# 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:** 86
**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 28, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1703 "2020-05-28T15:44:17Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > He probably would, but his suggestion misses the point: white people generally enjoy greater protection in this society than black people. > > White fugitives who are armed, assumed to have murdered multiple victims, and on the run like Peter Manfredonia can murder multiple victims are typically taken alive while black men suspected of committing very minor crimes are choked to death. You’d have to be fucking blind, deaf, and dumb (mostly the latter) not to see the disparity. > > Black people die because police culture assumes that their relationship with black people is inevitably adversarial, which probably has a lot to do with the history and role of police in American society. There’s a long history of local law enforcement and militias being used for the express purpose of keeping black people and minorities in their place. > > There’s a reason that black people assume that police officers are either racist or agents of racism - because historically, the evidence points to this. > > We cannot solve the problem of police brutality until we stop allowing police to claim that “I was scared” was an excuse to kill or overreact, and until we untangle and really get honest about the historical relationship between agencies of white power and their impact on minority communities. I see the disparity. Not once, that I can remember, have I advocated or supported extrajudicial violence. That cannot be said by many on this board who do advocate mob violence, prison rape, etc. it’s funny how that is acceptable around here yet taking rational steps to preserve one’s life is met with shrieks of “dat’s racist!1” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1704 "2020-05-28T16:16:20Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Not that I expect better from a site where harpy is hate speech but I digress. Awww. Still burns you all up, doesn’t it? Good. Regards, MrDibble ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1705 "2020-05-28T16:59:15Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I’m not the one grabbing TVs and vacuum cleaners in response to police brutality. Just saying. QUIET EVERYONE! **octopus** is about to explain to everyone what he knows about police brutality. Please proceed… > [@octopus](#): > > And really, if one of my kin were out looting and they brought home a vacuum cleaner I’d be so disappointed. Don’t be so hard on them. TV’s are always the first to go and it’s not everybody that can drag a deep freezer home from the store. You’re probably don’t need another one anyway. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1706 "2020-05-28T17:39:22Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Look, all **octopus** is saying is that if racists are making the US too dangerous for black people, the black people should leave. > > But note that **octopus** is only saying this out of concern and admiration for those black people. Not for any other reason. I have to admit that I’m a bit surprised that **Mr. 'pus** apparently advocates free entry to the USA of poor Guatemalans and Salvadorans trying to escape gang violence. That’s remarkably progressive of him. ---
**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 28, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1707 "2020-05-28T18:01:17Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > With your logic and the logic of a few of the other dishonest fools on this site you’d advise the Syrian refugees to ask Assad for an extra strong dose of his special chemicals lest they be thought of as cowards. So you feel that racism in America is comparable to the mass slaughter of civilian populations in Syria. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1708 "2020-05-28T19:37:35Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Are you really as fucking stupid as you would have to be to ask this question? Please point out the racism. Are you saying she was racist for calling the cops at all? This could be the case or it could not be. Are you saying she was racist for saying his race? Again, maybe, maybe not. From what I saw and read I couldn’t tell if she actually called the cops or if she just threatened to and pretending she was doing so. If the person who told her to put her dog on a leash was say, female and not black, would she have reacted this way? It’s likely not but impossible to tell. Did she feel more threatened because it was a black guy and not an old white lady, and is that the racist part? Impossible to say. Did she react as she did because he was black and she thought she had the upper hand? I would agree that could be considered racist but, again, it’s not inherent in the facts. And by the way, some people up thread have saing “Oh, look at him, does he look like a threat?” Well, his actions as described are kind of creepy. People assess threats using different criteria. But he’s definitely a jerk, and I’m not saying she’s not a jerk. He’s not the dogcatcher, he’s the Citizen Gestapo–and it sounds like he does this all the time. Not because he’s threatened by anybody’s off-leash dog, because in that case you don’t carry dog biscuits around. So please point out the part where it is absolutely assured that this woman is a racist. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1709 "2020-05-28T19:40:52Z")
Holy crap, I thought you were joking. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1710 "2020-05-28T19:54:19Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > [I say, it’s, I say, it’s a joke, son.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JtnEUPvpus) You know, when you posted this, I thought you might be right. This is one time when I rather disappointed to have been proven correct. ---
