I thought this was pretty crazy when I first saw it, and there has been SOME concern, though not much, about the way in which the officers reacted. Now, I personally think that they could have handled things a little better, however, my roommate proposed a good point: What would we be saying, or doing, if the student had been black?
Personally, I think outcry would be significantly higher. Do I think that is right? Well, I'm pretty indifferent since I think that things are getting slightly better in terms of cop-minority relations (Though I DO think that police are constantly profiling and are, for the most part, a little racist and sexist). Mainly, I want to know what other people think would be going on--same response or polar difference?
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I believe that television programs will air whatever they think is sensational. The truth of the matter is that police typically exercise a lot of restraint and use far less force than they are authorized to use. The problem is that the general public is ignorant to what powers the police actually have. We don't know what it is they are allowed to do and what they aren't, unless of course you are a cop, a lawyer or have been arrested several times yourself.
I am by no means saying that there aren't a few bad apples on the police force but most cops are professionals. I don't believe it would matter to most cops what color or race someone was. The law is the law, and it applies to all.
>Though I DO think that police are constantly profiling and are, for the most part, a little racist and sexist
By "profiling" do you mean looking for evidence of crimes that are occurring or about to occur based on their training and experience? Do you mean to say that white male officers should only arrest white male offenders, and black female officers should only arrest black female offenders? I personally think that this card is played out. Let's start looking at a given situation for what it is, not the color or race of the people involved and see if you feel the same way about what has happened.
I dont really think it would have mattered what the police would have done if the guy was black. It's what the media would say and they would make the big deal about it. Did anyone notice how many officers they had trying to control this guy? I thought they were supposed to be trained to easily subdue people? Better than that they couldn't even subdue a guy that wasnt physically determined not to go down. I think maybe these officers should go down to the gym and workout, so maybe they wont look like a bunch of clowns trying to wrestle a stick figure on national television.
First off, I think what happened to that UF student was completely unnecessary. I didn't see the guy do anything wrong. This incident should be made into a big deal, whether he be white or black. I do think what happened would have been made into something bigger if the guy would have been black. I say that because of how many times it has already happened. I see way more black guys on TV suing because a cop harrassed them than I do white guys. I don't think that's because cops profile, I think that's because minorities have more people sticking up for them.
>do think what happened would have been made into something bigger if the guy would have been black.
Except of course that something like this did recently happen to a 17-year-old black kind in NY and nobody even heard about it.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/09/17/2007-09-17_nypd_veteran_says_cops_beat_tasered_teen.html
There was also an incident where a similar situation happened with a black Air Force minister had his leg broken and nobody heard about that one either.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/09/airforce_yearwood_arrest_070911/
Ronald, most of the first part of your comment is right on and is easily verifiable. The second half is less so:
>By "profiling" do you mean looking for evidence of crimes that are occurring or about to occur based on their training and experience?
This is obviously not what profiling means or what Seth is referring to. Profiling is picking people out and treating them differently simply because of their race, gender, religion, etc.
>Do you mean to say that white male officers should only arrest white male offenders, and black female officers should only arrest black female offenders?
This is a false dichotomy fallacy. There are more options that only arresting people like yourself or engaging in profiling that violates constitutional protections. As you mention in the first part of your comments, most police officers don't do this stuff, so your argument excludes most officers.
>I personally think that this card is played out.
It isn't a card and it isn't played out. There is 100% verifiable evidence that some officers and some departments target based on race or other irrelevant factors. When it happens, it is not only illegal, it is inefficient and prevents officers from tracking down real criminals because their time is wasted on false calls.
>Let's start looking at a given situation for what it is, not the color or race of the people involved and see if you feel the same way about what has happened.
At times, though, race is part of the given situation. Racism exists and ignoring it is criminal and immoral. It is also immoral to falsely accuse someone of racism. As with most things, we need to find a good balance.
I believe what the Professor said the outcry wouldn't be any higher if the student were black. The things you hear about blacks are just a few out of many things that happen. My friend (black) bought a pack of gum and then was stopped at a gas station door for stealing. Now I being the more outspoken one always tell him to accept the receit at the register, so I just told him to whip it out and put it in their face. This wasn't on the news or nothing this was only between about 6 or 7 individuals and it stopped there. Clearly this was racial profiling. I mean some gum? Come on now . . . but many of the blacks I've talked to believe what happened to this (white) guy was wrong and the cops should be punished. I believe this was absurd, especially when he was screaming out and they wouldn't stop! The only way this account would have been different is not due to race but gender. If this had been a girl things would be way different, you can bet on that.
I think the guy deserved everything he got. He was pushing the cops away. That wasn't a smart move. Second, there were people everywhere. The young man resisting arrest, or trying to get away, presented a situation that now puts the people around him at risk of injury. The officers had no other choice but to take him down. You don't push the cops away or try to get away; things won't end well for you. And when a cop tazers you or brings you to the ground to be arrested, it's going to hurt.
I don't think cops profile and most of them aren't racist or sexist. Half my family are cops and they're all good people. Don't let one incident, that in your eyes was wrong, affect the way you see all police officers. Isn't that profiling???
>He was pushing the cops away.
I didn't see that in the video.
>The young man resisting arrest, or trying to get away, presented a situation that now puts the people around him at risk of injury.
Again, not in the video I saw.
>The officers had no other choice but to take him down.
This is not true. There are always other options. This is the false dichotomy fallacy.
>I don't think cops profile
The way you wrote this means 100% and there is clear evidence that cops do profile. The way you wrote this would eliminate legitimate profiling as well. Profiling is a basic law enforcement technique that is widely used. So much so there is a show called "The Profiler." More specifically, though, there is clear evidence that racial profiling happens. Some people exaggerate this, making it look like many or most cops do it, which isn't true. It does happen, though.
>Don't let one incident, that in your eyes was wrong, affect the way you see all police officers.
In reverse, also don't let the fact that you are related to good cops make you think that all cops do the right thing. This is making the same fallacy, but in the opposite direction. The reality is that most cops are good people but that there are some bad ones as well.
He was resisting the police and he was pushing away from them. There may have been other options but do you know that department's level of force to use? What the guy was doing could have "deserved" tazering in their eyes.
I've seen the video and there was no need to taser the guy. He wasn't a threat to himself or anyone else and his "resisting," if you can call it that, was very mild. Tasers have killed more than 200 people in America and repeated exposure to hem has been shown to cause brain damage. The kid was being an idiot, but not a dangerous idiot, should he be subjected to potential brain damage or death because of that? The Constitution certainly says no.
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