# Living while black in America **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 9, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611 "2018-07-09T21:17:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 82
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1623 "2020-05-27T02:27:48Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Well, this is a little bit disingenuous. Often in this sort of thing, mob action and/or the threat of mob action is what motivates the employer to fire the employee. > > In this case, it was probably justified, but there’s been plenty of instances where the mob gets outraged about something, the employer fires the person involved because they don’t want to face the mob, and then it turns out the mob was wrong and the person did nothing wrong! Yeah, I remember all the conservatives getting outraged about [the firing of that Democratic bicyclist who was caught on camera flipping the bird at Trump’s motorcade](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cyclist-famously-flipped-off-trump-motorcade-wins-election/story?id=66791339)… oh wait, no they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Unreconstructed\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1624 "2020-05-27T03:55:24Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > You know, we’re seeing mob action lately. Mob action looks like a bunch of assholes with guns going down to the state capital and lynching the governor in effigy, because they don’t like a health-and-safety decision. > > **MOB ACTION IS NOT FACING CRITICISM ON TWITTER**. > > Christ almighty. In the midst of actual violent threats against our government, and people are still trotting this weak shit out. Both are mob action. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1625 "2020-05-27T05:21:41Z")
> [@Delayed\_Reflex](#): > > Not sure I’ve seen anything here about the George Floyd incident in Minneapolis where he died in the process of getting arrested: [https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/us/minneapolis-police-encounter-death-trnd/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/us/minneapolis-police-encounter-death-trnd/index.html) > > Shades of Eric Garner ☹ Even after hearing the pleas of George and bystanders and knowing they were on video, the cops continued to act callously… at least these officers have been fired and an FBI investigation has been opened, but it is brutal that these sort of events continue to happen. Six hours later, and no-one else in this thread is talking about this? Did it get a thread of its own? (I can’t find one in the Pit, anyway; there are a few desultory posts in the police encounters thread.) Here is a man who was killed for allegedly resisting arrest, not in the heat of the moment, but in cold blood for five minutes with a fat (yes this time it’s relevant) cop kneeling on his neck, after he was handcuffed and subdued. Five minutes. I want you to sit there for five minutes, start a timer, and imagine lying on the ground, handcuffed, and having some heavy guy kneeling on your neck. Go ahead, start now. I’ll wait. … Did you make it the whole five minutes? How do you feel? OK, so the cops were fired. On what grounds? Could it be that this is not an officially approved police practice? Did the other cop standing there watching in the video also know that? Is there any possible excuse for this act which at the least is second-degree murder? I don’t usually think of Minneapolis as being a hotbed of tactics like this, but I’ve never lived there. Anyway, I just can’t deal with this right now, I’m too ashamed of my race. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1626 "2020-05-27T05:30:58Z")
I’m teaching my Taiwanese 6th graders about living in America and the Amy Cooper video and the was the subject of today’s discussion as well as the Minnesota killing. They don’t have a good understanding of how much underlying racism there is in America. ---
**Author:** ![Project\_Patahhh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7cd45c/32.png) [@Project\_Patahhh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Project_Patahhh)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1627 "2020-05-27T06:17:45Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Six hours later, and no-one else in this thread is talking about this? Did it get a thread of its own? (I can’t find one in the Pit, anyway; there are a few desultory posts in the police encounters thread.) Here is a man who was killed for allegedly resisting arrest, not in the heat of the moment, but in cold blood for five minutes with a fat (yes this time it’s relevant) cop kneeling on his neck, after he was handcuffed and subdued. Five minutes. I want you to sit there for five minutes, start a timer, and imagine lying on the ground, handcuffed, and having some heavy guy kneeling on your neck. Go ahead, start now. I’ll wait. > > … > > Did you make it the whole five minutes? How do you feel? > > OK, so the cops were fired. On what grounds? Could it be that this is not an officially approved police practice? Did the other cop standing there watching in the video also know that? Is there any possible excuse for this act which at the least is second-degree murder? > > I don’t usually think of Minneapolis as being a hotbed of tactics like this, but I’ve never lived there. Anyway, I just can’t deal with this right now, I’m too ashamed of my race. That video really really upset me too. And I’m surprised people aren’t