Ferguson, MO

[Phrozen Sands]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Yes.

Phrozen Sands, there are also Black people who are apprehended by police with no incident. That doesn't minimize the fact that the Black person is a suspected killer. It means that by the time law enforcement came in contact with the suspect, the suspect was not shooting anyone; threatening to shoot anyone; and was willing to put down the weapon (or had already done so) without the need for force from law enforcement.

Phrozen Sands, if you haven't heard of Black people in your city or state who were stopped by police (with or without arrest) with no incident, you can do a Google search for news stories.

I'm not disagreeing here. I understand all of this. What I don't understand is why black men are killed by police more than 20 times more often than whites are. There's obviously something wrong with the system. I don't believe black lives are looked at as being equal in terms of comparing them to white lives. They never have been. Just my opinion on that issue. I'm still waiting for Wilson's conviction. Again, it's not over.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Phrozen Sands

What I don't understand is why black men are killed by police more than 20 times more often than whites are.

A few posts ago, I touched upon one correlate of that: the demeanor of some Black men.

Another correlate involves the disproportionate representation of Blacks in certain types of crime. That is correlated with socioeconomic status, physical and mental health disparities, sexual and reproductive health disparities, and inconsistent social policies.

Sure, bias and bigotry are a factor for some law enforcement but there are more safety nets against that than in the past (some law enforcement agencies are more conscientious because they are under increased scrutiny). Also, all humans have biases and bigotries. We are fine with these being utilized by law enforcement when it is to our benefit (such as officer discretion when not giving a traffic ticket) but we want that to suddenly disappear when there are potential negative outcomes. If only humans had such an "on/off" switch.

If people want the answer to unequivocally be "racial prejudice and individual racism" then NO. There are many factors that go into the structural, institutional, and individual dynamics of billions of people.