darkSpyro

Two days ago, police fatally shot Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, as they pinned him to the ground.

Sterling had a weapon in his pants, but had no way of reaching it with the way he was being held.

At the time, Sterling was selling CDs outside of a convenience store. The store's owner confirmed that he gave Sterling permission to do it.

Sterling did have a criminal record as a convicted sex offender, but at the time of his death, he did not pose a plausible threat to anyone.

WARNING: The article contains a graphic video. Viewer discretion is advised.


Unlike many things we discuss on this site, this is not up for debate. You can't possibly try to justify this. Alton Sterling was murdered in cold blood, plain and simple. And I know nobody wants to hear this, and that's partially why I'm saying it; I would bet my top dollar that if he was white, he would still be alive.

and that's the sad truth that keeps unfolding..murdered in cold blood sickening that this stuff can keep on pooping up...

Unfortunately the way most people will see it is "he had a gun, which meant he posed a threat so he deserved it".

I've already seen this as the overwhelming majority of the reactions everywhere I've looked. Sickening doesn't even scratch the surface of this.

Why. Why do people let cops get away with this BS? It's not right... Selling CDs and owning a gun is not a crime. Why would you have to die for that? Ugh...

It is horrible. I would never speak ill of the dead, especially with recent tragedies. This world is truly horrible when innocent people are killed by those who are meant to protect and serve while turning a blind eye to those who do intent to kill.

The article contains a video that itself also has some graphic content, so you should probably stick a warning by it.

Even if the cops try to claim that they had a good reason to pin him to the ground for arrest, I fail to see why they felt the need to take out a gun. Even a taser was overkill as it is but no they had to use the gun too.

They are absolutely going to court for this and if they're somehow let go free then there's no shadow of a doubt that the system is rigged and has an inherent racism problem.

I'm going to be the asshole here and say that I don't think the police problem is a problem of racism. It's a class problem, and a problem of the police seeing people from lower income areas as lesser. Appearance also has a big part in how much you're punished for a crime or how close of an eye police keep on you.

Where I live there is the nice, high income part of town and the artsy low income part of town. Up until a few weeks ago I had bright pink hair, and my best friend who I spend the majority of my time with has chest length dreadlocks (He's white), and when we're together we are monitored closely by security guards and employees in stores, and there's been more than one situation where we were stopped by police for just walking down the street. I have been physically patted down, I've had my purse searched, I've been threatened to be taken to jail for not carrying my ID. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it was because of my pink hair and not because I'm white. If neither of us had tattoos and we had normal hair and dressed nice walking through the higher income part of town, chances are we would never be stopped.

Does that make it okay? No. But when you're taking an issue of class and making it into an issue of racism, it's not fixing anything and it's starting to drive people apart. White people face racism too from specific people, everyone does, but in our society there is no prominent racism today. Nobody is oppressed anymore. Not women, not men, not black people, not white people, not Hispanic people, etc. Of course what happened to Alton Sterling is heartbreaking, but accusing two bad people of being racists isn't solving anything. They did it because they're just bad people, period.

I really need to rant about this, and since anecdotal evidence can count as fodder for an argument, I might as well say this. I started volunteering at my local mosque, a mosque that almost didn't open because some residents of the city of Kennesaw feared that the local Muslim community would impose Sharia law upon the residence. I am a Muslim, I am not Al Qaeda, I am not ISIS, I believe that my religion is a religion of peace. When you have the governor of Louisiana saying that Alton "Would not be shot of he was white", then that's indicative of a greater problem. http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/07/...ting-minnesota/ (Graphic content) I'd like someone to explain how this isn't police brutality and representative of racism within our system. To say that there's no oppression and no racism is a dream I WISH to come true, but that's not the case. It's gotten to the point where African American families have to tell their children about how society may treat them, and even Muslims have to be told that there are people that don't appreciate their faith. This isn't a class issue, this is an issue about racism and the idea of "Us and them", the belief that black people have a propensity towards violence and are therefore more dangerous. Because every arguement does not hold valid without statistics, I present this: http://www.theguardian.com/us-...gs-us-database. I dunno where I'm going with this and I apologize if I sound sloppy, I'm just really upset and hope that people'll realize that this IS a problem, and by denying that it is it only encourages it. I hope everyone here stays safe and stays secure, regardless of what color, sexuality, and ethnicity you are, remember that justice is blind, so why shouldn't our law enforcement and us be?

