These cops are tired of white people getting freaked out by their black neighbors

[MrScorpio]

By Christopher Ingraham

"People, please stop making my job so difficult."

That's the opening of a discussion in "ProtectAndServe," reddit's community of law enforcement officers. The poster, who goes by the handle "sf7" and has been verified as a law enforcement officer by the forum's moderators, goes on:

So I'm working last week and get dispatched to a call of 'Suspicious Activity.' Ya'll wanna know what the suspicious activity was? Someone walking around in the dark with a flashlight and crow bar? Nope. Someone walking into a bank with a full face mask on? Nope.

It was two black males who were jump starting a car at 930 in the morning. That was it. Nothing else. Someone called it in.

People. People. People. If you're going to be a racist, stereotypical jerk...keep it to yourself.

Other forum users sympathize. One tells a story about someone asking the cops to investigate a middle-aged black man fishing in his own community. Another was asked to respond to a report of two Middle Eastern guys sitting in the same car. Another laments that "we frequently get calls about black men and woman and kids, yes [expletive] kids, walking. Like WWB (walking while black) was actually a crime and not a Twitter joke."

The stories pile on. A white security officer tells of the year he and his black wife lived in an apartment complex. "She got cops called a total of 9 times in the year we lived there I got zero," he says. A retired cop recalls the time a "lady called scared to death because some black guy was sitting in his truck across from her house" -- it was the water meter reader.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/05/06/these-cops-are-tired-of-white-people-getting-freaked-out-by-their-black-neighbors/

[Hekate]

1. Oh gods. The stupid, it burns and burns.

I'm glad to hear these cops are venting about it.

We used to have a column called The Blotter in a local weekly that was written by someone very tongue in cheek. Drunk man tries to enter wrong apartment and complains his key doesn't fit the door, that kind of thing. No names.

Sigh. Now I realize that was 25 to 30 years ago, before we had screaming headlines about a crazy former postal worker who went postal, a crazy student who accelerated his car to 60 mph and plowed into a crowd of college kids just out enjoying the evening....

Still, I think there's a valid point in here somewhere. I think those cops need a local outlet, anonymous of course, where they can tell some online reporter about the stupidity they encounter among their fellow citizens.

[malaise]

5. The stupid racism

[Hekate]

25. Exactly. That one.

Enough people would get the freaking point.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

106. That's true, they do need to vent about the White Fear and how it's screwing up their jobs.

For themselves, they need it...and that's the kind of story that will ripple outwards. That'll open some more eyes, I think.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

2. I met someone who honestly thought it was against the law for black people to be out at night.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. There are far too many Americans

who live in extremely isolated and insular communities and who reinforce ignorance, misconceptions, and bigotry.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

33. Far too many white Americans applaud police brutality against minorities.

[SwankyXomb]

69. That's usually the tome of posts from P&S

[brush]

101. Yep, the ones who self-segregate. They'll never learn about anyone but people who . . .

look like them.

Kind of like, on a very small scale, how most Americans never leave the country and learn anything about other people and cultures.

[tblue37]

6. In southern "Sundown towns" it was "against the law" for black people to be in the town

after sundown, so that person probably was a southerner. (BTW, some southern towns are still very risky for a black person after sundown.)

[FrodosPet]

7. Is Indiana a northern or southern state?

My grandma used to tell me about the sundown laws from when she was a girl. Her father was progressive, had black friends come to visit, but they had to leave before sundown.

She also used to say that whenever the KKK would get riled up and start marching, that her family went into hiding.

[Raissa]

11. Indiana has a terrible history with this.

In my childhood in the mid-80s there were still signs up warning of what would happen to African American people who were out past sundown (and obviously with much worse language).

This was along the southern border of Indiana along the river. My mom grew up there in the 50s and 60s. The kkk held a lot of power.

[FuzzyRabbit]

54. The Klan used to run Indiana

In the 1920s the KKK was very powerful in Indiana and even elected a Klan member governor.

[oberliner]

9. That was definitely not just a southern thing

By any stretch of the imagination.

Sundown towns were all over the United States: North, South, East, West and everywhere in between.

[gollygee]

49. Most sundown towns were in the Midwest/Great Lakes region. N/t

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

67. There are still Sundown Towns in existence all across America. I can see how someone could

think this.

