In this episode of UNplugged Radio, cousin GEM and I dared to ask the question...Can we live in a society that is not police? We especially talk about the mentality of a police officer and what can possibly be a substitute for policing. This episode goes really in-depth to examine the subject of the police in America. This is not an episode you want to miss.
@40m - Yeah, don't hit the brake. =) Just pull your foot off the gas and lower windows (creates drag). Preferably a window where they can't see you are black. =(
@45m - "these people pay your salary"
I don't think they think of it that way. The government pays their salary. There's a psychological effect where the more people that are responsible for a task, the less any one person identifies that task as their responsibility, personally. As a result, nobody does the task or gets credit for the task.
Since the whole country is paying the taxes that pay the cops, to them, it's like none of us are. No single one of us can affect their salary in any way, so why would they care?
@46m - "Lotta black cops in Atlanta"
Do you think these people go in it to "try to fix/help the system" at first? Or are they just looking for power or economic value?
Honest question, no idea.
I have to link this here because it's very relevant. In this video Lil Wayne is talking about never experiencing racism.
I can't find the video, but in another interview he talks about how the black cops seemed more "racist", if anyone was racist, then the white cops. He told the story of how he was shot, and the black cops simply walked right over him and didn't care. It was white cops who apparently were like "Wtf, get some medical care" and saved him.
That may be an inaccurate memory of the story, you might want to look it up.
Oh that's what I forgot to say about the no braking thing. You def don't want to brake... what if you have a tail light out & didn't know? We all know people get killed for having a tail light out :( That should not even be a thing :(
Yep, it's just like they said in the radio show. Braking is seen as an admission of guilt. Better to appear oblivious in most cases.
Looks like a Black man here to me:
It's not black or white. It's not white supremacy.
It's corruption vs. non-corruption. It's money not race. (Well, the police are obviously racially biased but setting that aside briefly...)
Without addressing this reality, this strikes me as a racist diatribe at the open.
This opening rant is exactly the racism it claims to play the victim card for.
Hilarious to call unborn people racists. Does this guy see anything not through the lens of race?
Hey Gem, how come South Africa is always a total shithole? Is it the Black racists?
Where do you think is more fucked up - South Africa, or the USA?
Are blacks treated worse in the USA than whites in South Africa?
Yes, those are all rhetorical.
Good points on military vs. civil police applications, mental health, etc.
Note: I'm not denying racism, but I am denying it is the main problem rather than a cloak for the real problem.
@22m - "Policed To Shop"
This is what I'm talking about. The cop is there to get you to spend money into the system, at some level. CCA, the whole prison-for-profit system, it's all about money. They'd toss all the white people in jail too if they could.
@23m - White people do not get a get out of jail free card.
Guess Gem never heard about "Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics".
Devils Advocate: People of lower socio-economic status commit more crime because of economic need. Is it not possible that black people, being previously disenfranchised, simply fall into the lower socio-economic status more often and therefore actually do commit more crime? Is it not possible that these biases come from some "statistics" as well?
Are cops in South Side Chicago as equally racist for "profiling" gang members as the cop that stopped you outside the mall?
@48m - "Why join a reputation with a terrible reputation"
Geechi is right on. Being a police officer/authoritarian is a perfect fit for them. Their resume goes right into it. They are built for taking orders and ignoring the morality of them.
On top of that, the police are only now, FINALLY, getting the bad reputation they deserve. The whole "fuck the police" thing was a bit of a joke to the mainstream in the 80s, 90s, etc. Cops were still "heroes". That shit is running out, fast, even in the bought-and-paid-for media.
@50m - "No talk about soldiers?"
Same reason the Veteran's Administration Medical System is so underfunded. They don't give a shit about them once they are used and discarded. Men are already considered disposable to society, but soldiers are practically just a number to be thrown at the numbers of other countries to the people running these institutions.
@51m - "20-30% have some kind of trouble by the time they get out"
It's amazing it's not even more, frankly. It's unconscionable what they put these men through, and the reasons for it.
