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Someone Asks Black People To Share The Most Ridiculous Reason They’ve Been Stopped By The Police, They Deliver (30 Tweets)
Racial profiling is a longstanding and deeply troubling national problem many innocent people have become subjected to. It’s when law enforcement and security target people of color in often humiliating, frightening, and inhumane circumstances without any evidence of crime. Not only is it severely damaging to its victims, alienating to communities, and inherently ineffective, it’s also patently illegal.
But despite all the claims that the US now lives in a “post-racial era,” the real-life stories from people of color tell a very different story. So when William Kimeria, a software engineer from San Francisco, asked “Black people, answer this with the most ridiculous reason you have been stopped by police,” on his Twitter, it immediately resonated with many people online.
William’s thread soon went viral, amassing 39.2k likes from people sharing all kinds of heartbreaking stories of being unrightfully disturbed by the police. “Mine is 'not waiting the requisite amount of time between indicating a lane change and changing lanes,'” said the thread’s author, and it became obvious this is just the tip of a giant racist iceberg that rots society from the inside out.
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For every one of these, there is also someone in the neighbourhood who called the cops for no reason other than "black person present".
The software engineer also said that even knowing all that, he was genuinely shocked by some of the stories people posted. “There is also a lot of regional variation (I noticed that some of the most extreme incidents were in the midwest),” William added.
“I think this is a consequence of unaddressed structural racism and structures that are built upon that, as well as stereotypes about black people that justify whatever treatment is meted out to them. Police are a reflection of the society that they live in, along with all its biases and inequalities.”
My daughter in kindergarten drew up her own ID and gave herself an alias.... I don't think it would fly but it's the only ID she carries...
i had a black friend over at my house and he was just looking at the pond and all of the sudden a police officer just pulled up on him and tryed to arrest him for having drugs and all he was doing was eating sour patch kids. i saw this whole thing its so stupid. so i went over and said "hey dude can i have some sour patch kids" and hes like "sure". and then i walked up to the police and said "here you want one, its watermelon flavored" he walked away.i dont even know if that was a police officer bc im pretty sure there a little smarter than that. oh yea it was the pond my grandpa owned btw and it was only a few blocks down
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The only ID I had at that age was my passport. Something I’m told a lot of Americans don’t possess.
i can already see the "lots of americans have passports wtf do you mean" replies rolling in, so let me explain why DogMom is right. 42% of Americans (or roughly 140 million) have passports, while 58% of Americans (roughly 200 million) do not. that's a LOT of people.
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Children in the States DON'T get a ID? When do you get one? I got mine at (i don't know for certain) about 3 months old. Earliest we still have is my ID when I was 4yrs old. Please explain US custom to me.
There was an actual study I read during graduate school that determined when individuals were show a two pictures, one of a white child and one of a black child, both of the same age, individuals in the study would automatically age the black child by 4+ years. After reading the findings of that study, stories like this punch me in the gut, because these are just innocent kids being forced to behave as little perfect adults to keep themselves safe.
Wait, your children that go to schools don't have ID's? In my country it is a legal obligation for everyone that is above 6 years old to ALWAYS, EVERYWHERE carry their ID with them and show it to police officers if asked. For children it's mostly used in cases when child is walking alone (to check if they aren't in danger and why parents aren't with them) and they need to find your name, parents and address. I can't imagine how asking your teenage daughter to show her ID is racist. If that's the case, then there were some seriously racist police officers in my city! I'm white and I had to show my ID about five times a year when walking alone aged 6-18. It's completely normal. I don't know why in USA children don't have any ID or school ID, it's literally for their safety and kidnapping prevention
William also thinks that there is also “an additional incentive in cities where a significant portion of the city funds come from traffic fines (this is what we saw in Ferguson, MO). In those areas, police are incentivized to target the people with the least amount of power and who are least likely to complain,” he explained.
When asked how could law enforcement earn back trust from society, William said he “doesn’t think people are going to trust law enforcement without some serious accountability as well as re-thinking what exactly the role of police is.”
Wait, it was suspicious that they were 18 and not already having a criminal record??? Jeezuz effing crist what is wrong with those people.
“On the accountability front, the one stop I mentioned is one of many that happened to me between the early '90s and the early 2000s in the Boston Metro area. I have only ever received one ticket (doing 42 MPH in a 35 MPH zone, and the cop lied),” the thread’s author recounted.
“In 2004, the Boston Globe and Northeastern University released a comprehensive study of racial profiling in traffic stops, with a metro area by area breakdown that pretty much validated what most black people knew.”
“For example, MA State Troopers at the time were found to have the least disparity in traffic stops between different demographic/age groups. Also, the standards to be an MA State Trooper are much higher (education, psych evaluations, etc.) That squares with my experience. At the time, State Troopers were considered tough but fair. There were huge disparities based on race between other metro area police forces.”
William explained that this “report landed like a bomb and triggered changes where police had to start recording demographic data of whom they stopped, and suddenly, like that, I stopped getting 'randomly' stopped.” He added that he didn’t have a single DWB stop between then, 2004 or so, and when he left the state in 2013.
However, William sees a looming complex problem still taking place nationwide, as “even in MA, some police departments pushed back against the report. Police departments have fought accountability at every level.”
“Bad cops are protected, and when bad cops are fired or let go, it is very easy for them to find a job at another police department (this was the case with Timothy Loehmann, who murdered 12 year old Tamir Rice). Derek Chauvin (who murdered George Floyd) had a string of past incidents in his disciplinary record, one of which was eerily similar to the way he killed George Floyd.”