[Feeling the Bern]

98. In 1866 Louisiana, it was. Welcome to black codes!

[Skittles]

4. as a white gal who is not afraid of black folk

K&R

I've heard it myself, remarks from neighbors......it is indeed very disturbing

[BlancheSplanchnik]

107. ditto

Same here.

[raven mad]

8. I'd love to know where the fear comes from.

My folks were Great Depression era. They were scared of Russia and missiles, but our neighbors? Nope.

[Mariana]

21. This is not fear.

It is racists who enjoy seeing the cops hassle black people. So, they see a black person, they call the cops, make some shit up about how they're acting suspiciously, and then watch the show.

[raven mad]

24. I'm sorry if I misunderstood - because I was raised

to believe that fear becomes hate becomes racism.

There are a few things that scare me. Bears? Yep. Out of control assholes like tRump? Yeah. It's a matter of control and I don't do control well.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

63. It's not fear. It's hate. Violent crimes are typically committed intra-racially not interracially...

When the average white person is asked whether or not he/she has experienced violence at the hands of a person of color, the answer is typically no.

There's absolutely no rational reason for "fear". It's an excuse and a justification for hatred and bigotry.

[jtuck004]

103. Not piling on, but it is hate. Think for a minute about the behavior of someone who

truly fears something. They leave. They are gone. If it is bigger than they and they cannot simply squash it, they get they hell out of there.

They do not go out of their way to provoke, prod, kill, hang, steal from, etc., something they fear. They scream and beat feet.

When someone hates something, they stick around and make sure it hurts, whereupon they get a little charge, and keep on hurting them. They may even seek out like minds to join them, berate and bully others into compliance.

Don't mistake this for the behavior you see when someone is cornered. That is an extreme.

I am talking about when animals or humans have a choice. And it is important to know, because if they are acting out of fear, you may be safe unless you just get in the way.

If they are acting out of hate, none of us are safe.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. I'm confident that the racists and/or co-conspirators in this neighborhood

have been playing that game, hoping to trip up neighbors that they don't like. And the police and sheriff dept have played along, way longer than they should have.

[KittyWampus]

12. maybe fining people who call in false reports is possible? Make the bigots pay.

[lonestarnot]

100. Sounds like a good idea. But then what if it works ass backwards as things sometimes do.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

108. I wish they could do that...

But then I thought, WOA, but being judged for a False Report could hurt women, for example. Plenty of other people too, I'm sure.

If there was a way to lower the risk of hurting people who are most likely to be wrongfully hurt, that would be good.

[msanthrope]

116. No.....the police should file an actual report. An actual report that documents the asshattery

Of the dumbass white Neighbors.

[Taitertots]

13. Someone said it on 4chan (oops I mean reddit), it must be true.

If you want to claim people are calling the police on black people excessively, then you need more than a handful of unsubstantiated assertions.

[HipChick]

14. The Black community call it Walking While Black...it's been going on for sometime..

no Reddit forum needed

[Taitertots]

15. OK. Then you should have no problem finding data to support your claims

I'll wait...

[HipChick]

16. I assume you are not a POC

experience of black people should be self-evident...not sure why racism always need to be proved to non-minorities...

[haele]

22. Because those who need "proof" seem to live in a perfect community where everyone knows their place.

And their "black friends" - or other friends who have a lot of melatonin in their skin - just never seem to talk about being stopped for no reason by a policeman who doesn't recognize them and thought they were out of place.

Justice department is starting to pull in stats. And they're finding that darker POC's - People of Color - get stopped more, get calls against more, and are typically viewed with suspicion more that people who are lighter in skin tone in most locations in the United States.

Read the report on the Baltimore police department that just came out. Read the absurdly huge amount of reports on current complaints against Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Portland, New York, Minneapolis, Tulsa, Dallas police departments for excessive stops and targeting arrests against residents of minority communities.

The police are going after what they think are easy pickings - because of the vicious cycle of reporting about all those "scary dark people" who seem to be committing more crimes in areas of poverty - while ignoring the same amount of petty crimes that their "sweet, darling, but slightly wild because they're still kids, after all..." little Ryans, Noahs and Kaylies - who, you know, are just waiting to realize their potential - are committing in their own neighborhoods.