I don't agree with everything he says, but I just wanted to put this out there because it's related to the topic


- - -

I'm not going to attack anyone's religion, I'm not that kind of person. But I do have to stand by my point that there isn't any actual oppression in today's society. (I'm actually going to exclude members of the LGBT community from this, because they do face actual oppression). Also, at no point in what I said did I say that racism doesn't exist. IT does, there are racists, but I don't believe that *systematic racism* exists. The "us and them" thing is something heavily pushed by BLM activists to create further divide and stir up racism where there is none.

Black on white crime and black on black crime is higher than both white on black crime and white on white crime. So how can you argue that there is systematic racism in place when white people are killed by black people almost twice as much more than black people are killed by white people?

I love everyone. Any color, religion, shape or size. What I don't like is how everyone throws the word "oppression" around so loosely. Go back 50 years and you will see real oppression. Racism comes from racists, not entire groups of people.

I just want to remind everyone that the officer who shot Alton was not white.


I only say this because Fox failed to do so.


/honestlyjustcarryonireallydontwanttoarguewithanyone
/juststatingafact

Quote: Bumblebunnii

I'm not going to attack anyone's religion, I'm not that kind of person. But I do have to stand by my point that there isn't any actual oppression in today's society. (I'm actually going to exclude members of the LGBT community from this, because they do face actual oppression). Also, at no point in what I said did I say that racism doesn't exist. IT does, there are racists, but I don't believe that *systematic racism* exists. The "us and them" thing is something heavily pushed by BLM activists to create further divide and stir up racism where there is none.

Black on white crime and black on black crime is higher than both white on black crime and white on white crime. So how can you argue that there is systematic racism in place when white people are killed by black people almost twice as much more than black people are killed by white people?

I love everyone. Any color, religion, shape or size. What I don't like is how everyone throws the word "oppression" around so loosely. Go back 50 years and you will see real oppression. Racism comes from racists, not entire groups of people.

Imma stop you right there... that line of reasoning is terrible. Most of that 'black crime' comes from low income areas. Areas that are predominantly black. Why is it that blacks populate more of those areas? BECAUSE WE STILL NEED TO PLAY CATCH UP WITH THE REST OF YOU PEOPLE! Yes, there are successful black people, but the entire race as a whole is still in the rutter from the 60's. I'm not saying it's the white people's fault, but come on... we haven't had a whole lot of time to further ourselves.

This is very rambly and not all that coherent, but whatever.

Quote: CAV

The article contains a video that itself also has some graphic content, so you should probably stick a warning by it.

Even if the cops try to claim that they had a good reason to pin him to the ground for arrest, I fail to see why they felt the need to take out a gun. Even a taser was overkill as it is but no they had to use the gun too.

They are absolutely going to court for this and if they're somehow let go free then there's no shadow of a doubt that the system is rigged and has an inherent racism problem.

You seem to be implying that the reason that the court would let these cops go free (which I doubt it will) would undoubtedly be because the victim was black.

Quote: Badwolfmichael

I don't agree with everything he says, but I just wanted to put this out there because it's related to the topic

Reveal Spoiler

- - -

Another person who watches Steven Crowder?!?!

Quote: Metallo

I would bet my top dollar that if he was white, he would still be alive.

**** you! Really, **** you!

I am sick and ****ing tired of you people acting like violence (Both police and civil) in the US is a "black problem." It has nothing to do with black people, and anybody who insists that it does can go **** themselves.

Guess what, buddy. We have black people too. And they're subject to discrimination just like those in the US. But you don't see us going around gunning people down for no reason because we're not a bunch of ****ing psychopaths.

Quote: TheToyNerd

Quote: Bumblebunnii

I'm not going to attack anyone's religion, I'm not that kind of person. But I do have to stand by my point that there isn't any actual oppression in today's society. (I'm actually going to exclude members of the LGBT community from this, because they do face actual oppression). Also, at no point in what I said did I say that racism doesn't exist. IT does, there are racists, but I don't believe that *systematic racism* exists. The "us and them" thing is something heavily pushed by BLM activists to create further divide and stir up racism where there is none.

Black on white crime and black on black crime is higher than both white on black crime and white on white crime. So how can you argue that there is systematic racism in place when white people are killed by black people almost twice as much more than black people are killed by white people?

