To Serve And Protect

Discussion in 'Politics, Religion and Philosophy -(FORUM CLOSED)-' started by Barnstable, Nov 25, 2014.

  1. davriver209

    davriver209 - Rookie -

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  2. bonk

    bonk - Rookie -

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    Young Black man wearing "G" in a hanging out across the street from a elementary school. Young White man driving through a southern all black neighborhood in a 70's shaker can pickup with 2 confederate flags flying proud. Dark skinned man with a long black beard with a backpack walking back and forth in front of a post office

    Should a cop stop, talk or to any of them? If you are in any of those situations are you uneasy?

    Are there bad cops? Sure. Are there bad Black people? Sure. Are there bad people? yup! We've set up our society in the last 150 years to put a group of public servants between us and our protection. We've given them the power to make decisions on what they think is dangerous to the rest of society. I think we are seeing some of the fall out from that and that nothing is perfect.

    My personal thoughts are that my personal protection is my responsibility not the government's but this isn't the current line of thought. I'd rather see everyone take responsibility for themselves not only in protection but in a whole lot of things.
     
  3. davriver209

    davriver209 - Rookie -

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    That would result in anarchy my good friend. Despite people wanting to see the good in other human beings... it just won't pan out.
     
  4. ZenMaster

    ZenMaster - Lakers All Star -

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    How would you go about implementing this?
     
  5. bonk

    bonk - Rookie -

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    Protecting yourself is the most fundamental of all "Rights" IMHO.

    The reality of the math is that our Police forces rarely "stop" crime before it happens. They "solve" murders about 85% of the time and theft less than 20% of the time but that doesn't do the victims any good. The thought that the police "protect" is really not founded in the math or in reality. If someone wants to kill you they most likely will unless you are prepared to stop it personally.

    There is a false sense of security in our country. When we have a significant break in our economy (IMHO not a question of if but when) there will be no protection from it from the police. If you don't have the ability to protect yourself then shame on you.

    I carry a gun every day. The thought that I'm somehow a danger to society because of this is just about the most twisted logic out there these days. I think everyone should be trained to use a gun in the same manner they are trained to drive. Not a popular thought in this society at this point in time but I've been where there is a lot of really bad crap happening and I can tell you that no police force in the world could have stopped it before it happened. Just isn't possible.

    As for "anarchy". We got money, food and distractions right now as a county. Any of that go away suddenly and there will be anarchy of varying degrees. No one can stop it. I don't like the idea of militarized police forces. I like even less the idea of Federal Police forces. Too many innocents have died at the hands of "protectors" in the last couple hundred years when you look at the history of it objectively.

    What do you get when Federal and local police begin to cooperate? V-STAG. It's a "pre-crime" program being foisted on us by the very ones against "profiling". Wrap it in an "anti-bullying" rhetoric and it's OK.

    Also, be careful what you tweet. http://phys.org/news/2014-04-twitter-crime.html

    Minority Report coming true
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2015
  6. ZenMaster

    ZenMaster - Lakers All Star -

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    You carry a gun, and you think this gives you some sort of personal security? OK. As long as it helps you think it does and makes you happier.

    That, however, is as much a false sense of security as anything.

    I used to carry a freaking M16 for 3 years, and it didn't help my sense of security at all, as I've seen people in bulletproof vests and helmets, and with
    multiple guns, killed with a knife.

    I hope you never have to use that gun.
     
  7. Barnstable

    Barnstable Supreme Fuzzler of Lakersball.com Staff Member

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    Come on now Doc, that's a strawman argument.

    You really think that's an accurate assessment of what he and I are saying? That every time a black person encounters the police or could be killed by the police they are killed? Come on, let's not devolve this discussion to hyperbole or exaggerate what the other side has actually said or believes.

    He, I, and most people that are critical of the police killing black people in these situations are saying the police all to often choose to kill them when they don't have to. You want to prove me wrong, show me proof that's it's even. It should be very easy to find a bunch of videos of the cops killing white people in situations where they didn't need to shoot since most crimes are committed by whites, but you can't do it, because they don't exist in any significant number.

    I have video upon video of blacks getting killed/beat/attacked by the police in situations that don't warrant it, decade upon decade of stories from the great majority of black people across the US coming from every economic and social background in the county confirming it, and a history of rampant and systemic racism in general in the US. What proof do you have that this isn't rooted in racism? It isn't true because you say it isn't?
     
  8. bonk

    bonk - Rookie -

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    First off. Thanks for your service.

    Happier has nothing to do with it.