The two times I or my family was robbed was by white "middle class" teenagers who were apparently just going through a phase - kids from "good" neighborhoods with "good" schools.

Never had any problems living in the 'hood, surrounded by loud, energetic minority families (other than a few gunshots in the distance).
Saw the police a lot more though, and saw many of my darker-skinned neighbors stopped and questioned on the street as they were going about normal socialization - no matter if it was a group of three or four young men heading out somewhere together, or a couple of younger women walking to their own houses with bags of groceries or kids in tow later in the evening. And cops always case large gatherings or parties in the 'hood - which I never saw them do in "good" neighborhoods...

Haele

[Taitertots]

26. Prove your claims or rational people will just ignore you

Acting self righteous does nothing to support your claims.

[LanternWaste]

28. Seems denial for its own sake is just as irrational.

"Prove your claims or rational people will just ignore you.."

It would also appear that denial of the consistently obvious for its own sake is also irrational, regardless of any allegations of sincerity to the contrary.

[msanthrope]

110. You should ask your Black friends their opinion. nt

[JustAnotherGen]

111. Correction - Friend in the 3rd grade on the school bus for a week

[msanthrope]

112. You see where I'm going with this. nt

[JustAnotherGen]

117. Yep - and this woman has a really interesting posting history at DU

[Person 2713]

30. I see no reason to even try to convince posters like that . White denial of racism is their problem

IMO

[ronnie624]

19. The Bias Against Black Bodies

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/opinion/the-bias-against-black-bodies.html

Study Reveals Americans' Subconscious Racial Biases

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/new-study-exposes-racial-preferences-americans-n413371

[Taitertots]

32. Did you read the articles?

The IAT tests show the highest bias score from whites against Asians. Proving that the tests have no real world relationship to inequity.

The other article cites higher crime rates, suspension rates, more child abuse...
Nothing in the article supports the position that white bias causes these problems.

[ronnie624]

38. Biased attitudes are the cause of biased behavior.

They are carried with us in every capacity.

You're a denialist.

[Taitertots]

39. The IAT shows that whites are more biased against Asians

Where is the increased biased behavior toward Asians?

[ronnie624]

41. So if there is bias against Asians, there is none against African Americans?

That's not logical.

[Taitertots]

79. Let's look at your statement.

"38. Biased attitudes are the cause of biased behavior."

The data that you linked to shows higher white bias toward Asian people than toward Black people. There is no coorelation between the IAT scores and real world outcome disparity. I think the IAT proves itself meaningless by being unrelated to larger inequality in the real world.

[ronnie624]

91. It demonstrates bias against blacks in favor of whites,

just like every study of its kind.

[Glassunion]

23. Oh For Fuck Sakes

You've never heard of news stories where a Black/Brown person has the police called on them because they "do not belong" or "look suspicious"?

Louizandre Dauphin - Reading while black
Charles Kinsey - Caregiving while black
Guido Menzio - Doing math while brown
Henry Louis Gates - Residing in own home while black
Neil deGrasse Tyson - Studenting while black
Trayvon Martin - Walking while black
Kouren-Rodney Bernard Thomas - just yesterday, partying wile black

[Taitertots]

27. Do you honestly think a handful of anecdotes means something?

It's very telling that in your mind seven cases proves anything. If anyone else tried that you wouldn't waste your time responding to them.

[Glassunion]

29. Again... For Fuck Sakes.

You specifically mentioned "substantiated claims". So I gave you a few, there was no mention in your post that you required any information beyond claims that could be substantiated.

Now you want data, go ahead and read the DOJ report on the Baltimore PD. Page 47 if you want to skip ahead.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/883366/download

[awoke_in_2003]

92. Don't try to reason with that one

it is a waste of time.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

36. Case in point. You are one of those who will DENY that this happens to BLACK PEOPLE

If you are not BLACK, then how the hell can you say it doesn't happen?

Just stop!!