William concluded that “there are no comprehensive hiring standards for police officers at a state or federal level, it is city by city,” which makes it all the more problematic.
The cop just saw a black man with a white kid in a car, which is obviously a sure sign of a crime in progress. [sarcasm : off]
But there is also the larger problem of heavy militarization of police. William sees that it has to do with “a mindset where police see themselves apart from society (in a lot of cases, police do not live in the same precincts that they are tasked with patrolling). The mindset issue can be seen in the fact that one of the most popular trainers of police (Dave Grossman) teaches a course touting 'Killology,' which is intended to lower police inhibitions to kill suspects.”
She was pulled over for smiling, which, apparently is suspicious, while another poster was stopped for not smiling, also suspicious. Disgusting.
“When police are taught to see the people they police as an 'enemy' population (Killology is more appropriate as something taught to the military), bad things are going to happen, especially when that population does not look like them,” he explained and added that “American police kill a staggering amount of black people, but they also kill a staggering amount of white people too (larger in absolute numbers than the total amount of black people they kill, but once population size is accounted for, the rate at which they kill black people is higher).”
“Both those rates are much higher than all other developed nations in the world, and higher than a lot of developing countries,” William said.
this is terrible. these cops need to be fired... how do they even get away with this stuff?? it's rediculous and disgusting...
The American Psychological Association notes that research psychologists have studied the psychological effects of racial profiling and found that “victim effects” of racial profiling include post-traumatic stress disorder and other forms of stress-related disorders, perceptions of race-related threats, and failure to use available community resources.
According to criminologist Scott Wortley: “To argue that racial profiling is harmless, that it only hurts those who break the law, is to totally ignore the psychological and social damage that can result from always being considered one of the 'usual suspects.' Realizing the sheer level of humiliation it puts on the innocent citizens is a crucial step in erasing the practice of racial profiling, which has been continually ignored."
Yup, up to getting to work on time...a terrible crime. What is wrong with these idiots? How can so many be so ignorant?
Meanwhile, Rachel Godsil, a director of research for the Perception Institute, says that racial profiling has a direct impact not only on its victims, but on the entire dynamics of the community. "Even if it happens to someone that doesn't look like you, it's a harm to the community," she said. These are especially true in countless calls about a "suspicious person" that in reality don’t involve any suspicious activity. Most often, it’s just a person of color walking down the street.
You "littered" by putting the appropriate item(s) into a recycling container?
You better be careful with nervous cops. Before you know it they will execute you because "they were in fear of their on life". Valid excuse, dozens of cops have gotten away with it.
I once got robbed just outside the gate of my campus, reported it...had to wait about an hour with campus police until they told me they can't do anything since it's "outside of campus" and then went to the police where I was told, "why did you take so long to report it? We can't do anything now". Not once did anyone ask if we (my friend and I) were okay.
Note: this post originally had 68 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
When will all US citizens understand that the US is not the great free country they always brag about?
We know. And if we didn't, the daily BP posts about how crappy we are remind us.
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I couldn't read all of them, but at least we don't have to say their names. I have been stopped once. I am adopted,, I am black and my parents and sibling are white. My dad took me to the front of a concert and when we came back, Police Officers came up and had their hands on their guns, asking my dad if he was sure I was his kid because "She's black and looks dangerous." I was 6-7.
"Looks dangerous"? How tf can a seven year old look dangerous?!
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Once i was walking with my 50yo white mother then we passed by policemen checking young colored people. She just rushed toward them, asking outraged: "Do you want to see my ID too? Here is my ID! You don't want to check my ID?!". She was already my hero but this made me even prouder, the policemen faces were priceless.
All of these are wrong, so very very wrong. Power corrupts and so does bigotry. I applogise for all us lilly white decent people. We do exist, honest.
I have been driving in the UK for 20 years, since I was 17. I haven't been stopped by the police EVER during that time. My best mate who I have known since we were 11 is black. He works for a University and drives a pretty nice but perfectly common Mercedes saloon, pretty similar to my mid-range BMW actually. I have lost count the number of times over the years he said to me "sorry I'm late, got pulled over". It must be a dozen or more. It's just absolutely sickening this happens so much even in a supposedly non-racist country like the UK.
Supposedly is the key word. Canada supposedly isn't racist. US supposedly wasn't supposed to be. Etc etc etc. I'm pretty sure the main thing is that the US is getting the headlines, based on what fam in Canada tell me that is NOT in the world news....
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Words can't describe the way I feel...so instead: 0-978_actu...26-png.jpg 
For the white people who say things like these have happened to them, not just POC, how do you feel about it? What did you do about it? Do you have any stories of whites doing nothing wrong who were beaten or killed by police? I'm seriously interested.
No member of my (white) family has ever had this happen to them, same for my white friends, and I can’t even recall a time I was pulled over while driving or in the car with a white driver.
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I got through 30 before I had to stop. This is infuriating. I am white and have never had a bad experience with the police. My experience should be that for everyone. Your skin color only affects your physical appearance it doesn’t define you as a person. This behavior from police, from people needs to stop now.
My husband is black, I'm not. He got pulled over once in his rusty, dusty pick up truck. We live in a mostly white area. Cop gets out gun drawn asking "who's truck is this!" Those were the first words out of his mouth. Didn't ask for a license or registration or say anything about why he was pulled over. I guess black men can't go deer hunting in rural white America.
