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There was a stretch from 2014-15 that made it really difficult to go to work on a day to day basis for me. There is something psychologically triggering about s

There was a stretch from 2014-15 that made it really difficult to go to work on a day to day basis for me. There is something psychologically triggering about seeing people who look like you routinely killed by the state, regardless of the circumstances or politics. I began to feel some contempt for my white co-workers despite knowing that they had nothing to do it. I did not expect nor wanted to have a conversion with them about race and police brutality, and I don't know many of my black friends who would to be honest -- perhaps Google just has an argumentative culture.

umvi 7y ago
> There is something psychologically triggering about seeing people who look like you routinely killed by the state, regardless of the circumstances or politics. Yes, the media indeed loves to intentionally psychologically trigger people. Police brutality happens to white people and latino people as well (at lower rates, but in greater numbers), but such stories wouldn't psychologically trigger/racially divide people and so they remain unpublished.
- hnbroseph 7y ago
  > such stories wouldn't psychologically trigger/racially divide people and so being profit-seeking corporations, american news is pursuing eyeballs and clicks. truthiness, accuracy, bias, etc. are all variables in the profit equation, and not always a major influence. if idpol (or whatever) is stirring up the viewership, it will influence how they approach the "news", in different ways depending on who the producers view as their principle audience. inserting the whole "seeking to divide" as a concrete motive seems like a dogwhistle (particularly being a narrative beloved of antisemites).
- ssully 7y ago
  It was literally a national story 2 or 3 weeks ago about a cop who suffocated and killed a white guy who called the cops on himself because he was off his medication, having a mental health episode, and needed help. Also we are currently at a point where you can find weekly stories about police abusing Latino people (typically in conjunction with ICE). No idea how you came to the conclusion that these stories are unpublished.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > Police brutality happens to white people and latino people as well (at lower rates, but in greater numbers), but such stories wouldn't psychologically trigger/racially divide people and so they remain unpublished Law enforcement abuse stories about treatment of white and (especially) Latino people are published regularly (rarely, with white people, is there a basis even for suspicion that the act is racially motivated), and frequently are divisive (even, if when it is about whites, not usually about race/ethnicity).
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
tdfx 7y ago
> perhaps Google just has an argumentative culture I think this is probably the salient point here. Google is trying to create a "cool culture" where everyone can speak their mind and spend endless hours around each other. I don't like to work at companies where everyone "is a family" or uses their coworkers as their primary friend group. As much as I respect and enjoy the company of my coworkers, there is a strong chance we are not all compatible as close, personal friends but can still make progress for the company together. I prefer that my close relationships are not intertwined with what I use to pay my bills.
- pluto9 7y ago
  > I don't like to work at companies where everyone "is a family" Same. In my experience, employers describe themselves that way to create a sense of obligation in their employees.
gowld 7y ago
Interestingly, seeing it is what is really difficult and triggering. 2014-2015 wasn't some unusual flareup in police violence, it was merely a flareup in visibility.
- 40acres 7y ago
  Absolutely, during this period videos of black men being killed by police became a viral trend. Really hard to absorb.
deogeo 7y ago
> There is something psychologically triggering about seeing people who look like you routinely killed by the state, regardless of the circumstances or politics. Then you'll be glad to find the coverage is exaggerated: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/upshot/surprising-new-evidence-shows-bias-in-police-use-of-force-but-not-in-shootings.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/upshot/surprising-new-evi... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2016/04/27/this-study-found-race-matters-in-police-shootings-but-the-results-may-surprise-you/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2016/04/27...
username90 7y ago
As a non-American I don't see this. The American police kills roughly as many whites per day as the Norwegian police have killed during their entire existence (it is 1 if you wonder). Making this about race only hides the elephant in the room: the American police is extremely brutal. It shouldn't be this way in a western nation, the police doesn't kill that many except for third world countries and USA. Even if we eliminated the racism and thus halved the number of blacks killed by the police it would still be a horrible amount of blacks killed! https://www.businessinsider.com/norway-america-police-killing-comparison?r=US&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/norway-america-police-killin...
- 40acres 7y ago
  I think it's really difficult to see this as a non American, especially from a nation has homogeneous as Norway. The question must be asked: why is American policing so brutal? Why is the criminal justice system geared towards punishment instead of rehabilitation? Why are so many members of Congress former prosecutors? Why did the 13th amendment -- which abolished slavery, make an exception for those convicted of a crime?
  - thaumasiotes 7y ago
    > Why did the 13th amendment -- which abolished slavery, make an exception for those convicted of a crime? Because conscripted labor was an independent tradition going back thousands of years. Compare the legal status of compelling people to work on the roads. There was also an exception for the military, though that wasn't written into the 13th amendment.
  - username90 7y ago
    > as homogeneous as Norway I don't understand why this would matter. Why would homogeneity of the population have anything to do with how many people the police kill of the privileged race? Does the existence of black people in America increase the number of whites killed by police? When we compare crime and such between USA and Europe you always say "But USA is so diverse!", isn't that racism? I mean, you are basically saying that you have to live with crime, murder and such when you have a diverse population. Or do I misunderstand you?
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
qzygr 7y ago
>I began to feel some contempt for my white co-workers despite knowing that they had nothing to do it. Now you know how whites feel every time they look at the FBI crime statistics. It works both ways.

