There’s a lot to unpack here. I would like to have a discussion about this. As a successful black man in America (not only in basketball) and someone who has a humongous following, almost to the point of worship in some cases, why does LeBron feel the need to do this or be this way? I don’t like it, I think it hurts black people directly and people in general because it is painting a picture that is not true. He actually had the nerve and the audacity to say “or maybe today is going to be the end for one of these black people” Are you serious right now? I believe there’s an agenda to eradicate the police. In society the police are being painted as wholly corrupt, racist, genocidal, killers. They are not painted as humans, they are not husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, etc. Their reputations as a whole have been vilified and when people see cops, especially black people, because of the fear the media and people like LeBron keep instilling into people, they are naturally going to react in a fight or flight way, because that’s what happens when you’re fearful. But here’s the thing that I keep telling people; the cops DON’T police law abiding citizens and people who don’t break the law, they police people who AREN’T law abiding citizens and people who DO break the law. Here’s the kicker: if you don’t break the law, chances are you won’t have a negative cop interaction. I’ve heard people say that the cop way is “comply or die” which is another false narrative. I’m of the opinion that many if not all of the mainstream black men and boys that have been shot and killed by cops, since it became a thing after Trayvon Martin, would still be alive today had they not been: 1) in a position of breaking the law and 2) fearful. What LeBron needs to be saying to black people, especially young black men is: 1) don’t be criminals, get off the street, stop doing and selling drugs, stop living that life, do something with your life and do it honorably. A lot of these young boys and men don’t have fathers so he could be a father to a lot of them and 2) respect the cops and do everything they tell you to do, treat them like humans that have families and that they love and don’t make their job harder than it is. But instead: fear the cops, they’re racist, they want to kill you, oh and don’t worry about how you’re perceived by society, you’re not the problem, the cops are. As a player I recently have been able to tolerate LeBron. As a person I like him and I am certain we’d get along, but as a celebrity I don’t like his choice(s) one bit and I’d tell him if I had the chance to. Thoughts?
Thoughts... Don’t be criminals... You don’t need to be a criminal to have a bad interaction with police if you’re black, you can be at a public pool, a hotel lobby, in your dorm building, walking down the street, riding in a car, sitting at a bus stop, cleaning up around your building, etc And I could easily post 100 more videos like this. But yes it’s their fault, clearly they need to change their awful behavior and always comply with police 100%, that’s never resulted in death. Oh wait..
I understand this, what I’m saying is if you do get stopped by the cops, chill, be easy, do what they’re asking, have ID on you, comply. It’s not rocket science. Even if you feel like you are being discriminated against be calm and fight it in court, don’t fight and challenge the cops. And if more black celebrities would take this on truthfully, they could do a lot of good for the community. Being woke is not realizing something is happening, being truly woke is doing something to change it and telling people to be scared of cops or to riot is not it. Not sure why you felt the need to post these videos. This wasn’t my point at all, but okay. Never said this doesn’t happen and none of the people in the videos got shot and all but the guy picking up trash actually went along with the police and made the job easier. You’re trying to highlight discrimination for innocent people when my point was how and why the culture is instilling fear into black people while dehumanizing and slandering the police. Let’s talk about that huh?
it's not just blacks dying at the hands of killer cops. one of the most horrifying cases of police brutality i've ever is the murder of kelly thomas about a decade ago. white guy was brutally murdered by two cops who got away with his killing. the biggest issue is that far too many cops in this country have a "kill-first" instinct. it could be due to lack of proper training and/or in the case of black people being murdered by cops disproportionately, it could be due to hate and bigotry. white supremacists infiltrating american PD's has been an issue for years now. and the problem starts at the very top with the heads of these police unions who enable this behavior. this country has a cop problem
I agree 100% and the police need major reform as well (we can discuss that in length if you want), but I‘m really trying to highlight as black people, we need to be responsible for telling our people the truth. Yes police brutality does exist, but it’s not racially based. However, with that said, as long as people within our group continue to be criminals, drug dealers, gang members, and thots, we as a whole will continue to be viewed as such and/or be racially profiled. This is a two way street imo. Don’t ask for the cops to be reformed and changed, but don’t warrant the same reform and change from black people. It’s unfair.
"Can we at least be entertained while ya'all do your political activism thang?" You're so bad. This is a horrible issue, but sometimes athletes and others need to vet the incidents they decide to go to bat about. When they don't, and the incident is indefensible, the movement loses credibility, and that should not / cannot happen if we really hope for change.
