Despite you always trying to handwave it off, systematic racism exists.Apparently I'm not the only one in this thread. Can you grace us with your insight into what this contradiction means?
I dont understand how people cant see that the statement "My brother is not racist" can coexist next to "That black man died because of racism", its silly to see people requesting pictures of Darren Wilson in KKK regalia or Garner saying the N-word to prove that the act itself was fuelled by racism, all this while ignoring that its the system that is designed to discriminate regardless the beliefs of those that enforce it. There is no "other side of the story" or "black brother is hiding something", its reality.
I dont understand how people cant see that the statement "My brother is not racist" can coexist next to "That black man died because of racism", its silly to see people requesting pictures of Darren Wilson in KKK regalia or Garner saying the N-word to prove that the act itself was fuelled by racism, all this while ignoring that its the system that is designed to discriminate regardless the beliefs of those that enforce it. There is no "other side of the story" or "black brother is hiding something", its reality.
Whats the trap here?
But he didn't say "that black man died because of racism" he flat out told his mother that he thought his brother shot that guy because he was black and then on down said he didn't shoot him because he was black. He didn't word it as you did which would have made more sense.
nm. DreamDrop trap thread.
Despite you always trying to handwave it off, systematic racism exists.
But thats also when I began to see just how much racism isnt really about a single act or a single person, but rather a much larger system. A system that calls the recurring death of black male bodies accidents.
No matter how my mom had raised us, no matter how much my brother loved my blackness and was so proud of me for who I was, it still didnt stop another black man from losing his life.
My white brother isnt a racist and he didnt intentionally kill that man because he was black but thats not the point. In his case in Ferguson and in so many other cases we see the deaths of unarmed black men as accidents. And until the day we all recognize them as casualties of something much bigger, we will continue to see black men dead on the news.
Shit is so real I had to take a knee. "Accidents", "Doing their job", "Aggressive steps" , etc. All ways to dehumanize black people and normalize their deaths.
Based on my reading of the situation here it's difficult for me to say the outcome was influenced by racism, systematic or personal, without a more detailed account of the incident.
This doesn't mean that systemic racism doesn't exist in society, but I don't see enough to categorize this as a part it... yet.
I'll reevaluate my position should more information become available.
While the larger point of the op-ed is still valid, what actually happened with his brother is certainly different from most of the high-profile "accidents" we hear about.
It genuinely seems like a real accident that could have killed someone of any color.
Based on my reading of the situation here it's difficult for me to say the outcome was influenced by racism, systematic or personal, without a more detailed account of the incident.
This doesn't mean that systemic racism doesn't exist in society, but I don't see enough to categorize this as a part it... yet.
I'll reevaluate my position should more information become available.
For the love of humanity. Have you two missed the part where he says (and I paraphrase) he's realized this isn't about one person or situation ~ This is about something bigger?
Too many of these incidents are deemed "accidents". Whether it's different this time around or the next, the overall picture being painted is that systematic racism is real.
Living in the UK, I'm just still trying to wrap my head around how the US can contain such blatant racism and yet it mostly goes ignored. This is all just so ugh.
Systematic racism is real. Even if a black person is raised to be "nublack" or one of the good ones, in the end, black men are still being killed and well, you're still black whether you accept it or not. If we want change, we have to stop calling these "accidents" and call them what they really are. Otherwise, these "accidents" will continue.
I said his overall point is a valid one, but the author directly says he feels this man would not be dead if he was white, which means he thinks racism did play a hand in this case.
Frankly his personal story seems to detract from his larger point, rather than enhance it.
I said his overall point is a valid one, but the author directly says he feels this man would not be dead if he was white, which means he thinks racism did play a hand in this case.
Frankly his personal story seems to detract from his larger point, rather than enhance it.
If your point is that we should stop assuming these incidents are accidents before being properly investigated, I agree. Each one should be evaluated extremely critically. Hell, there is already a system in place for such things; IA/IID.
If your point is that none of these incidents are accidents, I don't agree.
For the love of humanity. Have you two missed the part where he says (and I paraphrase) he's realized this isn't about one person or situation ~ This is about something bigger?
Too many of these incidents are deemed "accidents". Whether it's different this time around or the next, the overall picture being painted is that systematic racism is real.
The bolded.
What's the trap? Elaborate please.nm. DreamDrop trap thread.
lmao @ you questioning his life already tho, pre-edit
No, but probably yes.Is this true?
I knew it was bad, but fuck, that is unreal.
I'm surprised there isn't a user by that name so far.Dehumanizing stare
Didn't that black cop shoot an unarmed white kid round same time aS Ferguson but went largely unreported. my point being people Make mistakes all the time regardless of their skin colour.