All of these are so bad... it just seems like these cops have either nothing to do at all but to be nit-picky on tiny things like how long a signal light was on for, or many are extremely racist and will find any means to justify being able to flex their power over a person of color. Either way I think it's pretty clear police budgets should be changed to employ more 'peace officers' who deal with non-violent complaints and who have the necessary training to deal with all of these communities that are starting to hate police.
This was awful to read. I am not surprised by any of these incidents. Just extremely sad. I am so sorry for all of you that you had to experience any of these incidents.
I literally had a state patrolman stop at my house today and the only emotion I felt as I opened the door was curiosity. He was there to ask if we had a horse out. Reading all of these, it is just surreal how different MY experience is to that of the average black person minding their own business. That is just so deeply and fundamentally wrong and I have no idea how to even begin to fix something so broken.
Reading this makes me embarrassed, sickened, appalled and so many other emotions. No wonder people of color are chanting 'defund the police.' I don't think it could be any more clear that the entire US policing system needs a major overhaul. Due to my very sheltered and privileged life, I've never been in a position to speak out in any of these kinds of situations, and I can honestly say I had no idea things were THIS bad. I just hope with the recent changes in government leadership, we can pass some meaningful reforms.
Made an account just to add to the mess. I'm half black and have encountered some of these instances. One time, I was trying to get to my exit off a highway (only 2 lanes wide per side) and there was a huge SUV in the lane I needed to get into. Got into the next lane and make my exit. Cool. A cop pulls me over because "even though he saw that I was trying to move over safely he didn't think I waited long enough" , which would mean I would miss my exit. I was legit 3 car lengths away from the other vehicle before I merged into the other lane. The second time, about 2 weeks later, I was on an interstate by myself. Saw a car running close to me from behind, then they pulled off a bit , then they went into another lane, then they turned their lights off for some minutes even though we are traveling 65mph together at night. Then they slammed on their brakes, then came close to me again. I exited to the local roads. There was not enough time for both me and this car to exit together since another vehicle was approaching but that other car was right behind and almost slammed into my backside. Turned out the erratic driver was a state trooper that pulled me over for a license plate light being out. The light was not out and operational. Another time, some cops stopped me because the license plate cover hid the slogan of the state, hundreds of cars had license plate covers that hid the slogan in my area alone. I also want to know I was driving a 200s corolla and kept getting stopped at night. If my boyfriend wasn't in the car, not sure if I would have made it out.
Whut? the slogan on the plate has to be visible by law? I thought it was just a fun-gimmick on the plates! (not US, so sorry for ignorance)
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I had a black friend who was stopped for running while black. He was literally exercising in his running clothes. I had another who got pulled over because he filled up his nice car at the towns cheapest gas station which is adjacent to the are of town that people call criminal gardens for very good reasons. But I (white) have been pulled over bullshit reasons in the same neighborhood. They gave me a fixit ticket because they claimed my brand new windshield which still had the blue tape on it was cracked. I've also been pulled over for driving 5 miles an hour under the speed limit at 1 am and because I drove a car that looked like it came off the set of the fast and the furious. Police are trained to profile.
This was down in Nashville a few years ago I was with my boyfriend at the time, his best friend, and his girlfriend (white) and I’m also white. We got pulled over for a tail light being out. One cop pulled us over and shortly after 2 more cars came. Two cops came to the passenger side window where I was sitting and the girlfriend was sitting directly behind me. They asked us if we were ok and asked us how we knew the guys. They said if we need to step out to talk to them in private we can. I was confused as to why we were being asked these questions. They let us all go after they wrote a ticket for the tail light. And the girlfriend and I were talking out loud about how weird that was and my boyfriend said “it’s because we are black and y’all are white.”
Oakdale, California, USA. Cowboy capital of the World. Been stopped more than 10 times for having my trailer ball obscure the view of my license plate. Nearly 10% of the trucks in this town have this same offence, but I get pulled over for it.
These stories amazed and horrified me. I feel I've been walking through my life not only with privilege but with blinders
Running on a college campus. I must be running from something, right? I couldn't possibly be trying to get out of the winter, Albany weather as fast I could? Driving EXACTLY the speed limit. I looked to cautious. Driving 20 in a 25 MPH zone. This time, the cop flat out acknowledged the real reason is that my car was the same make as one reported stolen in the area... even though the plates didn;t match at all. Oh... I'm white.
I was once pulled over because the plates in my car didn’t immediately come back on a random plate check. I had just purchased the car from my grandmother. Know what happened to me? Same thing that happened to everyone else here. Oh, they had their hands on their guns when coming up to my window too. Know how to not get into trouble with the cops? Follow orders and be polite. I’ve been pulled over multiple times in my life. Once my muffler was too loud because it was falling off. Once for rolling through a stop sign. For the aforementioned time. And another because my tab was hard to read. I only got a ticket on the stop where I mouthed off to the cop. 😐
Lots followed orders and still had to deal with b.s. Do a little research and don't be so quick to imply that people who got shot by cops were doing something wrong.
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This makes me sick. It's so unfair and clearly racist, yet nothing is done about it. I would never be stopped in my car for "aggressive eye contact" or "suspicious posture". Disgusting
Got pulled over for "failure to stop before leaving a driveway" once. Another time pulled over and asked if I had any bats in the car. I told him they were asleep and only fly off at night. Got felony stopped on that one. By the way... I'm white as f**k. Asshole cops are assholes to everyone.
