Gaslighting

[ford_prefect42]

Sometimes, the issues of the day are SO far screwed that it's impossible to even start with the problems. Every sentence that is publicized has problems that are so numerous and intrinsic that by the time you've unpacked, analyzed, and disposed of the issues in just that one sentence, you've lost the thread of the overall point and problem

Comments

[baron_waste]

a) Note that outside agitators i e  “racial entrepreneurs” are already showing up from NY and CA.  At this point the motives of the situation shift away from what actually happened or didn't.

b) Obama is promising “justice” to “African American leaders.” How do you suppose he defines that?  Take two guesses.  (Remember how he horned in on the Zimmerman case?)  “Presumptive guilt” is right.

On the other hand…  The drop in force complaints is because the cops started behaving themselves.  The beating of Rodney King was exceptional for being caught on video, not for occurring.  Some years ago a dashboard camera caught a South Carolina State trooper going screaming berserk ballistic because a motorist didn't do as she was told fast enough.  Deep gouges were found in the case where said officer then tried to “amend his remarks.”  You'll find a Youtube video where the entire tenor of a traffic stop changed when the initially hostile, threatening cop realized that he was being remote-recorded (nothing to confiscate

[jordan179]

a) Note that outside agitators i e “racial entrepreneurs” are already showing up from NY and CA. At this point the motives of the situation shift away from what actually happened or didn't.

That's a key point. Unlike the locals, the riot tourists have absolutely no concern with the state of the neighborhood and no inhibitions against looting it, because it is not their neighborhood. The existence of riot tourists is why we need to clamp down harder on criminals caught looting, etc. in a riot -- if we put the hardcore ones in prison for serious stretches, we prevent a lot of future trouble elsewhere.

b) Obama is promising “justice” to “African American leaders.” How do you suppose he defines that? Take two guesses. (Remember how he horned in on the Zimmerman case?) “Presumptive guilt” is right.Obama's attitude also does immense damage to the city threatened by riot, since it puts police officers in a position where they must choose between their careers and actually protecting the public. The easiest thing for the police to

[baron_waste]

The easiest thing for the police to do in that sort of situation is just stay out of the neighborhood and let it be destroyed

It's called “de-policing,” and it's happened for years, and no, actually it's ALWAYS a black neighborhood.

“A Seattle policeman explained de-policing as:  'Parking under a shady tree to work on a crossword puzzle is a great alternative to being labeled a racist and being dragged through an inquest, a review board, an FBI and U.S. attorney investigation and a lawsuit.'” - Walter E. Williams, August 6, 2001

[prester_scott]

Maybe someday soon we'll be doing this to Muslim neighborhoods too, like they do in Europe.

[philmophlegm]

Good post.

"Many people have pointed out that when one city started mandating lapel cameras, force complaints dropped dramatically. I wonder how much of that is due to a reduction in the officer's use of force, and how much due to the knowledge on the part of the civilians that their actions prior to the use of force were captured on video."

In the UK, a high percentage of policemen wear cameras, and I think are generally in favour of it. They're clever enough to realise that what they do is likely to be filmed by someone anyway (since every kid has a smartphone), _edited to fit a certain narrative_ and uploaded to YouTube. But if the police have cameras too, the true facts of the case are always available as a defence.

[haikujaguar]

When I was just old enough to drive myself to school, a police officer pulled me over for missing a stop sign, then proceeded to call two other officers for back-up while they investigated whether I'd stolen my father's car.

I was a teen girl, in a private Catholic school uniform, with glasses, no cosmetics, and a ponytail, weeping and shaking because I'd never been pulled over in my life and I was already afraid of driving. I showed them the paperwork in the glove compartment. I explained who I was over and over. They didn't let me go for half an hour.

The police have never been the presumptive 'good guys' to me.

[ford_prefect42]

Sorry that happened. And, yeah, sometimes they get it wrong.

In this case, I think I can see what went wrong (being more afraid than the situation warrants is often a sign of greater guilt). But that doesn't really change anything.

Do you think we could at least presume that incidents where someone is "killed like a dog for no reason" are not common?

[baron_waste]

That officer didn't “call for backup” because he thought he was in physical danger; he called for it because of the danger created by the “Sexual Harassment Industry.”  Particularly if he had no dashboard camera, he wanted witnesses.  In a case of “he said, she said” today, what “she said” - and even more so, what she felt, or claims to have felt - trumps anything 'he' might say.  All it would take is for you to claim that you felt harassed - not what he did, or whether he did anything! - and he'd be looking at a potentially career-ending nightmare.  Suspension without pay, a review board, psych evaluation, &c., &c.  It is standard practice in corporate society today to never allow a woman into one's office for any reason without either a witness present or at least the door kept wide open.  Even if it's the CEO, it doesn't matter.  Sexual harassment law is completely subjective - if the woman decides that she feels sexually harassed then she was, and the punishments are draconian.
I'm sure this never occurred to you; you felt yourself

[haikujaguar]

I am flattered at what you imply about my age. :) But this happened long before harassment claims were common.

[ford_prefect42]

A lot of people have had unpleasant law enforcement experiences. I am not trying to claim differently. My issue is with the *presumption* that, when force is used, the police are guilty of malfeasance. Every time there's an "unarmed youth shot and killed", judgement is cast long before the story is told. That's *not* okay. And the narrative never goes away, even when it's exposed

[ford_prefect42]

The results of the civil suit really mean very little, those are more or less arbitrary.

As for the DNA from the weapon and holster and the private detectives findings, it really makes little difference whether bell actually had the gun, or the officer merely believed, in the confusion of the struggle, based on a pull at his holster that bell had the gun. It's still a "good shoot". Under the law, it doesn't matter whether you actually are in danger for your life, it matters that you have reason to believe that you are. The officer whose gun bell may have grabbed did, and therefore the officer that pulled the trigger did too. The only malfeasance was on the part of the deceased.

[prester_scott]

I know that the police are necessary, and cops are much like the rest of the population, which is to say, generally decent but neither infallible nor impeccable. No, I don't think most cops are looking for excuses to blow away black kids, or whatever. But I can see the way the cultural winds are blowing, with respect not only to how law enforcement is done and how officers are trained, but also the legal and administrative mess they are enforcing. I have heard an ever increasing number of stories, big and small, about people minding their own business getting hassled or worse, maybe much worse. I have heard stories from cops who say they don't like the way things are shaping up. All I can say to this, is that I don't look at the police, or the government in general, as friendly, helpful or trustworthy. I avoid contact with them as far as possible. I don't call or talk to the authorities unless I stand to get in more trouble if I don't. That's a sad statement about society but it's the way it is.