Changing the Subject

[Spock]

I thought we needed a change of pace today. Too much political Obamacare rhetoric.

What happens in America if you're a white adult, carrying an assault rifle, seemingly intoxicated, threatening bystanders, and refusing to put the gun down for 40 minutes when confronted by police?

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/ind ... n_car.html

What happens in America if you're a black 12-year-old, carrying an air pellet gun, threatening no one, and fail to put the gun down within two seconds after police show up?

http://nypost.com/2014/11/27/cops-relea ... -year-old/

I do find it somewhat interesting that the individual who (seems) to be most upset about the police/black interface is also the individual who has stated time and again that he desires a society where police and military are the only ones with arms. Such a position would indicate implicit trust in the police.

[silverscreenselect]

I do find it somewhat interesting that the individual who (seems) to be most upset about the police/black interface is also the individual who has stated time and again that he desires a society where police and military are the only ones with arms. Such a position would indicate implicit trust in the police.

I don't have "implicit trust in the police." I have more trust in them than I do the guy parading around in Michigan waving his AK-47. And I have faith that the system can be made to work. And I know that the rationale given by those who claim they want to be armed to protect themselves against the police is a one-way ticket to the hospital, morgue, or jail if and when they ever do try to protect themselves from the police. Ask the guy in Georgia; ask David Koresh's followers; ask H. Rap Brown.

[silverscreenselect]

No, it is fueled by the same racism that says blacks can't perform at the same level as whites so we must give them extra points or consideration in acceptance to schools, scholarships, or government jobs.

It's not the idea that blacks can't perform at the same level as whites. In fact, it's the opposite. When given the same educational opportunities at a younger age and the same opportunities at higher education and jobs, blacks do perform at the same level as whites. However, we still have a "selection" process in place that over and over again has not been shown to be statistically valid at predicting what it's supposed to predict, namely success in college or on the job, but which statistically favors whites.

The racism is in using a set of criteria that is racially biased and is not statistically valid.

[ghostjmf]

In the interest of following up my own stuff, here are the refs to the case of the car crash victim, Jonathan Ferrell, who was killed by police instead of being transported to a hospital to have his injuries treated (unless there's more than one; could be):

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/s ... ictim-shot

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/27/us/north- ... -shooting/