pr26
All-Star
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2008
- Messages
- 3,903
- Reaction score
- 8,627
- Points
- 113
I've also lived in poor a poor neighborhood in Paradise, Nevada the ass cracks of the vegas strip, I got harassed and searched for no reason at times, and I'm white. The "majority" of police in those areas don't care about race they see everyone as poor citizens who can and may do anything compared to someone who's financially more well. The one's who are high/acting strange/resisting they're going to be on full no fuck around mode. Do I agree with them shooting everyone every time something hits the fan? No...But I sure as fuck wouldn't want to be in their shoes for a million a year.
As for the rest, you're comparing poor neighborhoods to one of the best colleges in the world, of course they police the area's in downtown Columbus different then say Hilltop or Chicago. It's two different worlds, two different things going on, one is students going to school, the other is people struggling to live day to day. You can see where the difference in mind sets of said individuals in those situations can be different right? And how one may have them more alert then the other?
Do I think cops would shoot any race (black,white,mexican,asian,mixed) high on PCP wielding a knife at gun point during night in the middle of the road in poor neighborhoods? Yes
Do I think cops would shoot any race high on PCP wielding a knife at gun point during the night on OSU campus in the middle of the high street? Yes
Do I think cops would shoot any race just drunk on OSU campus in the middle of high street at night. No, if they are, they hide it great
Hey man, I'm a white guy who has been hassled by police as well, and that's not really the point I'm trying to make here. I'm trying to point out the differences in how different areas are policed. You point out that cops are going to have different fears in lower income neighborhoods and may have to be on a higher alert, I get that too. But let's look at what I bolded: Would any race of person in any neighborhood potentially be shot in that situation? Perhaps. But would a white person in a middle class/upper class neighborhood in that situation get 16 shots, 15 of them coming after they have been immobilized? I don't think so. THAT is the problem.
Yes, I'm comparing how poor neighborhoods and middle class neighborhoods are policed, because that is where the resentment comes in. Yes, different areas have to be policed differently, but I've seen both sides of it. I've seen people in middle class neighborhoods mess up and break the law, and get Officer McFriendly ready to Protect and Serve on behalf of the Tax payer. Poor neighborhoods? They can come down with the authority of an occupying force and restore order by any means necessary. If you're a black teen dealing with the occupying force every single day, how is that going to make you feel?
There's so much I could get into on this subject, but I'm just going to leave it alone and reference something my Grandfather told me, since I feel like it really summed up these situations nicely. He recently passed, but my grandfather was a WWII vet and also served as a local police officer for 10 years of his life. When the Baltimore Riots were going on we happened to be watching the news together in his nursing home, and since he was a pretty conservative and blunt guy I expected him to condemn the violence/support the officers/etc.....and he shocked me because what he said was "When those people feel like local police officers don't work for them, then cops have failed at their job." Couldn't be more right.
Last edited: