The only problem I see with the goings on of the arrest is: 1) how quick PoC are to play the "race card" 2) The public attention this situation is getting
I personally have had no horrible experiences with cops and I live in LA county, that being said I am a white male. While I think profiling is wrong, I also believe that it is a necessary evil. Due to the perceived statistical frequency that PoC are involved in crime a closer look should be taken to any illicit activity involving them. That being said... "white" people need to be the most closely watched because we know we can get away with crap. There was an ongoing joke among my non-white friends that if I came with them to do something illicit we wouldn't get in trouble because the cop would see a white kid and assume nothing was up.
why would police be called to PoC homes three times more often than Caucasian homes?
Because, thanks to racism among other groups, PoC tend to live in impoverished areas of low education and high amounts of crime
Exactly. Take a look at the population of the poorer areas of town versus the more affluent areas. You will most likely see a racial trend with PoC being higher in the poor areas and white people living in the affluent areas. There tends to be more crime in the poorer areas. Therefore, more calls to the residences there, which means more calls to PoC households.
It would be great if all other factors were equal, but they are not. There are socioeconomic differences that tend to correlate with race.
While I think profiling is wrong, I also believe that it is a necessary evil. Due to the perceived statistical frequency that PoC are involved in crime a closer look should be taken to any illicit activity involving them.
Emphasis added. How much of this becomes self-fulfilling prophecy? PoC are believed to be more involved in crime than non-PoC, so they're the people that are watched more, and thus are the ones who are charged more often, thus contributing to the perception that they're more involved in crime, etc. How exactly does racial profiling help in this situation, especially if - by your own admission - non-PoC should be watched just as often?
It's nice to see that Gates has backed WAAAAAY off. It shows that he's able to reassess his actions. A lot of people don't have that ability - including some forum members here.
It's too bad that he acted the way he did in the first place, but I give him credit for ratcheting things down.
I like how certain forum members here think that it's terrible to be racist, but okay to paint all police officers as the spawn of the anti-christ. Admittedly, nobody is born a police officer, but you get my point.
I like how certain forum members here think that it's terrible to be racist, but okay to paint all police officers as the spawn of the anti-christ. Admittedly, nobody is born a police officer, but you get my point.
Well, I think jobs like soldier and police officer attract both people who have a strong sense of justice and want to help, and people who just want to control others. It is like any stereotype. Some will defy it and some will confirm it, but you can't just assume that every police officer gets off on being a jerk to people. Racial profiling is also wrong for this reason.
Comments
1) how quick PoC are to play the "race card"
2) The public attention this situation is getting
I personally have had no horrible experiences with cops and I live in LA county, that being said I am a white male. While I think profiling is wrong, I also believe that it is a necessary evil. Due to the perceived statistical frequency that PoC are involved in crime a closer look should be taken to any illicit activity involving them.
That being said... "white" people need to be the most closely watched because we know we can get away with crap. There was an ongoing joke among my non-white friends that if I came with them to do something illicit we wouldn't get in trouble because the cop would see a white kid and assume nothing was up.
It would be great if all other factors were equal, but they are not. There are socioeconomic differences that tend to correlate with race.
(Apologies for the double-post)
There's a lot going on in this picture...
It's too bad that he acted the way he did in the first place, but I give him credit for ratcheting things down.
I like how certain forum members here think that it's terrible to be racist, but okay to paint all police officers as the spawn of the anti-christ. Admittedly, nobody is born a police officer, but you get my point.