops don't do this? Do you believe that if a white witness stepped forward he would have not been in danger from the brutal cops?
I wish that you had a video cell phone to capture the incident and provide the best chance at justice.
I predict that if you surveyed your black friends, few have ever been beaten and/or pepper sprayed by cops, and that such rarely happens as part of their life experiences.
"Do you doubt that the same thing happens to white guys?"
To use one of your favorite phrases "Percentage wise, it isn't even close."
"Do you doubt that black cops don't do this?"
Sure but when they do it to white people they are punished if not fired.
"Do you believe that if a white witness stepped forward he would have not been in danger from the brutal cops?"
Sure. Cops don't like snitches, period.
"I predict that if you surveyed your black friends, few have ever been beaten and/or pepper sprayed by cops, and that such rarely happens as part of their life experiences."
And your point is what Paul?
My friends feel the same way I do.
The guy being pulled out of his Jeep Cherokee looked like he was in his late 30s or early 40s, neat haircut, and dressed in jeans and a golf shirt.
In other words he didn't look like a gangbanger or a street thug.
Yet the cops were beating him.
We know that could have been any one of us and it could happen at any time.
And yet, as far as you or I know, this brutality is as rare among black folks as it is among white folks, something that has never happened to you or any of your friends.
I agree that Steve witnessed police abuse, I agree that the police do abuse, and I want to fight this abuse. If racism plays a role in this abuse, I want statistics to demonstrate this; if not, I want police abuse fought within the context of the facts. Packaging police abuse falsely as a racial problem will not be as effective as fighting this effort within a factual basis.
I have witnessed two of my friends, black, get abused by cops who were also black, and another friend (black) abused by white cops. I, white, have been abused once by black cops and once by white cops. In the three cases where I have seen black friends abused by cops, these cops were off-duty, and pulled out their badges and guns in response to getting into a confrontation with my civilian friends.
In the case where white off-duty cops abused my friend, it made the newspapers in Pensacola, FL. The friend is an engineer, and we were visiting there for his wedding. The incident created a huge media sensation there. I became my friend's media rep. The city divided racially, with blacks and liberal whites supporting the innocent hometown black dude on his wedding night abused by drunken off duty racist cops, and the the non-liberal whites supporting the law-enforcing cops attempting to deal with an out-of-town rogue from Detroit.
The local paper's editor wrote a stinging editorial calling for maximum prison for my friend; the paper published a rebuttal written by me. I claimed in my essay that the white cops were not racist, they simply represented that minority fraction of any police department that overreacts and bullies people in situations that would otherwise be resolved if handled by the majority of cops who are reasonable people.
A local red neck right wing talk show host saw my op-ed, but didn't read it; he just contacted me to appear on his show via a phone line. I called in at the start of the show, before I got put on, and listened for a solid 10 minutes while this host and his caller excoriated my friend and proudly defended the cops. Then the host put me on. Within 10 minutes I changed the mind of the host, and every single call into the show from that point on supported my friend. The host and his callers wanted the cop arrested and the charges dropped against my friend. Public opinion dramatically turned in our favor, and by the time the case came to court, the judge dismissed the charges.
This would not have happened if I would have taken the tact of all other supporters of my friend, who presented this as a racist cop situation.
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