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"The police disproportionately focus on poor areas for drug possession / traffic offences / white collar crime" is an important criticism, and the kind of thing
by dmurray 3y ago
"The police disproportionately focus on poor areas for drug possession / traffic offences / white collar crime" is an important criticism, and the kind of thing awareness of which leads to reform and fairness in policing.
"There's just as much gun crime in rich areas as poor ones, but the police focus on the poor areas because of historical racism" is an extraordinary claim that should require extraordinary evidence, and the kind of thing that holds back improvements in police work.
- bombcar 3y agoI guess you could believe that when rich people are murdered it is not reported and quietly hushed up, but when poor people are the full force of the state swings into action.
- prophesi 3y agoHasn't that historically been the opposite? If a rich/white person is murdered, it's a headline-grabbing tragedy. Even serial killers are more likely to evade detection if their targets are minorities, though the reasons for that are more complicated than just systemic prejudice.
- torstenvl 3y agoThat's the point. Believing the things that would have to be true for GGGP's viewpoint to be even plausible, let alone true, requires a complete divorce from reality.
- prophesi 3y agoGotcha! The comment parent of mine makes a lot more sense now.
- bombcar 3y agoExactly. If it had been drug crime, I’d be totally prepared to believe everyone in a rich area is coked beyond reason and gets away with it. But gun crimes are different (unless they’re saying something like “possession” but in most states that’s some variation of legal unless a felon).