**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 28, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1711 "2020-05-28T19:57:15Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Please point out the racism. Are you saying she was racist for calling the cops at all? This could be the case or it could not be. Are you saying she was racist for saying his race? Again, maybe, maybe not. From what I saw and read I couldn’t tell if she actually called the cops or if she just threatened to and pretending she was doing so. > > If the person who told her to put her dog on a leash was say, female and not black, would she have reacted this way? It’s likely not but impossible to tell. Did she feel more threatened because it was a black guy and not an old white lady, and is that the racist part? Impossible to say. Did she react as she did because he was black and she thought she had the upper hand? I would agree that could be considered racist but, again, it’s not inherent in the facts. > > And by the way, some people up thread have saing “Oh, look at him, does he look like a threat?” Well, his actions as described are kind of creepy. People assess threats using different criteria. But he’s definitely a jerk, and I’m not saying she’s not a jerk. He’s not the dogcatcher, he’s the Citizen Gestapo–and it sounds like he does this all the time. Not because he’s threatened by anybody’s off-leash dog, because in that case you don’t carry dog biscuits around. > > So please point out the part where it is absolutely assured that this woman is a racist. WTF? I thought for sure your post was a joke, because the only reason why her life is ruined is because she called the cops unnecessarily, possibly putting this guy’s life in danger. Had she not called and pretended to by hysterical, none of this would have happened to her. Why don’t you watch the video and decide with the actual information in hand. Even if she’s not racist personally (doubtful), she used his race to try and make things seem dangerous, knowing full well that our racist society will come running to save a white woman from a dangerous black man. We know she called 911 because the cops showed up (the Coopers had both left the scene by then). **mhendo** , I’m sorry, I thought you were getting whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1712 "2020-05-28T20:00:57Z")
Who knew **Hilarity N Suze** was an idiot this whole time? I’ve disagreed with her on things in the past, but I didn’t think she was THAT stupid. Wonders never cease, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1713 "2020-05-28T20:07:55Z")
**Hilarity N. Suze** is apparently one of those people who thinks that you can never _ **really** _ say someone is racist unless you have an actual affidavit in which the person says: I, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, being of sound mind and judgment, do hereby declare that I believe black people to be inferior to white people, and believe that it is reasonable to treat people differently based on the color of their skin. Either that, or you have to be wearing an actual white robe and hood. ---
**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 28, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1714 "2020-05-28T20:37:12Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Awww. Still burns you all up, doesn’t it? > > Good. > > Regards, > MrDibble Yeah it does. I’ve had to crack open my Monster Manual for new insults. I’m hoping kobold, owlbear, and type II demon aren’t next on the restricted list. Regards? Lol. A site where it’s celebrated that one can call another poster, even a female one a cunt yet referring to a random person as a ‘h’ word is over the line is schizophrenic. Hell, we’re here in Huey’s thread. A dude that got banned for posting too much in the pit… ---
**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 28, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1715 "2020-05-28T20:37:24Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Please point out the racism. Again, the racism is this: she knowingly and deliberately attempted to leverage her privileged position in society relative to his - a privilege granted to her on account of her race and his - to bully him into letting her do whatever she selfishly wanted to do in the moment. > [@](#): > > But he’s definitely a jerk, and I’m not saying she’s not a jerk. He’s not the dogcatcher, he’s the Citizen Gestapo–and it sounds like he does this all the time. Not because he’s threatened by anybody’s off-leash dog, because in that case you don’t carry dog biscuits around. He’s a bird-watcher. He has an interest in the habitat of birds - habitat that is disturbed by off-leash dogs. Furthermore, he was in a place where off-leash dogs are forbidden. He was in the right; she was in the wrong. He’s not definitely a jerk, and likely not a jerk at all. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1716 "2020-05-28T20:40:34Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > WTF? I thought for sure your post was a joke, because the only reason why her life is ruined is because she called the cops unnecessarily, possibly putting this guy’s life in danger. Had she not called and pretended to by hysterical, none of this would have happened to her. > > Why don’t you watch the video and decide with the actual information in hand. > > Even if she’s not racist personally (doubtful), she used his race to try and make things seem dangerous, knowing full well that our racist society will come running to save a white woman from a dangerous black man. > > We know she called 911 because the cops showed up (the Coopers had both left the scene by then). > > **mhendo** , I’m sorry, I thought you were getting whooshed. I am saying I don’t personally have enough information about this to say, decisively, that she’s racist–unlike some things that are pretty clear. Like, I don’t even know if she really called the cops, and I don’t know if she was really in fear. I do have enough information to believe that both of these people were jerks. I would say the birdwatcher is the bigger jerk because he started it, but I could also say that the woman is the bigger jerk because she accelerated it. I am actually not interested enough to pursue it any further, but I have seen a lot of stuff in this thread that is assumedly racist that doesn’t seem racist (I don’t remember what) and I don’t think it’s productive to go around looking for racism everywhere, because there is plenty that’s obvious. The longer I read this board the more conservative I get. Weird, right? ---
**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 28, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1717 "2020-05-28T20:42:43Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I have to admit that I’m a bit surprised that **Mr. 