umvi 7y ago

> There is something psychologically triggering about seeing people who look like you routinely killed by the state, regardless of the circumstances or politics. Yes, the media indeed loves to intentionally psychologically trigger people. Police brutality happens to white people and latino people as well (at lower rates, but in greater numbers), but such stories wouldn't psychologically trigger/racially divide people and so they remain unpublished.

hnbroseph 7y ago
> such stories wouldn't psychologically trigger/racially divide people and so being profit-seeking corporations, american news is pursuing eyeballs and clicks. truthiness, accuracy, bias, etc. are all variables in the profit equation, and not always a major influence. if idpol (or whatever) is stirring up the viewership, it will influence how they approach the "news", in different ways depending on who the producers view as their principle audience. inserting the whole "seeking to divide" as a concrete motive seems like a dogwhistle (particularly being a narrative beloved of antisemites).
ssully 7y ago
It was literally a national story 2 or 3 weeks ago about a cop who suffocated and killed a white guy who called the cops on himself because he was off his medication, having a mental health episode, and needed help. Also we are currently at a point where you can find weekly stories about police abusing Latino people (typically in conjunction with ICE). No idea how you came to the conclusion that these stories are unpublished.
dragonwriter 7y ago
> Police brutality happens to white people and latino people as well (at lower rates, but in greater numbers), but such stories wouldn't psychologically trigger/racially divide people and so they remain unpublished Law enforcement abuse stories about treatment of white and (especially) Latino people are published regularly (rarely, with white people, is there a basis even for suspicion that the act is racially motivated), and frequently are divisive (even, if when it is about whites, not usually about race/ethnicity).

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

tdfx 7y ago

> perhaps Google just has an argumentative culture I think this is probably the salient point here. Google is trying to create a "cool culture" where everyone can speak their mind and spend endless hours around each other. I don't like to work at companies where everyone "is a family" or uses their coworkers as their primary friend group. As much as I respect and enjoy the company of my coworkers, there is a strong chance we are not all compatible as close, personal friends but can still make progress for the company together. I prefer that my close relationships are not intertwined with what I use to pay my bills.

pluto9 7y ago
> I don't like to work at companies where everyone "is a family" Same. In my experience, employers describe themselves that way to create a sense of obligation in their employees.

gowld 7y ago

Interestingly, seeing it is what is really difficult and triggering. 2014-2015 wasn't some unusual flareup in police violence, it was merely a flareup in visibility.

40acres 7y ago
Absolutely, during this period videos of black men being killed by police became a viral trend. Really hard to absorb.

deogeo 7y ago

> There is something psychologically triggering about seeing people who look like you routinely killed by the state, regardless of the circumstances or politics. Then you'll be glad to find the coverage is exaggerated: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/upshot/surprising-new-evidence-shows-bias-in-police-use-of-force-but-not-in-shootings.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/upshot/surprising-new-evi... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2016/04/27/this-study-found-race-matters-in-police-shootings-but-the-results-may-surprise-you/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2016/04/27...

username90 7y ago

As a non-American I don't see this. The American police kills roughly as many whites per day as the Norwegian police have killed during their entire existence (it is 1 if you wonder). Making this about race only hides the elephant in the room: the American police is extremely brutal. It shouldn't be this way in a western nation, the police doesn't kill that many except for third world countries and USA. Even if we eliminated the racism and thus halved the number of blacks killed by the police it would still be a horrible amount of blacks killed! https://www.businessinsider.com/norway-america-police-killing-comparison?r=US&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/norway-america-police-killin...

40acres 7y ago
I think it's really difficult to see this as a non American, especially from a nation has homogeneous as Norway. The question must be asked: why is American policing so brutal? Why is the criminal justice system geared towards punishment instead of rehabilitation? Why are so many members of Congress former prosecutors? Why did the 13th amendment -- which abolished slavery, make an exception for those convicted of a crime?
- thaumasiotes 7y ago
  > Why did the 13th amendment -- which abolished slavery, make an exception for those convicted of a crime? Because conscripted labor was an independent tradition going back thousands of years. Compare the legal status of compelling people to work on the roads. There was also an exception for the military, though that wasn't written into the 13th amendment.
- username90 7y ago
  > as homogeneous as Norway I don't understand why this would matter. Why would homogeneity of the population have anything to do with how many people the police kill of the privileged race? Does the existence of black people in America increase the number of whites killed by police? When we compare crime and such between USA and Europe you always say "But USA is so diverse!", isn't that racism? I mean, you are basically saying that you have to live with crime, murder and such when you have a diverse population. Or do I misunderstand you?

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

qzygr 7y ago

>I began to feel some contempt for my white co-workers despite knowing that they had nothing to do it. Now you know how whites feel every time they look at the FBI crime statistics. It works both ways.