It would be faster for us as a society to change the police behavior to better align with peoples rights then to try and change a bunch of people who aren't on the government payroll. This cop said she kicked him. He falsely gave her a felony charge because she had attitude and was uppity? Black lives dont matter.
Maybe all black people need to refuse every order by a cop. Can you imagine how fast shit would change if 20% of the population said no to the unjust stops? Can you imagine if the juries in this country began to nullify laws aimed at keeping black people down? On a long enough timeline that will happen. Because more and more people are waking up to the injustice perpetrated on a race of people by law enforcement.
So is it traffic laws, or laws against kicking a cop, or just laws in general that are "aimed at keeping black people down"?
They should not have to walk on egg shells.
Doing so, is then acknowledging that interaction with a black person is to be different than a white. And that color matters.
I thought that the civil rights movement was to prove that all are created equal; not some more than most.
What you are asking is the a black person is not to be considered the same as a person of a different color than black. Preferential treatment.
Which is it; you can not have it both ways.
Well . . . In principle I agree completely. In practice . . . Well, I can see the officer recognizing that some black people are completely unreasonable about cops, accepting that there is some historic justification for this unreasonable belief, and therefore being exceptionally polite around black people just in case these particular people happen to be among those completely unreasonable about cops. It's preferential treatment, sure, but it's preferential treatment based on recognition of past injustices that occasionally still occur. That would also be an excellent way to eradicate this belief, whereas treating her just as he would a white person is just going to perpetuate the belief. Since this belief also causes cops a lot of grief, to treat black people especially well would also be serving in his own best interests long term, just as treating the cop with respect would have been in her own best interests. And it's not as though there is some karmic balance the cop has to maintain, so that if he treats black people especially well then he must then abuse Mexicans or whites or Hawaiians. To the contrary, if the cop walked on eggshells around black people I suspect he'd find they were more reasonable around him, and thus his job would be a lot less stressful and a lot more satisfying.
Cops are given deadly force and a LOT of latitude for using it. Absent evidence to the contrary, the cop's version of any altercation will be believed. Given this, I don't think asking cops for an extraordinary amount of patience, tolerance, and forbearance, especially when dealing with a minority which has historically been abused by the system which includes cops, is completely unreasonable. Anyone who goes armed should have an extraordinary amount of patience, tolerance, and forbearance anyway, but especially those with the weight of government backing them up. I would argue that this quality is even more important in police officers than the fortitude to run toward the gunfire.
Uh boy.
Seems either party might've diffused this by just taking a step back. The lady was determined to fight and the cop was too.
Speaking for myself, I'd have just taken the ticket and left.
Amen, brother. Far too many people are hypersensitive about being "disrespected" when on balance, a stranger's respect or lack of it really affects one's life only to the degree one lets it.