4 ms·

Gang violence is prosecuted, if the perpetrator can be identified. Gangs and people in gang-plagued neighborhoods are very reticent to name names, in fear of re

by throwaway201103 6y ago

Gang violence is prosecuted, if the perpetrator can be identified. Gangs and people in gang-plagued neighborhoods are very reticent to name names, in fear of retaliation. Every police shooting is investigated. They are often found to be justified, sometimes not. There's room for argument about the impartiality of these investigations, especially historically. The fact remains that dozens of blacks are murdered every week in the USA, while black deaths in the hands of the police are comparatively very rare. I completely agree that police should be held to a higher standard. But I don't understand the complete silence and active suppression of debate over the bigger problem.

c22 6y ago
I haven't heard anyone claiming that "gangs are good" or suppressing debate about the pros and cons of gang violence. In fact, I've heard and seen a lot of good work by many parties concerned about the negative influence of gang activity in the US. However, such discussions are definitely a red herring when advanced in the context of police violence--an entirely different and largely unrelated problem. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among African Americans in the US and I hope someone's working on that, but if you argue that racially-skewed police killings aren't a problem because of heart disease then it's entirely expected and reasonable to be met with complete silence or active suppression.
dTal 6y ago
1) Saying that police don't kill blacks as often as blacks kill each other misleadingly overlooks the frequency of interactions, and sheer outnumbering of police by regular folk. 2) Police are in a profound position of power and responsibility which makes crime committed by them a much more serious problem. By analogy - if children are having punch-ups in the schoolyard, that's a problem. If the principal stops by occasionally and swings a punch or two, that's a real problem, and probably the one that should be fixed first.
jjk166 6y ago
What bigger problem exactly are you referring to? Systemic problems with various police institutions like poor training, overly powerful public unions, and minimal oversight have nothing to do with gang violence.

c22 6y ago

I haven't heard anyone claiming that "gangs are good" or suppressing debate about the pros and cons of gang violence. In fact, I've heard and seen a lot of good work by many parties concerned about the negative influence of gang activity in the US. However, such discussions are definitely a red herring when advanced in the context of police violence--an entirely different and largely unrelated problem. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among African Americans in the US and I hope someone's working on that, but if you argue that racially-skewed police killings aren't a problem because of heart disease then it's entirely expected and reasonable to be met with complete silence or active suppression.

dTal 6y ago

1) Saying that police don't kill blacks as often as blacks kill each other misleadingly overlooks the frequency of interactions, and sheer outnumbering of police by regular folk. 2) Police are in a profound position of power and responsibility which makes crime committed by them a much more serious problem. By analogy - if children are having punch-ups in the schoolyard, that's a problem. If the principal stops by occasionally and swings a punch or two, that's a real problem, and probably the one that should be fixed first.

jjk166 6y ago

What bigger problem exactly are you referring to? Systemic problems with various police institutions like poor training, overly powerful public unions, and minimal oversight have nothing to do with gang violence.