General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: My wife wasn't fond of cops before this past year now she has no respect for them. [View all]branford
(4,462 posts)and it would change absolutely none of what I wrote. Small samples of bad actors among large groups cannot and should not be used to demean and stereotype an entire group.
For example,
Shall I compile a long list of public school teachers convicted for sexual crimes against students, and discuss how all public teachers and their unions are pedophiles or their supporters?
A list of elected Democrats convicted for a myriad of corruption related crimes to prove all elected Democrats are corrupt?
How about citing statistics showing that the per capita rate of violent crime among young black males is demonstrably higher than other groups, no less numerous horrendous crime photos of murders committed by black youth, to show that minority youth are dangerous and prone to crime, even possibly substantiating the racial prejudice of some police officers.
The above are arguments used often by Republicans, and they are wrong and misleading for the same reasons as your cited video.
Anecdotes, no matter how vile, are not proof of much of anything about very large and diverse groups, other than the apparent preconceived notions of far too many.