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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I can't imagine this happening to my child (I am white); this one hit closest to home about how we do treat different races differently:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/26/opinion/charles-blow-at-yale-the-police-detained-my-son.html?_r=0[/quote]

While it's tempting upon reading this piece to wander once again into the realm of race and perception in America and engage in discussion about all the intricacies involved, I think a far more critical facet of this article is the underlying statement about the startling evolution of law enforcement in this country and how it is steadily becoming more and more aggressive and more and more adversarial.

I don't know if it's violent video games that are to blame or if it's the fault of movies and television that repeatedly depict and project images of cops drawing their service weapons and screaming at potential suspects on first sight without a hint of hesitation or any attempt at negotiation, [b]but something has changed dramatically in the culture of law enforcement to the extent that the meaning of the phrase "protect and serve" has been skewed somewhat and officers now interpret it not as an oath of obligation to the community itself but instead they regard it as a manifesto of justification to draw their weapons immediately in order to protect themselves and serve their own brand of justice on the spot by pulling the trigger as opposed to promoting the judicial process.[/b]

Walking while black is not a crime nor is walking while white nor walking while Asian nor walking while Hispanic nor Indian nor African nor male nor female nor gay nor transgender nor short nor tall nor skinny nor fat but even still, based on [b]the steady developing trend of officers being more and more overzealous in their encounters with the public and often times using force or firearms when it isn't even necessary[/b] there's a steady growing chance that anybody and everybody is in danger of having a gun pointed at them no matter who they are or what they are.  This is something that needs to be addressed.  Nearly every employer in the country whether in the private or public sector makes it mandatory for their employees to go through some type of human resource training where they receive information and instruction regarding the rights and responsibilities of workers and a particular point of emphasis is respect for others.  It helps prevent workplace issues and conflicts such as sexual harassment and race/color discrimination and age discrimination, etc.  Well nowhere is this type of training and reinforcement regarding respect for others more critical than in law enforcement, an occupation where a everyday an employee holds a gun in one hand and people's lives in the other.

[/quote]

Care to share what facts support these statements?  Can you point to any data that support your assertions about the more than 700,000 police officers in this country?[/quote]

Lol - its an opinion Matlock not a research paper if you want references and stats go to [url]http://www.thescienceforum.com/[/url].  Oh, and I might mention its a pretty widespread opinion from what I understand.[/quote]

Lol - I just tend to think opinions should be supported by facts and not be based on completely unsupported generalities about a large group of people.  Same way I get uncomfortable when people generalize about "blacks," "SAHMs," "lawyers," etc.

Sincerely,
Matlock

(P.S.  Matlock really did make me chuckle.  Thanks for the laugh.)[/quote]

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