    Statistically speaking I am more secure in a lot of possible situations having a gun. The idea that not having a gun and being safer is the thought that is not supported by statistics. Guns are one of the safest "machines" in our country currently. 380 Million privately owned guns kill 2,500 people annually. Registered guns in the hands of their registered owners kill less than 100 people annually. 250 Million cars kill nearly 40,000 annually. 380,000 people die each year in Hospitals from infections or mistakes not related to their reason for going there.

    The gun debate is based in emotion and more sinister desires IMHO. You cannot make a society statistically more safe by restricting legal ownership of guns. Accidental and purposeful deaths in this country because of guns are very small in relation to other accidental and purposeful deaths statistically.

    The reason I'm safer is that I can react to a deadly situation in seconds. Reaching for my cell phone when someone is threatening me or my family will result in a 30 minute wait minimum before a cop will get there.
     
  9. Barnstable

    Barnstable Supreme Fuzzler of Lakersball.com Staff Member

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    Your link doesn't work.

    I think I've been pretty clear about this in this thread and on CL. I've never said there was a racial agenda by all police. I've been pretty clear in stating that the great majority of police are good. But like that ex sergeant Michael Wood confirmed, like a bunch of Black police officers confirmed, some cops are racist, some don't even know it but react off of the stress of the job towards the ones they perceive as a threat or the bad guys. If this wasn't true you'd have video evidence to the contrary. Right now, you have nothing but a refusal to acknowledge what your own eyes are seeing, and a stubborn refusal to accept the truth.
     
  10. Barnstable

    Barnstable Supreme Fuzzler of Lakersball.com Staff Member

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    This should be really easy guys.

    If these beatings and shootings weren't racist, show me the videos of a white guy standing in walmart talking on a cell phone and the police rounding the corner and killing him in a split second. Show me the videos of the police pulling up and shooting a 12 year old white kid in less that 2 seconds of arriving on the scene. Show me a white guy running away and an officer shoots him in the back. Show me all the videos of white people getting killed by the police when they weren't deserving of it. Etc, etc.... Oh.... and show me all of that within a years time. Everyone has a video recorder in there pocket for the past 8 years or so. This should be easy. Someone that hates the blacklives matters movement should have researched all this, and posted a long video on youtube refuting this with tons of video evidence.

    I'd absolutely love for you to prove me wrong here, because I'd like to believe this country had moved further along the path to end racism, and I'd like to think you all believe none of this is racist for a reason other than you just don't want to believe it.

    PS: If you'll notice, I haven't said a word about how Sandra Bland's or Freddie Gray's deaths because I couldn't see what happened with them even though they both sound fishy as hell.
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2015
  11. bonk

    bonk - Rookie -

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    I've already said that there are racist cops and racist black people. So what? It will always be with us. There is irrational discrimination everywhere in life. Look at how followers of political ideologies treat each other.

    It seems that the implication is that it's "systemic". That I don't believe and I don't think there is statistical evidence to support that. Incarcerations follow a pretty clear path 90% of the time. Mental health, addiction, poverty, lack of education, unemployment are the things that define our incarcerated populations for the most part not skin color, at least as a determinant. White cops in a predominantly Black area where crime is high will encounter more criminal behavior in Blacks.

    I guess the debate here is on whether or not there is a problem. For argument's sake lets say we all agree that Cops are out for Black folk. Lets move to what solution there is for it.
     
  12. Barnstable

    Barnstable Supreme Fuzzler of Lakersball.com Staff Member

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    I wasn't talking to you
     
  13. bonk

    bonk - Rookie -

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    Whoa. OK then.
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2015
  14. ZenMaster

    ZenMaster - Lakers All Star -

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    You are welcome, even though it wasn't in the US army :)
     
  15. bonk

    bonk - Rookie -

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    I didn't say thanks for your service in the US Army :)

    Anyone who serves deserves thanks. Not enough people get what that's about.
     
  16. davriver209

    davriver209 - Rookie -

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    So you're statement is, some of these cops are sub consciously racist because they react to things more differently when it would involve a black suspect rather than a white/Asian/Hispanic, Indian or any other subject?
     
  17. Barnstable

    Barnstable Supreme Fuzzler of Lakersball.com Staff Member

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    In a nutshel yes, but to add to that....

    Nobody wants to think they're a bad person or wrong at there core. People justify there racist thinking as having a good reason behind it. A police officer is no different. When we see these kinds of attacks one of the first things we hear a lot of people say in defense of the officer involves something to the effect of, "well there's so much crime in the black community....", not even recognizing that to bring that up when discussing a particular individual black person getting beaten or killed by an officer, is justifying using race as an excuse and factor for the officers actions in that incident. That excuse/defense of an officer's actions is racist in itself since it's allowing race to be a justified factor in that officer's actions against the suspect. That's how insidious subconscious thoughts regarding race are.