'pus** apparently advocates free entry to the USA of poor Guatemalans and Salvadorans trying to escape gang violence. That’s remarkably progressive of him. No. I think there is a conflict of principles in that scenario. I think fleeing danger is rational. I also think controlling the border is rational. I don’t have a general solution to the competing interests. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1718 "2020-05-28T20:46:06Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Again, the racism is this: she knowingly and deliberately attempted to leverage her privileged position in society relative to his - a privilege granted to her on account of her race and his - to bully him into letting her do whatever she selfishly wanted to do in the moment. > > He’s a bird-watcher. He has an interest in the habitat of birds - habitat that is disturbed by off-leash dogs. Furthermore, he was in a place where off-leash dogs are forbidden. He was in the right; she was in the wrong. He’s not definitely a jerk, and likely not a jerk at all. He posted the thing to social media so he’s definitely a jerk. Also, Citizen Gestapo. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1719 "2020-05-28T20:46:52Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I am saying I don’t personally have enough information about this to say, decisively, that she’s racist–unlike some things that are pretty clear. Like, I don’t even know if she really called the cops, and I don’t know if she was really in fear. > > I do have enough information to believe that both of these people were jerks. I would say the birdwatcher is the bigger jerk because he started it, but I could also say that the woman is the bigger jerk because she accelerated it. I am actually not interested enough to pursue it any further, but I have seen a lot of stuff in this thread that is assumedly racist that doesn’t seem racist (I don’t remember what) and I don’t think it’s productive to go around looking for racism everywhere, because there is plenty that’s obvious. > > The longer I read this board the more conservative I get. Weird, right? How’s this?[It’s from NPR](https://www.npr.org/2020/05/26/862654130/a-video-of-a-white-woman-calling-the-police-on-a-black-man-in-central-park-goes-) > [@](#): > > AMY COOPER: Sir, I’m asking you to stop. > > CHRISTIAN COOPER: Please don’t come close to me. > > A COOPER: Sir, I’m asking you to stop recording me. > > C COOPER: Please don’t come close to me. > > A COOPER: Please take your phone off. > > C COOPER: Please don’t come close to me. > > A COOPER: Then I’m taking pictures and calling the cops. > > C COOPER: Please call the cops. Please call the cops. > > A COOPER: I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life. > > C COOPER: Please tell them whatever you like. > > CHUNG: So as we heard on that video, the dog owner said she would call the police on him, which she did, and tell them that an African American man was threatening her life. ---
**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 28, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1720 "2020-05-28T20:49:57Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I am saying I don’t personally have enough information about this to say, decisively, that she’s racist–unlike some things that are pretty clear. Like, I don’t even know if she really called the cops, and I don’t know if she was really in fear. > > I do have enough information to believe that both of these people were jerks. I would say the birdwatcher is the bigger jerk because he started it, but I could also say that the woman is the bigger jerk because she accelerated it. I am actually not interested enough to pursue it any further, but I have seen a lot of stuff in this thread that is assumedly racist that doesn’t seem racist (I don’t remember what) and I don’t think it’s productive to go around looking for racism everywhere, because there is plenty that’s obvious. > > The longer I read this board the more conservative I get. Weird, right? Not really. You obviously have some racist tendencies. Conservatism is for you! Regarding whether she called the cops, your reading comprehension is pretty bad, too. ---
**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 28, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1721 "2020-05-28T20:51:49Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > He posted the thing to social media so he’s definitely a jerk. Also, Citizen Gestapo. My understanding is that his friend posted it, but so what? Not jerkish. Also, ‘Citizen Gestapo’ is bizarre. I’m guessing you let your dog run amok, tear up park habitat, shit everywhere, and let other people clean it up. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611/1722 "2020-05-28T20:55:01Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > I’m guessing you let your dog run amok, tear up park habitat, shit everywhere, and let other people clean it up. This is the only thing that makes sense in the decidedly weird twist this thread has taken. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=85) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-while-black-in-america/817611.md?page=87)