Thoughts on Kaepernick & the national anthem

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

You want to know the difference? Police shootings aren't the issue. They are relatively infrequent all things considered. However, they represent the tipping point of a community (whether it be Baltimore, Ferguson, etc.) that has been subject to extreme levels of discrimination by the very people who are hired to protect them.

How are they being discriminated against by the police? You're confusing discrimination with justifiable reason to profile. When a certain group of people are responsible for a majority of the crime, doesn't it make sense that the police are going to scrutinize them more whether you agree that its fair or not?

[jhs5120]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

How are they being discriminated against by the police? You're confusing discrimination with justifiable reason to profile. When a certain group of people are responsible for a majority of the crime, doesn't it make sense that the police are going to scrutinize them more whether you agree that its fair or not?

I don't care about what is fair. I care about upholding the constitution. The DOJ published their findings of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) a few weeks ago, below is the report.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/883366/download


"We find reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of discriminatory policing against African Americans. Statistical evidence shows that the Department intrudes disproportionately upon the lives of African Americans at every stage of its enforcement activities."

"Arrests without probable cause: from 2010–2015, supervisors at Baltimore’s Central Booking and local prosecutors rejected over 11,000 charges made by BPD officers because they lacked probable cause or otherwise did not merit prosecution. Our review of incident reports describing warrantless arrests likewise found many examples of officers making unjustified arrests. In addition, officers extend stops without justification to search for evidence that would justify an arrest. These detentions—many of which last more than an hour— constitute unconstitutional arrests."

"In the five and a half years of data we examined, African Americans accounted for 95 percent of the 410 individuals BPD stopped at least 10 times. One African American man in his mid-fifties was stopped 30 times in less than 4 years. Despite these repeated intrusions, none of the 30 stops resulted in a citation or criminal charge."

The report even states that traffic stops of white individuals were more likely to result in a citation/criminal charge.

"In addition, BPD’s disproportionate enforcement against African Americans is suggestive of intentional discrimination because the racial disparities are greatest for enforcement activities that involve higher degrees of officer discretion. In the five years of arrest data we reviewed, African Americans accounted for a larger share of charges for highly discretionary misdemeanor offenses than for other offenses, including: 91 percent of those charged solely with trespassing, 91 percent of charges for failing to obey an officer’s orders, 88 percent of those arrested solely for “impeding” and 84 percent of people charged with disorderly conduct."


There is no freedom loving American who can read this report and believe the Constitution is being protected by the city of Baltimore.

You may believe that police need to resort to extrajudicial killings, arrests without cause and discrimination to uphold the peace, but it doesn't seem to be working. I think affording every American citizen their Constitutional rights might be worth a try - it sounds crazy, but it might just work.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

I care about upholding the constitution.

Umm, yeah, you've proven that's not true in some of our gun debates.

[jhs5120]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Umm, yeah, you've proven that's not true in some of our gun debates.

I am not going to turn this into a second amendment debate (you can PM me if you want).

The fact is that there are entire government entities that are systematically violating the fourth amendment rights of American citizens. You asked me how African Americans are being discriminated against, I responded with conclusive evidence that answers this question for you. Do you believe African Americans are not discriminated against by the Baltimore PD?