I'm a white woman, but I fear the police more

[MoonRiver]

after watching murdering cops basically given the carte blanche to carry on. Obviously, young, black males have the most to fear, but all of us could be the target of some deranged, power mad cop at any time, and for no good reason.

[AverageJoe90]

1. K & R. Sadly, nobody is really immune from police brutality. nt

[MoonRiver]

3. No, we're not.

My husband and I are about as squeaky clean as it gets, but I eye cops warily now as I drive down the street.

Well, maybe I'm not that squeaky clean. I post on DU afterall!

[VanillaRhapsody]

2. too many come from a war zone is the problem.....

they are still living out Iraq in their heads...only now WE are the Iraqi!

[MoonRiver]

4. Scary

[obxhead]

37. Hell, many are still living high school!

I know 3 kids from HS that became cops. They chose the career solely to give it back to the people that picked on them.

Jail the law breaking police frequently. Do it with harsh time.

That is the ONLY road back to a respected police department.

[Odin2005]

70. Cops are grown-up bullies.

[helpmetohelpyou]

40. still looking for that rush

[VanillaRhapsody]

45. Yep...Adrenaline Junkies....

some get that rush from beating up on other people...

[helpmetohelpyou]

47. Yup it's one of the things you hear a lot when

talking to a lot of combat vets.

They are glad to be home but they miss the rush of combat.

For some the only way to replicate it is to go into law enforcement .

This is not a knock on our combat vets but it is what it is.

[Sparhawk60]

65. Not True

Soldiers in Iraq have a very clear code of conduct and ethics. A soldier who chokes a prisoner to death gets a courts martial. The police (many who could not get in the Army) have no such constraints.

Comparing soldiers to cops who kill with impunity is a huge disservice to our soldiers.

[giftedgirl77]

5. Please see #CrimingWhileWhite & #AliveWhileBlack

on Twitter maybe it will help you realize that as a white woman you, are going to be just fine.

[notadmblnd]

11. For the most part I agree

But I have a deep feeling, no, I know from experience, that if I'm stopped by police and my African American son is in the car with me, We're both in for some shit from authorities.

BTW, I and my son are both squeaky clean as far as criminal and traffic records go.

[giftedgirl77]

14. Both of my boys are black & puerto rican a

run in with a cop is always a pain in the ass & my kids are 16 & 13. My 13 yr old is huge & looks grown, I'm thankful I have military id for him.

[notadmblnd]

17. My son is now 21.

the first time he was hassled he was about 11. He and a friend were riding bikes. They had stopped to decide which way to ride and when they couldn't agree- went in opposite directions. A police cruiser happened to be driving by and decided it was a drug deal. They chased my son down and accused him of having a crack pipe in his pocket. Imagine their embarrassment when my son pointed out it was merely a bike wrench. They put my son in the patrol car and brought him home. The officers told me that my son was running away from them and that's why they chased him down.

I told my son right in front of those two officers to never run from police. To get down on the ground on his belly and put his hands over his head. I explained that is how black boys get shot in the back. One of them looked at me and said, "Mrs. Bolder, we would never do that." My response was, "Yeah, right."

[nomorenomore08]

42. Maybe *they* wouldn't, but they can't say the same of all their fellow officers. n/t

[jtuck004]

36. In real life your black friend will be treated better with you in the car. n/t

[notadmblnd]

49. I'm sure you know better than I what my experience has been

thank you so much or your input.

[jtuck004]

50. Didn't say that, but thanks for the heads up. I'll use it. n/t

[AverageJoe90]

13. Both hashtags do make good points, that is true.

However, though, sadly, the fact remains that ordinary white people are actually far from immune from police brutality. 951-Riverside posted this highly valuable OP that I'd recommend to everyone on this site:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025908048

[XemaSab]

60. Thank you for speaking for the voiceless among us: white men

nt

[giftedgirl77]

21. You're in denial if you don't acknowledge that a white

lady is a lot safer around the cops than any brown/black person. Especially, young black males. For them everyday is a roll of the dice, I know I have 2 teenage sons both whom are black & latino, & the shit started early.

