Also, as an aside and regardless of the numbers of black vs white deaths at the hands of 'police force' and the inherent racism in the system, shouldn't we all be agreeing at the end of the day that NOBODY should be shot in the back or killed by police when they're not a threat? Black, white, hispanic, asian, it doesn't matter. there is, of course, an element of truth to the idea that, in a line of work such as law enforcement, you are susceptible to more violence and risks and thus the chances of 'shit happening' is higher. I get that, I really do. Nobody is saying the job of a police officer is easy, nobody's saying it's without risks, and nobody is saying it is without the occasional fuckup.
Nobody in their right mind expects perfection in a field so fraught with danger and risk and stress.
The difference here is that we should be keeping cops - you know, the people in charge of maintaining law, order, and balance in the world - to a higher standard. All this stuff I'm reading on how much training is needed is abhorrent. We DO need to put them to a higher standard. You wouldn't hire a surgeon who hadn't yet proven himself, would you? Yeah, even the best surgeons can fail, sometimes even the smallest thing can result in death, but that's why we put doctors thouth 10+ years of schooling and tesing and require them to get layers of education to be allowed to practice in a field that could save or end lives. While being a police officer does NOT hold the same level of scrutiny and education requirements, it's still a job where physical and mental and emotional stability are paramount, and we've seen the reality of the inherent bias in the system with the disproportionate number of black murders by the police. That's just facts.
The numbers of white vs black killed by cops, relative to the number of whites vs blacks in the population is horribly onesided. The sentencing is onesided. While yes, there are instances of white folks being gunned down when not a threat and black folks being taken in safely while dangerous, the numbers don't lie and it is a fact that black men are treated with more hostility and are seen as a threat with far greater frequency (relative to their population) than white people. KLXVer and Zoombael and LonelyDolphin can argue to the contrary all they want, but they are unequivocally, provably, statistically, ethically, and morally wrong on the matter. This isn't a partisan issue, it's hard numbers and reality. They do not deserve equal consideration in the argument. There is a right and a wrong answer here. Anyone trying to twist the narrative so that this is seen as somehow equal is provably wrong. That's not up for debate.
And yes, I know all three of them (And others) will try to pull up articles and other bullshit to prove their point, but keep in mind anyone could argue any point, even if it's historically, factually wrong. I could argue that cigarettes are good because blah blah economy and blah blah tax dollars. I'm not going to directly engage with them, because doing so gives their faulty, logic-free arguments power. I know that, to them, this might seem like I just don't have the chops to argue with their ironclad arguments, but the reality is that I don't wish to engage with certain people on an issue that is of actual consequence. Directly engaging with them makes it seem like their points are valid when they're not. Giving them half this thread to push their faulty narratives and decry any attempt to address this very real, very disheartening issue is doing actual damage to the social fabric of the world. Engaging with them is doing a disservice to the issues at hand, so I will not be responding to any of their inevitably biased, poorly researched, bipartisan responses.
I am aware this will get me a tonne of scorn, but with certain people in a game of politics, the only way to win is not to play. I do still wish to discuss the issues, but not with people who see this as an SJW propaganda issue as opposed to those who rightly see this as a human rights issue.
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PS4, PS3, PS2, PS1, WiiU, Wii, GCN, N64 SNES, XBO, 360
3DS, DS, GBA, Vita, PSP, Android
