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I think the big elephant in the room that no one is talking about is that police don't just see blacks with contempt.
Generally speaking, police have contempt for pretty much EVERYONE.
Generally speaking, police have contempt for pretty much EVERYONE.
It's understandable. It's human nature.
When all you ever see is people at their worst, you tend to assume people are horrible.
When all you ever see is people at their worst, you tend to assume people are horrible.
Police deal with the aftermath of domestic violence, of murder, of theft.
Even if all they do is catch speeders, they deal with people trying to talk their way out of a rightful fine.
Even if all they do is catch speeders, they deal with people trying to talk their way out of a rightful fine.
Most police-citizen interaction is negative, either an outright criminal who sneers at society's values, someone indignant they are being accosted "when there are REAL criminals out there", or even someone scared and anxious because they only see a cop when something went wrong.
There also seems to be the omnipresent attitude that cops lives matter more than anyone else's.
The resources put into apprehending a cop killer dwarf any other murderer.
The resources put into apprehending a cop killer dwarf any other murderer.
And, of course, this isn't *ALL* police.
But enough.
But enough.
I think one of the things we need to do is work on improving the mental health of police.
Rotations away from the stressful interactions. More community interaction. more *positive* interactions.
Rotations away from the stressful interactions. More community interaction. more *positive* interactions.
don't get me wrong.
I'm not *blaming* cops.
I see the contempt they have for the average citizen as the understandable and nigh-inevitable result of the nature of their job.
But we can't reach a solution if we don't recognize the problem.
I'm not *blaming* cops.
I see the contempt they have for the average citizen as the understandable and nigh-inevitable result of the nature of their job.
But we can't reach a solution if we don't recognize the problem.
The police being insufficiently caring toward the continued life/health of someone in their custody is less likely to be racism, and more likely to be just the coarsening of compassion, the learned disassociation that comes from constant negative interactions.
I don't think cops are inherently racist.
I think assuming racism is the cause of every tragic outcome absolutely prevents us from improving the situation.
I think assuming racism is the cause of every tragic outcome absolutely prevents us from improving the situation.
I think I'm finished