[giftedgirl77]

48. Yes, because she is referring to the cops.....

There is a tangible difference between the murder rate between minorities especially young black men & white women.

It is irrational to try & make this just about police brutality & not the bigger issue of the systematic lynching by the police of black men by the police in the country.

[blackcrowflies]

32. the cops bullet riddled a white boy

in my neighborhood, who was mentally ill. left him a vegetable.

Awhile back a cop in a nearby city broke a white girl's leg completely frontwards at the knee when she was engaged in a peaceful protest. She almost died and then almost lost the leg. I am sure it does not function anything like normal now.

[NJCher]

51. Not really

Where I saw it, I can't recall because I visit so many places, but there is a case now where an officer kicked a woman 14 times. I prob'ly saw that at the NY Daily News.

They think nothing of beating the daylights out of women.

They do it to elderly people, too. I think the other day they beat up some 74-year old guy.

Those incidents at "criming while white" may have happened some time ago. Now anyone's fair game for these sadists.


Cher

[notadmblnd]

6. You got that right.

The more people that they get away with murdering, the more people they will murder.

[MoonRiver]

8. Yep. What's to stop them?

[hlthe2b]

7. Not to mention cops pulling over women to harrass or rape them

I do not speed and I am cautious about making sure my lights and all aspects of my car in in good working order--If pulled over at night by myself, I will only roll down my window enough to hand them license and registration, keeping my car locked. If they demand I get out, I will politely indicate my willingness to do so, but ONLY AFTER I verify the officer's identity and justification for pulling me over with the senior officer on duty by phone to police dispatch. Once you are out of the car, face it, you are helpless.

[MoonRiver]

9. I used to worry about this only in terms of police impersonator rapists.

Now, the police are also suspect.

[NJCher]

52. This is a good point

I do not speed and I am cautious about making sure my lights and all aspects of my car in in good working order

In NJ they use this as a reason for stopping people, hoping that they'll find drugs. A student told me she went to traffic court and her case was the only one that didn't involve drugs! Can you imagine--out of an evening of hearing cases, only one traffic case and all the rest drugs?

I had a light out and an officer stopped me, which is how I learned about this. He was so disappointed when he surveyed my car and found nothing but one of those small bags of Doritos--empty. Couldn't even find a cell phone, 'cuz I don't have one.


Cher

[HeiressofBickworth]

58. I was once (1980's) pulled over for speeding on I-90 in the mid-west

The officer gave me a lecture about speeding and dead bodies on the road side and then told me the fine would be $75. He explained how long it would take to go to court over the ticket, etc. While he didn't come right out and ask, I certainly got the message that he would be willing to ease my burden of appearing in court by taking the money right then and there. I offered to go with him to the nearest police station or court house to pay the fine and get a receipt. He never even wrote the ticket -- let me go. I'm certain he thought he was going to be $75 ahead that day.

[SweetieD]

10. I only started to fear the police when I moved out to Vegas

The cops here are totally out of control. There is an officer involved killing every month, sometimes several times a month. There have been some pretty egregious cases out here too. One that sticks out in my mind was an Albanian immigrant woman who was shot and killed in front of her husband and kids because she had an object in her hand (I can't remember what it was, it wasn't a brick, but not a gun either). The officer shot her because he said he felt threatened. The whole thing was so ridiculous! & the officer got away with it.

And that's just one of a ton of examples. Obviously most happen to black men, but here the police will shoot anyone, they don't care.

I am a black woman. My experiences with the police have been ok, just normal speeding/traffic type stops. I have had friends who have had way worse experiences. One of my good friends who I graduated from college with, had cops surround her vehicle, made her get out and lay in the middle of the street, and draw guns on her because they thought the car was stolen. She was a petite woman, normal, middle class, and black. Obviously it was a mistake, but she was very traumatized.

[Rex]

12. If they are so delusional as to believe the citizens of this country are criminals

just by having an argument or recording them with an iphone, then we are all fucked beyond recognition. You would think some cops believe they are gods and if you are not a slave to their every whim...criminal, instant beatdown.

[Aerows]

16. I don't fear the police

I'm also a white woman. I have had bad encounters with the police, but on the whole, I don't fear them.