[Iggo]

59. Okay, that's enough.

More than enough, actually.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

74. You sound like a true racist.

[ismnotwasm]

104. I strongly suggest a college course

With this as a textbook. Since you seem to believe racism revolves around a handful of "anecdotes"-- why not try actually studying the topic? Your opinion is seriously misguided and under-educated

https://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Difference-Constructions-Orientation-Disability/dp/0078111641

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

73. You forgot 12 year-old Tamir Rice - playing in the park with a toy gun.

[Glassunion]

75. DU would run out of ink if I listed everyone...

Sandra Bland
Keith Childress
Bettie Jones
Kevin Matthews
Michael Noel
Miguel Espinal
Jamar Clark
Keith Harrison McLeod
Christian Taylor
Samuel DuBose
Darrius Stewart
Spencer McCain
Walter Scott
Eric Harris
Bobby Gross
Anthony Hill
Tony Robinson
Charly Leundeu Keunang
Lavall Hall
Jeremy Lett
... ...

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

76. You got that right. ;)

[Feeling the Bern]

99. Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Oscar Grant, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King

Alton Sterling, Philandro Castile. . .the list goes on and on and on.

But this things the institutionalized racism is made up and fake. And people wonder why my blood pressure is a bit high.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

72. Glad you asked...

Sources/examples:

Ferguson: http://themissouritimes.com/30267/attorney-general-report-racial-profiling-traffic-stop-spawns-calls-action/

Baltimore: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/us/baltimore-police-bias-report.html?_r=0

New York: http://www.nyclu.org/content/stop-and-frisk-data and http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/us/racial-disparity-traffic-stops-driving-black.html

North Carolina: http://news.stanford.edu/2016/06/28/stanford-researchers-develop-new-statistical-test-shows-racial-profiling-police-traffic-stops/


It's NOT about "class":

http://money.cnn.com/2016/07/14/news/economy/wealthy-blacks-racial-profiling/

[brush]

102. Keep waiting. No one is about to try to prove documented history to you.

Ever heard of Google?

Probably not since you've proven with your post that ya don't know very much.

[Fla Dem]

118. And just who would be compiling all this data? The Police Depts?

I don't think their activity reports have a check off question like this:

Unnecessary racist civilian criminal report on suspected POC Walking While Black. Yes ___ No___

Do you?

[Brickbat]

17. What do you gain by minimizing the OP?

[KMOD]

20. Some people refuse to admit that racism exists.

It's quite sad, isn't it?

[KMOD]

18. There were links included in the article.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/09/09/you-really-can-get-pulled-over-for-driving-while-black-federal-statistics-show/

https://www.hillnow.com/2014/12/12/police-chief-fields-racial-profiling-questions-near-h-street-ne/

[tblue37]

31. This is exactly what happened to the grandfather visiting from India.

He went out for a walk. A neighbor called the cops on him, describing him as a "black guy" acting suspicious. The cops came, and when he was unable to satisfy their demands for immediate compliance because he had very little English so he couldn't understand them, and could only say repeatedly that he had no English--one cop body slammed him to the ground, damaging his neck and leaving him largely paralyzed.

[MrScorpio]

37. I guess that if white people aren't aware of it, then it must not have happened.

It doesn't work that way.

[Taitertots]

43. If you have no evidence, then rational people will ignore you

It works THAT way.

[Rex]

47. If you act irrational people will ignore you.

It works THAT way.

[gollygee]

50. Do you think you come across as rational? Nt

[Humanist_Activist]

51. You don't seem very rational, considering the claims have been substantiated...

in many instances.

[MrScorpio]

52. No one is obligated to prove their reality to you

If you refuse to accept any other existence outside of your own narrow frames of referrence, the only person with a problem here is you.

You don't get to arbitrate the validity of black reality. We don't exist for your judgement or benefit.

You're free to ignore away, in spite of your insistence to be catered to.

[HipChick]

53. I am truly amazed in this day and age on DU

that any of this even needs to be said

[MrScorpio]

55. I've been here long enough to not be that surprised

Every once in a while these things need to be said.

[HipChick]

56. Very much appreciated..

[get the red out]

62. I agree

Proof can be found in news sources posted on DU regularly!

[Taitertots]

61. There is no "black reality". We all share the same reality.

Calling it "black reality" doesn't negate the need for evidence to support opinions.

[Brickbat]

66. What the fuck is this shit right here.

[Cal Carpenter]

71. It is racism, that's what it is

Not even veiled, yet apparently perfectly welcome here. Guess I'm about to find out if calling it by its name is also welcome here ...

smdh

[TeeYiYi]

77. Are you arguing semantics...

...over the definition of the word, "reality?"

