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Being poor does not justify murder. US population is at over 300 million people and police kills about a thousand people yearly. It might sound heartless, but

by ttt0 5y ago

Being poor does not justify murder. US population is at over 300 million people and police kills about a thousand people yearly. It might sound heartless, but those kinds of numbers is what I'd realistically expect from such a huge country with legal firearms. I don't recognize any problem, but people in power seem to and if I'm not mistaken the police was defunded and there is overall less police in some places, so you're already getting what you wanted. I think as a result there is a rise in homicide, but truth be told I didn't care enough to verify any of those claims.

sudosysgen 5y ago
It doesn't justify it, but it explains it. Ways of thinking about individuals just don't scale to populations of millions. Those groups do things for reasons. Reducing the funding of police is not meant in a vacuum. The idea is to use that money to do other things that reduce crime. Police funding in the US is way past the point of diminishing returns in general, and that money is much better invested in other approaches to the same issue. Equally, armed police do things they shouldn't have to do, like wellness checks, or mental health calls.
dillondoyle 5y ago
I might not be understanding what you are saying. You don't think there is a problem with US police violence || use of force? Even looking beyond shootings?! To the second part less police != rise in homicide and that you don't care to verify that yet you still hold those beliefs is a part of the problem e.g. the first part. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1745-9133.12414 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1745-9133.12... https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/02/13/marshall-project-more-cops-dont-mean-less-crime-experts-say/2818056002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/02/1...
- ttt0 5y ago
  The use of word "problem" implies here that it's something that can be fixed. I don't believe it can be fixed, I think this amount of killings is something you should expect no matter what. Just prosecute whoever's guilty and move on. I don't care enough to verify if there was a rise in homicides, I just heard about it. But yes, anyone who's not an activist for your righteous cause is a part of a problem. I'm a terrible person, I know.
  - dillondoyle 5y ago
    I disagree and this is probably pointless given your comments. Prosecuting police is basically brand new, and still a tiny tiny % so that's not enough. I disagree we can only deal with it after the fact. I'm pretty pessimistic but I just can't get on board with your worldview of utter futility. even if tilting at windmills 99% of the time, even tiny increments, change does happen. I's also important to look at violence police perpetrate and escalate that isn't bullets. One thing I think HN could get into is body cameras which <i>have</i> made a big difference and an area tech and law can improve. maybe use an ASIC and ML like Blink to enable all on 'smart' recording and storage with lower battery usage (and cops can carry larger batteries + storage that is a lame excuse). low power bluetooth can recognize when inside a cop car to save space etc. Couple that with changing laws to make all the now-fully saved video automatically public for accountability. Could use technology again to blur faces until legal proceedings determine to unmask.

by ttt0 5y ago

sudosysgen 5y ago

It doesn't justify it, but it explains it. Ways of thinking about individuals just don't scale to populations of millions. Those groups do things for reasons. Reducing the funding of police is not meant in a vacuum. The idea is to use that money to do other things that reduce crime. Police funding in the US is way past the point of diminishing returns in general, and that money is much better invested in other approaches to the same issue. Equally, armed police do things they shouldn't have to do, like wellness checks, or mental health calls.

dillondoyle 5y ago

I might not be understanding what you are saying. You don't think there is a problem with US police violence || use of force? Even looking beyond shootings?! To the second part less police != rise in homicide and that you don't care to verify that yet you still hold those beliefs is a part of the problem e.g. the first part. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1745-9133.12414 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1745-9133.12... https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/02/13/marshall-project-more-cops-dont-mean-less-crime-experts-say/2818056002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/02/1...

ttt0 5y ago
The use of word "problem" implies here that it's something that can be fixed. I don't believe it can be fixed, I think this amount of killings is something you should expect no matter what. Just prosecute whoever's guilty and move on. I don't care enough to verify if there was a rise in homicides, I just heard about it. But yes, anyone who's not an activist for your righteous cause is a part of a problem. I'm a terrible person, I know.
- dillondoyle 5y ago
  I disagree and this is probably pointless given your comments. Prosecuting police is basically brand new, and still a tiny tiny % so that's not enough. I disagree we can only deal with it after the fact. I'm pretty pessimistic but I just can't get on board with your worldview of utter futility. even if tilting at windmills 99% of the time, even tiny increments, change does happen. I's also important to look at violence police perpetrate and escalate that isn't bullets. One thing I think HN could get into is body cameras which <i>have</i> made a big difference and an area tech and law can improve. maybe use an ASIC and ML like Blink to enable all on 'smart' recording and storage with lower battery usage (and cops can carry larger batteries + storage that is a lame excuse). low power bluetooth can recognize when inside a cop car to save space etc. Couple that with changing laws to make all the now-fully saved video automatically public for accountability. Could use technology again to blur faces until legal proceedings determine to unmask.