De Facto Civil War Between Police and the Public?

[Bob Butler 54]

(10-07-2016, 02:13 PM)Mikebert Wrote:

Bob Butler Wrote:The hot spiral of violence is racist cops against black people.

I can’t see this as a spiral since cops have always killed black people in circumstances that would be career-ending for the cop if it had been a white person killed.  What makes now different is that cell phone cameras have produced proof that makes some white people acknowledge this fact.  I doubt there has been any increase in police violence against innocent black people, I’d suspect it’s the opposite.

A valid comment.  Might I propose that spirals of rhetoric go with spirals of violence.  In terms of violence alone, you might very well be correct.  In terms of violence paired with social awareness, rhetoric, media coverage and the possibility of change, less so.  A decade or more ago, a lot of black people died and it wasn't considered news worthy.  Today we have, cell phone videos, social medias, main stream media sensing a story that will improve ratings or generate hits, an increased culture of protest, etc...  The overall intensity seems increased even if the absolute amount of blood shed has not.

I am also getting a feeling that the traditional Blue Wall of Silence is being fought with activist propaganda which is no more truthful.  In the old days, before surveillance and cell phone cameras, the cops could and often did plant evidence and lie blatantly to the public.  I'm getting the sense that neighborhood minorities are often spreading less than truthful versions of events that similarly paint the cops in a bad light.  Sometimes the video footage does back the cop's version of events, sometimes not.  The best evidence doesn't always matter in the court of popular opinion as the first accusations often stick in spite of further investigation showing bias, self interest and lies...  which have been known to go in both directions.