Oh yeah, just like the time a police officer questioned me for carrying a big bag of groceries on the street, because who in their right mind would walk from the store to their house, right?? :I
Maybe all black people should wear body cams. Then researchers can randomly select footage from a bunch of people and say, “See? Here are five black people committing crimes...and ten thousand more black people doing nothing wrong at all and just trying to live their damn lives. You know, like everyone else.”
Sitting in the car as a passenger. I got pulled over for a broken tail light and my boyfriend was with me. Cop just gives me a ticket and then made us sit there for an hour while he harassed my boyfriend about his identity. Literally for just sitting in the car during a normal traffic stop. I had another friend back in 2007 who was shot multiple times and killed by the cops for picking up his wallet.
I have only read 8 so far and I'm so angry. What the actual F@$k. Seriously you reading this from the US your country is f@$ked in the head and so are all of you who sit around allowing this to happen. There is nothing great about your country. Get your f@&kin country sorted out.
This is utterly painful to read. As a white cis female, I have had a few instances with the police and nothing like this has ever happened to me. Not even close. It took me until 2020 to truly understand what white privilege really is. I apologize for the fear and anxiety that any poc has had to endure. The simple fact that you have to teach your children to interact with the police differently due to racial profiling is abhorrent. It's long past time for change!
I'm a white dude who's has some idea of how cops target black people (of course I don't know what it's like) and knows it's not right. I'm also a white dude with an anxiety disorder. This triggered my anxiety at about number 3, but I forced myself to read them all. There is so much wrong in the US right now. So much wrong.
god these are sickening. the idea that people hire people like this, and do nothing about it is disgusting. people that are this blatantly racist should have no position of authority over anyone
My mom taught me, "WE ALL BLEED RED". Unfortunately, my mom didn't teach the *world*.
These are so messed up I'm so many ways. I'm brown and I got stopped because I have a small tree freshener hanging in my rear view mirror, stopped another time for a "tail light that's out" and was told because he stopped me he have to give me a ticket for something, another time stopped because I "ran a light" the officer tried to tow my car saying I don't have insurance the card I have isn't valid. I had to walk to a printing shop and get one faxed. He gave me a time limit before he towed it. Then some hours later he went to my house and dropped off two tickets in my mailbox. Court wouldn't believe that.
These all boil down to one single reason, racism. Cops using their power to harass people, making their lives miserable purely because they can and they want to. Since George Floyd was murdered it has become apparent, even to white people, just how racist society actually is. There is nothing like experiencing this hatred, however, but I think there is a little more understanding than there was. People are shocked..
Since George Floyd's case? That certainly started a new wave for sure, but the awareness you're talking about has been there even 20 years ago and before. I remember because I was old enough. None of this is new.
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If you're disgusted by these events, then don't just read it and move in. Do something more. Educate yourself, educate others, talk about race and equity--even when it's uncomfortable--learn when to listen and when to speak, volunteer at a non-profit. The only way we can change the system is through collective action.
All I have ever wanted in my life is to be able to live without fear and what's going on right now is making that very difficult. I live in a small town in Texas and have had to go through some situations like the ones in this article. I have also had the privilege of knowing some of the sweetest and most capable members of law enforcement. All I want everyone to take from this is that these things happen. They have happened for many many years. All lives matter, absolutely, but not all lives are being taken on a daily basis for ridiculous reasons. My father was throwing newspapers and had four carloads of police officers sent to figure out what he was doing. A white man actually pulled a gun on my father and nothing happened to him. There is good in every race and there is bad in every race. It's time for all people to come together to do something about that.
Police should be trained, fingerprinted, and state licensed/certified just like other professionals, such as teachers, plumbers, etc. Police who violate protocols and certification standards should lose their certification. This would include all government security/police forces such as deputies, sheriffs, patrol officers, etc. Nearly any licensed/certified professional who exhibited these types of behavior would be immediately dismissed. Police have way too much protection. If a city was 40% black and 50% white and 10% other, then the demographics of those receiving tickets would match so that 40% of those tickets would be black, 60% would be white, and 10% would be other. If the propotions do not match, then something is clearly ethically and morally wrong. Malcolm Gladwell's book, "Talking to Strangers," explains how policing in the U.S. has evolved downward over the past several decades. It's a must read, especially for police trainers and those who oversee policing.
This is just painful to read, and I am just reading it!! Can't even understand how it is to life like that, every-single-f*****g-day! You would think that a country that is so full of itself would change s**t around ... I don't know.. 100 years ago? Absolute bullshit all of this, really. Just makes me wanna come over and give them what for!!!!
Moral of the story? When you see a cop in public, get down on your knees w ur hands in the air (To make them CoMfOrTaBle ArOuNd A bLaCk PeRsOn) and smile like a fcking idiot
Well, there was this one football player who took a knee, and he was called an Son if a B
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In the laaaaannnd of the freeeeeee and the hoooome of the braaaaaaaave. E pluribus unum.
I’m convinced that the Number 1 job of Klan members is ‘cop’. They do this s**t just to one-up their Klan buddies on the force. Btw, I’m white.
No, that's too simple. I'm really sure that many of the cops don't even notice their own bias. Of course, there are always bastards who DO know and want it that way, but there's probably many who just learned that Black = dangerous/criminal. And why did they learn that? Well, thought-experiment: you train with a veteran cop. You two pull over 100 people, and 50 of them have some criminal/misdemeanor on their name. Now, of those 100 people, 80 are not-white. Even if the criminal/non-criminal rate in everyone pulled over is 50:50, you would have a much greater percentage of non-white people being caught as criminals. Not because they have more criminal behaviour, but simply because you check them more often! And young cops learn that bias even subconsciously, and they see "Oh, wow - our statistics show that non-white people are more likely to be criminals, so I'll have to pull them over more often!" and so they repeat the circle while white criminals go about (often) unbothered.
