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This might tangent a bit.
I will consistently call out bad policing/unjust actions at our hands. To that end here& #39;s what I want as well. I want equality of outrage from society. I want people, athletes, to be just as upset & outraged about people who aren& #39;t killed by the police.
I will consistently call out bad policing/unjust actions at our hands. To that end here& #39;s what I want as well. I want equality of outrage from society. I want people, athletes, to be just as upset & outraged about people who aren& #39;t killed by the police.
This isn& #39;t what-aboutism. I acknowledge that there are bad police uses force and unjust killings. While as rare as it is an occurrence per contact rates, it is something that inevitably happens ever year, & every time a person is killed by the police unjustly is a time too many.
That said, there are going to be more black children shot and killed in Chicago this year alone (28 YTD) than there were unarmed Black men shot and killed by the police nationwide in 2018 and 2019 combined (26).
It would take 335+ yrs of 18& #39;s rate of police shooting & killing unarmed black men to match the overall homicide victimization rate of Black Americans in that same year. The FBI hasn& #39;t released 19& #39;s homicide statistics, however assuming the rate is similar it would take 525+ yrs.
It is also important to consider that not every unarmed killing is an unjust occurrence. For instance, a person behind the wheel of a car is unarmed, but in reality they are in control of a 3500 lb bullet. A person stomping a the brains out of a cop is unarmed, but still deadly.
Overall police shootings and killings of Black Americans, of any and all circumstances, per available 2018 FBI and Washington Post statistics, it would take 32 years to match the overall homicide victimization rate of Black Americans.
Treating Black homicides as an allegory, & allegorically speaking we call it cancer, this would be like going to the Dr. for a check-up and the Dr. tells you that you are at high risk of developing cancer. The Dr. says that there are 2 specific activities that cause this cancer.
Cause 1 is responsible for 97% of all such cancer cases, while cause 2 is responsible for the remaining 3%. You realize that both causes are present in your life, but instead of choosing to focus and the primary cause of this cancer you ignore it and zero in on the 3%.
Another example would be a dam that has 2 structurally damaged points. If weak point 1 fails, 30 gallons of water will spill out of the damaged area. If weak point 2 fails nearly 1000 gallons will spill from the dam. Which area should we address? Clearly both, however we are
Choosing to ignore the portion of the dam with that would cause the most significant damage.
Now, again, this isn& #39;t a what-aboutism, and more importantly this is not ignoring the systematic and historical reasons we are where we are now.
Now, again, this isn& #39;t a what-aboutism, and more importantly this is not ignoring the systematic and historical reasons we are where we are now.
That cancer is a genetic predisposition rooted deep in our ancestry and genetic code as a nation.
The weak points in the dam stem from shoddy workmanship and poor engineering at the hands of unscrupulous engineers and architects.
The weak points in the dam stem from shoddy workmanship and poor engineering at the hands of unscrupulous engineers and architects.
That said, there is no time machine to go back and stop the sins of this nation. We can only address the fall-out of that sin. We have to zero in on combating the causes of this cancer, and repairing the damaged portion of dam.
This doesn& #39;t mean ignoring the 3% cause, but does mean that the 97% does direly need to be addressed.
Simultaneously it also doesn& #39;t mean tearing down the entire dam and starting anew in an effort to stave the flow of water.
Simultaneously it also doesn& #39;t mean tearing down the entire dam and starting anew in an effort to stave the flow of water.
We are a much better country than many who decry us are giving us credit for, but we are also far from the ideals as a nation that we claim we stand for. We are not either end of the spectrum that we are constantly portrayed as, depending on point of view.
Athletes like LeBron and his pretend studies of Malcolm X do nothing. Him claiming that he is more fearful of the police than he is common man, despite the facts and statistics, does absolutely nothing aside from make things worse. It only degrades community relations further.
There are not swaths of racist white supremacists police hunting down Black people, nor are police as a profession targeting Black men.
Now, that said, police need to be & do better. That doesn& #39;t happen at the cost of Defunding them. Cops need to be better trained and there needs to be more, not less. You don& #39;t get this by taking money away. You get this by better funding.
Areas with high police presence experience lower crime rates and lower arrest/enforcement rates. Studies bear this out.
If you want to shift the discussion as to what calls police should handle, and perhaps redirect funding as to those means, that& #39;s a conversation we can have.
If you want to shift the discussion as to what calls police should handle, and perhaps redirect funding as to those means, that& #39;s a conversation we can have.
I guess long tweet thread short, I just wish athletes and people of influence would take a look and feel the same outrage over instances of death and tragedy that occur at greater frequency and rates as they do with police involved instances of injustice, or perceived injustices.
I will continue to do my part as a cop. I will seek justice, act justly, and call out wrong. I will protect the weak and stand for the innocent. Even if it means taking the brunt of lies and maybe a rick or two off the dome.
End thread/rant.
End thread/rant.