I love everyone. Any color, religion, shape or size. What I don't like is how everyone throws the word "oppression" around so loosely. Go back 50 years and you will see real oppression. Racism comes from racists, not entire groups of people.

Imma stop you right there... that line of reasoning is terrible. Most of that 'black crime' comes from low income areas. Areas that are predominantly black. Why is it that blacks populate more of those areas? BECAUSE WE STILL NEED TO PLAY CATCH UP WITH THE REST OF YOU PEOPLE! Yes, there are successful black people, but the entire race as a whole is still in the rutter from the 60's. I'm not saying it's the white people's fault, but come on... we haven't had a whole lot of time to further ourselves.

This is very rambly and not all that coherent, but whatever.

Not to be rude, but how does that contribute to this?
I'm sorry, but, It doesn't make Bunni's statement any less true. But I guess you still are correct, black on black crime is higher than white on black crime.

Quote: Mrmorrises

Quote: CAV

The article contains a video that itself also has some graphic content, so you should probably stick a warning by it.

Even if the cops try to claim that they had a good reason to pin him to the ground for arrest, I fail to see why they felt the need to take out a gun. Even a taser was overkill as it is but no they had to use the gun too.

They are absolutely going to court for this and if they're somehow let go free then there's no shadow of a doubt that the system is rigged and has an inherent racism problem.

You seem to be implying that the reason that the court would let these cops go free (which I doubt it will) would undoubtedly be because the victim was black.

Quote: Badwolfmichael

I don't agree with everything he says, but I just wanted to put this out there because it's related to the topic

Reveal Spoiler

- - -

Another person who watches Steven Crowder?!?!

You too?! We should be best friends.

Quote: Bumblebunnii

I'm not going to attack anyone's religion, I'm not that kind of person. But I do have to stand by my point that there isn't any actual oppression in today's society. (I'm actually going to exclude members of the LGBT community from this, because they do face actual oppression). Also, at no point in what I said did I say that racism doesn't exist. IT does, there are racists, but I don't believe that *systematic racism* exists. The "us and them" thing is something heavily pushed by BLM activists to create further divide and stir up racism where there is none.

Black on white crime and black on black crime is higher than both white on black crime and white on white crime. So how can you argue that there is systematic racism in place when white people are killed by black people almost twice as much more than black people are killed by white people?

I love everyone. Any color, religion, shape or size. What I don't like is how everyone throws the word "oppression" around so loosely. Go back 50 years and you will see real oppression. Racism comes from racists, not entire groups of people.

I'm not sure I follow, so there's oppression, but the only people being oppressed are members of the LGBT community?

Quote: Badwolfmichael

Quote: TheToyNerd

Quote: Bumblebunnii

I'm not going to attack anyone's religion, I'm not that kind of person. But I do have to stand by my point that there isn't any actual oppression in today's society. (I'm actually going to exclude members of the LGBT community from this, because they do face actual oppression). Also, at no point in what I said did I say that racism doesn't exist. IT does, there are racists, but I don't believe that *systematic racism* exists. The "us and them" thing is something heavily pushed by BLM activists to create further divide and stir up racism where there is none.

Black on white crime and black on black crime is higher than both white on black crime and white on white crime. So how can you argue that there is systematic racism in place when white people are killed by black people almost twice as much more than black people are killed by white people?

I love everyone. Any color, religion, shape or size. What I don't like is how everyone throws the word "oppression" around so loosely. Go back 50 years and you will see real oppression. Racism comes from racists, not entire groups of people.

Imma stop you right there... that line of reasoning is terrible. Most of that 'black crime' comes from low income areas. Areas that are predominantly black. Why is it that blacks populate more of those areas? BECAUSE WE STILL NEED TO PLAY CATCH UP WITH THE REST OF YOU PEOPLE! Yes, there are successful black people, but the entire race as a whole is still in the rutter from the 60's. I'm not saying it's the white people's fault, but come on... we haven't had a whole lot of time to further ourselves.

This is very rambly and not all that coherent, but whatever.

Not to be rude, but how does that contribute to this?
I'm sorry, but, It doesn't make Bunni's statement any less true. But I guess you still are correct, black on black crime is higher than white on black crime.

