Reed83HOF

These topics are creeping up in many threads and a lot of different viewpoints are out there on this. There are a lot of knowledgeable posters on this board and I think we can have some good discussion on the issues affecting our black brothers and sisters (as well as others) in this country. There will be a lot of discussion points throughout the year(s) to come that will affect the sports world as well. I am hope we can have a civil thread where we can learn, challenge each other and express the viewpoints associated with some hot button topics that are all intertwined - it isn't just a stop killing black people issue: For some reason, this entire situation has affected me and I have been trying to listen and learn as much as I can, never really expected to ever become this guy, but anyways here goes... Systemic Racism Before you can even touch the policing issue, this entire wheel and system needs to be broken: The redlines, the lack of loans, lack of education, the turning to hustling to make ends meet, turning to drugs to drown the pain of being kept down by the machine and the damage to your psyche of self worth as a person solely because the color of your skin put you in a system that was designed to do just this. Fine you want equal rights, you can have it, but we will Fugg you a different way. You have to have a real discussion as to what do you do with the generations of black people who are stuck cycling around or or stuck in specific areas of the cycle. How do you lift them out? The term everyone hates, reparations, does to a degree change this - injecting money to stabalize 13% of the US population which should to a degree end some of the illegal hustling that occurs in those communities. You have to understand that the hustling is a result of low wages, which comes from a worse education experience, not everyone is able to pull themselves out. This somehow has to be addressed. How do you assist the person who has become addicted to drugs due to the depression they encounter in life for not being able to provide for their family, those who did not have a fair chance in America, who didn't receive a good education, who grew up in a broken home from parents who were incarcerated for hustling etc. This is not easy by any means to help shore up such a weak part in society. How do you help the psyche of everyone, who has to plan every interaction every day and every minute of their lives? You can't address the policing issue without creating a new foundation. The Criminal Justice System On the policing side of things there are basically 2 options: 1.) reform 2.) abolition Reform works good when you have a functioning system that is just and ours isn't. Our system functions exactly as it was designed. To encourage some discussion and to be provocative, my view tends more toward abolition. Here is a great website that discusses these 2 topics: http://criticalresistance.org/abolish-policing/

This is wrong, police budgets have been growing and they have been spending the money on more militarization, which is not their function or role in society. The system as it is designed to fix "crime" and "crime" is in the areas that are being protested now because of the systemic racism that has been going on forever; the redlines, the lack of loans, lack of education, the turning to hustling to make ends meet, turning to drugs to drown the pain of being kept down by the machine and the damage to your psyche of self worth as a person solely because the color of your skin put you in a system that was designed to do just this. Fine you want equal rights, you can have it, but we will Fugg you a different way. The entire police system as it is when talking about going to the communities and developing relationships, more training, more police, better body cams, more prosecution doesn't change much of anything. Not only do you see issues with Police, there are police unions, DAs who won't bring charges, the coroner is Minny ruled it was natural causes, mayors and governors are scared to act against the police industry because of what you just pointed out. You do this to us, try living without us is a bs argument and is akin to You can't tackle policing and what I favor abolishing it, without fixing the systemic racism system and battling the corporations that profit off of it (includes police with illegal seizures of money and for-profit policing of ticket quotas and all that crap) On a personal note, i can't believe I became this guy...

sorry I had to chop it up, the size limitations for posting are freaking annoying. here is the website http://criticalresistance.org/abolish-policing/ I never expected that I would be leaning this way, but it is the most logical way forward. The current system was designed to do all of this. The uphill and true battle is to dismantle not only all of this, but the companies who rely on prison labor as well and their lobbyists. This is not a simple solution by any means. This actually might make a really discussion thread, if we can keep political views out. I have been off the board for a little bit (my choice) and figured I should jump all the way back in LOL It needs to be torn down, the entire system is working as it is designed.

So to be upfront, TLDR - just hopping in here It needs to be abolished the system is performing the way in which it was designed. This is the quick answer and will strike fear in many people, but there are many issues that need to be tackled. First systemic racism has to be tackled and dismantled, this is the wheel that keeps it all moving; it needs to break. From there you have to have a real discussion as to what do you do with the generations of black people who are stuck with in or various portions of the cycle and how do you lift them out. The term everyone hates, reparations, does to a degree change this, but it is not nearly enough to assist the people that the system broke. How do you assist the person who has become addicted to drugs due to the depression they encounter in life for not being able to provide for their family, those who did not have a fair chance in America, who didn't receive a good education, who grew up in a broken home from parents who were incarcerated for hustling etc. This is not easy by any means to help shore up such a weak part in society. How do you help the psyche of our black brothers and sisters, who have to plan every interaction every day and every minute of their lives? Once (or in conjunction with) this cycle being broken, you have to address the entire prison industrial complex. This is where you get into policing

TBD shoutout @Mike in Horseheads

and uniting the white and black communities in the process. The white folks who were protesting do not like to be shot at, tear gassed, assaulted by police for no reason (in quite a few instances), arrested for illegal curfews aimed at curtailing first amendment protected protests , being detained indefinitely, locked in a cage, and have the relieve themselves in the same cage. What happens when the cameras aren't around? how many times have you seen this the past week? I can think of only 1 instance in Ft Lauderdale

you could say this about almost every police department & union right now

his email was hacked at the end of 2016, he said by Russia through his own admission, so it is a reasonable assumption they know. It is also reasonable that everyone on congress knows, so...meh whatever.

well yeah it is Russia depending on your political spectrum, but that is not for this forum

this has been the rumor that what Russia has been blackmailing him with (him being closeted) FWIW

noticed you didn't say no to this Lady G - not surprising

RIP my twitter "you may like" list

so this is real

#1 trend on twitter, some of the male escorts are saying what they can without violating the NDA, one is a gay porn star Edit: The comments are as good as you would expect as well

have you not seen any of these? It's everywhere in every city...

fair point. overall the optics are just pitiful even if everything was done by the book after the injury took place, given what is out there all over the place. Not saying that should be on the forefront of an officer's mind either.

I'm a white dude and yeah I knew racism existed and understood to a degree how the system seems to always lead to the "bad black guys". It honestly never felt right to feel that way, but that is what I saw and knew. I honestly didn't know the full depths of the systemic racism and red lines and all of that for a long portion of my life. Hustling becomes a way of life, the only way to get head and barely provide for yourself or family, the behavior you describe and many of us have witnessed is a result of this. Not having any type of wealth passed down, going to poor schools with not great teachers, college is out of reach for many, not being able to get home loans, earning on average $5.04 for every $100 of a white person, someone named Joe is more likely to get a job over a Jamal etc. All leads to hustling while possibly working a minimum wage job to barely make ends meets, you hit depression and start to abuse drugs and get placed in the for profit prison system. Having to attend how many funerals like George Floyd for all of your family members; schitt I can't even imagine. Talk about a viscous cycle that is virtually impossible to break. A video Emmanual Acho put put a few days ago, the one from Malcolm Jenkins to Brees and hearing the countless other stories from friends and other people have changed me in more ways than I can count. If you haven't seen them here they are (not trying to be preachy btw) You can't say that for 100% for any given population, white, black, yellow purple etc. I am assuming you might be referring to officer Joseph Corr? I'm from Utica and still remember it to this day. No one (or very few )want a life lost. I think there is a generational change occurring to between enforcement vs prevention and there is a rebellion from everyone against enforcement; government institutions tend to evlove very slowly. Just as every black person lives in constant fear, so do the officers who are in harms way all the time and you can't just draw a line in the sand and say ok the system changed, but you have generations of people out there who are behind everyone else. I mean how the hell do you make that right and disarm both sides?