Why I Have Trouble Taking BLM Seriously

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

Don't get me wrong, I acknowledge that there's some shitty cops out there. You'll never be able to have a significant group of 100% good humans, regardless if we're talking police, teachers, anything. That's just reality. That said...

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/video-of-los-angeles-police-shooting-shows-suspect-with-gun/ar-BBwYcyO?OCID=ansmsnnews11

..traffic stop and the 18-year-old darts out of the car. Police follow and the guy pulls out a handgun. There's even video of him with a handgun (that you know is an illegal gun, because how else does an 18-year-old get a handgun? It's illegal to sell a handgun to anyone under 21) but they don't even care. Here's a quote from that article.

"I don't care if he had a gun," she shouted. "His life matters."

It's not even about right or wrong with BLM. If you're black and you're shot by the police, then the police are automatically in the wrong in their eyes.

Now people are spreading rumors anywhere from that he was unarmed, had his hands up, and was shot in the back. Sound familiar? Like Brown with his hands up, or Scott with his "book"?


- - - - - - -

BLM isn't about justice, it's about skin color. That's the main reason I can't get behind it. A potentially innocent person is the same as a 911 call for a felon with a history of violence, with a gun, pointing it at police, so long as their skin is their color. It'd be downright silly if it wasn't such a large and often violent protest-inducing ordeal.

Sometimes I wonder how many people think of themselves as their skin color, or as Americans first.

Little bit of a rant, but yeah.

[BmorePat87]

(10-05-2016, 12:44 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Sometimes I wonder how many people think of themselves as their skin color, or as Americans first.

Might be a result of the rest of the country treating them as less than Americans because of their skin color for 190 years. 

But I agree that it hurts their credibility to react this way to what appears to be criminal activity. 

[*bfine32*]

I cannot imagine being a LEO (especially white) and confronting a black person with a weapon. It is a lose/lose situation.

[fredtoast]

(10-05-2016, 01:08 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: Might be a result of the rest of the country treating them as less than Americans because of their skin color for 190 years. 

That and the fact that they are the subject of racial profiling by law enforcement.


I don't agree with how BLM is handling this at all, but I can understand why the black community would have the idea that they are treated differently by law enforcement based on the color of their skin.  It has been proven over and over again.  And it is hard for them to swallow the argument that "We have some totally racists policies, but we are not racists at all  when it comes to shooting people."

[GMDino]

(10-05-2016, 01:39 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I cannot imagine being a LEO (especially white) and confronting a black person with a weapon. It is a lose/lose situation.

Even if they confront them and it ends with an arrest and no one getting shot?

I'd think that could always be a possible outcome...

[Rotobeast]

(10-05-2016, 12:44 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: There's even video of him with a handgun (that you know is an illegal gun, because how else does an 18-year-old get a handgun? It's illegal to sell a handgun to anyone under 21) but they don't even care.

In Ohio, a person under the age of 21 can legally obtain a handgun as a gift from family member.

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[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(10-05-2016, 02:01 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: In Ohio, a person under the age of 21 can legally obtain a handgun as a gift from family member.

Sent from my SM-S820L using Tapatalk

True, could be a gift, but you need to be 21 to get a concealed carry license, and California is a no open carry state. So only way he could legally have that gun on him would be unloaded in a carry case, with all the ammunition in another separate case, I believe.

Assuming California law is like Ohio law in that way.

[Rotobeast]

(10-05-2016, 02:34 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: True, could be a gift, but you need to be 21 to get a concealed carry license, and California is a no open carry state. So only way he could legally have that gun on him would be unloaded in a carry case, with all the ammunition in another separate case, I believe.

Assuming California law is like Ohio law in that way.

Correct.
I didn't take the time to look up their laws, which is why I only stated Ohio's.


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[6andcounting]

(10-05-2016, 01:48 PM)fredtoast Wrote: That and the fact that they are the subject of racial profiling by law enforcement.


I don't agree with how BLM is handling this at all, but I can understand why the black community would have the idea that they are treated differently by law enforcement based on the color of their skin.  It has been proven over and over again.  And it is hard for them to swallow the argument that "We have some totally racists policies, but we are not racists at all  when it comes to shooting people."

