Posted on 09/28/2017 5:58:48 AM PDT by Kaslin
Where was the angry left when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called the national anthem protests "dumb and disrespectful"?
Let's focus on the "dumb" part.
NFL player Colin Kaepernick, who started the protests, did so over the supposed widespread instances of police brutality against blacks. Kaepernick said, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. ... There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder." According to the Centers for Disease Control, since 1968 police killings of blacks have declined nearly 75 percent. According to The Washington Post, almost 500 whites were killed by cops in 2015, an average of more than one a day. Two hundred fifty-nine blacks were killed by the police. Most suspects killed by police had a weapon.
Now for some perspective.
Do you know anyone who has been struck by lightning? Neither do most people. Yet each year an average of about 300 Americans are killed or injured by lightning. That's approximately 40 more than the number of blacks killed by the police in 2015. Is there an "epidemic" of Americans being struck and injured by lightning? We don't know the number of black men injured by lightning every year, but let's assume the number is 7 percent of the total people struck by lightning, mirroring the percentage of the black male population in America. That brings the average number of black men injured by lightning to about 21.
Out of the 965 people killed by the police in 2015 (as of Dec. 24), the Post reported (on Dec. 26) that "less than 4 percent" involved an unarmed black man and a white cop, the fact pattern most commonly referred to by anti-police activists like Black Lives Matter. Last year, The Washington Post put the number of unarmed black men killed by the police at 17, less than the number of blacks likely struck by lightning. Twenty-two unarmed whites were killed by the police. Any death that results from police misconduct is one death too many, but the point is that police killing of a suspect is rare, no matter the race of the suspect or the cop. And a police shooting of an unarmed black male is still more rare.
But blacks are routinely and disproportionately being stopped, pulled over and/or arrested due to police misconduct, right?
No, not according to numerous studies, many by the government. Take traffic stops. In 2013, the National Institute of Justice, the research and evaluation agency of the Department of Justice, published a study of whether the police, as a result of racial bias, stop blacks more than other drivers. The conclusion? Any racial disparity in traffic stops is due to "differences in offending" in addition to "differences in exposure to the police" and "differences in driving patterns."
According to Philippe Lemoine, writing in National Review, a white person is, on average, more likely to have interactions with the police in any year than a black person, 20.7 percent vs. 17.5 percent. It is true that a black person is more likely to have multiple contacts with the police. But according to the data, multiple contacts with the police are rare, as well. Lemoine writes that 1.2 percent of white men have more than three contacts with the police in a year versus 1.5 percent of black men.
But what about the experience of a black person with the police versus that of a white person? The DOJ's Bureau of Justice Statistics regularly studies this, too. Every year, the BJS surveys a representative sample of 70,000 people. Among the questions, the survey asks whether respondents had contact with the police in the last 12 months. If the answer is "yes," the survey asks a number of follow-up questions, including about use of force.
Let's concentrate on cases involving use of force.
Lemoine writes: "Only 0.6 percent of black men experience physical force by the police in any given year, while approximately 0.2 percent of white men do. ... Moreover, keep in mind that these tallies of police violence include violence that is legally justified." And keep in mind the much higher levels of crime by mostly black males. It is estimated that half of all homicides are committed by, and mostly against, black males.
In 1995, the federal government looked at 42,500 defendants in the nation's 75 largest counties. A government statistician, Patrick A. Langan, found "no evidence that, in the places where blacks in the United States have most of their contacts with the justice system, that system treats them more harshly than whites." So much for the so-called "institutional racism" in the criminal justice system.
Recently, in Illinois, in a kids' 8-and-under football league, the entire team, which appeared to be all black, including the coach, took a knee during the national anthem. Asked why, one third-grade player parroted Kaepernick, saying, according to the coach, "Because black people are getting killed, and nobody's going to jail."
Facts don't matter. The coach, presented with a teachable moment, fumbled it away
Celebrities are different. Ito was not black but he was no less star struck than many of the rest. It’s a celebrity thing as well as a race thing.
When a black juror does vote to convict they are going to base their decision, being responsible, based on the evidence.
But for those who aren’t responsible for the decision a different dynamic seems in play.
This is, as you point out, about race ... but it isn’t just about race. Famous black people are apparently seen as representative of all black people. The myths about race require it. I’m guessing that when a famous black man is found not guilty others get to vicariously share in it ... their blackness is exonerated. Likewise it seems that many (especially white progressives) think blackness is being punished (I.e. the old style bigotry is still behind current incarceration rates).
Where have all the leaders gone? Their statues are in warehouses.
narrative is relevant. truth is irrelevant if in conflict with the narrative.
Heh, making my sister’s breakfast and I realized I’d poorly edited that post.
When I wrote that it wasn’t just about race that was a reference to celebrity. However, after writing that the post was radically restructured, things shuffled about, but it didn’t change that line to match.
Sorry for the bad editing.
Bookmark
There’s a quote from a Confederate general that I think applies. He said, in essence, that if it was discovered than blacks made good soldiers that the entire theory of race would be drawn into question.
This is a quote from someone who opposed black soldiers in the Confederate army and I reckon his opposition, based on this quote, was that he didn’t WANT to have evidence that he felt, were it forthcoming, he would in fact act upon accordingly.
The man was without a doubt a racist, but he was also fair and he seems to have believed that if the two REALLY came into conflict he knew which would and should give way.
Now compare him to some Union commanders who actually had evidence that black soldiers could make good soldiers (I’m not referring to that incident involving the sappers under Confederate defenses because the whole charge after the advance was poorly led and the failures of the officer in command undermined the apparent effectiveness of black troops sent belatedly into a killing zone, a big hole in the ground, where no soldier, black or white, should have been sent) and yet clung to their racism, insisting that black troops support rather than lead charges.
Do facts matter?
No. And absolution from whiteness will never come. Never.
Well I say, “If they take a knee, just give’em the FINGER!!”
And, bravo NRA, herein: https://youtu.be/z3j1ZKz7PWQ
It’s hard to decide who is stupider in this scenario, the players or the owners. But the blame if this farce continues should be on the fans who continue to fill the seats at NFL games or who tune in the games on TV.
No. For Leftists, facts are always inconvenient and to be avoided at all costs.
And there is no way in hell that a black religious sect would have been treated by the BATF and FBI like the Branch Davidians at WACO
Meanwhile, they disrespect the fans, our servicemen and women...
I would like to think so. That way I can maintain my hope in humanity. False hope at that. Wrong is wrong although it seems that this is less important these days.
And there is the other side of it and the African American culture that demonizes a black person if he or she is successful because it means that they lose their identity as a black person and are a turncoat and a traitor or something. As if being dirt poor and uneducated is what all African Americans should strive for. This is insane and does more damage than anything else.
Why are you introducing facts to this argument?
Hey, no problem. :)
Minorities are looking for issues in regards to race, so they perceive many things to be racist when actually they are normal.
I live just a few miles from the Mexican border, have for many years. I have been stopped many, many times by Border Patrol over the years. I drive roads near the border that are known smuggling/illegal crossing routes so no surprise I would be stopped fairly often and checked out. Hispanics that live in areas of the border are constantly claiming they are racially profiled; only stopped by Border Patrol because they are Hispanic. When I talk to them about their experiences I find they are stopped no more often than I am. When I tell them that, they don’t believe me. I am a very white, blond but being stopped by BP has to be racist.
Minorities that feel picked on by police are often poor, so don’t always have their vehicles in the best repair, may not have current tags, or insurance. All reasons for police to stop people. I know poor whites that are stopped fairly often, broken tail light, expired tags, ETC- but no racist excuses work for them. Minorities just don’t see the actual reasons they are being stopped and call it racism right off the bat because that is what they are looking for.
Singling out minority groups and teaching them they are victims is causing this to escalate and making the problems worse and worse. Telling someone over and over that whites/police are racist against them would make anyone paranoid and so each thing that happens to them they just blame it on racism. That is encouraged by activist minorities and liberal whites so there is a lot of support for them thinking every thing is about race.
To be honest, perhaps he was correct? It does, think about it.
Never heard that before, but I tend to agree.
I really don't like the "all veterans stand up" part of sporting events. I served. Got it. No need to be clapped at before every game.
I agree. If the fans stop attending the games, or stop stop watching the games on TV, maybe the NFL would change the attitude
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.