I see far more PTSD than I should.
@53m - "The military failed you"
Not only that, the whole system of governance has failed you.
There's a very important reason why we separate the MILITARY, who are trained to see others as enemy combatants, and DOMESTIC POLICE, who are SUPPOSED to be trained to SERVE AND PROTECT.
Converting soldiers to police is a terrible idea, it should rule you OUT, not rule you IN.
@26m - "Religion was police before police"
Agreed. Religion has always simply been a means to attempt to institute some order for society. Same with monogamy.
@27m - "Do we need police?"
Yeah, I'm afraid we do. Psychological studies have found that thinking you are being watched or policed vastly reduces people's tendency to steal, etc.
@28m - "Jail is slavery"
Hard to argue much with that, but as Geechi says, what's the alternative?
@32m - "Black folks are the pulse of society." (We feel it first.)
Really interesting thought. I'd never thought of it this way.
@33m - "Why are people suddenly all anti-KKK"
They're virtue-signalling social-justice warriors. They want to use the cloak of being anti-racist to push their communism.
Real people just totally ignore the KKK, they are fucking irrelevant at this point. I feel like even referencing them is too good for them.
@34m - "I've never met a good cop."
Well, me neither. The ones I have met have harassed me to varying degrees as well. However, I occasionally hear about a cop who rolled over on some other corrupt cops, things like that...I'm hesitant to say "never" or "none". There's almost always an exception.
@1h19m - OK, I turned my music down. Let's do it.
If the cop says shit about another cop, he might lose his job, or die (cops can set him up to take various forms of calls).
Those guys they pick up off the street, if they snitch, then the cop gets good performance reports. Raises.
It's all Machiavellian. If you remove the ethics and look only at the motivation, it's all quite obvious.
The solution probably lies in making the incentives for being a good cop line up with stopping bad cops, but I guess that's easier said than done.
@1h25m "The cop looked ashamed"
That would imply a human bone in there somewhere then, yes?
@1h35m - "Arrested just for being black"
My mom used to complain about this injustice when I was a kid. She called it DWB "driving while black".
@1h45m - What laws shouldn't apply to soldiers, and why not? Surely not all but murder, as Gem suggested?
Exactly...and what they don't talk about in regards to when a soldier is overseas Lex, is how many soldiers are prosecuted overseas for mutiny...Meaning disobeying an order that literally puts their lives and their fellow soldier's life irresponsibly at risk....Hundreds a year. There are over 100,000 soldiers currently who have served in the army and because of a jag case don't qualify to get benefits. They didn't get in trouble until the military, so...what exactly is going on within the military that's causing these soldiers to get in trouble while they're enlisted.
Sounds like a topic worthy of another podcast in itself.
1h50m - "Policing is a business"
Now this is a great argument. The monetization of policing, which I had also referenced in a previous comment (those cops that only operate to give out traffic tickets) is the root of the problem.
As long as this "quantitative policing" that only values the "numbers" (of arrests) exists, we are going to continue to have this problem. Incentives for the average cop are not in line with "justice", but with "making arrests".
@2h1m - Everyone loves the firemen!
@2h4m - "We're livin under some type of tyranny"
The Supreme Court has decided that police "Have no duty to protect". It's a serious load of bull-shit, and you should only read on if you want to be angered.
"Warren v. District of Columbia[1] (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981) is an oft-quoted[2] District of Columbia Court of Appeals case that held that the police do not owe a specific duty to provide police services to citizens based on the public duty doctrine."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia
@2h8m - I hate injustice too. That's why I'm ranting here at myself in the comments (that, and just in case you guys want the feedback).
I'm sure you guys have heard plenty out of my be now, but I hope you know at least one person listened to the end and paid attention.
Also, I agree with most of what you guys, in case that wasn't obvious. I am, however, a serial devil's advocate.