Quote: Mrmorrises

Quote: CAV

The article contains a video that itself also has some graphic content, so you should probably stick a warning by it.

Even if the cops try to claim that they had a good reason to pin him to the ground for arrest, I fail to see why they felt the need to take out a gun. Even a taser was overkill as it is but no they had to use the gun too.

They are absolutely going to court for this and if they're somehow let go free then there's no shadow of a doubt that the system is rigged and has an inherent racism problem.

You seem to be implying that the reason that the court would let these cops go free (which I doubt it will) would undoubtedly be because the victim was black.

Quote: Badwolfmichael

I don't agree with everything he says, but I just wanted to put this out there because it's related to the topic

Reveal Spoiler

- - -

Another person who watches Steven Crowder?!?!

You too?! We should be best friends.

Crowder's pretty funny, not gonna lie. And I've seen how he talks about Islam, but hey, the man brings up valid points and it doesn't stop my faith. Crowder fan club when?

What I was trying to get across is that she's correct but I don't see the correlation between black crime and no systematic racism.

Ugh. **** this ****. I hate all the fighting and debating that goes on EVERY ****ING TIME WE GO THROUGH THIS! I am too tired for this.

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Quote: Metallo

I would bet my top dollar that if he was white, he would still be alive.

**** you! Really, **** you!

I am sick and ****ing tired of you people acting like violence (Both police and civil) in the US is a "black problem." It has nothing to do with black people, and anybody who insists that it does can go **** themselves.

Guess what, buddy. We have black people too. And they're subject to discrimination just like those in the US. But you don't see us going around gunning people down for no reason because we're not a bunch of ****ing psychopaths.

- - -

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Quote: Metallo

I would bet my top dollar that if he was white, he would still be alive.

**** you! Really, **** you!

I am sick and ****ing tired of you people acting like violence (Both police and civil) in the US is a "black problem." It has nothing to do with black people, and anybody who insists that it does can go **** themselves.

Guess what, buddy. We have black people too. And they're subject to discrimination just like those in the US. But you don't see us going around gunning people down for no reason because we're not a bunch of ****ing psychopaths.

I think you misunderstood my point. I'm saying that the police are discriminatory against blacks, and they likely wouldn't have killed a white person in the same situation.

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Quote: Metallo

I would bet my top dollar that if he was white, he would still be alive.

**** you! Really, **** you!

I am sick and ****ing tired of you people acting like violence (Both police and civil) in the US is a "black problem." It has nothing to do with black people, and anybody who insists that it does can go **** themselves.

Guess what, buddy. We have black people too. And they're subject to discrimination just like those in the US. But you don't see us going around gunning people down for no reason because we're not a bunch of ****ing psychopaths.

I don't think a tirade'll get your point across, QC.

Quote: Metallo

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Quote: Metallo

I would bet my top dollar that if he was white, he would still be alive.

**** you! Really, **** you!

I am sick and ****ing tired of you people acting like violence (Both police and civil) in the US is a "black problem." It has nothing to do with black people, and anybody who insists that it does can go **** themselves.

Guess what, buddy. We have black people too. And they're subject to discrimination just like those in the US. But you don't see us going around gunning people down for no reason because we're not a bunch of ****ing psychopaths.

I think you misunderstood my point. I'm saying that the police are discriminatory against blacks, and they likely wouldn't have killed a white person in the same situation.

Maybe. Maybe not. The fact of the matter is that this **** is happening to blacks, whites, asians, dogs, cats (Maybe not cats)... You talked earlier about firefighters spraying all the houses. But the problem with that analogy is that the entire town is on fire!

How was what I said about crime rates not relative towards systematic racism? It would seem as though if there was actually general racism, there would be more white on black murders as opposed to black on white murders. Especially considering most of the US population is white.

And yes, I am saying that the only people who are oppressed are members of the LGBT community (by label I mean). Gay and trans people are still attacked in the streets and openly publicly harassed for their labels that they identify with. Nobody else is. So all activist movements like feminism and the BLM movement are unnecessary and they cause more problems than their worth.

I have kept everything totally peaceful so if y'all could show me the same respect (referring to PMs) I would appreciate it.

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Quote: Metallo

Quote: QueenChrysalis

**** you! Really, **** you!

I am sick and ****ing tired of you people acting like violence (Both police and civil) in the US is a "black problem." It has nothing to do with black people, and anybody who insists that it does can go **** themselves.

