Speeding Ticket
I just got back from paying for my speeding ticket. It's always demoralizing when I have to pay for one of those because there are always a very high percentage of people of color. If the the police handing out the moving violations were held as accountable for their actions as they hold us, I think the distribution of races and nationalities in US courthouses would be more balanced.
So, I got to do a little more fighting yesterday with one of the other Kali students. I have to stop giving out all of my fight tips, because yesterday he did really well. I guess it's time to learn something new. Rest will come first, though. A lot of it.
I finally got the upload utility working for Moluv.com. Now I can start doing more stuff with the new database, and we'll be able to update the featured sites images.
A special shout out to my angry friend Constant, who seems just as upset as I am about the country being misled into war.
So, I got to do a little more fighting yesterday with one of the other Kali students. I have to stop giving out all of my fight tips, because yesterday he did really well. I guess it's time to learn something new. Rest will come first, though. A lot of it.
I finally got the upload utility working for Moluv.com. Now I can start doing more stuff with the new database, and we'll be able to update the featured sites images.
A special shout out to my angry friend Constant, who seems just as upset as I am about the country being misled into war.
posted by moluv at 11:18 AM
4 Comments:
It's always good to try and realize other explanations other then always trying to play the race card first. As a person of "color" ( which for some reason is synonymous with being black, and excludes any other color, which in itself, is racist a bit? ) I definately notice that people speeding by me are generally either a certian age group, or a certian race.
Something to take into consideration is that police officers of color "profile" just as much as white officers. Just because you're a minority doesn't discount you from being able to stereotype your own race.
When I say person of color, I mean "person of color". Where I'm from, there are people of many different races, and most of them were disproportionately represented at the courthouse.
Unfortunately, when you heard "person of color" you ASSUMED black. You probably assumed "white" when I referred to police officers. Stop making assumptions, and look at the facts.
If you notice people passing you a lot, maybe you're driving too slow, or maybe you only remember the people who are different from you. You're going to have a tough time arguing your point when the evidence that I'm writing about comes from my experience.
Lastly, I never said that any of the people there were innocent of their citations. I only suggested how it makes me feel to see that they are the only ones being held accountable. There are criminals of EVERY race, and therefore, they should all be represented. For some reason, in Alameda County, they are not.
It's funny how whenever I make a post like this, it's always the same type of person who mentions "the race card". I bet you can make a safe assumption on the description of that person.
I'm open to debate, but at the very least don't contradict yourself in your own post...
Paragraph 2, last sentence..."Stop making assumptions, and look at the facts.".
Last Paragraph, last sentence..."I bet you can make a safe assumption on the description of that person.".
Which is, are we allowed to make assumptions or not? So what exactly is your assupmtion of me simply based on the fact that I referred to "the race card". Do you think I'm a corn fed white boy in Nebraska. Maybe a rich kid in NY with republican parents that went to cathloic school? I can pretty much gaurantee that whatever, or whoever you think I am based on 1 post would be wrong.
Just allow me to explain myself..
1. The reason why I "assumed" you referring to people of "color" ( although technically neither white or black are colors =P )because you yourself are black, and the context that the word is generally used is to refer to black people. Ex. NAACP = National Association for the Advancement of COLORED People, yet 99% membership are blacks, and 99% of it's ventures are to support black people, but not of any other "color", despite it's name. You can view it the way you please, but the term "colored" or "people of color" almost always is synonymous with black americans. For that reason, I think it was logical for me to assume that this is what you were referring to.
2. The reason I have observed and know that certian minorities and certian age groups have a tendency to speed, is becuase I am a minority, and I speed on a regular basis. So contrary to your "you drive to slow" theory, i know because I look over at the dude next to me speeding with me. And I tend to notice people of my same race more then any other. I can imagine it's the same for you. People of the same race tend to have "radar" that can pick out someone else of the same ethnicity from a crowd.