Sounded to me he was taking his ball and going home...the worst decision he could have made under the circumstances So yeah go on with your activism but win us a championship while doing it
Bad interactions happen with every race. You just don't hear about them because they aren't black. Let's just face it, do you truly think only black people have faced improper interactions with police officers? It's funny that your video is from a leftist source that consistently pushes out biased news sources. No one here is defending bad police officers. We're defending police officers who are doing their job effectively but when a criminal who is black resists arrest and puts the police officers in a position where they have to use force, the entire police force in America is victimized and thrown under the bus. Without police officers, there would be no basketball, society, private ownership, etc., You'd be, right now, in the forest hiding in a cave. But yes, the action of a few bad police officers in a country where police officers deal with 100+ million interactions a year is clearly racism. The entire police force in the United States is out to get black people. Or maybe, it's the fact that black people per capita commit crimes at a higher rate. Maybe it has to do with the fact that blacks killed twice as many white people than whites killed blacks despite blacks being a much smaller population. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u....016/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-3.xls Maybe it's the fact that here in NYC, blacks represent 23% of the population but... They commit 75% of all shootings, 70% of all robberies, and 66% of all violent crime. https://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/race-crime-and-police-closer-look-7832.html Maybe it's the fact that more unarmed white people were murdered by police officers than unarmed black people. And yeah, I get it: 'White people represent a higher population so of course that means more deaths.' True, but do you know any of their names? Are white people out protesting claiming 'White Lives Matter' every time it happens? It's the same with black-on-black crime and white-on-white crime. Yes, white people are killed by white people and vice-versa with black people. But white people aren't going out pushing a BLM agenda (political group formed by 'professional Marxists' as stated by their own leaders). They aren't pushing a false WLM political message. Black people are outraged when a black man is killed by a white police officer. They aren't outraged when black lives are being ruined in neighborhoods destroyed by Democrats. People use this misleading statistic claiming that blacks are more likely to be shot vs whites. Yes, because blacks are more likely to have a violent confrontation with police officers. Police officers are sent by dispatchers. When they receive a call, there isn't any mention of race unless it is relevant to helping the police officers identify the suspect. Am I supposed to believe police officers are racist only towards blacks and not Hispanics, Asians, etc.,? Or maybe people like LeBron are pushing a racist-agenda in which blacks are taught to be victims rather than capable of making solid life choices to help themselves. Maybe if LeBron also preached about personal responsibility. How about don't resist arrest and become violent to avoid the use of a weapon? But yeah, I'm sure you posting videos of a deadly encounter with black people and police officers is indicative of the billion + interactions police officers have dealt with in the entirety of this country. Yup, police officers killing black people is the biggest issue in America today. It wasn't as big of an issue when Obama was president because of course, Trump is pushing and promoting police officers killing black people.
hey pipe down, that doesn't fit the narrative! Some of what you are saying is quite true, but in reality, our country has a systemic racism problem that it's trying to address. The problem is it's a complicated issue to address. It's practically impossible, and there is no easy solution. There is more violence in their own communities than out, and right now, they only want to focus on incidents that can further the conversation that fits the agenda. (Understandable, and can you blame them?) But WHY is there that level of violence? That's the complicated issue that isn't so easily solved. How do you make up for centuries of less opportunity and inequality? Of generations where Dads aren't in the home. Whenever you have poor and desperate people, they will do desperate things. Do you think people prefer that life or a life of peace and prosperity? Do you think they prefer not having adult supervision and guidance to keep them safe? I don't think that at all. I think they survive the best they can with what they've got to work with, and are maybe the most resilient people on earth. The reality is there are a lot of unsavory people in this world that have very little education, very few manners, very little morals, very few marketable skills, and refuse to follow direction. (America produced them - and I'm going to be terrible and group a lot of the country's poor in this category - which is also disproportionately minority). Please forgive the unfair generalization, but there's a point coming. Do you want to hire these folks that just fit that description? The ones you see acting crazy on youtube? it doesn't usually end well if you are a business owner. it sucks, but it's true. They will show up late if at all, they will cause disruptions, they will offend customers, they will steal from you, and overall be a bigger headache than it's worth over someone with a different upbringing or background. It's hard enough to run a business without unnecessary employee issues, and when you have people perpetuating a stereotype, it causes even less opportunity for those who are truly qualified. So let's just say you change things today for the entire generation moving forward, but what about the millions facing challenges as adults today and the rest of their lives? What about the children they are raising and modeling these same bad/unattractive marketplace attributes to? How do you fix that? (Just my own unqualified opinion/interpretation) A few protests won't solve this. Those who are doing the looting think they "deserve" to take what they unfairly can't afford. They've been listening their whole lives to how unfair the system is stacked against them, and many live in a way to self fulfill that prophesy. They don't have anyone to tell them to take responsibility for their actions and to change or to show them how. To give them a leg up. All they see around them on TV and in nearby communities in wealth they are unable to tap into unless they engage in illegal activity or choose to take these things from people who have them. I'm unable to relate to this on a personal level, but if you are in other less affluent countries and you see extreme poverty, you have a more difficult time holding desperate actions against desperate people. You know who needs to step up and who they need to demand more changes are made from? Black business owners. Minority business owners. Pump money into those company and give them incentives to hire other minorities. Exclusively. Hire minorities. Lift them up. Train them. Show them the way as someone who has made it. Develop them as people so they can be different and have a different life. Move your factories from China to the inner cities and create jobs. Break the cycle. How many all black businesses of any size have you heard of? Our government would allow these unfair hiring practices to accommodate the change the country needs, but it won't be allowed to happen by white business owners. I don't think it would work. I would absolutely support and buy from companies engaged in such hiring practices to help bring about or expedite change. Something has to happen, but burning down businesses, perpetuating violence, reinforcing stereotypes, etc isn't helping. It's time for leaders in the black community to step up and lead the charge. Nobody else will work IMHO. People like Rev Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton are always quick to show up to be on TV for injustice, but quit hiding behind your millions and put them to work if you really care. Michael Jordan? Tell me you can't do more? Give us an avenue to help bring about change because I don't see anything on the table working, and giving handouts doesn't help anyone. But what do I know. I'm white and privileged.
