# Sandra Bland video **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 22, 2015, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859 "2015-07-22T05:50:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 78
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1541 "2015-07-31T16:52:18Z")
**Shodan** , **Terr** , **Steophan** , y’all sound so \*shocked \*at the idea that a long-standing persistent and pervasive pattern of racial bias in law enforcement might lead some people to examine _all_ cases with a jaundiced eye. . ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1542 "2015-07-31T16:59:03Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Who told you he was embareassed to say anything? Did you read it somewhere or is this simply your opinion? It is commonly accepted that he did a lousy job and had a violent confrontation. His explanations of his behavior at all times during and after were poor and misleading. You can put your own word in there for it other than embarrassed. I’m OK with that. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1543 "2015-07-31T17:01:51Z")
> [@andros](#): > > **Shodan** , **Terr** , **Steophan** , y’all sound so \*shocked \*at the idea that a long-standing persistent and pervasive pattern of racial bias in law enforcement might lead some people to examine _all_ cases with a jaundiced eye. And maybe the recent history of hype and assigning racist motives to people without any evidence for it might lead some people to dismiss that “jaundiced eye”. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1544 "2015-07-31T17:11:48Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Did you have any evidence that race was involved, or was that just a random accusation?.. Every absurdity has an equal and opposite absurdity. Do you have any evidence that the police officer was entirely unaware of the racial identity of Ms. Bland? > [@](#): > > …Anything bad that happens to a black person is always due to their race, haven’t you been following these threads?.. If I say that cigarette smoking causes cancer, and people should not do that, I have not even hinted that all cancer is caused by cigarette smoking. To restate my position thus would be transparently stupid. I haven’t the least doubt that there are police officers who are evolved and intelligent to a degree that they are largely, if not entirely, capable of treating a black person with precisely the same dignity as a white person. In this case? If we were to believe that the officer treated _all_ his subjects with the same callous and provocative disdain, would that be an improvement? Would you suggest that the officer be commended, then, for his unbiased and egalitarian contempt for all persons? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1545 "2015-07-31T17:18:16Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Would you suggest that the officer be commended, then, for his unbiased and egalitarian contempt for all persons? In my experience, the objects of generalized misanthropy tend to take it personally. …zif I care. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1546 "2015-07-31T17:24:41Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > And maybe the recent history of hype and assigning racist motives to people without any evidence for it might lead some people to dismiss that “jaundiced eye”. Dismissing it entirely is astoundingly foolish. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1547 "2015-07-31T17:26:21Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Dismissing it entirely is astoundingly foolish. “Boy who cried wolf”. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1548 "2015-07-31T17:40:46Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > “Boy who cried wolf”. :shrug: OK. I find that analogy simplistic and deeply flawed. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1549 "2015-07-31T17:55:10Z")
> [@andros](#): > > **Shodan** , **Terr** , **Steophan** , y’all sound so \*shocked \*at the idea that a long-standing persistent and pervasive pattern of racial bias in law enforcement might lead some people to examine _all_ cases with a jaundiced eye. > . He made an assertion. If he examined anything before making it, he didn’t say what it was. That’s what I would like to see - the evidence he examined. If there was none, then we know how much weight to give the assertion. and adjust our estimates of his opinion accordingly. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1550 "2015-07-31T18:13:35Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > He made an assertion. If he examined anything before making it, he didn’t say what it was. That’s what I would like to see - the evidence he examined. > > If there was none, then we know how much weight to give the assertion. and adjust our estimates of his opinion accordingly. > > Regards, > Shodan Naw, I hear you, and it’s a good point. But the fact remains that there _is_ evidence, albeit entirely circumstantial, to consider racial motivation in this case: a history of systemic and pervasive disparate treatment of blacks by law enforcement. I agree entirely that there is no \*direct \*evidence that racial–or sexual–bias played a part in this case. But I think its also silly to dismiss the possibility out of hand, which seemed to be the thrust of **Terr** ’s and **Steophan** ’s endorsements. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1551 "2015-07-31T18:30:10Z")
Blacks also commit a disproportionate amount of street crimes. Is that circumstantial evidence that Bland was a criminal? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1552 "2015-07-31T18:35:12Z")