[Live and Learn]

55. That's nice. Foolish but nice. nt

[demigoddess]

66. I'm white and I fear the cops

I had a friend and we had handicapped children in common. She carried a note from her doctor because her son with Down's was self abusive. She was scared she would be arrested or worse if they noticed a bruise on her son. I have the same problem but without a note from the doctor. My daughter is self abusive and has given herself black eyes that I had to explain to the school. She's way too old for school now, but what if I get noticed by a cop who wants to make a few points? In this age we are all at risk with militarized cops.

While I realize this is nothing compared to what african americans are going through, we all are fed up with this kind of thing. In our area we had one cop stop a couple on the way to an abortion clinic and refuse to let them go until they had driven to his church to talk to his pastor. And on the news have seen people kicked in the head, pepper sprayed in their car, and we've had locals shot for just having a small knife on their person.

[RadiationTherapy]

18. "Carte Blanche" has a nefariously ironic meaning in this context.

Sad and sickening. *Carte blanche (French for blank or white card)*

[TeeYiYi]

19. Repost of DUer eridani's thread from Oct 2...

eridani (42,959 posts)

An Actor On The Way To A Family Funeral Was Surprised By The Words The Policeman Screamed At Him

Wendell Pierce: And the fact is... The fact is while we have this very comfortable, colloquial debate about it, when the lights go out and I go out in the street and I get behind the wheel of my car, the most dangerous moment I ever have in my life is when a police officer pulls me over. Every black man in America knows that when that happens, there's actually a possibility his life may come to an end and that shouldn't happen. It actually happened to me in Louisiana, dressed as I am, going to my uncle's funeral, two toddlers in the back. I had just picked up my cousin from Chicago. A 100 degrees on the road in Louisiana, I'm pulled over and I sat there waiting for the cop to come. I have a habit of always taking my wallet out and putting it on the dash to make sure he doesn't think this is going for a gun. I sat there and sat there and sat there and I realized he hadn't come. Air conditioner on, 100 degrees and I look in the mirror and I see... That's all I heard.

As I turned down the window you hear, "Mother fucker get out that car, I'm gonna blow your fucking head off." Now he didn't have the training to say, "I'm going to come up to the car." I have to tell these toddlers, "Be cool. Everything's fine. Uncle Wendell's going to get out of the car. Everyone don't move." I put my hands up, get out the car, opened the door from outside. But I told the officer, "Why didn't you use your P. A.? Simple, get in your car..." "Well why didn't you get out of your car?" I said "I had the window's up, it's 100 degrees, and I had the air conditioner on. I can't hear you." That's poor training, that he didn't know that I wasn't going to be able to hear him in the car. He's going to fire. So it's that sort of incident that happens too often all the time, that white America has to understand that Wendell Allen in New Orleans, Mr. Garner in Staten Island, Michael Brown in Ohio, is a constant all over this country. And if we're going to sit here and pretend that we are post-racial, you have to realize that I can't afford for your belief or denial that my life isn't in danger.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025610831

…and my response from the same thread:

TeeYiYi (6,576 posts)

31. Such a profound reminder...

...that racism is a relentless, every day scourge for blacks in America.

There is nothing that triggers debilitating fear in me more quickly than the sight of cop lights in my rear view mirror; so disturbing in fact, that I have no doubt that one day it might cause a heart attack in me.

Here's the thing... I'm white. I have blonde hair, blue eyes AND I'm female. So, if cops scare me this bad, I can only try to imagine the fear my black brothers and sisters must feel.

This video is a good reminder that something so frightening to me, would be more than 1000 times worse if I were black.

TYY

[Live and Learn]

56. +1 nt

[woo me with science]

67. Wow, thank you for posting that again.

[damnedifIknow]

20. I don't trust them

I also keep an eye on them if I see one which where I happen to live I see them frequently either driving down the road or sitting off the road somewhere. It's unnerving after learning how often police brutality happens in this country and what some are capable of.

[Maedhros]

22. As long as some are oppressed, none are free.

It doesn't matter if the police brutality is targeted at me or my demographic - it hurts us all.

