It's hard for people to imagine but police do make mistakes. They are human, and sometimes they are afraid.
In training, we qualified by making a certain number of accurate shots in seconds. Basically, almost any time you drew your weapon, you were shooting. After I graduated from the academy, I had to consciously tell myself, "DO NOT SHOOT" because it was almost a reflex at that point. Draw your weapon, shoot, observe. And, of course, after you're doing shooting, continue to yell "Put down your weak! Stop resisting!" Why? Because people will remember that if they're ever called to be a witness.
That was before everything was recorded, of course.
One thing I have to say, I'm black. I was a full time deputy and a part time police officer. In certain areas of my county, I knew certain people would be more combative or would argue. Certain people would be more compliant and submissive. There were times (most of the time, actually) where everyone was cooperative but thinking back, I always knew where I had to be more serious and focussed.
I've debated this online but black people have a serious image problem. We always have to be the coolest, the hardest, the realest, or whatever. It's taught to us at an early age. Only on black radio stations do we hear that it's okay to fight the police, kill our brothers, or sell drugs. But "It's our story and it needs to be told!" Bullshit. That's not MY story but it dominates the airwaves.
So, when other races look at us and are afraid because of our image, who is to blame? Them for being afraid or us for acting scary? It's an endless cycle of irresponsibility and people are dying as a result.
Good people are getting lumped in with the bad. Bad people are treated like heroes and martyrs. The problem is getting worse and worse.
Your town has a station where they incite violence?
Yes. Pretty much every urban radio station that doesn't exclusively play love songs or church music. There's at least five of them in my area.
*Edit* I literally just turned on the radio to see what was playing.
"Let a nigga try me. Try me. I'm a get his whole motherfucking family. And I ain't playing with nobody. Fuck around and I'm a catch a body (aka murder someone)"
Song is catchy though! Makes killing somebody sound like fun!
They're called "Hip Hop and R&B stations" in my area.
Ok, let's skip the rap music tells people to kill (Is it the new video game now?).
What do you think of this?
Saw that a billion times. That was cold blooded murder. No excuse for what that cop did. You do not shoot a fleeing suspect unless they are about to cause immediate harm to a third party. Another example of a piece of shit officer that never should have had a badge.
*Edit* and no. It's not the new video game. It's the old video game. It's so deeply embedded in our culture that it doesn't even raise an eyebrow, now. Pair our music with our image (world star!!) and the media's perception of us and there you have it. We need to do something different.
I was a young man when NWA and gangsta rap first became a thing. I loved it then, even when politicians and groups were condemning them and running over CDs with a steam roller. I stood behind their rights to express themselves. Now, I see that expression had a cost.
I see what your trying to do, Goatseye. I keep an open mind. Case by case. Sometimes the cop is wrong. Sometimes the person is wrong. Sometimes there's a grey area. I never choose one side 100% of the time because no side is right every single time or vice versa.
Cops need to admit that there are bad apples in the department just like we need to admit that there are some bad apples in the community. We have groups that are tired of black on black crime just like we have groups that are tired of cops killing blacks. Which one gets more media attention?
I understand both sides because I've been on both sides.
Ok, let's skip the rap music tells people to kill (Is it the new video game now?).
What do you think of this?
Saw that a billion times. That was cold blooded murder. No excuse for what that cop did. You do not shoot a fleeing suspect unless they are about to cause immediate harm to a third party. Another example of a piece of shit officer that never should have had a badge.
*Edit* and no. It's not the new video game. It's the old video game. It's so deeply embedded in our culture that it doesn't even raise an eyebrow, now. Pair our music with our image (world star!!) and the media's perception of us and there you have it. We need to do something different.
I was a young man when NWA and gangsta rap first became a thing. I loved it then, even when politicians and groups were condemning them and running over CDs with a steam roller. I stood behind their rights to express themselves. Now, I see that expression had a cost.
You know what had a cost?
The abandonment of inner city youth education system. The continous discrimination of financial access for the Black community even after 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. And everything else that was purposefully done to keep the rift between communities in the US.
