Too Much Policing in Black Neighborhoods

[laughing dog]

Again, when it comes to proper policing - solving violent crime - they absolutely are. When it comes to harrassing people at random, the police wildly overdo it (as in, they shouldn't do it at all). Whether it's the shakedown force that Ferguson operated, or the people who just run around hassling whoever they see like in Baltimore, the police in many of these areas have *never* established themselves as a force for justice, law, or order. Instead, they've operated as a street gang with the court system behind them, and thus are afforded the appropriate level of respect - or rather, the appropriate level of contempt.

And since the police are nearly useless in solving violent crimes, it means both that a person who attacks you will likely go free, and also that you'll likely go free if you retaliate. And that's why minor beefs over someone stealing someone's girl or whatever regularly devolve into gang wars.

Who is "they"? Every police department is different. Why do you lump them all into a single category, painting a broad brush?

I guess it slipped your notice that every black neighborhood is different but that doesn't stop our resident sociologists from lumping them in a single category of nests of brutish, anti-social criminals.

 

[repoman]

<snip>

 

[Mumbles]

Again, when it comes to proper policing - solving violent crime - they absolutely are. When it comes to harrassing people at random, the police wildly overdo it (as in, they shouldn't do it at all). Whether it's the shakedown force that Ferguson operated, or the people who just run around hassling whoever they see like in Baltimore, the police in many of these areas have *never* established themselves as a force for justice, law, or order. Instead, they've operated as a street gang with the court system behind them, and thus are afforded the appropriate level of respect - or rather, the appropriate level of contempt.

And since the police are nearly useless in solving violent crimes, it means both that a person who attacks you will likely go free, and also that you'll likely go free if you retaliate. And that's why minor beefs over someone stealing someone's girl or whatever regularly devolve into gang wars.

Who is "they"? Every police department is different. Why do you lump them all into a single category, painting a broad brush?

Yes, I just said that, in noting the difference between Ferguson and Baltimore. You'll also note that I said "many" and not "every".

Now, we can certainly discuss federal policies that make the problem worse across the country - the war on drugs, selling military surplus to local police departments, and the like. But wait, I kinda did that already, didn't I?