If there's actual evidence - which there is - of unfair profiling (whether it's race, dress or poverty - among others) then it shouldn't be necessary to just make up stories. The fact that BLM just makes stuff up instead of presenting the real evidence that supports their position makes them one of the most ineffective, unpersuasive political action groups to ever take up a cause in America.

[CKwi88]

(10-05-2016, 01:58 PM)GMDino Wrote: Even if they confront them and it ends with an arrest and no one getting shot?

I'd think that could always be a possible outcome...

Unfortunately the Cop can still lose. Wasn't there a story not too long ago that an officer was fired for not shooting a black man attempting a suicide by cop?

[GMDino]

(10-05-2016, 04:10 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: Unfortunately the Cop can still lose. Wasn't there a story not too long ago that an officer was fired for not shooting a black man attempting a suicide by cop?

True.  Although I've been told we needed to know more about why he put the other officers in danger by trying to NOT kill someone. 

[*bfine32*]

(10-05-2016, 04:10 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: Unfortunately the Cop can still lose. Wasn't there a story not too long ago that an officer was fired for not shooting a black man attempting a suicide by cop?

This brings to mind the story of the LEO that locked himself in his car when faced with a man wielding a knife. 

[Aquapod770]

(10-05-2016, 01:08 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: Might be a result of the rest of the country treating them as less than Americans because of their skin color for 190 years. 

But I agree that it hurts their credibility to react this way to what appears to be criminal activity. 

Which is why BLM has been a joke since Michael Brown. 

[fredtoast]

(10-06-2016, 01:02 PM)Aquapod770 Wrote: Which is why BLM has been a joke since Michael Brown. 

Too bad so few people realize that the only joke about the MIchael Brown incident was the grand jury proceedings that every one claims "proved" the officer was innocent.

Again, I do not want to defend the way BLM is handling the problem, but I can understand why they get so upset when people say the grand jury in Ferguson proved they were wrong.

[GMDino]

(10-05-2016, 05:20 PM)bfine32 Wrote: This brings to mind the story of the LEO that locked himself in his car when faced with a man wielding a knife. 

Weird that there is zero follow up on this.

I'd have expected to see some sort of underlying medical problem or drug usage that contributed to his death but I can't find anything after the first couple days of the incident happening.

[*PhilHos*]

(10-05-2016, 12:44 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Sometimes I wonder how many people think of themselves as their skin color, or as Americans first.

A week ago, I had to take a mandatory diversity awareness training course for my job (EVERYONE had/has to take it, though I tried to get out of it by saying I'm already aware there's diversity in America). During one of the discussions, a friend of mine (who's black) talked about how, when he wakes up and looks in the mirror, he sees a black man.

I found it interesting, because I never look at myself as a white man. Yes, I know I'm white, but if you ask me to identify myself, I almost never refer to my race.

So, yeah, I think many people think of themselves as their skin color first. 

[fredtoast]

(10-07-2016, 01:16 PM)PhilHos Wrote: I found it interesting, because I never look at myself as a white man. Yes, I know I'm white, but if you ask me to identify myself, I almost never refer to my race.

That is because you are a member of the majority.  You can take your skin color for granted.  Same reason you do not identify yourself as a "non-blind person".

When you have an issue that places you in a minority you tend to notice that issue.

[*PhilHos*]

(10-07-2016, 01:20 PM)fredtoast Wrote: That is because you are a member of the majority.  You can take your skin color for granted.

Or maybe, it's because I'm not racist and don't see "color".

[*PhilHos*]

(10-07-2016, 01:20 PM)fredtoast Wrote: When you have an issue that places you in a minority you tend to notice that issue.

My friend lives in Hartford in a predominantly black neighborhood. He works at a place where there's almost no white people. He may be a minority in AMERICA, but in his neck of the woods, he is NOT a minority, yet he still notices that he's black? 

[fredtoast]

(10-07-2016, 01:30 PM)PhilHos Wrote: My friend lives in Hartford in a predominantly black neighborhood. He works at a place where there's almost no white people. He may be a minority in AMERICA, but in his neck of the woods, he is NOT a minority, yet he still notices that he's black? 

Does every television show he watches come from his neck of the woods?  How about every movie?  Does his internet provider connect him to news from the rest of the country? 

Does the government in Washington DC have any influence on his life?  How about the State legislature in Hartford?  Does he ever leave his neck of the woods to any other location in a state that is 90% white?