[mtngirl47]

26. Exactly--

Whatever they do to others--they will eventually do to all of us.

[yuiyoshida]

23. I try to avoid any area where

there are many police cars parked and something is going down. San Francisco seems pretty safe to me, but its so scary that even a stray bullet might end up some where in your body. No thanks, I will avoid any situations where there are police present.

[arcane1]

29. Agreed. I trust SFPD more than any other PD, but that isn't saying much.

[pathansen]

24. Same here. However, I think policemen are also afraid

I think, since they have to deal with criminals all the time, they become hardened.

[tridim]

27. A police officer who is afraid should not be on the street or issued a weapon.

[nomorenomore08]

43. +1

[ncjustice80]

46. Bullshit. They create more crimes and criminals than they catch.

[Live and Learn]

57. Then they should seek a different career. nt

[lark]

25. Cops also have been found to have raped women

You have reason to fear them.

[nichomachus]

28. Denver police knock pregnant woman to the ground

While beating up on her boyfriend. Then they attempted to destroy the evidence

http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/denver_police_beat_unarmed_man_topple_his_pregnant_girlfriend_20141204

[Rozlee]

30. My daughter got stalked by a cop for ten years, so yeah, we all have something to fear.

We made sure to file a complaint, but Internal Affairs said it boiled down to a he said/she said situation. In the meantime, this guy would always find out her new telephone numbers when she changed them, her new addresses when she moved. He'd have his buddies get the license numbers on the cars of people parked in front of her apartment and harass them. He'd pass by her place and by our place and her brothers' constantly. The ordeal didn't stop until she joined the Coast Guard and moved away. Even when he got married, he didn't leave her alone. All complaints to his supervisors and superiors went ignored. It's institutionalized harassment and they shield their own at all costs.

[HockeyMom]

34. I was followed by an NYPD car

when I was 13 years old on my way home from school dressed in my Catholic school uniform. Oh, SEXY!! This was in the 60s. Terrified me. Police are supposed to be the support to children, right? "Hey, Baby, want a ride home from school?" They were making all kinds of catcalls. When I got home and told my (Longshoreman) Dad, he was livid and ran out of our apartment trying to find them. He did not find that car, but it scared me thinking what he would have done to them.

It is nothing new.

[Enthusiast]

33. Kicked and recommended!

You are so right, MoonRiver.

[geretogo]

35. You should be afraid . The police are there to protect the Corporate State and anyone and any thing

that threatens the State will be eliminated by any means necessary . We are allowed to exist only as long
as we can support the Corporate State . This the essence of Fascism .

[devils chaplain]

38. OK, but...

The level of suspicion and attention a young black male is going to get by police is going to be about a thousand times more than yours. A white person personalizing this for themselves is mostly missing the point here.

[Live and Learn]

61. I am pretty sure most of us here understand that. But there is no use

ignoring the fact that many of us are scared of them too.

You can't ignore the economics involved either. Plenty of Hispanics, Whites, and Asians have been killed by police too. Especially if they are poor or mentally ill. And it continues its escalation so that now middle class people of all races are susceptible.

Sure, blacks have suffered through it longer and still suffer a larger extent of it but I think the majority of us are also in danger now. Just look how they treat the protestors, no matter their age, race or economic well being.

When I see an officer (or any bully) mistreat anyone, not only am I upset for the individual but I also realize that the bully is a danger to us all.

Hopefully, the majority of us can pull together and put a stop to not just police brutality but racism (there can be no denying its existence in this day and age and recent events have shown a bright light on its ugly head) and economic inequality once and for all.

Of course, that seems like I am dreaming but I remember someone else that had a dream (and at least a small part of that dream did come true).

What we are living now is a true nightmare. And please allow those of us that have been deeply affected by these events to grieve them, no matter our race.

[CrawlingChaos]

41. Anyone who is not wealthy should fear the police

Cops beat up women all the time and sexual assault by cop is commonplace. I am terrified of them myself, and yet, I refuse to cower in the face of their bullying. Probably not too smart because I'm a pretty small woman and one punch from a cop could have devastating consequences for me. I've stopped to question cops I thought were acting inappropriately (harassing street people) and they immediately went into physical intimidation mode. I'm lucky to have emerged unscathed. I've never had an interaction with a cop that was positive.