3.I'm not going to argue with you the fact that you may have saw a misrepresentation in that courthouse. I'm sure it was ridiculously lopsided as you observed, but my point is that ( although you don't come out and say it ), you are indeed playing the race card...
"There are criminals of EVERY race, and therefore, they should all be represented. For some reason, in Alameda County, they are not. "
You may be right. Maybe the police in your area are discrminatory, but at the same time, you don't entertain the thought that maybe everyone there deserved to be there. Granted, it's an ideal thought to think justice was fairly dealt, but the tone of your post clearly presents the everyones race as the explanation.
I'm not some idealist who is ignorant to race relations in america. Quite the opposite, growing up neither white or the majority-minority, black, I was and still am the recepticle of constant racial discrimination.
My main gripe is that if you REALLY want equality in this country, first thing to do is to stop blaming racism for everything. YES, its there, I KNOW, TRUST ME. And YES it's to blame for A LOT, but the more we use it as an excuse, the more it reminds people that we're all different.
Did you ever stop and think, "these people are here at the courthouse because they actually did something wrong and are now receiving the consequence", or was the predominant thought in your mind, "why is there a misrepresentation of race in this courthouse". That mindset alone is a reason why racial issues are so predominant all the time, because people lose sight of the real situation at hand, and hence "play the race card".
By this point in time, so often racism is blamed, that when an actual legitimate, and serious situation arises and racism is blamed, it gets brushed aside. Boy who cried wolf. People are so desensatized now when someone says something is racist, they ignore the times when it actually happens, and thats what kills me inside.
You suggest that the authority is to blame for the misrepresentation in that courthouse. Yet, what REAL facts do you have to back that up? Now how is that any different from some prejudice white cop assuming every black guy has a gun? That same cop is just as ignorant as you are in making that assumption. Prejudice is a 2 way street.
Anyways, this ends my gripe. And despite the fact you might wanna cut my head off right now, I'm still looking forward to the new Moluv and appreciate your site on a daily basis.
-Noah
From my last post:
"Lastly, I never said that any of the people there were innocent of their citations. "
I think you missed that point in both of my messages. The question isn't who is guilty. The question is "Who is not being held to the same standard?" Who is not being held accountable? Whether you call it "playing the race card" or whatever, that's still the issue.
You can dance around it with as many points as you'd like, but it won't go away if you get mad at the messenger.
On the point of my reference to "people of color" you can once again assume whatever you'd like, but the definition I've always held is that it referred to people who do not consider themselves "white". That in itself is a puzzling term, but I'll leave that alone for now.
"...the more we use it as an excuse, the more it reminds people that we're all different."
These are your words. I hate to bring this to your attention Noah, but we are all different. This should be recognized, and we should not be penalized for it. If you want to "fit in" and not be "differentiated", that's fine, but I would argue that people with a culture to be proud of, should want to honor the contribution of other people who share their background. They should want to celebrate their contribution to our society.
Anyway, back to the original point. People of color seemed to have been unfairly represented at the courthouse. I think we both agree that would appear to be a problem. No? That being the case, if you truly want "[keep] sight of the real issue at hand", how would you go about rectifying that situation?
That's the real problem. I made no assumption stating that initially. I just presented the statistics. People of color are not the majority in Alameda County. People of color are the majority in the Alameda County courthouse. No assumptions here, right? Does this mean there is a problem? Probably. Is the problem that there are too many black criminals? Maybe you think so. Is the problem that the justice system is biased? Being on the receiving end of biased justice, I'd be inclined to believe the latter is the case.
Either way, I've only stated my concern along with fact. You can call it the race card if you'd like, but you really should be more concerned with the real issue, which you seemed to have never stated. So, I ask you, what do you think the "real" issue is exactly?
Lastly, "[cutting] your head off" is not a reaction I'd ever have to someone who'd offer an argument counter to mine. Open debate is what makes being in the US such a great place. Now, someone can view this post, look at the facts and arguments presented and make their own judgement.
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