Wow - what you said about coming back from war and becoming a police officer. I never thought of that. Those with PTSD should definitely not be out there with weapons, in fight or flight mode. That is dangerous. The topic of racism fascinates me man, just trying to get my head around how it came to be - it's an insane concept that should be treated as a mental illness lol. When you think about the messages in TV programs, the roles given to Black people & the roles given to white people in main stream TV and how black & indigenous are MIS-represented in mainstream media, it's like people let that make their minds up for them. They can't think for themselves & allow themselves to be brainwashed in to thinking certain races are a certain way. Anyone that is racist can't think for themselves - it's a form of brainwashing. Racism shouldn't even exist! I don't think you guys are being bias - because what you're saying is fuckin' TRUE! It's blatant. It's the generational racism that worries me - it's up to us, educators & people in power of media etc to change it around.
Do you think people need to be policed? -
Do you think there would be less violence & crime if there was no such thing as poverty & racism?
it's crazy making - pushing and pushing people to breaking point, then putting them in cuffs when they lose it - it's a never ending cycle.
Police are just addressing the symptom - Not the cause.
Every thing that is wrong with the world is a symptom of a diseased system.
and NOTHING about that system is an accident, if it was, it would be fixed straight away.
I am so sorry that you guys have to deal with that shit.
terrible shit I'm a little teary listening to this. It is messed up!
it does not have to be like this. I want to live forever, just so I can see a day when everyone is living good & living as humans. Humans are powerful beings & it's crazy the things we allow.
Hip Hop is a reflection of the times isn't it. People that get mad about Hip Hops "Negative" side -Like all they talk about is guns, all they talk about is fuck the police... it's merely a reflection of what they see or go through am I right?
You can see how sick society really is now by listening to current "music" they try to claim is Hip Hop.
most MC's are highly intelligent - you already know that! They reflect the times - and although it can sound "negative" sometimes - it's done in a way that sends the message to people to THINK for themselves about what is happening.
So i am in New Zealand right? Do you know where that is? Exactly lol... And I will never forget Sandra Bland, or Trayvon Martin, or Freddie Gray EVER! Just because it's law doesn't make it right. It's pure pettiness what you can get arrested for. How many years does it take a lawyer to learn to laws.. And how long does it take Police to learn the laws... exactly.
I love listening to your talks. Because these conversations happen less & less. They don't happen enough.
This is not the way humans are supposed to live.
This is a long ass comment. Hope some it makes sense. I think I am mainly just agreeing with what you are saying. Good episode!
"Police are just addressing the symptom - Not the cause.
Every thing that is wrong with the world is a symptom of a diseased system.
and NOTHING about that system is an accident, if it was, it would be fixed straight away."
I'm loving all these points. Couldn't agree more.
I post a lot about police brutality and police corruption (perhaps too much), but its true - the problem is top down corruption, not racism of Jimbo the dufus Sheriff.
Although Jimbo can still be an existential pain in the ass.
"This is a long ass comment..." I just died laughing at that part. Thank you so much for your honest feedback. To even reply to this in a subtle tone would do the reply an injustice. I would love to read this on the show, in a classy way of course and we don't have to necessarily point out that you wrote it. What you said made me grin from ear to ear while reading. It was BEAUTIFUL man. You understood me and reiterated that you "overstood" me. I love that. Thank you Kay. Uh oh...STEEM CRUSH. ;) You get a Steem crush, You get get a steem crush, and you, and you, EVERYBODY GETS A STEEM CRUSHHHH!!!!
Wow I just laughed like a girl - that's never happened before! Oprah gifs are way too hilarious haha!
Hold on..you laughing like a girl has never happened before? LoL
i shouldve upvoted the main post a bit more so have it here instead
Thank you for upvoting our ridiculous comments lol
i luv ridiculous comments lol
its why im here
On a serious note though, thank you for your comment! You are most welcome to read any of what I said on your shows. Your shows are dope! Look under your seats.. EVERYBODY GETS A STEEM CRUSH!!!!
Re-steeming to bookmark. Going to listen tonight.