talking about it more on the police encounters thread. There were a few jokes told about the name of the store it was in front of… I watched a guy get murdered on camera for no reason. And it was a cop who did it. I don’t really have anything else to add besides that cop needs to get convicted of murder. I’m tired of citizens being held to a higher standard than the POLICE. If anything they should be expected to behave properly more than we should. But it ain’t that way. This video isn’t the first, but it’s the most brazen I’ve seen. I mean, my god… ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1628 "2020-05-27T11:28:13Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Now that I’ve seen him, I understand why she was terrified of [this guy](https://twitter.com/JoshuaPotash/status/1265338098256424973). I mean, under certain circumstances I would absolutely be afraid of him too. For example, if he were my opponent and “Ornithology” is the Final Jeopardy category. Dude, he’s bald and has a goatee!! :eek: He’s practically a Hell’s Angel – he was even wearing a “bike” helmet. I’m sure the lamestream media wants you to think it was a bicycle helmet, but he probably rode his Hog illegally to that secluded area of the park and scared away all the birds, so he could feed dog treats to unsuspecting white dog owners who happen to be walking by, minding their own business! Oh, wait, it was a bicycle helmet? The Hell’s Angels are typically white and racist? Uh, never mind. \ Regarding the Minneapolis case, that one doesn’t really belong here. It really belongs in the Police thread. We really need one of the cop defenders over there to start discussing it, because it’s so obviously awful. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1629 "2020-05-27T11:37:50Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Also, as an aside, unpopular opinion here, I’m all for murdering off-leash dogs in public spaces where leashes are required. Murder: the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1630 "2020-05-27T11:44:17Z")
> [@Project\_Patahhh](#): > > This video isn’t the first, but it’s the most brazen I’ve seen. I mean, my god… I know - I’m still processing it. Even in a world where excessive and brutal police responses to black men are common, this was a horrifying event: a police officer, in full view of the public and knowing that he was being receorded, nonetheless effectively tortured and murdered a man in his custody. That he somehow believed that this was acceptable - and that his fellow officers would consider this acceptable - is hard to come to terms with, particularly as it may well be true that his fellow officers **would** be fine with it absent any public outcry. And it shows us how far we still need to come as a country. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1631 "2020-05-27T14:45:09Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Six hours later, and no-one else in this thread is talking about this? Did it get a thread of its own? (I can’t find one in the Pit, anyway; there are a few desultory posts in the police encounters thread.) Here is a man who was killed for allegedly resisting arrest, not in the heat of the moment, but in cold blood for five minutes with a fat (yes this time it’s relevant) cop kneeling on his neck, after he was handcuffed and subdued. Five minutes. I want you to sit there for five minutes, start a timer, and imagine lying on the ground, handcuffed, and having some heavy guy kneeling on your neck. Go ahead, start now. I’ll wait. > > … > > Did you make it the whole five minutes? How do you feel? > > OK, so the cops were fired. On what grounds? Could it be that this is not an officially approved police practice? Did the other cop standing there watching in the video also know that? Is there any possible excuse for this act which at the least is second-degree murder? > > I don’t usually think of Minneapolis as being a hotbed of tactics like this, but I’ve never lived there. Anyway, I just can’t deal with this right now, I’m too ashamed of my race. Police brutality and other forms of implicitly condoned acts of extrajudicial violence are sickening. However it’s no surprise that power corrupts and institutions, no matter size or relevance, generally act to protect their own. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1632 "2020-05-27T15:20:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Murder: > the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. Very true. It can also mean a grouping of crows, but I suspect an astute reader could infer I didn’t intend that meaning either. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1633 "2020-05-27T15:53:24Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Police brutality and other forms of implicitly condoned acts of extrajudicial violence are sickening. However it’s no surprise that power corrupts and institutions, no matter size or relevance, generally act to protect their own. Your carefully polite language conveys nothing. Nothing special here, just one of those things that sometimes happens when institutions with power get corrupt. And you certainly aren’t mentioning the 3-ton elephant that is sitting on your face, that it was a white police officer and a black suspect (supposedly under the influence, and suspected of a white collar crime). Too bad so sad. Just turn your face away and shrug your shoulders, and it won’t make you sick. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1634 "2020-05-27T16:22:16Z")
