4 ms·

I'm not an American, but there does seem to be some value in a contrarian opinion here. Namely, it isn't just police brutality that's the problem, but the whol

by beloch 6y ago

I'm not an American, but there does seem to be some value in a contrarian opinion here. Namely, it isn't just police brutality that's the problem, but the whole cycle of violence. Yes, the officer who killed George Floyd needs to be prosecuted. Yes, the officer who wantonly pepper-sprayed protesters while driving past needs to be fired and charged. However, the riots and burning of police precincts have reinforced an "Us vs Them" mentality in the police and primed officers for the next round of brutality. Imagine that a mob of people of mostly the same ethnicity came to your place of work, threatened you with violence, and burned the place down after you and your co-workers fled. No matter how justified the mob's anger may be, this is how you create racist cops. The riots in Minneapolis are rooted in mutual suspicion and lack of respect between the black community and police. Both sides can point to awful things the other side has done, but both sides need to be better in order to break the cycle.

Ididntdothis 6y ago
I totally agree that the looters are hurting the cause and I wish some of the leaders would step up and tell the looters to stop. But considering that one side is doing this professionally and has the right to use lethal violence I think we should apply higher standards to them. Government has to break the cycle. From what I have read police training is severely lacking and they also let get bad cops away with a lot. Instead of cleaning up from inside they circle the wagons and defend bad guys.
ookblah 6y ago
no, i don't agree with this take. it's just chicken/egg then and figuring out who started it first. i don't condone the riots or excuse the people obviously trying to take advantage of the situation sow chaos/loot stuff, but the spirit of riots are a manifestation of a failure of a system. people don't just riot as the default response to injustice. imo, cops that are "racist" didn't become that way because of mobs like this. they joined the force because, like other positions of power, it allows them that arena to act out their beliefs. you remove these people by removing the structures that allow them to proliferate. i feel like no matter what black people do to protest there is always someone critical of how they protest. had this been an open letter from the community nobody would pay attention. look at the repeated times this has happened in the country and what eventually happened to the perpetrators, even after going thru the formal legal process. look at the ire drawn toward kaepernik for kneeling. in the end it is a complex issue and it's not like we can just put everyone onto a "side" and make it one-dimensional. and i agree that there has to be a mutual respect among the community. but, i'm of the belief that if you're in an elevated position like a cop you need to be held to a higher standard than the average citizen. my .02

by beloch 6y ago

Ididntdothis 6y ago

I totally agree that the looters are hurting the cause and I wish some of the leaders would step up and tell the looters to stop. But considering that one side is doing this professionally and has the right to use lethal violence I think we should apply higher standards to them. Government has to break the cycle. From what I have read police training is severely lacking and they also let get bad cops away with a lot. Instead of cleaning up from inside they circle the wagons and defend bad guys.

ookblah 6y ago

no, i don't agree with this take. it's just chicken/egg then and figuring out who started it first. i don't condone the riots or excuse the people obviously trying to take advantage of the situation sow chaos/loot stuff, but the spirit of riots are a manifestation of a failure of a system. people don't just riot as the default response to injustice. imo, cops that are "racist" didn't become that way because of mobs like this. they joined the force because, like other positions of power, it allows them that arena to act out their beliefs. you remove these people by removing the structures that allow them to proliferate. i feel like no matter what black people do to protest there is always someone critical of how they protest. had this been an open letter from the community nobody would pay attention. look at the repeated times this has happened in the country and what eventually happened to the perpetrators, even after going thru the formal legal process. look at the ire drawn toward kaepernik for kneeling. in the end it is a complex issue and it's not like we can just put everyone onto a "side" and make it one-dimensional. and i agree that there has to be a mutual respect among the community. but, i'm of the belief that if you're in an elevated position like a cop you need to be held to a higher standard than the average citizen. my .02