Then we are left with the exquisitely pointless question of whether the officer should be dismissed because he is a bigot or because he is an equal opportunity asshole. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1553 "2015-07-31T18:36:31Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Blacks also commit a disproportionate amount of street crimes. Is that circumstantial evidence that Bland was a criminal? Yes, IMO. It is, however, circumstantial evidence that an officer of the law should not base his actions upon. In theory. . ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1554 "2015-07-31T18:36:45Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Blacks also commit a disproportionate amount of street crimes. Is that circumstantial evidence that Bland was a criminal? > > Regards, > Shodan Between 1877 and 1950, Waller County had among the highest number of lynchings in Texas, according to a report from the Equal Justice Initiative. Hempstead became known as “Six Shooter Junction” because of white supremacist violence in the 1800s. > **[Sandra Bland's death tinged by Waller County's murky racial past](https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0727/Sandra-Bland-s-death-tinged-by-Waller-County-s-murky-racial-past)** > > Locals in the rural county where a black woman was found dead in her jail cell are rejecting characterizations that the area hasn't moved on from its recent history of racism and discrimination. How much circumstance are you willing to look at? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1555 "2015-07-31T18:37:52Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Blacks also commit a disproportionate amount of street crimes. Is that circumstantial evidence that Bland was a criminal? > > Regards, > Shodan Do they? Or might they get stopped a lot more by a predominately white, bigoted, amateur police force looking for an easy stat to take home? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1556 "2015-07-31T19:49:52Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > It is commonly accepted that he did a lousy job and had a violent confrontation. His explanations of his behavior at all times during and after were poor and misleading. > > You can put your own word in there for it other than embarrassed. I’m OK with that. So just to be clear, you simply made it up based on your feelings. I’m OK with that. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1557 "2015-07-31T20:14:44Z")
> [@andros](#): > > **Shodan** , **Terr** , **Steophan** , y’all sound so \*shocked \*at the idea that a long-standing persistent and pervasive pattern of racial bias in law enforcement might lead some people to examine _all_ cases with a jaundiced eye. > . The perceived racial bias in most of the high profile cases recently vanishes under close examination. This case is a good example - there is quite literally _no_ evidence that Bland’s race played any part in the way she was treated. None. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1558 "2015-07-31T20:20:14Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Between 1877 and 1950, Waller County had among the highest number of lynchings in Texas, according to a report from the Equal Justice Initiative. Hempstead became known as “Six Shooter Junction” because of white supremacist violence in the 1800s. > > [Sandra Bland's death tinged by Waller County's murky racial past - CSMonitor.com](http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0727/Sandra-Bland-s-death-tinged-by-Waller-County-s-murky-racial-past-video) > > How much circumstance are you willing to look at? 1877 thru 1950? That’s certainly relevant to the Bland case, somehow. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1559 "2015-07-31T20:46:18Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Then we are left with the exquisitely pointless question of whether the officer should be dismissed because he is a bigot or because he is an equal opportunity asshole. Well, that’s the question that people who are highlighting the racial aspect of this case are bringing up. And yeah, it doesn’t appear especially relevant in this case. I can vouch for the fact that a certain breed of cops in Texas kind of have a habit of trying to bait white males into higher offenses at traffic stops if they think they can get away with it. I assume the same ones do it to everyone. In my experience, the DPS officers are actually the least likely to do this - they’re usually the most professional of the bunch (and some are actually nice!). The officers in the large cities are usually almost as professional, but I have had some be lunatics. In the burbs and the smaller towns, I’d guess about a third of them play that dumb game.\* So, as far as that question goes, I don’t see any hard evidence that would prove a racial motivation on the officer’s part. Fire him for being an equal opportunity asshole. \*ETA: And on a semi-related note, universty cops are absolutely the most likely to do this. ---
**Author:** ![camille](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@camille](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/camille)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1560 "2015-07-31T20:48:50Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > 1877 thru 1950? That’s certainly relevant to the Bland case, somehow. Or not. Okay, try this: [Sheriff in Sandra Bland Case Was Fired in 2008 After Racism, Brutality Allegations](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/07/16/sandra_bland_sheriff_fired_racism_allegations_sheriff_glenn_smith_accused.html) That incident involved the arrest of a black man named Cory Labba; the Chronicle says Smith “acknowledged he used profanity and was unprofessional” during Labba’s arrest but denied race was a motivating factor in his behavior. A Chronicle story later in 2008 on Smith’s campaign to become Waller County sheriff said he may have been fired because of “incidents involving police misconduct toward African-Americans,” mentioning a department raid on a home that was targeted in error and an incident in which young black men were publicly strip-searched. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859.md?page=77) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859.md?page=79)