New Onion article: [Minneapolis Police Now Requiring Officers To Undergo Ergonomics Training To Better Protect Knees](https://www.theonion.com/minneapolis-police-now-requiring-officers-to-undergo-er-1843684669) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1635 "2020-05-27T16:29:18Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > New Onion article: > > [Minneapolis Police Now Requiring Officers To Undergo Ergonomics Training To Better Protect Knees](https://www.theonion.com/minneapolis-police-now-requiring-officers-to-undergo-er-1843684669) Right on. If they keep kneeling like that, their insurance premiums will go up, and no one wants that, especially the taxpayers. Gives a new meaning to the sports phrase, “take a knee”, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1636 "2020-05-27T16:37:18Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Police brutality and other forms of implicitly condoned acts of extrajudicial violence are sickening. However it’s no surprise that power corrupts and institutions, no matter size or relevance, generally act to protect their own. Translation: “Meh, waddya gonna do, eh? Things happen. Nothing to see here. Move along.” ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1637 "2020-05-27T16:43:41Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Your carefully polite language conveys nothing. Nothing special here, just one of those things that sometimes happens when institutions with power get corrupt. And you certainly aren’t mentioning the 3-ton elephant that is sitting on your face, that it was a white police officer and a black suspect (supposedly under the influence, and suspected of a white collar crime). Too bad so sad. Just turn your face away and shrug your shoulders, and it won’t make you sick. Sickening doesn’t need additional adjectives. Not my fault that non hysterical language isn’t sufficient. That said, my opinion on a message board isn’t going to make an impact on a barbaric society or its barbaric citizens. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1638 "2020-05-27T17:03:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > IIRC, there was a case a year or two ago of an online gamer “SWATting” his opponent, that is, calling the opponent’s local police and claiming some heinous crime that resulted in the police kicking down the door and entering in force, which resulted in the guy getting shot and the game being charged with murder. So there’s precedent for calling what this woman did “attempted murder”. I remember that. Ironically, there was a (deliberate?) error in the address supplied to the Swatter, so the guy killed by police was an unrelated 3rd party, not even the intended victim. ETA: Ninja’ed by **Chronos** ’ own link, though **Chronos** didn’t mention the wrong-address part. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1639 "2020-05-27T17:09:16Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Your carefully polite language conveys nothing. Nothing special here, just one of those things that sometimes happens when institutions with power get corrupt. And you certainly aren’t mentioning the 3-ton elephant that is sitting on your face, that it was a white police officer and a black suspect (supposedly under the influence, and suspected of a white collar crime). Too bad so sad. Just turn your face away and shrug your shoulders, and it won’t make you sick. **Mr. Octopus** is on record: Blacks have only themselves to blame for racism in America; Because if they don’t like it they should find a new country. ( **Mr. Octopus** will deny this — all right-wingers are liars — but he has said as much more than once, in almost those words.) ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1640 "2020-05-27T17:15:04Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Police brutality and other forms of implicitly condoned acts of extrajudicial violence are sickening. However it’s no surprise that power corrupts and institutions, no matter size or relevance, generally act to protect their own. “Protect their own” over truth is a digusting idea. A decent person’s “own” should be decency first and foremost. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1641 "2020-05-27T17:30:20Z")
Maybe ignore octopus so this doesn’t turn into yet another thread about him. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1642 "2020-05-27T17:53:41Z")
Dog walker was CLEARLY in wrong, if for no reason other than having dog off leash in designated nature area. But birdwatcher’s actions are not entirely laudable either. “I’m going to do something and you aren’t going to like it.” Doesn’t take too much to view that as a threat - whether or not he later pulls out a dog biscuit or a knife. And he admits, his goal in offering dog biscuits was to annoy the dog owner. No possibility that he could have chosen an approach that was not admittedly intended to annoy/anger (I forget his specific word)? I’m a birdwatcher and a dog owner/walker. I repeat, the dog owner was clearly wrong in not using a leash, by refusing to leash the dog when confronted, and by her subsequent reaction. But the birdwatcher acted in a way that he knew would escalate tensions. That you see someone violating a municipal code does not entitle you to threaten them or interfere with their property. Birdwatcher could have filmed her and called cops himself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=81) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=83)