Guess what, buddy. We have black people too. And they're subject to discrimination just like those in the US. But you don't see us going around gunning people down for no reason because we're not a bunch of ****ing psychopaths.

I think you misunderstood my point. I'm saying that the police are discriminatory against blacks, and they likely wouldn't have killed a white person in the same situation.

Maybe. Maybe not. The fact of the matter is that this **** is happening to blacks, whites, asians, dogs, cats (Maybe not cats)... You talked earlier about firefighters spraying all the houses. But the problem with that analogy is that the entire town is on fire!

your ignorance is amazing bahahahahaha pls stop

I really respect the civility of this thread, as long as we can remain good people and look after our fellow men, that's what matters. If any of you want to PM me to talk about this, I'll be more than happy to. To me, I just want people to be happy. And it breaks my heart to see any kind of people be in any sort of pain, whether you're gay, straight, black, white, polkadotted, if people are racist towards you or try to force you down for who you are, realize that you matter and things will (hopefully) get better. I'm a ton of things right now, I'm pissed, I'm on edge, but mostly I'm sad. People matter, everyone matters.

"Systematic racism" doesn't necessarily mean that the government is racist. It means that society is racist.

When I say that society is racist, I don't mean that every single white person is racist. I mean that on the rare occurrences when a white person actively does something racist, or something that could be remotely interpreted as racist, the majority of white people refuse to admit that race was a factor. They want to point out other things, such as class, appearance, et cetera - and while that's not entirely incorrect, you can't take race out of the equation, because we know from experience that it matters. Especially when dealing with law enforcement.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; it's easy to say that racism, systematic or otherwise, doesn't exist when you're white. Because we don't have to worry about police questioning us for no reason. We don't have to see people lock their doors and clutch their purses when we walk by. We don't have to read in textbooks about our people being exploited and tortured for centuries. We don't have to go home and ask our parents why the world hates us.

What white people need to do is listen. We need to listen to BLM and all the other activist groups. If we listen to them, instead of immediately discrediting them, then maybe, just maybe, we can come to peace. But instead, we refuse to admit that there's a problem, and we continue to live our lives proudly and ignorantly, only reacting to injustice when it concerns our kind. And that's why they're angry. That's why their patience is running thin.

By the way, I watched the Crowder video and it seems that his statistics are contradictory to what ThefirstNapkin posted here (which is the same link that I posted in "Stupid **** white people do"). Honestly, I'm going to believe the Guardian on this one, because it's a more established, reputable source.

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Quote: Metallo

Quote: QueenChrysalis

**** you! Really, **** you!

I am sick and ****ing tired of you people acting like violence (Both police and civil) in the US is a "black problem." It has nothing to do with black people, and anybody who insists that it does can go **** themselves.

Guess what, buddy. We have black people too. And they're subject to discrimination just like those in the US. But you don't see us going around gunning people down for no reason because we're not a bunch of ****ing psychopaths.

I think you misunderstood my point. I'm saying that the police are discriminatory against blacks, and they likely wouldn't have killed a white person in the same situation.

Maybe. Maybe not. The fact of the matter is that this **** is happening to blacks, whites, asians, dogs, cats (Maybe not cats)... You talked earlier about firefighters spraying all the houses. But the problem with that analogy is that the entire town is on fire!

except that in these sketchy situations involving police violence, it predominantly happens against black people. this is not just coincidental, there is clear evidence that it is discrimination based on race. but people will deny it and grasp for other reasons to blame it on instead because they don't want to admit to it

i would imagine you would know what racism is quite well considering what your avatar is, chrysalis

@Metallo
What statistics are different? The one about white people being killed by police more often? Because that's true, and even says so in your own link. Did you bother to look at the total, or did you just look at "Per million" because it fits your narrative? Black people have more encounters with the police because of criminal activity, they do commit more crimes, yet in total white people are still shot by police more.

And as for your point on white people never wanting to acknowledge racism, what about black cops shooting white civilians? That is hardly ever covered, ever. You're speaking for everyone when you say that we don't understand people being uncomfortable around us, but I do. I know many white people who do because of where we live. I have had a woman come back to get her child from her car after she saw my friends and I in the truck next to her, even though she parked by someone else sitting in their car. I understand what it's like, it has nothing to do with my skin color. Again, for the umpteenth time, this is an issue of class not race. If you're going to continue to keep claiming that it is I would like to see some actual evidence that supports your claims, because every fact that I have given goes against it.

