Quote: Large Paws "Some very good points being made by all.
I tend to like to see facts that back up the words being spoken.
Given that the latest 'troubles' were a reaction to the murder of George Floyd by a Police Officer, and the claims of Black people being disproportionately killed around the world by the Police, then it seems reasonable that there would be some actual evidence out there to support it.
There isn't, and unfortunately for those who seek to promote the argument, then what statistics there are, tend to destroy the argument.
A couple of quick ones, found with very little effort.
A Police Officer in the USA is 18 times more likely to be shot and killed by a Black person, than an unarmed Black person is, to be shot and killed by Police.
In the UK it is claimed that Black people are disproportionately (3 times) more likely to die in custody than a White person.
The population of the UK is approx. 3% Black, yet the Criminal Justice statistics show that 10% of those convicted of crime are Black.
In London, in 48% of murders, the suspects are Black. For the rest of the UK, in 13% of the murders the suspects are Black.
This would tend to suggest that Black are disproportionately more likely to enter into custody.
Now, I'm sure that there are many socio-economic factors that affect those figures, in exactly the same way as there are other factors involved when someone dies in Police custody.
If those who seek to vilify the Police use facts, then, surely fire, should be used to fight fire.
I apologise in advance, to anyone I may have offended by using facts.'"
I absolutely agree with the message that racism is bad. I just don't see that BLM is the answer.
As you rightly say, as soon as you throw facts into the argument, it simply dispels the myth that black people are on the whole, unfairly targeted.
In the US for example, on the latest figures I can find (FBI website), the black population of the US accounts for 13% of the total population, yet commits 58% of the homicide. If you figure in that the black population is almost a 50/50 split between male and female, and that males are far more likely to commit violent crime, that means that 6.5% of the US population commit 58% of the murder. Thats not a racial issue, its a cultural issue!
In the US 50% of black males don't complete high school - cultural issue and a lack of quality schools
In the US 70% of black households are single parent. As a kicker, you are 13 x (Thirteen) more likely to serve time in prison if you come from a single parent household. That's a cultural issue which in fairness was brought around by an old democrat policy that made it financially beneficial to live in a single parent household.
As you alluded to, there are socioeconomic issues that the black community both in the US and the UK have that need to be dealt with, and I have no doubts at all that there are people who have to deal with racism on a daily basis. What I cannot concede however, is that the racism is either systemic or institutional. What institution is actively trying to stop black people from reaching their potential? Considering that you are more than 3 x as likely to die by the hands of the police as an unarmed white man than as an unarmed black man, it cant be the police. There will be racist officers, but to label the whole institution as racist is just lunacy. Its like calling all men rapists or all women child killers.
Instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water, we need to look at everything on an individual basis. The officer who killed George Floyd is rightfully going to answer for his crime, but he is certainly not indicative of a systemic issue. Where was the outcry about the black private security officers who were killed during the subsequent rioting? It seem's that black lives only matter when you can throw some kind of oppression into the mix, which is also bull!