I'm sincerely curious about your decision to proclaim that all human beings, regardless of diversity, personal actuality and factual circumstance, live identical versions of life on this planet. That there's no differentiation between your whole life experience and mine...

Surely, that's not what you're suggesting; because to do so would be to negate the personal truth of every person in your life, including strangers, acquaintances, your family... and your circle of friends.

As a long time DUer, your decision to make such a dubious claim has me wondering about intent. Maybe your comment requires editing to better reflect its true meaning... ?



TYY

[MrScorpio]

78. So, black people don't exist as black people alone, simply by your determination

How mighty white of you.

I would also suppose that you generally account for apparent disparities in the treatment between blacks and whites, under otherwise similar conditions, as simply the lack of personal accountability by black people.

Or perhaps, since you as a white person never need to account for the relevance of your own white skin as it pertains to any circumstance you find yourself in, under the same conditions, you also think that it's never appropriate for black people to take account of our own blackness, as a factor to how we're treated.

Your own white normality is all centering and all encompassing, is that correct? As black people, our existence is exactly the same as whites, but simply with another shade... I get what you're saying here.

Look, all of us could spend all day trying to dissuade you from your particular point of view. Well, I know that I'm not going to do that. Simply, because I know that, as a black person, it's not my job to change your white centered thinking. You've had a white supremacist society indoctrinate and condition you for your entire life and you've learned that lesson quite well.

I'm not even going to refer you to actual white people who would tell you what you can do with your particular point of view.

All I'm going to do is simply propose to you, that if you were offered to become black instead of white, all other things being the same, you wouldn't take that offer in a million years. Simply because we all know that racism against minorities is essentially a white people's problem, one that is imposed, ostensibly, so that they'd never have to experience it themselves.

Now, I know that many white people, including some here who have been trying to talk some sense into you, don't feel that way. They know that a white imposed system of white supremacy detrimentally affects our society as a whole, but in variations of severity, in order to treat those of us who aren't white in the worst ways imaginable. After all, the evidence is everywhere to see, if you choose to see it.

But in your case, it seems, none of that even matters. So be it. What is quite evident though is that you're so touchy about it. You could have simply not opined from the superiority of your own white perspective, but you had to show it off for all to see. All in all, you may not be aware of this, but your responses say way more about you than they do about anyone else.

To some, discussions about race serve as a litmus test. It this case, I want to thank you for going out of your own way to show your true colors.

[Taitertots]

80. What a mighty diatribe against opinions that bear no resemblance to my opinions

You should try to listen to other people and honestly try to understand their views.

[MrScorpio]

83. Actually I've been hearing opinions like yours for quite some time

Unfortunately, you've overestimated the relevance of your own opinion outside of your self-imposed, white-centered bubble.

Trust me here, your opinions are too inadequate to usurp the reality of what non-whites are dealing with in a white supremacist society.

It's unfortunate that you're unwilling to cope with this challenge to your own point of view.

But I don't see why any of this is my problem. Those of us who are non-white aren't obligated to accede to your opinions in regards to anything. Your insistence to believe otherwise is notwithstanding.

[Taitertots]

87. "Like yours". I've listened to you and you've ignored everything I've posted

Choosing instead to post about all the things that you think I believe because you're prejudiced.

[MrScorpio]

90. Actually all of your responses are not unexpected

You may not be aware of this, but everything you've said here is indicative of your own conditioning. Your problem is one of endemic white fragility. It's not a state secret.

One aspect of that is your utter inability to even see it. Your beliefs aren't the determining factor behind what non-whites have to contend with. This ain't all about you, no matter how much you think it is.

It would help you to cope with the race based stress that you're obviously dealing with here by simply taking yourself, your opinions and your beliefs out of the equation.

If you think that everyone else is wrong and you're the only one who's right, perhaps you're the only person with a problem here.

[awoke_in_2003]

94. Ah, the reverse racism red herring

You are so damn transparent

[muriel_volestrangler]

113. Your post could be the most ironic I've seen on DU

"You should try to listen to other people and honestly try to understand their views."

I don't think I've seen anyone on DU to whom that applies more urgently than you.

[Rex]

48. I didn't know there were white people oblivious to day to day life in society.

Must be nice to live so insulated from the common day to day stuff that happens in society. I guess said poster just started posting here.