Jeremy Mardis, Gil Collar, Dillon Taylor, Ryan Keith Bolinger. Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner.
How many of these names do you recognize? Probably 4, and I'm guessing the 4 you recognize are the last 4. The media doesn't erase black people being shot by cops, it covers it and exploits it to get people enraged and rioting. What about the first four though? Where was their extensive media coverage?

Quote: Pixilism

jesus h. literal christ you are densely retarded

Quote: ThroneOfMalefor

your ignorance is amazing bahahahahaha pls stop

If the only way you can rebut what I've said is with childish insults, then that just means I'm right.

@Metallo: First of all, I'm not white, and I've been a victim or racism just like every other none white.

I never said there wasn't a problem. You just don't like it when I say that the problem isn't a Black Problem but rather a "You people, or at least your police, are so ****ed in the head that you go around murdering people in cold blood on the basis that they look kinda funny" problem.

Telling your police that they're not allowed to shoot black people anymore won't fix anything because then they'll just go after Muslims instead, or Asians, or Mexicans, or Indians... Or even if you put them on the tightest leash possible, then they'll decide that if they're not allowed to shoot humans anymore they'll just go after your pets!

Maybe I am biased on the basis that I'm Asian and the BLM thing doesn't encompass me, personally. But has it ever occurred to you that if I ever go to the US (Which I could do some day!) I don't want to be grabbed by a police officer and shot to death either?

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Telling your police that they're not allowed to shoot black people anymore won't fix anything because then they'll just go after Muslims instead, or Asians, or Mexicans, or Indians... Or even if you put them on the tightest leash possible, then they'll decide that if they're not allowed to shoot humans anymore they'll just go after your pets!

.....What?

Quote: QueenChrysalis

I've been a victim or racism

"I've been a victim of racism!"
>has a Nazi pony avatar



Quote:

Telling your police that they're not allowed to shoot black people anymore won't fix anything because then they'll just go after Muslims instead, or Asians, or Mexicans, or Indians... Or even if you put them on the tightest leash possible, then they'll decide that if they're not allowed to shoot humans anymore they'll just go after your pets!

"It's not racism at all! Your police are just bloodthirsty!"
Except, you know, those same people you talked about are prosecuted based on stereotypes.
"Blacks are gangbangers! Mexicans are drug dealers! Muslims are terrorists!"

But wait! You know what stereotyping falls under? Racism!

I cannot take you seriously anymore bruh

What I mean is that your police just have itchy trigger fingers and just want to shoot people (Or will just default to shooting people if something unexpected happens), doesn't matter what color they are. Just because they're more trigger-happy around black people for what ever reason doesn't change the fact that they were already trigger-happy AF.

it's only gotten worse

Quote: QueenChrysalis

What I mean is that your police just have itchy trigger fingers and just want to shoot people (Or will just default to shooting people if something unexpected happens), doesn't matter what color they are. Just because they're more trigger-happy around black people for what ever reason doesn't change the fact that they were already trigger-happy AF.

And why do you think that is, pray tell? It is because they're just vicious and like to kill, and there is no other reason?

Or perhaps, it's because a majority of the time they can get away with it without any consequences. Especially if the person is a different race, because then they can pull the stereotypical 'suspicious activity', 'resisting arrest', and 'I feared for my life' cards. And since the other party involved is dead and cannot speak for themselves, no one can resolutely challenge the claims made by police. It is only because of the media outcry that they are being heavily scrutinized and watched now. But you know, this is all just 'for what ever reason', according to you.

May I also point out that even though it may seem like the media pouncing on these situations will only benefit one group of people, you need to look at the broader picture and realize that any measures put in place to closely monitor the officers and weed out corrupted and problematic individuals in the police force will benefit everyone, no matter who they are. Unfortunately, we're still a long ways from achieving that.

Quote: Crystal Dragon

>has a Nazi pony avatar

Relevant how?

Quote:

But wait! You what stereotyping falls under? Racism!

You do realize that's completely backwards, right? Racism falls under stereotyping.

If stereotyping falls under racism, then stereotyping based on gender, sexuality, religion, country, profession and hobby would all be racist, which they are not.

