I see a lot of white people out there looting and destroying things. I doubt that they are part of the peaceful protests. There are always those that will take advantage of situation like the protests to loot and damage things. They should not take anything away from the quiet protesters, but you guys seem to just lump them in with the protesters.
Us white guys have absolutely no idea how it is to be black. We have 'white privilege'. Don't think it exists? Those white guys that stormed the Michigan state capitol building with rifles to protest having to stay home. What do you think would have happened if they were black. They wouldn't have made it down their own street without being shot by police.
Perhaps if the shoe was on the other foot and we were the ones targeted by black police for sitting around doing nothing. Or, getting stopped by police because you are white and are driving a nice car. These protesters are legitimately pissed, but you just see a bunch of black people getting upset over nothing.
There is a video yesterday of two cops that approach a black guy saying that they think that he is someone. They don't ask him for ID. They arrest him for doing nothing, put him in handcuffs. He then tells them to look at his ID. Turns out that he is an FBI agent. The look on their faces is priceless. I am sure heads were rolled the next day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exe_0cIle1wDude,
I am sorry to inform you, but you haven't the faintest clue.
While I don't intend to excuse the actions of a few cops that shouldn't be cops.
The fact is that to paint all cops with the same brush is no better that to paint all people of color with the same brush.
Just as not all black people are bad, not all cops are bad.
And this is coming from a person who holds a strong distrust of the police.
I worked EMS for 30 years and trust me I have been on the receiving end of racism.
The most stinging moment for me was the time that I was blatantly accused of purposely taking to long (3mins) to respond to the scene of a child struck by a car.
I was directly accused of not responding quick enough and of not caring because the child was black.
I promise you that I got to the scene as quickly as humanly possible (nobody ever drove an ambulance faster than me).
And I promise you that the child received the best possible care that I could provide.
Yet I was accused of not caring because I was white.
I chose to ignore the unfounded accusations and provide care for an innocent child to the absolute best of my ability.
So ANYONE who believes that Black people aren't capable of racism hasn't got a clue.
Now to the current issue at hand.
First off as a general rule I DO NOT believe that black people are unfairly singled out and targeted by the police.
I've seen the guy that doesn't have a job of any kind and yet is driving around in a $60K Cadillac Escalade while wearing another $10k of gold jewelry.
It really shouldn't surprise any one that the cops peg him as a drug dealer.
Do some cops have issues?
Certainly they do.
Are they guilty of racial profiling when they elect to stop the guy above?
NO, they are simply drawing logical conclusions.
In the US people have the right to protest ANYTHING that they want to protest.
Their right to protest ends when they choose to become lawless.
NO-ONE has the right to pillage and burn.
Rioting and looting is punishable by being shot on site.
Maybe it is time for the police to begin doling out this punishment.
Rioters and Looter's are not the same as peaceful protesters and they don't deserve the same rights.
I'll go further - I've seen more BLACK RACISTS than I've seen white racists. They are also more likely to have the "entitled" complex. DOn't get me wrong - I've seen and met good people of all races - and I'm equally sure there are bad people of all races as well.