So, in short, I think you're quite right to be afraid of them.

[Live and Learn]

62. +1 nt

[nomorenomore08]

44. I've always been wary of them, but more so now. I avoid contact with police at all costs.

And I'm a 30-year-old white man, just for the record.

[JEB]

53. Police protect and serve

the obscenely wealthy. Everyone else is a suspect. Especially if your skin tone is less than lily white. What passes for Justice is the "trickle down (the only trickle down us peons will ever get) from the MIC and their wars for profit. Working perfectly, exactly as designed. Bloody, brutal and remorseless as any empire that ever flourished across the face of the earth. I fear we are stuck with it until it collapses under its own weight.

edit to add:
The cops are experimenting on Blacks because they can. By letting them get away with this brutality they are moving on to other minorities and the poor. Sooner or later they will come for you.

[snappyturtle]

64. Bingo! If I understood the daughter of Eric Garner she said that

this isn't about race. I think she's right and we need to unite under that. Unfortunately for us, TPTB know racism will keep us split and nothing will get done and as soon as the next news worthy event happens the present matter will fade away. imho

[deafskeptic]

54. I've feared the cops for years and I'm a white woman but

there's more to the story than that. I'm also a deaf woman. Cops have been a problem in the Deaf community for years though not to the extent of cops in the African-American community.

Miscommunication with cops can be fatal for the Deaf and for those who can hear but have speech problems so I made sure I make everything crystal clear to the cops and I do my best to negotiate with them. I feel like my life is at stake with them!

I got a taste for what African-Americans go thru everyday when I lived at a apt complex with 50% whites 50% African-Americans in a mostly white West End neighborhood in Richmond VA. The place was crawling with cops and for weeks I had problems with cops due to a broken tail light. It was a while before it dawned on me that I had a broken electrical system instead of a broken tail light as I never could get the tail light fixed.

My distrust of cops got profound as a result of those days at my apt complex and trips to Hanover county. I had a job in Hanover County. I had a mild distrust of cops due to reports of police brutality towards the Deaf before I lived in that apt.

I never could see cops as helpful unlike my Dad. It was hard to keep my face straight when he told me to ask a cop for help if I needed them. I was 14 at the time and ten years before my problems with cops in my 20s. He struck me as naive.

Every time I got lost in Hanover County north of Richmond VA, I would get cops on my tail as the cops seemed to think it was against the law to get lost in Hanover. I avoid Hanover county like the plague as a result of cops after I quit my old job in Hanover. The last time I got picked by cops in Hanover was 4 years ago when I visited my ex-BF in Hanover.

[me b zola]

59. "Comply or die"

This seems to be their response to the public outrage over them shooting or beating to a pulp unarmed citizens. Their public statements and interviews all reflect this attitude. For so many years they were able to convince so many middle-class people that anyone who got beat or shot by the police was a "criminal" or someone that "deserved" such treatment. Remember how so many people just shrugged their shoulders at the beating of Rodney King? The cops assured everyone that he deserved it, so pay no attention to the inhumane and illegal gang-style beating that we all saw on video.

They really feel as though they have the right to beat or shoot anyone, and they don't have a clue why people are outraged. We have a systemic problem with the culture of law enforcement and their attitudes about the people that they are supposed to be serving. It isn't about a bad cop, or how many bad cops, the institution has gone off the rails and must be reformed.

[Live and Learn]

63. Sadly, some of the public (even some on DU) seem to think

that is exactly what we should all do too. I find that kind of thinking obscene.

[steve2470]

68. I'm a white male, and I fear the police a tad....

I know the power they have, and that there are bad cops, amongst the good ones.

I don't need a beatdown or have to hire a lawyer.

[Odin2005]

69. I'm an autistic person. I'm terrified of cops because I fear that my odd body language...

...will be interpreted as me "disrespecting" them.

A lot of cops are thugs who react violently to any perceived slight against their "authority".