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I've tried for years to find it in my heart to give cops the benefit of the doubt but no more!! These stories make me physically ill!!!!
I'm not trying to justify anything, but a lot of times, it's probably a self-fulfilling prophecy for the cops. They *think* that the non-white people are more likely to do something wrong, so they pull them over more often statistically. And because they pull over more non-whites, they automatically find more non-white people with some warrant or other legal issue that way. Which confirms their (wrong) belief that the non-whites are more criminal because 'Colour'. Even if they start their job with clear intentions of being good and fair, the more 'evidence' they find about their profiling, the more they'll profile and it gets worse and worse.
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To anyone who was rightfully outraged, and to every anti-racist reading this, I wanna invite you to join the anti-racism Facebook group, Let's Talk About Racism. Join us for discussion, discourse, support and endless opportunities to educate yourself as a not-black ally. We recently had an interview with Levi Roots and will be hoping to have further conversations with other well known black personalities. facebook.com/groups/282366472851179/?tsid=0.1877232829583635&source=result
The group is run by black people btw, it's not a cringe virtue signally white person thing
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Racism is evil and it's horrendously common in the US it seems. I can't understand why police don't undertake de-escalation training and discrimination training (as it not to discriminate rather than discriminate which is what they seems to be trained to do).
I once slightly hit a car in the rear. It was my fault the driver of the car was a black man. I'm a white women. I was 23 at the time. The cop gave the the man a ticket for harassing me and I got asked on a date. I did not get a ticket even though I admitted it was my fault and all the guy did was knock on my window for insurance information. The man then sued me and I had to get a lawyer. The man dropped the suit right after my lawyer talked to him. I asked him how he did that. He said he told the man no one will believe an N word over a cute white women. I was so young and stupid I did not know how to react or know what to do to make it right. I was afraid to report bc both the lawyer and the cop kept asking me out. The cop even showed at my apartment where I lived alone scariest and most confusing thing ever. I can't imagine what that man felt. It's been 25 yrs and I still feel gross about it all.
Is it a pre-requisite for getting a job as a US cop to be so downright racist? It’s not OK for me to want to rant and rave at these posts - that’s not going to do any good. What I want to know is how we from the rest of the world can do something to physically change things? And how the hell can a cop mistake a gun for a taser?
Ok, white people, name the dumbest reasons you've been pulled over by the police. Everyone has been pulled over for stupid s**t. My buddy and I, both white, heading back to our base in Ft. Stewart, GA. Somewhere back roads.. Got pulled over, middle of the night, because...ready? One. ONE of the license plate lights was out and the other was "too dim to see." Now, we're both in our fatigues and handed over driver's license. Cop no lie, told us that "Outsiders aint none to welcome around here. Might be best you move along and don't come back through this area." After they had got us out of the car, handcuffed us and searched us and car. We just played it cool, trying to be as respectful as we could until they let us go. One of the scariest times I've had. I've been pulled over numerous times for some stupid ass stuff. "Your vehicle matched a description" etc. Quit making everything about race.
So why don't we ask white people the same question?? I got pulled over once because I was driving too close to the white line and when he approached me he said that people who drink ride that line. I hadn't had a sip of alcohol so I was let go but I didn't make a big deal about it.
I am white and have been stopped by the police for ridiculous reasons.Where is my lollipop?
America is a good country. We have things and abilities other countries don't. Go check Africa for example. Not one government there is not corrupt. I wish this could be posts from people from every race who were hurt by the police. Most police by the way are good people and not racist. You can find bullies everywhere. All I want is for people to understand that America is a land of opportunity and that not all police are bad. I really want to cry because America is being shown like this. I'm not kidding. I'm really not. If no one wants to stick up for America, I will. It's my home. I've been raised here my whole life. I'm mixed, half black half white. I've never been bullied and I'm bully worthy. I'm going to prolly be downvoted into oblivion, but all I ask is that you think about what I have to say before. Thank you and God bless you, all of you.
It’s okay to love the good parts about your county and still acknowledge it’s shortcomings. Just because the US has more opportunities than some countries doesn't mean it’s the best and can’t improve in any way. On another note, maybe you should do a little research before painting all of Africa as a monolith. Not all of Africa is corrupt, just like how the entire US system is not perfect. It’s okay to be patriotic and still acknowledge systemic issues <3
Load More Replies... In the United States, it takes more training to be a hairdresser than a cop. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not insulting hairdressing, but hairdressing doesn’t involve always being armed and getting into physical altercations.
In my experience, the best chances you have are ones you display. Wear appropriate clothing, keep music at inside car levels, do not walk or ride in areas that have a history of crime, have identification on you, listen to the cops(walking out of jail pissed is better than being the next cop victim story). Whining about it does not help. Want to stop the trend? stop the trend on your end. No one has ever been in trouble with the law for staying away from the situation.
The most ridiculous reason I was pulled over was for changing lanes. I worked 3rd shift. I got on the freeway. It was always almost empty. As always, I got on, then changed lanes into the left lane. Very relaxing for a 15 mile drive when there is no traffic. I used my turn signal to change into each lane. I got pulled over for something like "changing lanes like a mad woman". The officer was REALLY angry at me, and I didn't know why. I was honestly a bit scared. She said I didn't have a seatbelt on, but the car was so old it only had a lap belt. She was literally hopping mad at me. She got another call and left, so that was that. I'm white.
