3 ms·

In the US, the police kill 25 white people per 10 million white people per year: https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ (the grap

In the US, the police kill 25 white people per 10 million white people per year: https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ (the graphic shows per 1 million, but over 10 years) In France, the police kill 5.5 people per 10 million people per year: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killings_by_law_enforcement._Rates_and_counts_by_country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killings_by_law_enforcement._R... In other words, US police kill 4.5x more white people, than French police kill anyone. But you are absolutely right (despite the cop responsible being charged with homicide) - in one case the guilt is collective, in the other, it's just lone individuals, and no patterns can or should be perceived. As a bonus, in that killings by law enforcement wikipedia table, there are many countries higher than France. But with a few notable exceptions (the US being one), those killings seldom provoke ethnic riots, despite being much more numerous. So what makes the killings in France so much more salient?

hackerlight 3y ago
This is a misunderstanding of the psychology behind the unrest. Feelings of unfairness and unjust persecution (relative to other people you live around) is what motivates social unrest. And not just unfairness in Black/Arab vs non-Black/Arab statistics around police killings. Perceptions of general unfairness (e.g. being mistreated by police but not killed) build up over years and then you have a straw that finally breaks the camel's back. The straw is relatively unimportant in the bigger picture. It's just a catalyst that multiple people with the same built-up feelings can rally around. In order to have a protest movement, you need an acute emotional trigger that's shared by everyone at the same time. Otherwise it can't get started because the anger is too diffuse over time.

hackerlight 3y ago

This is a misunderstanding of the psychology behind the unrest. Feelings of unfairness and unjust persecution (relative to other people you live around) is what motivates social unrest. And not just unfairness in Black/Arab vs non-Black/Arab statistics around police killings. Perceptions of general unfairness (e.g. being mistreated by police but not killed) build up over years and then you have a straw that finally breaks the camel's back. The straw is relatively unimportant in the bigger picture. It's just a catalyst that multiple people with the same built-up feelings can rally around. In order to have a protest movement, you need an acute emotional trigger that's shared by everyone at the same time. Otherwise it can't get started because the anger is too diffuse over time.