Again, a few things about being dismissive.
When people of color are saying that they have been targeted by police and coming back and saying things like, "Well I got stopped for being in an authorized area on a military base," (which is, BTW, a wholly different thing) you are dismissing that this was this person's experience and that it was relevant to them. It is like me saying, "I was diagnosed with cancer, I have 6 months to live," and another person coming back with, "I have high blood pressure, I have to take medicine for the rest of my life." It isn't the same experience, but it is telling the persona that their experiences and emotions regarding it are trivial.
I think that every single person on here, and most in reality believes that there is never an excuse to target police officers. Ever. and that the whack job that did was dead wrong and that killing him was the right answer given the situation. What people are questioning is the use of force, often deadly, in much more questionable situations. The truth of the matter is that black men are, statistically, more likely to be subject to use of force than caucasian men. White people make up 77% of the population, black people 13%. While in sheer number, of course, more white people are shot by the police, but if you look at the percentages in terms of the population, black men vastly outnumber white people.
The difference between how minorities teach their children to interact with the police is this: While all people teach their children to be respectful, as they should, in saying "sir" minorities HAVE to teach their children to ONLY say "yes, sir" and ask for a parent or a lawyer. They have to teach their children to act meek so that they are perceived as less of a threat. This is sad. We should all be able to teach our children that police are helpers. That they are there to protect them, but for minorities it is a sad reality that police officers frequently aren't that.
I think that most people will agree that the majority of police officers aren't overtly racist. They aren't suiting up and saying, "I'm gonna shoot me a {insert racial epithet here} today." I think that what most people are saying is that prejudice is so ingrained in our consciousness that many people automatically see minorities as more of a threat than white people.
People are seeing the #blacklivesmatter slogan as divisive because that is how they want to see it. The sentiment behind that slogan is not that ONLY black lives matter, it is more "Hey, remember, black lives matter, too." Look at it this way. If your child is having trouble with math in school and you hire him a tutor to help him with math, you are not saying that he can forget about English and science, and social studies, you are saying, right now, math needs a little extra work.
As with any movement you are going to have people that take it to the extreme. People who lose control, it just is what it is, unfortunately. I am not condoning it and those people who are violent and destructive should be prosecuted. The reason, though, demonstrations are needed is because minorities have been saying for years, "this is happening, we need to change this." and no one is listening. You can talk all you want, and try to educate, but if people aren't listening and/or arguing that you are wrong, or dismissing your experiences or feelings, it goes nowhere. Demonstrations bring to the public's eye what is going on. Violence is never the answer, but public demonstration has it's place.
There are lots of movements going on in minority communities. Demonstrations to stop gun violence, gun buy back programs, neighborhood watches, block parties to raise funds for crime and gang prevention programs. You don't see these on the national news because news is a for profit thing now and these stories don't rile people up and sell copy or viewership.
The Las Vegas police department went through training as a result of these types of complaints. Incidents of use of force are down 30 some odd percent.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/l...egas-police-shootings-down-department-reforms
The problem is people have to admit there is a problem. Stop looking for excuses or justifications as to why these things are happening and admit, no matter how painful, that these problems exist in our society.
Truthfully, police need to be held to a higher standard. They are charged with the responsibility for people's lives. If you are in the wrong state of mind and you work at a deli, someone gets the wrong sandwich. If you are in the wrong state of mind and you are an officer, someone dies. These things are not equal.
Never played pro?