Quote: Crystal Dragon

"I've been a victim of racism!"
>has a Nazi pony avatar

Quote: Crystal Dragon

"It's not racism at all! Your police are just bloodthirsty!"
Except, you know, those same people you talked about are prosecuted based on stereotypes.
"Blacks are gangbangers! Mexicans are drug dealers! Muslims are terrorists!"

But wait! You what stereotyping falls under? Racism!

I cannot take you seriously anymore bruh

Well a Mexican might not necessarily be shot because of racism. The Cis White Male who was shot to death after none aggressively opening the door to a white police officer certainly wasn't shot because of racism. Hell, even if it's a black person being shot it's not necessarily because of racism. The guy in the car wasn't shot because he was black, he was shot because he tried to drive off, which would definitely count as resisting arrest.

What I mean is: Even if you look at individual cases and say "Well this happened because racism," overall racism is not the root cause of this problem. The root cause is that police are too eager to resort to lethal force.

Hell, I don't think I've ever heard of tazers being used in any of these situations where people have been shot. Sure, tazers can be dangerous, and I have heard of cases where people have been killed by tazers (Usually people with pre-existing heart conditions) but it's a lot safer, and actually more effective at subduing somebody than a bullet.

Quote: Nightmoon

Quote: Crystal Dragon

>has a Nazi pony avatar

Relevant how?

Quote:

But wait! You what stereotyping falls under? Racism!

You do realize that's completely backwards, right? Racism falls under stereotyping.

If stereotyping falls under racism, then stereotyping based on gender, sexuality, religion, country, profession and hobby would all be racist, which they are not.

To make claims that racism isn't a factor in this particular case while totting around a picture of something that could be seen as symbol of discrimination? Seems very out of place don't you think? But if you feel it's irrelevant, then ok.

I was specifically referring to racist stereotypes. Perhaps I should have said discrimination as a more broader term.

I've already stated why I feel race plays a factor even if it's not the direct cause. I won't repeat myself because then honestly we'll be going in circles.

this topic is so heated right now oh god

Quote: StriderSwag

this topic is so heated right now oh god

>says its so heated
>has a yang avatar.


*giggles*

Quote: Mrmorrises

Quote: CAV

The article contains a video that itself also has some graphic content, so you should probably stick a warning by it.

Even if the cops try to claim that they had a good reason to pin him to the ground for arrest, I fail to see why they felt the need to take out a gun. Even a taser was overkill as it is but no they had to use the gun too.

They are absolutely going to court for this and if they're somehow let go free then there's no shadow of a doubt that the system is rigged and has an inherent racism problem.

You seem to be implying that the reason that the court would let these cops go free (which I doubt it will) would undoubtedly be because the victim was black.

It wouldn't be the reason but after all the past cases where cops have been sent free after cases very similar to this, it's going to have a huge impact on their image.
And unlike some of those past cases this one seems pretty clear. The cops were in the wrong and had no justified reason to pull a gun on him. It would take some serious bending of the law to try and claim their innocence.

Quote: parisruelz12

Quote: StriderSwag

this topic is so heated right now oh god

>says its so heated
>has a yang avatar.


*giggles*

that pun cost me an arm

Quote: StriderSwag

Quote: parisruelz12

Quote: StriderSwag

this topic is so heated right now oh god

>says its so heated
>has a yang avatar.


*giggles*

that pun cost me an arm

---------

Quote: Crystal Dragon

To make claims that racism isn't a factor in this particular case while totting around a picture of something that could be seen as symbol of discrimination? Seems very out of place don't you think? But if you feel it's irrelevant, then ok.

Are you seriously insinuating that me having an avatar of a pony dressed as a WWII German Officer is me supporting the extermination of millions of Jews? Because that's what it sounds like. I'm using this avatar because I like playing Germany in WWII themed games. If you have a problem with that then piss off.

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Quote: Crystal Dragon

To make claims that racism isn't a factor in this particular case while totting around a picture of something that could be seen as symbol of discrimination? Seems very out of place don't you think? But if you feel it's irrelevant, then ok.

Are you seriously insinuating that me having an avatar of a pony dressed as a WWII German Officer is me supporting the extermination of millions of Jews? Because that's what it sounds like. I'm using this avatar because I like playing Germany in WWII themed games. If you have a problem with that then piss off.