[awoke_in_2003]

93. Not all white people

That one has been a denier from day one.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

57. So just chalk it up as "anecdotal" and move on

I find it fascinating that you are so worked up about this. You really don't think being black is more likely to invite "suspicion"?

[IronLionZion]

96. Who is going to collect data on this?

You think police are going to record into a database of each time a caller was racist? And then the Justice dept is going to collect all these database records and aggregate them into a report? And if they don't, then it proves it doesn't exist?

Your line of thinking is exactly why many influential groups lobby hard against data collection and aggregation. The NRA has gotten laws passed to forbid the CDC from collecting data on gun deaths. Drug companies and meat processing companies have done the same with the FDA research on issues like antibiotic resistance or dosage connecting to deaths.

Denying data collection helps them escape consequences and regulation to fix problems.

If the data doesn't exist than the problem doesn't exist, right? That's super logic. Works out great for people who don't have to experience it. How lucky for you that you don't have this experience. I bet you don't believe you have privilege either until someone collects data on your privilege to prove it.

Denying that a problem even exists, makes it look like you might be benefiting from it.

[BumRushDaShow]

114. "Stop and Frisk" data

New York City
Philadelphia
Chicago
Los Angeles

Many tens of thousands yearly (and in the millions over almost 15 years) impacted for just being on the street.

[Blue_Tires]

34. Epic kick

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

35. There are DUers who will DENY, DENY, DENY that this happens to us black people.

[REP]

42. Right here on this thread

Fighting reality so hard, it's like there's something in it for them.

(Btw, tho I'm white, I do know it happens. My mother's neighbor called the cops when one of my mom's friends came to visit. The friend is Not White, and obvs old white women never have Black friends.)

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

64. Yep. I see that. Thanks so much for speaking up and out!

[GreenEyedLefty]

60. I am white, I KNOW it happens,

and I feel badly that apparently it needs to be statistically proven in order to exist.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

65. I know. It's so frustrating. But thanks so much for speaking truthfully and for being an ally.

[Thegonagle]

85. I'm not one of those people. I've seen it myself. Repeatedly.

White folks just need to look for it and they'll see it. They might even witness it if they ever go out with a group of black/other minority friends as I have.

I don't need evidence in the form of internet links to know it exists when it's all around.

[pansypoo53219]

40. blame teevee gnewz, & mostly fux gnewz. fear = ratings.

[Rex]

44. I would love to buy sf7 a drink, sounds like my kind of cop.

Make these racist assholes foot the bill for sending out a patrol car!

[Ace Rothstein]

45. A few months ago I was doing yard work.

A black gentleman drove down the street. A minute later he came back the other way. Then he came by again and pulled a u-turn. I figured he was lost so I walked up to his car to see if he needed directions. Sure enough he was looking for a street that is about a block long buried in the back of the neighborhood. Never at any point did I think this was suspicious activity although I'm sure some would disagree based on the stories I sometimes read here.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

68. Aside from the blatant racism/paranoia

what an awful waste of law enforcement's time and manpower. I don't know what their procedures are but it seems like some of these calls should be getting screened out before having to send officers to investigate.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

70. Personal story about one of my 9-1-1 calls.

One day when I got my mail out at the curb, I heard a couple screaming at each other down the street. I couldn't tell where the yelling was coming from, but I could even hear echos of their yelling because they were so loud.

I called 9-1-1 to report the yelling, hoping that a cop could deescalate it. The dispatcher wanted to know the address of where the yelling originated, but I told her that I didn't know. I suggested that a cop simply driving down the street would easily hear it and determine the address.

I gave her my address and information during the call. She then said something like, "So the loud screaming is coming from (my address)?" I replied, "No! That's MY address! The yelling is down the street somewhere!"

She later said, "So you're reporting domestic violence already in progress on (my street), but you're not sure where?" I answered, "I don't know if there's ANY domestic violence! There's just a man and woman yelling at each other very loudly. Beyond that, I don't know anything!"

Then I said, "You know what? Just forget about it. I'm sorry that I called."

She replied, "So you're now saying that you made a false report?"

I answered, "No! I reported accurately, and only what I know! You're just concerning me by adding more to it!"

The call ended and I never saw a police car drive down the street. I was actually relieved!! The yelling eventually stopped too.