who's stopping whites from going out into the streets and protesting white people dying at the hands of killer cops?
You're completely right - crime is directly tied with economic opportunities. Poorer neighborhoods of ALL races experience a high level of crime. But we're not getting anywhere, as a country, by pretending that racism is the problem and that white people are constantly pushing black people out. If I go out to any BLM protest, odds are it's 80% white and 20% colored people. Blaming police officers isn't a solution, either. CNN's commentators even admitted that police officers reduce the amount of crime, especially in lower income neighborhoods. When you blame race, the solutions they come up with won't solve the fact that poor people can't buy groceries, housing, etc., There are many things that can be done. Opportunity zones work great. Companies that start businesses in poor neighborhoods receive a tax deduction. People get jobs, get off government welfare, and become citizens who contribute to the community. Children should have access to any school outside of their district... School choice is so important but thanks to politicians who refuse to allow it, kids in poor neighborhoods end up in poor schools (because funding is directly tied to real estate values), and receive poor education with under-performing teachers. It's also why illegal immigration must be stopped. It cost us hundreds of billions every year in education costs that should be going to actual citizens in this country. Housing programs with more affordable loans in impoverished neighborhoods would also work well. Allow these neighborhoods to grow internally. But many businesses are hesitant to do business in poor neighborhoods because of crime... when criminals ruin a business by committing burglary, robberies, murder, etc., people end up losing their jobs and businesses die. Crime needs to stop and that starts with personal responsibility as well. These neighborhoods have so much potential but it's been neglected by politicians who would much rather keep them on a leash with government welfare and every 2/4 years during election cycle, they pretend that the other side is the problem when it's both sides. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson.. you can add a new one.. Shaun King. The ultimate fraud and the modern millennial race-baiter who is pushing racial stories designed to cause mayhem. I agree with black celebrities and athletes doing more. You know, the problem is we all know that they are forced to post about pro-BLM tweets and posts on Instagram because their publicists tell them to. The fact is, after the bubble ends, they will go to their million dollar homes, lock their gates, and not give a damn about actually helping people. If LeBron, Michael Jordan, Jay-Z, Drake, and other prominent black figures come out and started businesses, more foundations, and employment opportunities in poor black neighborhoods, crime would instantly decrease, employment would increase, and these neighborhoods will start to grow. But instead, it's not enough 'profit' for them to do so.
For those interested, something LeBron was also uhm misinformed because he believes in legacy media thoroughly...
Wow, first I have seen of that. That’s pretty embarrassing and blatant. nice to know Sharpton has an apprentice. The dark side of the force is like that
Wow, more people need to watch this video. This is how the BLM propaganda started while it was being propped up by Obama when he said, "That could have been my son." How disgusting are these people to try and manipulate what had occurred? The mother is a terrible person for blatantly lying about what had happened. Just a boy with skittles and a can of iced tea my a**! Trayvon was a criminal being raised in a thug community acting like a gangster but found out real quick why we need the 2nd amendment! If it was the other way around and Trayvon murdered George Zimmerman by pounding his head in the cement, LeBron would be radio silent. Al Sharpton has been pushing racism for decades for profit. Ben Crump is now the lawyer for George Floyd and all 'police brutality' cases. When will people wake up? They lied about the witnesses, lied about what happened, and then tried to ruin Zimmerman's life by portraying Trayvon as some sort of Saint.
Well it is being shadowbanned by Google so no way it spreads. Because I always watched CNN I always thought the guy was an actual racist, George Zimmerman was slandered all the way to hell by everyone including the POTUS
