Whatever would Doctor King have said? Police brutality in the 21st century

**Janszoon** · 04-20-2015, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

What, so just because it happens to a statistically smaller percentage I shouldn't worry about it? Nobody said every black man is getting gunned down, but when the news stories are mounting up, and every single time you hear of one of these incidents it's a black guy getting shot, maybe killed, that surely can't be ignored? Nobody's saying every black guy in the USA is afraid to walk outside his door, just as nobody's saying black guys aren't committing crimes that could put them --- literally --- in the firing line. But it has risen to a level which surely is now unacceptable. How many this year already? And the annoying thing about it is that nobody seems to be trying to defuse, change or address the situation...

I don't think it's risen at all. I think it's always been a problem, it's just finally getting the media attention it should have been getting all along.

Urban Hat€monger ? · 04-20-2015, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth

care to elaborate?

No it's pretty self explanatory

**Frownland** · 04-20-2015, 04:14 PM

I think after this and the drink driving [sic] thread, we can assume that TH has mean world syndrome.

The Batlord · 04-20-2015, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hat€monger ?

It's not there for no reason.
It's there so you only have to scroll up & down to read stuff as opposed to up, down and sideways.

Makes sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth

care to elaborate?

It's so that you don't have a line of unbroken text that causes it to extend the message beyond normal page constraints, just like oversize pictures that people put in spoilers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Yeah but I'm talking about what seems to be a shocking litany of incidents of black men getting shot simply because they're black. Guy running away? Pursue. BLACK guy running away? Shoot. Guy jaywalking? Talk to him. BLACK guy jaywalking? Shoot him. Can't be right...

I know this is going to sound condescending, but you live in Ireland, where you have basically no familiarity with day to day life in America, and likely only ever hear about these incidents when they're news worthy enough to become international news. That probably skews your perception in a way that doesn't give you a complete or helpful view of the situation as a whole.

Just think about The Troubles in Britain and Ireland and the people in Boston who gave money to the IRA, probably not knowing the reality of what the IRA were really doing, or what they were really about. Was it understandable that they would be ignorant? Of course. But were they still causing harm by acting in ignorance? I'm sure.

Trollheart · 04-20-2015, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I don't think it's risen at all. I think it's always been a problem, it's just finally getting the media attention it should have been getting all along.

Probably true. The point stands though: where does it stop, if it does?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

I think after this and the drink driving [sic] thread, we can assume that TH has mean world syndrome.

What does that mean?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Makes sense.

I know this is going to sound condescending, but you live in Ireland, where you have basically no familiarity with day to day life in America, and likely only ever hear about these incidents when they're news worthy enough to become international news. That probably skews your perception in a way that doesn't give you a complete or helpful view of the situation as a whole.

Just think about The Troubles in Britain and Ireland and the people in Boston who gave money to the IRA, probably not knowing the reality of what the IRA were really doing, or what they were really about. Was it understandable that they would be ignorant? Of course. But were they still causing harm by acting in ignorance? I'm sure.

Actually no, it doesn't sound condescending at all, and it makes sense. I'm just not sure how it fits in here. If you're saying were this a thread titled "What do we do about the IRA and those who fund them?" I would agree that they should not be funded, but how does that link to the topic?

You're right that I don't live there and only get dripfed by the news, but short of moving there, which I'm not going to, corresponding directly with those who do (like you guys I guess) what am I to do? The news is reporting what's happening: they're not making it up. It may be sensationalised, but people are still dying. And they all seem to be of one colour.

Which makes me want to quote Peter Gabriel: "When I try to sleep at night/ I can only dream in red/ The outside world is black and white/ With only one colour dead."

**Frownland** · 04-20-2015, 04:42 PM

It's pretty much what Batlord described in his post.

Mean world syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Batlord · 04-20-2015, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Actually no, it doesn't sound condescending at all, and it makes sense. I'm just not sure how it fits in here. If you're saying were this a thread titled "What do we do about the IRA and those who fund them?" I would agree that they should not be funded, but how does that link to the topic?

The point is, if you don't have a useful understanding of an issue, then going off half-cocked can actually inflame the problem by treating it in a way that doesn't fix it. Coming down on the police, even if there is a real problem, in a way that doesn't reflect the reality of the situation is basically creating two narratives: the real one, and the one you imagine.

Quote:

You're right that I don't live there and only get dripfed by the news, but short of moving there, which I'm not going to, corresponding directly with those who do (like you guys I guess) what am I to do? The news is reporting what's happening: they're not making it up. It may be sensationalised, but people are still dying. And they all seem to be of one colour.

Which makes me want to quote Peter Gabriel: "When I try to sleep at night/ I can only dream in red/ The outside world is black and white/ With only one colour dead."

I don't form opinions about the IRA because I don't really know much beyond the basic facts. For all I know as an ignorant American, the IRA were freedom fighters who were completely justified in their actions and should be lauded as heroes, even if their methods were often extreme and caught innocent people in the crossfire. Me publicly articulating my uninformed positions could contribute to a narrative that was actually more harmful than if I had just said nothing.

**Janszoon** · 04-20-2015, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Probably true. The point stands though: where does it stop, if it does?

I think it's improving and will continue to improve. It's a major topic of discussion nationally with a lot of people fighting for change and I'd imagine the number of these stories making the news are going to cause a lot of police to realize that they can't get away with these kinds of things.

~~Soulflower~~ · 04-20-2015, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I don't think it's risen at all. I think it's always been a problem, it's just finally getting the media attention it should have been getting all along.

Great post!

~~Soulflower~~ · 04-20-2015, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I think it's improving and will continue to improve. It's a major topic of discussion nationally with a lot of people fighting for change and I'd imagine the number of these stories making the news are going to cause a lot of police to realize that they can't get away with these kinds of things.

Great post, I agree! This needs to stop.

04-20-2015, 04:14 PM	#173 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	I think after this and the drink driving [sic] thread, we can assume that TH has mean world syndrome. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

04-20-2015, 04:42 PM	#176 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	It's pretty much what Batlord described in his post. Mean world syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x