deep
Blue Crack Addict
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You know what would really support your point of view? Show me a recent case where a white man was accused of killing a black man and was convicted. Or better yet, a case besides the OJ Exception where a black man was accused of killing a white person but was acquitted.
If I saw a Canadian in a car parked outside of my house, I'd bring a gun, for sure.
Let me ask you a question, AEON. What would you be saying if the jury had come back with a guilty verdict?
maycocksean said:You know what would really support your point of view? Show me a recent case where a white man was accused of killing a black man and was convicted. Or better yet, a case besides the OJ Exception where a black man was accused of killing a white person but was acquitted.
I would be surprised based on the evidence - but not surprised based on the politics.
I don't think it's very realistic to think white men don't get convicted of killing black men or that black men are never acquitted of killing white men.
It wasn't difficult to find this
Life sentence in Mississippi hate-crime case - CNN.com
Or the eerily similar:
Roderick Scott Trial: What’s Wrong with New York?�|�The Martialist
I guess my issue isn't the pointing out that institutional racism is still very much a problem (among other kinds), but that maybe this isn't the case to be using as an example. It seems that, with the massive amount of exposure, the Martin/Zimmerman case is being piggybacked for a cause...
What I've been trying to do, and what you seem to be resolutely unwilling or unable to see why this verdict was upsetting to a lot of people of color. I will be frank and add that your condescending almost paternal attitude regarding this subject is rather aggravating. And I say that as someone who generally admires your tone and conduct in most discussions on this forum. And I think you know me well enough to know that I'm not prone to get testy, so you can either chalk it up to this being a sensitive subject for me or that maybe your empathy is a little less than it ordinarily is on this issue (likely it's a bit of both).
Maybe by Al Sharpton but I don't get that sense from Trayvon's parents.
I profile people all the time. I'd be stupid not to. Given where I live, I have a fairly good idea of who commits the vast majority of the street crime.
(Of course by far the worst criminals with the most blood on their hands in DC are the architects of the Iraq War ... But hey, at least they didn't shoot someone over an iPhone)
I've never been mugged, but someone did rip my iPhone out of my hand (and dropped it, and I recovered it), and it was a young black male. I am more vigilant based upon a variety of factors -- location, time of day, and, yes, attire.
And I am keenly aware that every time there's a perceptible change in my behavior due to the presence of a (likely) young black poor urban male, I am sending out a message that I expect him to be a criminal.
But what else am I to do? I am always keenly aware of my surroundings, I carry a decoy wallet, I take cabs when it's late, I know to put my phone away when the train is stopped, and I spend $40 a month on ADT. I look my neighbors in the eye, I smile and say good morning to everyone, we go to community association meetings.
Unlike Mr Zimmerman, I am not armed. I do not drive around like batman and look for crime. I do not stalk and then follow people.
Unlike Trayvon, I do not know what it feels like to be profiled. I've had a slur thrown at me -- "redneck" and "fucking gringo" (surprisingly, no "faggot" -- but no one assumes that my existence is a threat to theirs. Ever.
Good rules. I know I haven't always followed all of them and for that I apologize (looking at you AEON). I will try to be better tomorrow.
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I profile people all the time. I'd be stupid not to. Given where I live, I have a fairly good idea of who commits the vast majority of the street crime.
Unlike Trayvon, I do not know what it feels like to be profiled. I've had a slur thrown at me -- "redneck" and "fucking gringo" (surprisingly, no "faggot" -- but no one assumes that my existence is a threat to theirs. Ever.
I was "profiled" just last week. I'm 33, but have been told more than once that I look much younger; early twenties even. I was in a fancy-pants furniture store that I just happened to be walking past on my way home from the auto parts store. Saw some nice looking stuff in the window, so I thought I'd have a peek (turns out I couldn't afford any of it anyway...jeez!). But guess who got followed all around the store by the upper middle aged store owner? Had I been black, should I have taken the "it's because I'm black" offense? More likely, it's because I appeared to be younger than the usual hoity-toity clientele.
About 10 years ago, I used to help a friend with his landscaping business. He was notorious for being late and one morning I found myself sitting in my car at 9 in the morning for about an hour waiting for him to show up out front of the property we were working on. A middle aged white man knocked on my window and rather rudely asked me what I was doing and that I wasn't allowed to sit there. After explaining the situation, he reluctantly decided I could stay; but remained suspicious. I assume he continued watching me until my friend showed up. Again, had I been black, could he have not done the same thing without being accused of racism?
My point is, what situation like these or like the one being discussed at length in the last thread could a black person be thought of as "suspicious", while satisfying your criteria for racism not being involved?
I profile people all the time. I'd be stupid not to. Given where I live, I have a fairly good idea of who commits the vast majority of the street crime.
(Of course by far the worst criminals with the most blood on their hands in DC are the architects of the Iraq War ... But hey, at least they didn't shoot someone over an iPhone)
I've never been mugged, but someone did rip my iPhone out of my hand (and dropped it, and I recovered it), and it was a young black male. I am more vigilant based upon a variety of factors -- location, time of day, and, yes, attire.
And I am keenly aware that every time there's a perceptible change in my behavior due to the presence of a (likely) young black poor urban male, I am sending out a message that I expect him to be a criminal.
But what else am I to do? I am always keenly aware of my surroundings, I carry a decoy wallet, I take cabs when it's late, I know to put my phone away when the train is stopped, and I spend $40 a month on ADT. I look my neighbors in the eye, I smile and say good morning to everyone, we go to community association meetings.
Unlike Mr Zimmerman, I am not armed. I do not drive around like batman and look for crime. I do not stalk and then follow people.
Unlike Trayvon, I do not know what it feels like to be profiled. I've had a slur thrown at me -- "redneck" and "fucking gringo" (surprisingly, no "faggot" -- but no one assumes that my existence is a threat to theirs. Ever.
So you profile white people?? You said you profile people all the time who commit the vast majority of street crime. Obviously you would never profile a black person as a criminal as you're past posts boasts. So you only profile a white person as a criminal. What a racist.
the gay lifestyle
when i lived in Paris, i had to learn how to be street smart pretty quickly, especially when on the underground - mostly i would observe people's behaviour and try to be aware of everything that was going on around me, while looking nonchalant, oblivious, and avoiding any eye contact whatsoever - managed to get out of a few sticky situations that way - the most dramatic was narrowly avoiding being tear-gassed and mugged on a metro carriage seconds before the train pulled away - a gang of lads seemed to be making their way along the train through the carriages, gassing and trying to mug people - the train stopped at a station and they walked thru into my carriage and sat down, surrounding a very smartly dressed Parisian lady and one suddenly reached out and tried to snatch her necklace - she was incredibly cool - she just batted his hand away and said "it's not gold" lol, but then i noticed the smell of gas and saw another in their group had started spraying gas under the seat just as the train doors closed and was about to move away, so i thought ohhh fuuuuuck and pulled the emergency stop and jumped off the train - then got chased by them through the underground for about 10 minutes - never ran so fast in my life lol
i experienced some kind of hassle from pretty much every nationality there - and the guys on the train were French but high as kites and very very rough! needed eyes in the back of my head in Paris just to survive unscathed lol