Is there a race problem in America?

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I’m not american, however this kind of violenece occurs indepedent of race? I’m saw many post about other people which die from cop not matter what “race” is (biologic speaking, this term doesn’t exist). Even exist a tag in Twitter exclusive focus on highly abusive cop violence.
 
Hello Technologammer, you are right that this kind of violence does happen to people of different races. However there are many things to think about when considering that point:

a) just because multiple races die in law enforcement encounters, this does not mean that individuals of all races died (or did not die) because of their race. Someone dying from excessive force applied during a mild nuisance crime or routine traffic stop is different from someone dying during an armed bank robbery. Which leads to…

b) the encounters that end in death are the flashpoint rather than the entire problem. Underlying that you have disparities in calls to police, traffic stops, arrests, sentencing, on and on…
 
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Tecnologgamer said:
this kind of violenece occurs indepedent of race
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Yes, it does.

One way of looking at it is that since black people are a minority in the US, and for other perfectly logical reasons, black people feel more of a sense of community with other black people in a way that white people in the US do not.

So when a black person is actually or apparently killed for a disproportionate reason, black people in general feel that a lot.

However, we have had members of other groups be killed by the police in really awful ways, so it just seems like some police go crazy or were not good to begin with.

It’s a complicated situation that a lot of people would like to simplify.
 
Yeah, there are few here in my Brazil which spread about this more about bad police training than hatred crime, however the estabilishiment here are trying to put this, unfortunally a guy where make a bad joke in a bad time and now are being cancelled.
 
They use, “Black lives matter,” as their political platform. However, the death of the black police officer, apparently, didn’t matter to the rioters. So maybe they should change their motto to “Some black lives matter.” They, also, destroy the livelihood of black store owners.
Isn’t our skin color an accident of nature? If you have a heart for love it shouldn’t matter what your skin color is. I have had black friends and they never raised the question of racism.
That being said we all have one creator and we are made of the same spirit. One day, in the glory of heaven, this life may seem like it was just a bad dream.
 
rudy guliani the former nyc mayor explained that at least in ny 70% of the crimes called in are blacks reporting that blacks had victimized them and that is why cops are more often screening black people , stopping them and asking for ID etc.
 
“proof” is a strong word. It is certainly not that. We can argue whether it is evidence or not.
 
Our culture in general has a lack of virtue, especially that of self control.
Coupled with prejudice and fear of different racial groups, lack of self restraint leads to violence against those people.

At the core, we have a self control problem, and racial prejudice can be a huge factor in venting passions without restraint.

We also have a legal system that has codified the worthlessness of human life.
How’s that working out for us?
 
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If a cop shoots and/or kills an unarmed black person, that is not in itself proof that the police as a whole are targeting the black population. It could just be an unhinged cop, or some other thing.

More important would be investigating carefully why a group feels (or is) targeted and unheard and the steps that could reduce that. For example, maybe cops are more likely to rough them up, which could lead to a whole lot of distrust and anger. What steps could we take to address that? And be careful to not apply a quick just for looks band-aid, but a rational, reasoned fix.
 
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YHWH_Christ said:
With the recent murders of unarmed black men, like the incident in Minneapolis, is this proof that the police are unfairly targeting the black population in the United States?
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This question is much different from your thread title. Which would you like us to answer?
 
So yes, I think there’s a problem with racism in America. The biggest obstacle to tackling the problem head-on is that racism is taboo. So the Right denies that it exists and the Left covers it up and pretends never to be guilty of it.

And because it’s taboo, racism is committed passive-aggressively, in an oh-so-convenient way that its perpetrators can deny it and spectators can enable it with comments like:“You can’t actually prove it’s racism!” or “But . . . but . . .what about white people?”

As to your question about African-Americans being unfairly targeted, I’m convinced that some instances of police brutality are indeed motivated by racism. Others are motivated by power-tripping, abusive intentions, and a lack of accountability. There’s no way I’ll be able to read the mind of every corrupt officer. What I do know is that the police brutality problem needs urgently addressed.
 
In spite of recent events which were exacerbated by some bad apples in the police force (bad apples which need to be rooted out), race relations as a whole have progressed in the U.S. in a positive way in my lifetime (I am 62) although there is still a lot more work to be done. We’re not there yet.

After all, African American Barack Obama was elected president twice in the first part of this century by a majority white nation, which would’ve been unheard of 50 or 60 years ago.

In my opinion, progress continues to be made along with setbacks rooted in a sinful mankind, but negative events always capture the headlines.

Why don’t they ever cover it when black and white churches work together on community projects? How about when black and white neighbors share a neighborhood pool in peace like mine does and people get along well? That wouldn’t be as attractive to the news networks - is why.
 
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Yes it’s true that blacks get targeted by police more, and many treated unfairly. This is a huge problem no doubt.