Maybe posting the shrugging pony when someone calls you out for it doesn't help your case, y'know? And how are we supposed to tell why you have the avatar that you do? Granted, your prior posts in this thread haven't been the best received.

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Quote: Crystal Dragon

To make claims that racism isn't a factor in this particular case while totting around a picture of something that could be seen as symbol of discrimination? Seems very out of place don't you think? But if you feel it's irrelevant, then ok.

Are you seriously insinuating that me having an avatar of a pony dressed as a WWII German Officer is me supporting the extermination of millions of Jews? Because that's what it sounds like. I'm using this avatar because I like playing Germany in WWII themed games. If you have a problem with that then piss off.

I mean, it's not exactly HELPING....

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Are you seriously insinuating that me having an avatar of a pony dressed as a WWII German Officer is me supporting the extermination of millions of Jews? Because that's what it sounds like. I'm using this avatar because I like playing Germany in WWII themed games. If you have a problem with that then piss off.

And this is why avatars are irrelevant when you don't have any context for it.

99.99% of the time, it's not because the user supports what the symbol stands for, but is a fan of media using the symbol. For instance, I'm a Red Alert 3 fan, with the Soviets as my favorite faction. So I could potentially use a Soviet avatar, despite not supporting communism.

Quote: ThefirstNapkin

Maybe posting the shrugging pony when someone calls you out for it doesn't help your case, y'know? And how are we supposed to tell why you have the avatar that you do?

Shrugging because avatars don't matter to anyone but the user sporting the avatar.
You're not supposed to know, you're simply supposed to not give a toss.

hey guys whats up

Quote: arceustheprime

hey guys whats up

Controversy(tm)!

BTW, nice joke avatar.

Quote: Bumblebunnii

I'm going to be the asshole here and say that I don't think the police problem is a problem of racism. It's a class problem, and a problem of the police seeing people from lower income areas as lesser. Appearance also has a big part in how much you're punished for a crime or how close of an eye police keep on you.

I read and acknowledged your post but I want to note something about the general point here.

Yeah, it can be seen as a class issue. That people of lower or poverty level classes tend to be discriminated and accused of crimes more than those of higher classes may be.

...But what race(s) tends to often make up that lower/poverty stricken class in many parts of the US? And why do they?

In the end those questions lead you right back to the idea of systematic racism/discrimination that can be debated as playing a part of why blacks (and to a lesser extent Hispanics?) are often unable to go farther in life or get the same opportunities as whites, and therefore remain in that lower class and possibly resort to other means to get by or "succeed". It's a huge mess that can't really be described in any single post and has a load of factors to it.

That said, while this could easily be the media's fault for focusing on these stories in order to get the most buzz and therefore profit from protesters and the like, you don't usually hear about poverty stricken white folk in the Southern US getting brutally murdered like this even if they pose no threat. Both they and blacks like here are in the same class, but it does often seem like the black person is more likely to be seen as a potential threat by police (and in general).

Quote: QueenChrysalis

Maybe. Maybe not. The fact of the matter is that this **** is happening to blacks, whites, asians, dogs, cats (Maybe not cats)... You talked earlier about firefighters spraying all the houses. But the problem with that analogy is that the entire town is on fire!

Quote: QueenChrysalis

What I mean is that your police just have itchy trigger fingers and just want to shoot people (Or will just default to shooting people if something unexpected happens), doesn't matter what color they are. Just because they're more trigger-happy around black people for what ever reason doesn't change the fact that they were already trigger-happy AF.

Let me try and argue this by using an example that doesn't at all involve police shooting guns or being "trigger happy".

Stop and frisk is a policy that police tended to have that is slowly falling out of favor (we'll get to it). It allowed officers the right to stop any random person on the street and pat them down and investigate them if they had even the slightest suspicion that they could be committing any illegal activities, were about to commit illegal activities, or had illegal possessions on them (drugs, firearms, etc).

NYC (you know, that place where ThroneofMalefor and I live) police frequently used the policy, though it's slowly being phased out. But have a look at the data over the past 10+ years and the results are clear: the vast majority of instances of stop and frisk have happened to black and Hispanic people.

You cannot argue that there isn't at least some sort of discrimination or systematic problem here. And this is not just a police thing; this is in general and nobody is excluded here.