The guy in the article contradicts himself to.
Didn't that black cop shoot an unarmed white kid round same time aS Ferguson but went largely unreported. my point being people Make mistakes all the time regardless of their skin colour.
The guy in the article contradicts himself to.
How are so many people not understanding Systemic Racism and the difference between it and personal racism?
Systemic Racism, in Law Enforcement is the propagated idea that minorities are more likely to be dangerous and/or guilty. When that kind of thought process is ingrained into an officer, that means that any time they interact with a minority suspect they're going to be more on edge.
Reading the article about the Tennessee shooting, many people seem to accept the "accident" explanation due to the circumstances of the first officer slipping and his gun discharging as a result. However, I immediately wonder.. if his gun was holstered and his hand not on it.. how does it discharge from what had to be a relatively short fall made when he's exiting the car? I'm not familiar with guns enough to say it's not at all possible but it seems much more likely that he had already unlatched his holster and had his hand on his weapon. That's not necessarily wrong if that is the case but I think it speaks to the idea that these officers were already worried about a violent confrontation. That, to me, is a problem.
Approaching minority suspects in relatively innocuous situations with a pre-conceived notion that they're more likely to be violent is what causes inappropriate force.
I really don't see this as something to take issue with at all. One subjective aspect (if you could call it that) is not enough to derail the overall.
Did you see the video about a month back where a cop asks a dude for his ID, when dude goes to reach for it . The cop damn near unloads his gun into the guy at point blank range. Thank god the cop was terrible shot. Despite the whole thing being on camera the cop said the guy "Reached aggressively".
Here in the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux17aho5CSM
Officers who, having completed a minimum of two years 'on the beat', wish to become Firearms Officers have to undergo a rigorous selection procedure. During this they will have to demonstrate their knowledge of the law, their appropriate and proportional use of force, their communication skills and their basic common sense. If successful in the application stage they will then go on to an assessment stage where their skills, temperament and fitness will be evaluated. If they pass this phase they will then begin the courses that will teach them weapon skills and tactics.
Without doubt the training is challenging. Officers are placed under immense pressure to test their ability to become Authorised Firearms Officers. If they are successful on their courses they will join their respective firearms units.
I totally understand and empathize with this guy, but this truly sounds like an accident on his brothers part after the other cop fell and accidentally discharged his weapon. No quotes needed around accident on this one...
See this is the damn problem when you pull out your gun and shoot and kill innocent people that is no accident. That is what the guy's brother did he literally meant to kill the guy in the car so no it was no accident. Police in the US are trained to shoot to kill so once the guy's brother fired his gun it was no accident.
The young man(Greg Thompson, Jr) who had his life cut short in this incident is another in a long list of what the police would mark up as justifiable homicides. The justice system does not care whether you are a young or old male or female white, black, hispanic, asian etc. if the police followed procedure they can literally get away with killing you despite you absolutely doing nothing wrong. I know it is a frightening thing to think about but, honestly more people should think about it given the power the police have.
As for the story I feel his brother's incident has less do with race and more to do with the power police have over citizen's where they can kill innocent people and just walk away like they did nothing wrong.
Well that's certainly a major problem as well, although I don't agree with the idea that there can be no accidents. Cops are humans too, and mistakes will happen, period.
Spending a bit of tax money implementing something like that might stop so many "accidents" happening...
This reads to me like he had a falling out with his brother which influences his view. As others have pointed out the jump between his love for his brother and "he purposely killed a just just because he was black" pops out more than anything in the article to me.
This article makes me think the problem is unfixable
Yes accidents can happen but, like I said Police in the US are trained to shoot to kill so once they decide to shoot is it not reasonable to say that they are shooting to kill? Also where did I say their can be no accidents? Cops maybe humans too but, they are humans who carry deadly weapons and to an extent have a license to kill without consequence.
Well, yes, the "accident" refers to the motive being a mistaken one. One they fire they intend to kill, so that is not exactly an "accident."
Theoretically, accidental shooting are a big deal and are carefully investigated to find out where the mistake was made, and administrative (or criminal) actions are taken accordingly. Now obviously that process doesn't work as it should in far too many cases, but that's still the idea.
I think what he's saying is that his brother didn't set out to kill a black guy, but he killed him because of the prejudices people- including his brother carry with them regarding black men.
Yeah, you're right. I just found the article depressing since American society has such a long way to go.Because human nature makes sure these things happen over and over and over again until the end of time?
On a less cynical note, many social problems are not completely fixable but can be greatly reduced in scope. In this case, these problems can be greatly minimized if these police departments would HOLD THEIR FUCKING COPS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR FUCKING ACTIONS!