Somewhat anecdotal, but I've never met a black criminal in my life.
I've met fucking loads of white ones, though. I also live in the North of Scotland, which might skew the results somewhat.
Clifford Smith Jr. emailed me once, but I think it's a bit unfair to brand him a 'criminal'. Plus, he's not from round these parts, so I don't think it would count anyway.
(, Wed 7 Dec 2022, 14:55, Reply)
people generalise about groups, because it can be efficient and can be useful
and experiences are valid, often all we have to go on in life. All gypsies aren't thieves and swindlers, but if you've been ripped off or had shit stolen by them several times, as your social group has had similar experiences, then you're going to treat them with more wariness than you would some other stranger.
It was an issue when I was with the coppers. Racial profiling is a more efficient use of police resources, but the side effect is that a lot of innocent black people get harassed while the white community doesn't, so it depends what you value more. To me "the presumption of innocence" outweighs police resourcing issues. It's a real issue in the UK www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/nov/15/black-boy-in-stop-and-search-30-times-accuses-met-police-of-racist-profiling even if it's not official policy.
And the issue is that it's not some neutral policy just for efficiency. It shapes how police treat people, alienates already marginalised groups, and people aren't good about separating risk from prejudice and you find they also exaggerate both risks and other negative traits and false assumptions about a race instead of simply neutral risk assessment. In other words, racism
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cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Thu 8 Dec 2022, 2:10,
Reply)