I believe it was at a campaign stop, current Ohio governor John Kasich asked the crowd if they'd ever been pulled over by an idiot. I've been thinking about that moment, the Mayoral election here in New York, and the events in Ferguson, Missouri. They are all related, and it speaks volumes about how we feel about police.
Most Americans support the police. Most Americans think the police keep us safe. Most Americans never deal with the police. Of course the police are doing a good job. After all, I've never done anything wrong and they've never come after me. Well, there was that one, but as I mentioned, he was an idiot!
Minorities, however, are not most Americans. Not yet, anyway. Then, we'll have to rethink what we call them. My suggestion is Americans, but that is another post. Please follow below the fold-
Most Americans will tell you that they believe in the notion of "Innocent until proven guilty." At the same time you will hear them say, "Well, they must have done something wrong, or why would the police arrest them?
This cognitive discord is precisely why our judicial system was designed as it was. At the moment of truth, a juror is asked to set aside the trappings of power and place themselves in the shoes of the accused. But for most Americans, the police are doing their jobs. They only harass other people, and those other people must have been busy doing things that reasonably caused that harassment.
So, look at Michael Brown! He was huge! And did you see the way he beat up that guy when he was stealing those cigarillos? And, he was high on pot- obviously a dangerous guy. After all, hadn't Trayvon Martin been suspended from school for smoking pot? These pot smoking Negroes are really scary- didn't you see the movie Animal House?
So, ending Stop and Frisk will hamper the NYPD. But, here's the thing. Stop and Frisk was not actually ruled unconstitutional. Suspecting people of criminal behavior for being black was declared unconstitutional. Again, most white people (and, yes, I'm white) don't believe that the police are stopping people for being black, but for suspicious behavior. Why? Because police don't stop them when they are not engaged in suspicious activity.
Well, again, there was that one time, but he was an idiot! I thought we were clear about that.