shot by police than white ones

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/10/10/3578877/black-teens-were-21-times-more-likely-to-be-shot-dead-by-the-cops-reported-deaths-suggest/

reform doesn't just start and end with the cops; it has to be extended to the courts and prisons, too...

and it is the whole system...

If they did, some actual change would have happened.

I'm as discouraged as you

IMHO if the country wasn't racist the killing of poc would not be tolerated. We would have elected people who defend the rights of all people and we would not support laws that perpetuate institutional and systemic racism. I believe the change has to start with we the people and also with a little help from natural attrition as racists dwindle in numbers.

Ya know, you could call this a "government conspiracy", even if it's not explicit. It's the cops, the courts, the prisons. All set up to keep black men incarcerated... or dead.

I think the protests are good. Keep it in the face of the rest if the country. Most might be apathetic but it might raise awareness for some. I also think getting people to vote for their interests. Or maybe even running for office.
Personally as a white person I've had to continually keep myself open to accept and believe what poc say about their experience without being defensive and then confronting racism in my daily life starting with my own family and friends. The white establishment has to stop being racist so to me we have to be accountable for it.

I went over to the website, just to see what they are doing. It's pretty disorganized. And very broad. For example, they are trying to point out how black transgender people are being killed and victimized. Not a well-known demographic.

At any rate, their demands make a lot of sense to me.

http://blacklivesmatter.com/demands/

Just not sure how to make them happen. This just isn't high on white people's priority list. OK, most white people. Here and there, some care, but not every day, not intimately. Except maybe those in interracial relationships with teenaged sons. THEY care. Heck, some of them are quite scared.

...Their lives don't matter!

Only #BlackLivesMatter!



Michael Nida - Unarmed shot multiple times in the back by a downey cop after he tried to run away



Douglas Zerby - Cops snuck up on him and blew him away without warning just because he was holding a water nozzle.



John Winkler - Stabbed then gunned down by deputies as he was trying to flee his attacker



Frank Mendoza - Gunned down by deputies as he was trying to flee an armed parolee that had just broke into his home



Brian Beaird - Gunned down by LAPD cops as he was surrendering with his hands up.



Jose de la Trinidad - Unarmed and shot 7 times in the back by deputies



Jason Conoscenti - Unarmed, shot multiple times in the back as he was running away. His murder was captured on video.

Levar Edward Jones - Gunned down as he was getting his ID. Thankfully he survived unlike the other cases.



Kelly Thomas - Unarmed, beaten and strangled to death as he cried out for his Dad. The two cops who did it were found not guilty.



Hans Kevin Arellano - Unarmed, shot in the chest after calling a female officer a bitch. His killing was captured on video.



Christopher Roupe shot in the chest by an officer simply because he answered the door holding a wiimote. The officers were there to serve a probation warrant on his dad.

___________________________________________________________

Oh while we're at it who gives a shit about this guy getting his ass brutally kicked by the cops after he surrenders. He's white so he doesnt count!



And fuck these white female victims, they're privileged so they don't count! BECAUSE ONLY #BLACKLIVESMATTER









but I get the point of this movement. While the populace fight each other over race the state can continue killing people with impunity and when a black guy gets shot whites look the other way and when a white guy gets shot blacks look the other way.

Its a WIN/WIN for the police state.

I'm not sure why you put it that way. We're only 14% of the population, but 21 times more likely to be shot. We need to elevate the problem, because it's a problem.

But this isn't to say that police brutality isn't a problem in general. I'm not sure why you suggest that "BlackLivesMatter" diminishes other lives. It's all a matter of who gets media attention. Frankly, most cop killings don't get media attention. Not black ones, not white ones, not brown ones, not LGBT ones. HOWEVER, as a result of "BlackLivesMatter", incidents of cop killings are getting reported and efforts are made toward retraining and re-educating cops toward de-escalation.

Isn't that a win/win for the general population?

What is it that you want to see happening? And what are you willing to do to make it happen? Do you want to start AllLivesMatter or AmericanLivesMatter to get the dialogue started?

I really want to know.

seems i'm not alone

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/13/1344670/-5-ugly-and-uncanny-parallels-between-lynchings-and-police-killings-in-America

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_hoax
in fact until the 60s the South was *run* through racial rape hoaxes

which sucks