Black community is not a saint, no one says that. However, after the independence of blacks in 1960's, what did the next generation inherit of their predecessors in terms of education (couldn't attend higher education systems) or property? Nothing, but anger and frustration. Black community was no better than America after independence or African countries after independence. A newly emancipated community like that needed guidance and support to strive but they were swept under the rug with constant gentrifications of their neighborhoods, in moves to "cleanse" cities and a country that's not for them.
It was the same thing with countries in Eastern Europe after the Iron Curtain fell. Instead of investing more in education for the poor, US went the easy route to solve its problem. Whenever you amass poor people in limited resource area, what do you get? Hunger Games my friend.
It's not just your Hip Hop theory my friend, the situation we're in today is decades of mess under the rug rolling out in plain view.
d21lewis said: I see what your trying to do, Goatseye. I keep an open mind. Case by case. Sometimes the cop is wrong. Sometimes the person is wrong. Sometimes there's a grey area. I never choose one side 100% of the time because no side is right every single time or vice versa.
Cops need to admit that there are bad apples in the department just like we need to admit that there are some bad apples in the community. We have groups that are tired of black on black crime just like we have groups that are tired of cops killing blacks. Which one gets more media attention?
I understand both sides because I've been on both sides.
I never take sides as well. However, as someone that understands a bit of law enforcement as well, I know that a lot of the videos that come out, show complete disregard of officers in attempting to de-escalate situations or simply, Positive ID alleged weapons.
Saw that a billion times. That was cold blooded murder. No excuse for what that cop did. You do not shoot a fleeing suspect unless they are about to cause immediate harm to a third party. Another example of a piece of shit officer that never should have had a badge.
*Edit* and no. It's not the new video game. It's the old video game. It's so deeply embedded in our culture that it doesn't even raise an eyebrow, now. Pair our music with our image (world star!!) and the media's perception of us and there you have it. We need to do something different.
I was a young man when NWA and gangsta rap first became a thing. I loved it then, even when politicians and groups were condemning them and running over CDs with a steam roller. I stood behind their rights to express themselves. Now, I see that expression had a cost.
You know what had a cost?
The abandonment of inner city youth education system. The continous discrimination of financial access for the Black community even after 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. And everything else that was purposefully done to keep the rift between communities in the US.
Black community is not a saint, no one says that. However, after the independence of blacks in 1960's, what did the next generation inherit of their predecessors in terms of education (couldn't attend higher education systems) or property? Nothing, but anger and frustration. Black community was no better than America after independence or African countries after independence. A newly emancipated community like that needed guidance and support to strive but they were swept under the rug with constant gentrifications of their neighborhoods, in moves to "cleanse" cities and a country that's not for them.
It was the same thing with countries in Eastern Europe after the Iron Curtain fell. Instead of investing more in education for the poor, US went the easy route to solve its problem. Whenever you amass poor people in limited resource area, what do you get? Hunger Games my friend.
It's not just your Hip Hop theory my friend, the situation we're in today is decades of mess under the rug rolling out in plain view.
The abandonment of inner city youth education system. The continous discrimination of financial access for the Black community even after 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. And everything else that was purposefully done to keep the rift between communities in the US.
Black community is not a saint, no one says that. However, after the independence of blacks in 1960's, what did the next generation inherit of their predecessors in terms of education (couldn't attend higher education systems) or property? Nothing, but anger and frustration. Black community was no better than America after independence or African countries after independence. A newly emancipated community like that needed guidance and support to strive but they were swept under the rug with constant gentrifications of their neighborhoods, in moves to "cleanse" cities and a country that's not for them.
It was the same thing with countries in Eastern Europe after the Iron Curtain fell. Instead of investing more in education for the poor, US went the easy route to solve its problem. Whenever you amass poor people in limited resource area, what do you get? Hunger Games my friend.
It's not just your Hip Hop theory my friend, the situation we're in today is decades of mess under the rug rolling out in plain view.
So we're in agreement?
Always, we just had different versions of the same thought.
