"Pogeu, I think we all would agree that the store video shows Brown acting like a thug. But the cop did not know this when he accosted Brown, so it is absurd for you to continue to cite this to excuse the cop shooting him dead"
You know, much keeps getting made of this point, this purported flaw in logic; it's being presented as proof that the officer could not have been reacting within his remit so it must have been an act of racially motivated profiling. It's really interesting (to me) to see this being repeatedly trotted out as irrefutable logic, thus QED. To me, it's an example of incomplete hypothesizing.
What about Brown? We've got him on tape. Was he aware that he just pushed a much smaller shopkeeper around, and then advanced on him in a threatening way to scare him back when he protested? Was he aware that he had just (allegedly) committed a strong arm robbery? Or had he forgotten that already, somehow?
Is it possible that this would affect his behavior when a cop stopped him in the street a few minutes later? What would he be thinking when the cop car pulled up behind him? Is it likely that he would assume the (alleged) crime had been called in, and that the officer was responding accordingly having seen a very large suspect with a companion fitting a likely BOLO? Would he be more or less likely to react unfavorably to a cop asking him questions, to the situation escalating? Would that be a stronger hypothesis to explain the unfolding events?
I do find it interesting that these questions are not being posed, although there are plenty of theories being expounded to demonize the behavior of Officer Friendly before the evidence has made it into the public domain.
The discretionary authority of cops in these modern times is cause for concern for anybody anywhere, especially to the degree that it is usually without any form of recourse when used irresponsibly. All of us should find that scary.
And there is never room for racism, although I have to say in my life I have seen racism on display in every county I've lived in (over a dozen) and the worst, most vicious and hateful examples I have seen were in countries where there is no substantial caucasian population. All I can say, based on what I have experienced, is that racism in the US is less pervasive than it is elsewhere, but also more complicated. And that I think the situation is better now than it was 25 years ago by almost every metric - but that it has also been made worse over that period as measured by a few exceptional metrics.
There are no acceptable excuses for the abuse of power and authority - just as there are similarly no acceptable excuses for calling 'racism' when accountability is due. You can't have cause without effect. Accountability has to be a colorblind concept and an accepted currency if society is to function in a way that discourages racism.
Aggie |
