BLM? Do they matter enough for you to step up?

originally posted by: network dude

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: network dude

Cops don't change policy, they enforce it.

Um...yes, I agree. not sure what that has to do with the OP.

Everything...

As I was thinking of random things today, it dawned on me that if more Black people became cops, then they could right the wrongs that exist within the law enforcement community. I realize that cops don't make really great money, but they make enough to survive. And what better way to fix the broken system than from the inside? Collin Capernick, yea, I'm talking to you and all the other millionaires who wish to protest something such as this. Give it a shot. Join the force, end the tyranny.

Your solution of fixing the broken system by becoming a cop is silly. Like I said, Cops don't make policy, they enforce it. Going against policy would at best alienate them among their fellow officers and probably get them fired. You don't end tyranny by becoming one of its minions.

Serpico comes to mind.

originally posted by: network dude
I am very much "pro police" in that I firmly believe there are many more good cops than there are bad ones, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think the black community had an argument. Knowing people who grew up in rough areas, I have heard first hand accounts of how interactions went, and it's like a bad movie compared to my personal (first world problems) I grew up with. So as I said, I believe this is an honest attempt at bridging the gap, but it would require a very substantial commitment from those who think this is a real issue.

This is one solution but it's not the complete answer. Once in the system, Black cops (and firefighters) still face harassment (nooses on their chairs, for instance) and achievement penalties (the attitude that a Black man (or woman) has gotten an administrative position simply because of the color of their skin... and lack of support from the White cops they supervise (I've seen this one personally.))

And then they have to overcome the negative image of cops in the Black community... because it doesn't matter if a cop is Black, White, polka-dotted or even purple, they are still a police officer and far too many have been arrested (or harassed) for things like "sitting on the porch while being a Black teenager" (happened to a kid I was mentoring.)