This post makes me want to have an opinion on Facebook... AND DEFEND IT
That first one is legit though, isn't it? At least where I live the law states you have to indicate for 3 clicks or 3 seconds before changing lanes. Not indicating long enough is dangerous.
you was stopped for speeding when you were actually speeding?
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nobody ever said that black people are the only ones being targeted. they are however, the majority targets of cops due to their skin color.
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So long as "Good" police officers are allowing bad police officers to remain as their colleagues, then they are ALL the problem. It ain't enough to simply be "not racist". They have to be ANTI-RACIST.
Load More Replies... When will all US citizens understand that the US is not the great free country they always brag about?
We know. And if we didn't, the daily BP posts about how crappy we are remind us.
Load More Replies... I couldn't read all of them, but at least we don't have to say their names. I have been stopped once. I am adopted,, I am black and my parents and sibling are white. My dad took me to the front of a concert and when we came back, Police Officers came up and had their hands on their guns, asking my dad if he was sure I was his kid because "She's black and looks dangerous." I was 6-7.
"Looks dangerous"? How tf can a seven year old look dangerous?!
Load More Replies... Once i was walking with my 50yo white mother then we passed by policemen checking young colored people. She just rushed toward them, asking outraged: "Do you want to see my ID too? Here is my ID! You don't want to check my ID?!". She was already my hero but this made me even prouder, the policemen faces were priceless.
All of these are wrong, so very very wrong. Power corrupts and so does bigotry. I applogise for all us lilly white decent people. We do exist, honest.
I have been driving in the UK for 20 years, since I was 17. I haven't been stopped by the police EVER during that time. My best mate who I have known since we were 11 is black. He works for a University and drives a pretty nice but perfectly common Mercedes saloon, pretty similar to my mid-range BMW actually. I have lost count the number of times over the years he said to me "sorry I'm late, got pulled over". It must be a dozen or more. It's just absolutely sickening this happens so much even in a supposedly non-racist country like the UK.
Supposedly is the key word. Canada supposedly isn't racist. US supposedly wasn't supposed to be. Etc etc etc. I'm pretty sure the main thing is that the US is getting the headlines, based on what fam in Canada tell me that is NOT in the world news....
Load More Replies... Words can't describe the way I feel...so instead: 0-978_actu...26-png.jpg
For the white people who say things like these have happened to them, not just POC, how do you feel about it? What did you do about it? Do you have any stories of whites doing nothing wrong who were beaten or killed by police? I'm seriously interested.
No member of my (white) family has ever had this happen to them, same for my white friends, and I can’t even recall a time I was pulled over while driving or in the car with a white driver.
Load More Replies... I got through 30 before I had to stop. This is infuriating. I am white and have never had a bad experience with the police. My experience should be that for everyone. Your skin color only affects your physical appearance it doesn’t define you as a person. This behavior from police, from people needs to stop now.
My husband is black, I'm not. He got pulled over once in his rusty, dusty pick up truck. We live in a mostly white area. Cop gets out gun drawn asking "who's truck is this!" Those were the first words out of his mouth. Didn't ask for a license or registration or say anything about why he was pulled over. I guess black men can't go deer hunting in rural white America.
All of these are so bad... it just seems like these cops have either nothing to do at all but to be nit-picky on tiny things like how long a signal light was on for, or many are extremely racist and will find any means to justify being able to flex their power over a person of color. Either way I think it's pretty clear police budgets should be changed to employ more 'peace officers' who deal with non-violent complaints and who have the necessary training to deal with all of these communities that are starting to hate police.
This was awful to read. I am not surprised by any of these incidents. Just extremely sad. I am so sorry for all of you that you had to experience any of these incidents.
I literally had a state patrolman stop at my house today and the only emotion I felt as I opened the door was curiosity. He was there to ask if we had a horse out. Reading all of these, it is just surreal how different MY experience is to that of the average black person minding their own business. That is just so deeply and fundamentally wrong and I have no idea how to even begin to fix something so broken.
Reading this makes me embarrassed, sickened, appalled and so many other emotions. No wonder people of color are chanting 'defund the police.' I don't think it could be any more clear that the entire US policing system needs a major overhaul. Due to my very sheltered and privileged life, I've never been in a position to speak out in any of these kinds of situations, and I can honestly say I had no idea things were THIS bad. I just hope with the recent changes in government leadership, we can pass some meaningful reforms.
Made an account just to add to the mess. I'm half black and have encountered some of these instances. One time, I was trying to get to my exit off a highway (only 2 lanes wide per side) and there was a huge SUV in the lane I needed to get into. Got into the next lane and make my exit. Cool. A cop pulls me over because "even though he saw that I was trying to move over safely he didn't think I waited long enough" , which would mean I would miss my exit. I was legit 3 car lengths away from the other vehicle before I merged into the other lane. The second time, about 2 weeks later, I was on an interstate by myself. Saw a car running close to me from behind, then they pulled off a bit , then they went into another lane, then they turned their lights off for some minutes even though we are traveling 65mph together at night. Then they slammed on their brakes, then came close to me again. I exited to the local roads. There was not enough time for both me and this car to exit together since another vehicle was approaching but that other car was right behind and almost slammed into my backside. Turned out the erratic driver was a state trooper that pulled me over for a license plate light being out. The light was not out and operational. Another time, some cops stopped me because the license plate cover hid the slogan of the state, hundreds of cars had license plate covers that hid the slogan in my area alone. I also want to know I was driving a 200s corolla and kept getting stopped at night. If my boyfriend wasn't in the car, not sure if I would have made it out.