    These bad cops didn't even necessarily start out as such, but the other side of this problem is that police departments don't properly take care of there officers mental health. Cops see the dredges of society and have to deal with them every day, all day. It's a job I'm convinced no one can do without serious mental outlets and yes, as you like to say, training. If you're an officer in a big city long enough, I'm convinced you will have some form of PTSD just because of all the heartbreaking and terrible s*** you will see. That is if you don't have the correct support to get through it and the option to take a break every once in a while. Cops have a very high number of domestic violence as well because the trauma manifests itself differently in different people. Race is a cue people can see immediately and if that officer has any kind of negative history with that race, he can snap and if he is never reprimanded, fired, or imprisoned for it, he can snap repeatedly. It doesn't take many bad apples to spoil the bunch. If one in 100 people are racist or just a**holes in general, cops are no different. They just hold a position where there actions can be much more damaging than your average person's actions.

    All that said, it's still no excuse. If you attack or kill someone in a situation that didn't warrant it, you need to be punished accordingly. It just repeats if there is no significant repercussions.

    If you haven't seen it dav, I'd like you (and anyone else that thinks race doesn't factor into these incidents) to take the time to watch this video of ex-officer Michael Wood describing his time in the Baltimore PD and all the things he's seen. It's a long video, but it's also well worth the listen. It's also very candid where he even admits to wrong doing himself at times. This is a condensed version of the 3 hr interview:

     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2015
  18. Barnstable

    Barnstable Supreme Fuzzler of Lakersball.com Staff Member

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    And another:

     
  19. bonk

    bonk - Rookie -

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    In looking at the raw statistics of Police Officers shooting people going back to 1968...

    1968:
    8.6 Deaths for Blacks per 1 Million population
    .9 Deaths for Whites per 1 Million population

    2014:
    2.78 Deaths for Blacks per 1 Million population
    1.28 Deaths for Whites per 1 Million population

    These are from a matrix of population statistics kept by a number of government agencies including the CDC and Census.

    Since the "Civil Rights" movement there has been nearly a 75% decrease in deaths to Blacks by Police officers. A 30% increase for Whites. (I didn't list Hispanics or Asian as their rates were nearly the same).

    This has nothing to do with innocence of the victim, Black or White but only shows the raw numbers of deaths.

    Our data bases are partly proprietary, part Government, part state and part corporate. We typically have the widest data sets available.

    The question of Black Deaths at the hands of White cops is a difficult one. No one source can list meaningful data of who had a gun, who was threatening, who was shot for no reason (conviction of cop). While there are websites that purport to keep White officer on Black deaths by public media reports they seem less than scientific.

    The only true verifiable trend is that deaths at the hands of cops is down pretty significantly in terms % of population since the early 60's. You can cross reference criminal conviction % per 1000 of each race and then filter the data to get one way of looking at it (which is the statistically proper way) or you can just filter by % of population for both (media way most of the time). The first way shows about double the decrease. The second way is listed above.

    I don't doubt that there are many "suspects" that are killed wrongly by police. I don't doubt that there are more blacks killed than whites. I don't doubt that the officers doing the shooting are a larger % white than minority. These are all statistically probable based on some very sound statistical trends within our population. Nothing in the statistics can prove or disprove "racism" as a factor. Math can't quantify someone's mental state.
     
  20. Barnstable

    Barnstable Supreme Fuzzler of Lakersball.com Staff Member

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    And another...



    "Officer Charged With Murder Of Sam DuBose, Video Of Fatal Traffic Stop Released
    By: Iyana Robertson July 29, 2015 9:10 PM


    University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing has been charged with murder in the death of 43-year-old Samuel DuBose. In a press conference held on Wednesday (July 29), Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters announced the charge, and a video of the stop was also released.

    “This office has probably reviewed upwards of hundreds of police shootings, and this is the first time that we’ve thought this is without question a murder,” Deters said, according to The Washington Post.

    Tensing originally alleged that he had been dragged by DuBose’s vehicle, but the video of the incident proves otherwise. On July 19, Tensing shot DuBose in the head while he was still in his driver’s seat during a traffic stop. After inquiring about the whereabouts of his license, Tensing attempted to open DuBose’s car door, and fired his weapon after a brief struggle. Ahead of the release of the footage, the University of Cincinnati campus was shut down as officials prepared for the community’s reaction.

    “Could you imagine the outrage you would have if this was your kid, if this was your brother, over a stop like this?” Deters said. “And he didn’t do anything violent towards the officer. He wasn’t dragging him. And he pulled out his gun and intentionally shot him in the head.”

    DuBose was laid to rest on Tuesday (July 28). Tensing has reportedly turned himself in."
     

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