EDIT: By the way, I've never called 9-1-1 over black people. The people yelling down the street "sounded white" to me, so my personal story isn't really related to the thread topic too much. I mostly wanted to share.

[MrScorpio]

81. Involving the cops over matters that solve themselves is never good

This is beyond matters of race of course.

But I will say that everyone needs to understand that modern local law enforcement agencies are ill-equipped to de-escalate a lot of situations. They don't train their members to resolve a lot scenarios without overreacting. And when cops behave incompetently or malfeasantly they escape all appropriate accountability.

Cop's themselves place their own safely over all others that they encounter, and when these cops fail to make appropriate threat assessments, many times they respond violently and tragically against the people that they're supposedly there to help.

Cops have killed people who were merely suicidal and non threatening. They have injured people having medical and mental health emergencies. They have arrested or even shot caregivers and other first responders who were on scene to render assistance. Basically, cops these days have the potential to go out of control at the worst time and against the wrong people, simply because their first inclination is to make situations about themselves first and foremost most before anyone who isn't a cop.

Unfortunately, white people in this country tend to implicitly trust the police. Even when it's to their own detriment to do so. A lot of times situations resolve themselves and are only made worse when the police become involved.

As you can tell, our public safety systems are generally inadequate. I'm sorry that you had to experience this for yourself, but I'm glad that your neighbors and yourself literally dodged a bullet here.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

82. The dispatcher seemed determined to make the matter more serious...

... than what I reported.

At the very least, I thought it was incredibly rude for those people to be so damn loud. It went on and on. At worst, I was genuinely concerned that violence would occur between the man and woman.

The police in my childhood neighborhood were level-headed and seemed generally concerned with the public welfare.

The police here, not so much. I have developed the sense that their main concern is making arrests and adding revenue to their coffers.

[MrScorpio]

84. Bingo! nt

[Buckeye_Democrat]

86. I would be curious if there's been a shift of focus over the years...

... toward more revenue.

It would fit the pattern. Money above all else, especially if it can be diverted to the wealthy. Prisons are money-makers too.

If cops are given particular incentives, they will probably try to fulfill them -- e.g., arrest quotas.

[MrScorpio]

88. You can see this shift...

The war on crime, the drug war, the militarization of law enforcement, the Patriot Act, the privatization of prisons and their industrialization, the divestiture of society in general, the deindustrialization of the workforce and the use of the criminal justice system to cope with the inadequate distribution of resources, the allocation of a profit making business model as a crucial part of this criminal justice system, the list is endless.

You see it just as well as I do. We completely made this mess for ourselves. It goes way beyond any partisanship of course.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

89. Yep. n/t

[IronLionZion]

95. Good for these cops!

Oh yes, we should encourage good cops who do the right thing. Positive reinforcement.

Racists are going to be racist. But cops don't have to go along with it.

On a related note there have been cases where white criminals called the cops to draw attention and resources away from their own crimes and shady dealings. This has happened with theft, drugs, and other crimes as well. Just blame it on a minority.

[Feeling the Bern]

97. Dem scary blek men ur gonna atick mah fambily. Help, help! Eyes a skurred white pursin

hyck, hyck, hyck.

Racism is back and "better" than ever! Thank you Republican Party.

[trixie]

105. As my brother would say

YOU ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY!

This sentence may be yelled in many situations:

When his kid took the PSAT again and got a lower score.

When our cousin who voted for B. Clinton then turned around and voted for GW Bush.

When a person we know, who's kid was pre-jail and then turned to A student and all around good person, and that's when this parent decided to "clamp" down and scream at him and take stuff away.

Finally race relations in this country.

[Divine Discontent]

109. goodness, that's painful! I feel for people called on over and over for no dang reason.

I was called on, as a few may recall, because I was helping a homeless lady about 10 years ago, some rich white lady of my skin color didn't like me helping the homeless because it "encouraged them to stay". UGH. And, just this week, a lady in her early 60's, pulled up in the parking lot one row directly in front of me, looked at me looking forward at her when I saw the movement of the car and looked up, and proceeded to restart her car, back up and park 2 or 3 rows further back from me... I don't know if I was the reason, but it sure appeared that way. There was no one else around, and she parked in the same direction. I just shook my head...

[roamer65]

115. Why is it this country lives in so much fear?

It's insane.