The “All Lives Matter” response to “Black Lives Matter” is a disingenuous attempt to downplay the fact that the lives of black (and brown) people are undervalued and often ended by the police in the United States. The point of “Black Lives Matter” is not to say that *only* black lives matter, or that black…
Tag: Police
Police use of force depends upon the race of the suspect
It is a sad truth that the police choose to use force more often and with more violence when dealing with black people than when dealing with white people.
My speech at the BLM protest in Bettendorf, Iowa on June 13, 2020
Below is video of a speech I gave at the Black Lives Matter protest in Bettendorf, Iowa on June 13, 2020.
All opinions are not of equal value
In recent weeks I’ve seen a significant uptick in debates where people seem to take the view that their uninformed opinion on racism, civil rights, and police brutality are of equal weight to an informed opinion. That just isn’t the case. This is a somewhat long post, but I’ll try to be as brief as…
Communication security for protesters (and everyone really)
I wanted to throw out a suggestion as to communication security. I believe (and hope!) that we are in a pivotal moment in civil rights history that may prove to be just as important as the work done in the 1960’s. While that is great, it also causes to me worry about governmental interference. Whether…
Why I don’t focus on “black on black” crime instead of police brutality
In response to the question of why I don’t focus on “black on black” crime and do focus on police brutality, I would offer the following. “Black on Black crime isn’t a thing As The Root correctly points out, according to the FBI’s uniform crime-reporting data for 2016, 90.1 percent of black victims of homicide…
Trump, Race, and Police Brutality
I’ve spent a fair amount of time debating President Trump and his actions as to race and police brutality. I’ve put together this page to have my links and information I would provide in those debates conveniently available. Trump pardoned former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, preventing Arpaio from facing the criminal consequences of his repeated…
My response to the “Believe it or not, its OK to be all three” meme on Facebook
I’ve seen the following picture floating around today, and would like to take a moment to explain the problems with it. Starting in the top left circle, almost all of the people I’ve seen sharing that picture have never said a single word against police brutality or racially-motivated violence. Instead, they ignored the issue for…
My response to the “those who hate us will still call us when they need us” pro-police meme
The above image is total garbage. When the police involuntarily take my money through taxes and have a monopoly on law enforcement, of course there are some things for which I have to call them. I also use the electricity from the electric company no matter how displeased I may be with that company, since…
To my friends and “family” who turn a blind eye to racism and police violence
There is something that I don’t understand, and which I’m hoping someone can help me understand. I know people (on facebook and in real life) who don’t seem to care about the police violence that has led to civil unrest. I have people that I call friends and even family who have not said a…