dead man walking wrote:bogatir,
there's a long history of ugly white-on-black aggression (i don't expect we need to cite examples), but as you point out, the problem of overzealous men in blue is not exclusively a problem of white on black. (i hadn't heard of "rough rides" until reading accounts of gray's death, but apparently cops of all colors have for years bounced difficult perps around in the back of paddy wagons.)
the white-on-black conflict is particularly explosive today, with deaths in ferguson, madison, new york, and cleveland fresh in people's minds. does the frequency of recent deaths reflect the norm, or are we seeing an anomaly? ultimately, i don't think it matters. as a society, we've got work to do. it's wrong to place the responsibility entirely on the cops or their victims. they're players in a much bigger drama, which is why people are taking to the streets . . . and everyone with a computer has got an opinion.
Thanks for the response.
There's an equally long and much less talked about history of black on white aggression, too, no?
However, I wasn't pointing out anything about overzealous men in blue in my experience, quite the opposite, in fact, was my experience...i.e. great discipline was exercised far more often than not and we didn't have the 'fear' of smart phone cameras recording our every move. I was, however, pointing out that
black cops act the same as white cops regardless of the scenario they're faced with. That's key. It's a massively important key, actually and no one wants to talk about it. Why? Because it brings to the forefront that it's not "racist pig cops" or "systemic racism" as much as it it a problem of black men committing a lion's share of the nation's street crime, period. Ergo, of course they're going to be in the news with much greater frequency in these tales.
Ferguson= cop justified, The Obama's people said so.
Staten Island= cop justified (although I freely admit I still scratch my head at that one) + the Patrol Supervisor on scene was a black female.
Cleveland= awful tragedy and horrible police work, but not justified? They'll be cleared.
So for 2 of the 3 you cite, there's nothing there and all that rioting and agony for nothing. The Cleveland incident will likely be 3/3. And remember it's not a vast, white man conspiracy that's calling those....it's left wing, minority driven leadership whose calling it.
EDIT: let's face it, Madison would not have made it past their local news as a race incident involving the police had there not been the other stories fresh in the media sizzle.
I dare say most people (the employed ones, anyway) "taking to the streets" are doing so because it's hip or opportunistic, not because they're infuriated over an injustice. I doubt a single employed IGx'er has protested once over any of the above.