Whut? the slogan on the plate has to be visible by law? I thought it was just a fun-gimmick on the plates! (not US, so sorry for ignorance)
Load More Replies... I had a black friend who was stopped for running while black. He was literally exercising in his running clothes. I had another who got pulled over because he filled up his nice car at the towns cheapest gas station which is adjacent to the are of town that people call criminal gardens for very good reasons. But I (white) have been pulled over bullshit reasons in the same neighborhood. They gave me a fixit ticket because they claimed my brand new windshield which still had the blue tape on it was cracked. I've also been pulled over for driving 5 miles an hour under the speed limit at 1 am and because I drove a car that looked like it came off the set of the fast and the furious. Police are trained to profile.
This was down in Nashville a few years ago I was with my boyfriend at the time, his best friend, and his girlfriend (white) and I’m also white. We got pulled over for a tail light being out. One cop pulled us over and shortly after 2 more cars came. Two cops came to the passenger side window where I was sitting and the girlfriend was sitting directly behind me. They asked us if we were ok and asked us how we knew the guys. They said if we need to step out to talk to them in private we can. I was confused as to why we were being asked these questions. They let us all go after they wrote a ticket for the tail light. And the girlfriend and I were talking out loud about how weird that was and my boyfriend said “it’s because we are black and y’all are white.”
Oakdale, California, USA. Cowboy capital of the World. Been stopped more than 10 times for having my trailer ball obscure the view of my license plate. Nearly 10% of the trucks in this town have this same offence, but I get pulled over for it.
These stories amazed and horrified me. I feel I've been walking through my life not only with privilege but with blinders
Running on a college campus. I must be running from something, right? I couldn't possibly be trying to get out of the winter, Albany weather as fast I could? Driving EXACTLY the speed limit. I looked to cautious. Driving 20 in a 25 MPH zone. This time, the cop flat out acknowledged the real reason is that my car was the same make as one reported stolen in the area... even though the plates didn;t match at all. Oh... I'm white.
I was once pulled over because the plates in my car didn’t immediately come back on a random plate check. I had just purchased the car from my grandmother. Know what happened to me? Same thing that happened to everyone else here. Oh, they had their hands on their guns when coming up to my window too. Know how to not get into trouble with the cops? Follow orders and be polite. I’ve been pulled over multiple times in my life. Once my muffler was too loud because it was falling off. Once for rolling through a stop sign. For the aforementioned time. And another because my tab was hard to read. I only got a ticket on the stop where I mouthed off to the cop. 😐
Lots followed orders and still had to deal with b.s. Do a little research and don't be so quick to imply that people who got shot by cops were doing something wrong.
Load More Replies... This makes me sick. It's so unfair and clearly racist, yet nothing is done about it. I would never be stopped in my car for "aggressive eye contact" or "suspicious posture". Disgusting
Got pulled over for "failure to stop before leaving a driveway" once. Another time pulled over and asked if I had any bats in the car. I told him they were asleep and only fly off at night. Got felony stopped on that one. By the way... I'm white as f**k. Asshole cops are assholes to everyone.
Oh yeah, just like the time a police officer questioned me for carrying a big bag of groceries on the street, because who in their right mind would walk from the store to their house, right?? :I
Maybe all black people should wear body cams. Then researchers can randomly select footage from a bunch of people and say, “See? Here are five black people committing crimes...and ten thousand more black people doing nothing wrong at all and just trying to live their damn lives. You know, like everyone else.”
Sitting in the car as a passenger. I got pulled over for a broken tail light and my boyfriend was with me. Cop just gives me a ticket and then made us sit there for an hour while he harassed my boyfriend about his identity. Literally for just sitting in the car during a normal traffic stop. I had another friend back in 2007 who was shot multiple times and killed by the cops for picking up his wallet.
I have only read 8 so far and I'm so angry. What the actual F@$k. Seriously you reading this from the US your country is f@$ked in the head and so are all of you who sit around allowing this to happen. There is nothing great about your country. Get your f@&kin country sorted out.
This is utterly painful to read. As a white cis female, I have had a few instances with the police and nothing like this has ever happened to me. Not even close. It took me until 2020 to truly understand what white privilege really is. I apologize for the fear and anxiety that any poc has had to endure. The simple fact that you have to teach your children to interact with the police differently due to racial profiling is abhorrent. It's long past time for change!
I'm a white dude who's has some idea of how cops target black people (of course I don't know what it's like) and knows it's not right. I'm also a white dude with an anxiety disorder. This triggered my anxiety at about number 3, but I forced myself to read them all. There is so much wrong in the US right now. So much wrong.
god these are sickening. the idea that people hire people like this, and do nothing about it is disgusting. people that are this blatantly racist should have no position of authority over anyone
My mom taught me, "WE ALL BLEED RED". Unfortunately, my mom didn't teach the *world*.
These are so messed up I'm so many ways. I'm brown and I got stopped because I have a small tree freshener hanging in my rear view mirror, stopped another time for a "tail light that's out" and was told because he stopped me he have to give me a ticket for something, another time stopped because I "ran a light" the officer tried to tow my car saying I don't have insurance the card I have isn't valid. I had to walk to a printing shop and get one faxed. He gave me a time limit before he towed it. Then some hours later he went to my house and dropped off two tickets in my mailbox. Court wouldn't believe that.
