Is there any question that poorer people do more of the sort of crime to which the police react? Ruling out political corruption, large-scale embezzlement, investment fraud, and fraudulent fund-raising that people of advantage might do (such as the late Bernie Madoff) and sex offenses including those with violence attached, street crime is typically what poor people do if they do crime.
People with honest ways of making a living do not turn to robbery, burglary, or drug-dealing. Remember also that police react violently to violence directed against them (such is police training, and it is generally understood that a cop's life matters more than an offender's life). Add to this, violent behavior is not good for getting ahead in American life -- not even in holding the most menial of jobs.
I do not deny the presence of racist cops or even those that are much more trigger happy around black people than around white people. Maybe white cops assume the worst about a black man driving an expensive car. After a few stops of some physician who drives what cops often recognize as a "Pimpmobile"* who happens to be black, the cops start seeing a membership card from the American Medical Association next to the man's driver's license they recognize that the fellow is neither a pimp nor a pusher. That car will not be stopped except for a traffic violation or if it is reported stolen.
In no way do I trivialize the degradation that poverty is. I have been there, and it is dreadful. Poverty in a society which judges character mostly by ownership of assets and class privilege obviously implies little chance of personal happiness. If we need radical change to ensure that working people not be poor, then let us take those radical measures, even if they are 'only' tax reform, a more generous welfare system, better access to education, or trust-busting.
Then again, it would be wise, in view of the trigger-happy character of many police, for black people to be deferential toward the police. Confrontation of the police, especially if one does so with anger or violence, can only make things worse. Just obey the police, and if you have no outstanding warrants and don't tell a bunch of lies, then you will get away with "driving while black".
*slang for high-priced marques of cars (Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, etc.) that "successful" criminals love to drive... so do many successful professionals with honest careers. Pimps and drug traffickers love to imitate what they see as the success of legitimately-successful people so that they can impress people.
People with honest ways of making a living do not turn to robbery, burglary, or drug-dealing. Remember also that police react violently to violence directed against them (such is police training, and it is generally understood that a cop's life matters more than an offender's life). Add to this, violent behavior is not good for getting ahead in American life -- not even in holding the most menial of jobs.
I do not deny the presence of racist cops or even those that are much more trigger happy around black people than around white people. Maybe white cops assume the worst about a black man driving an expensive car. After a few stops of some physician who drives what cops often recognize as a "Pimpmobile"* who happens to be black, the cops start seeing a membership card from the American Medical Association next to the man's driver's license they recognize that the fellow is neither a pimp nor a pusher. That car will not be stopped except for a traffic violation or if it is reported stolen.
In no way do I trivialize the degradation that poverty is. I have been there, and it is dreadful. Poverty in a society which judges character mostly by ownership of assets and class privilege obviously implies little chance of personal happiness. If we need radical change to ensure that working people not be poor, then let us take those radical measures, even if they are 'only' tax reform, a more generous welfare system, better access to education, or trust-busting.
Then again, it would be wise, in view of the trigger-happy character of many police, for black people to be deferential toward the police. Confrontation of the police, especially if one does so with anger or violence, can only make things worse. Just obey the police, and if you have no outstanding warrants and don't tell a bunch of lies, then you will get away with "driving while black".
*slang for high-priced marques of cars (Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, etc.) that "successful" criminals love to drive... so do many successful professionals with honest careers. Pimps and drug traffickers love to imitate what they see as the success of legitimately-successful people so that they can impress people.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.