Re:Lifesaving advice from a black woman held at gunpoint by ...
by weberc2 on Tuesday July 11, 2017 @07:04PM
(#14748818)
Yeah, I was purposefully vague about "innocent" because I don't know what the most interesting, precise definition would be. I agree with you that comparing results to crimes is important in assessing the role race plays in these encounters.
> I believe the average white police officer would still be more hesitant to use lethal force against a white assailant than a black one.
I thought I heard about studies into this, but I can't seem to dig them up. I'll edit or reply again if/when I find them.
> I won't deny the usual statistics ("blacks commit more crimes per-capita", etc) but don't think that's where I believe the problem is. I'm not content with the sentiment that "black lives matter" - I'd much rather it be "criminals' lives matter"
If the discriminant is criminal behavior and not race, then (by definition), the issue isn't one of race (at least not in any meaningful way). It would be good to identify if this is the case or not, so we can focus our national debate on how to appropriately deal with crime and not on racism.
> I believe the average white police officer would still be more hesitant to use lethal force against a white assailant than a black one.
I thought I heard about studies into this, but I can't seem to dig them up. I'll edit or reply again if/when I find them.
> I won't deny the usual statistics ("blacks commit more crimes per-capita", etc) but don't think that's where I believe the problem is. I'm not content with the sentiment that "black lives matter" - I'd much rather it be "criminals' lives matter"
If the discriminant is criminal behavior and not race, then (by definition), the issue isn't one of race (at least not in any meaningful way). It would be good to identify if this is the case or not, so we can focus our national debate on how to appropriately deal with crime and not on racism.