i can imagine the protests scared a bunch of rubes.

If ur in a poor community i can imagine "becoming a cop" might be a solution to you, i mean i hear that reason a lot from minority law enforcement.

Also like, between warehouse worker, fast food, cable guy, construction, maybe COP might be more respectable and "worth" doing iunno

  • Mrtryfe [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Black people are underrepresented amongst law enforcement across the board so I doubt it. Plus there's a stigma about joining your local PD to begin with if you're black. Also this idea that it's all or nothing with these communities when it comes to policing is just wrong. Most of these people want more cops to be around because lot of poor black areas of the country are underpoliced, and even when they are policed, it's done via harassment and such. They want a reformation of how policing occurs, too. That doesn't even begin to account for the prison industrial complex, which as long as it exists, police reforms will never be meaningful.

    Lot of black people aren't bleeding heart socialists either, who are fully conscious of the political realities they've been presented with (that's the case across the board, but other demographics still get money). I mean we sometimes forget that some of the most radical black movements were willing to negotiate with die hard KKK level racists if it meant that black autonomy would increase, and both sides would steer clear of each other after that. That's similar to the thinking with blacks that have gravitated towards Trump. Most of them aren't minstrel show types like Terrence K Williams. They're just fed up with the Dems feeding them a line for decades.

    • angry_dyke [she/her]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Really depends where you are. 50%+ of the force in Atlanta and Detroit are POC, Chicago is trending that way, too. I'd say POC are underrepresented in suburban PDs, but no longer in most big cities.

      • Mrtryfe [none/use name]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Yeah I'd wager it's higher in cities with larger black populations, but that's not always the case if you look at Chicago or Detroit for example. Chicago had a huge hiring spree over the past couple years because a lot of cops were retiring (literally taking people off the streets if they just had enough credit hrs in college), and the percentage of blacks cops actually declined a little. They were already underrepresented to begin with relative to city demographics. Even in Detroit, they're underrepresented relative to the black population of the city, and I know people over there that say a lot of the white cops are suburban.

        • angry_dyke [she/her]
          ·
          4 years ago

          I hadn't seen recent numbers for Chicago, just going by the eye test. I have noticed a ton of female cops out on beats over the past couple of years. They always look real shocked when this basic middle aged white bitch just flips em the bird out of nowhere.

          • Mrtryfe [none/use name]
            ·
            4 years ago

            Lol yeah they got that whole girl power thing going on. Interestingly I never see only one female cop. It's always two. Granted it is out west and youll generally find cops going in twos. The female cops do seem to handle some scenarios better tho. But sometimes you come across a few that seem to have a point to prove and it's like even the dudes aren't this much of an asshole