From my own observations and life experiences I’ve seen more black against white crimes than the other way around. I’m not a racist yet I’ve been threatened, taunted, and harassed by blacks a good bit in my life, and for what? Minding my own business yet they wanted to start trouble because I’m white, an easy target when outnumbered. In high school I had to change my routes in-between classes and after school to avoid harassment and possible violence. My wife, who is 13 years younger than me had the same problem in her generation, so much that her parents took her out of school after she was constantly threatened with rape. Even in our adult life we still have problems with black harassment and violence. I made a wrong turn in Birmingham Alabama, thought I was going to get killed by those beating on my car saying “We are going to kill you white boy!” My ex father in-law was murdered by two blacks when we went on a family vacation. Countless times in our years of marriage we have encountered many scary situations.

I think over time racism has evolved. It can and is bred by experiences and observations instead of a feeling of white superiority as it was in the old days. For racism to end now there must be a huge culture change. Only with mutual respect can things ever change. All the violent protesting, the looting, the lack of respect to authorities and emergency personnel, that only increases racism. What are many white people going to think when they see this kind of behavior? It’s the here we go again, it’s typical, and race relations are set back once again.

I can not say I understand what its like to be black in America, but I’ can say to the African Americans who are scared of the police, you are not the only ones living in fear. Life has taught me to fear as well, that’s not racism or stereotyping, it’s honest assessment of certain situations. And even last summer a black man tried to home invade me as I was taking a nap on my couch after a hard days work, lucky for me I have a Great Dane.

So in my honest opinion, modern racism is more about a culture problem than a color problem. There is not a racist bone in my body, I love everyone the same, and have many black friends. Will racism ever end, only when both sides stop the sinning, it’s the evil that causes the divide, and it’s the love in Christ that unites us. Christ is the ONLY solution, otherwise racism will only change with the times.
 
Sunbreak said:
Yes, I think there is a race problem in America. Having said that, sometimes there are accusations of racism where none exist. Case in point: a black woman complains that she waited a long time and was not served at a restaurant. I as a Caucasian have had the same experience. Is it really racism or just bad service?
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Yes i agree. I also think we have to be mindful that we are not taught to see racism when it is not there. This is antithetical to the Christian response. I think we should use the power of Christian goodness in all situations which will mitigate against it even if it should be present. Racism cannot dominate if most people have a commitment to Christian principles.

I am white living in a country that is 99% non white. If i wanted to see racism i could quite easily but in doing so i would just create more racism.

This should be the Christian response. When the bank employee doesn’t help me with a problem i assume she is new or we are having a problem understanding each others language or she is not sure of how to conduct herself around foreigners. It could be racism but a smile and a gentle ‘thank you anyway’ works a lot better than assuming racism. If racism did exist it fades very quickly when both realise we are faithful to Christian principles.

These sorts of things happen all the time. When the soldier doesn’t let me cross a checkpoint i assume i have the wrong pass and others have a right to cross. I don’t assume racism.

When a security guard turns me away from the shop because it is not my quarantine day i assume he is doing it also for people of his ethnicity. I don’t assume racism.

When a half filled bus goes straight past me (quite often) i assume the driver is late in his schedule, or didn’t see me or has had a bad experience in my neighbourhood. I might joke with the locals that he must be racist but i don’t assume it.

When sellers of produce or taxi drivers try to charge me more for their services i think that maybe they are just trying their luck or that they think i don’t know the score. I don’t assume racism.

Even (very rarely) when men tell me to go back to my own country i assume they are drunk, or their girlfriend has left them or they have had a bad experience with a foreigner. I don’t assume racism.

There are so many examples all the time and the non whites hold all the guns and government positions and judicial positions. If i wanted to see racism i could but 99% of the time my interactions with people are very positive and i know my relations with the people and friendly Christian attitude is a strength which guards against abuse.

If i wanted to see racism in the other, then my 99% good interactions would drop to 95% then 90% and my attitude would exacerbate the situation even further until everything was racist.

For me that it is why it is so important to give people the benefit of the doubt, until there is no doubt. There will always be bad apples but we are taught to love them too and very often that is the best approach. I lament that these Christian principles have retreated in certain countries.
 
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I saw ‘The Innocence Files’ on Netflix and one statement made there that was striking was that the majority of those exonerated by DNA evidence many years later are Blacks and so a Black person is more likely to be the victim of wrongful conviction in the USA, especially in southern states.
 
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Yes there’s a race problem, mainly that we still believe it exists in humans. The way we use race, as a term, in day to day culture, is not how scientists use it. I think, when we ignore the plight of one group, to show one of another, there is a problem. The only person that obsesses with race is a racist.
 

It seems to me that there isn’t exactly a race problem, more a problem of people wanting there to be a race problem so they can make an issue of it.
 
Whether and to what extent there is a race problem, the greater issue is that educators and the media and other groups have been indoctrinating the public for years that the whole society is racist, that no matter what progress has been made since LBJ and the great society programs, things are always getting worse. But I don’t buy it. People of all races want to live in a civil society.
 
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