These all boil down to one single reason, racism. Cops using their power to harass people, making their lives miserable purely because they can and they want to. Since George Floyd was murdered it has become apparent, even to white people, just how racist society actually is. There is nothing like experiencing this hatred, however, but I think there is a little more understanding than there was. People are shocked..
Since George Floyd's case? That certainly started a new wave for sure, but the awareness you're talking about has been there even 20 years ago and before. I remember because I was old enough. None of this is new.
Load More Replies... If you're disgusted by these events, then don't just read it and move in. Do something more. Educate yourself, educate others, talk about race and equity--even when it's uncomfortable--learn when to listen and when to speak, volunteer at a non-profit. The only way we can change the system is through collective action.
All I have ever wanted in my life is to be able to live without fear and what's going on right now is making that very difficult. I live in a small town in Texas and have had to go through some situations like the ones in this article. I have also had the privilege of knowing some of the sweetest and most capable members of law enforcement. All I want everyone to take from this is that these things happen. They have happened for many many years. All lives matter, absolutely, but not all lives are being taken on a daily basis for ridiculous reasons. My father was throwing newspapers and had four carloads of police officers sent to figure out what he was doing. A white man actually pulled a gun on my father and nothing happened to him. There is good in every race and there is bad in every race. It's time for all people to come together to do something about that.
Police should be trained, fingerprinted, and state licensed/certified just like other professionals, such as teachers, plumbers, etc. Police who violate protocols and certification standards should lose their certification. This would include all government security/police forces such as deputies, sheriffs, patrol officers, etc. Nearly any licensed/certified professional who exhibited these types of behavior would be immediately dismissed. Police have way too much protection. If a city was 40% black and 50% white and 10% other, then the demographics of those receiving tickets would match so that 40% of those tickets would be black, 60% would be white, and 10% would be other. If the propotions do not match, then something is clearly ethically and morally wrong. Malcolm Gladwell's book, "Talking to Strangers," explains how policing in the U.S. has evolved downward over the past several decades. It's a must read, especially for police trainers and those who oversee policing.
This is just painful to read, and I am just reading it!! Can't even understand how it is to life like that, every-single-f*****g-day! You would think that a country that is so full of itself would change s**t around ... I don't know.. 100 years ago? Absolute bullshit all of this, really. Just makes me wanna come over and give them what for!!!!
Moral of the story? When you see a cop in public, get down on your knees w ur hands in the air (To make them CoMfOrTaBle ArOuNd A bLaCk PeRsOn) and smile like a fcking idiot
Well, there was this one football player who took a knee, and he was called an Son if a B
Load More Replies... In the laaaaannnd of the freeeeeee and the hoooome of the braaaaaaaave. E pluribus unum.
I’m convinced that the Number 1 job of Klan members is ‘cop’. They do this s**t just to one-up their Klan buddies on the force. Btw, I’m white.
No, that's too simple. I'm really sure that many of the cops don't even notice their own bias. Of course, there are always bastards who DO know and want it that way, but there's probably many who just learned that Black = dangerous/criminal. And why did they learn that? Well, thought-experiment: you train with a veteran cop. You two pull over 100 people, and 50 of them have some criminal/misdemeanor on their name. Now, of those 100 people, 80 are not-white. Even if the criminal/non-criminal rate in everyone pulled over is 50:50, you would have a much greater percentage of non-white people being caught as criminals. Not because they have more criminal behaviour, but simply because you check them more often! And young cops learn that bias even subconsciously, and they see "Oh, wow - our statistics show that non-white people are more likely to be criminals, so I'll have to pull them over more often!" and so they repeat the circle while white criminals go about (often) unbothered.
Load More Replies... I've tried for years to find it in my heart to give cops the benefit of the doubt but no more!! These stories make me physically ill!!!!
I'm not trying to justify anything, but a lot of times, it's probably a self-fulfilling prophecy for the cops. They *think* that the non-white people are more likely to do something wrong, so they pull them over more often statistically. And because they pull over more non-whites, they automatically find more non-white people with some warrant or other legal issue that way. Which confirms their (wrong) belief that the non-whites are more criminal because 'Colour'. Even if they start their job with clear intentions of being good and fair, the more 'evidence' they find about their profiling, the more they'll profile and it gets worse and worse.
Load More Replies... To anyone who was rightfully outraged, and to every anti-racist reading this, I wanna invite you to join the anti-racism Facebook group, Let's Talk About Racism. Join us for discussion, discourse, support and endless opportunities to educate yourself as a not-black ally. We recently had an interview with Levi Roots and will be hoping to have further conversations with other well known black personalities. facebook.com/groups/282366472851179/?tsid=0.1877232829583635&source=result
The group is run by black people btw, it's not a cringe virtue signally white person thing
Load More Replies... Racism is evil and it's horrendously common in the US it seems. I can't understand why police don't undertake de-escalation training and discrimination training (as it not to discriminate rather than discriminate which is what they seems to be trained to do).
I once slightly hit a car in the rear. It was my fault the driver of the car was a black man. I'm a white women. I was 23 at the time. The cop gave the the man a ticket for harassing me and I got asked on a date. I did not get a ticket even though I admitted it was my fault and all the guy did was knock on my window for insurance information. The man then sued me and I had to get a lawyer. The man dropped the suit right after my lawyer talked to him. I asked him how he did that. He said he told the man no one will believe an N word over a cute white women. I was so young and stupid I did not know how to react or know what to do to make it right. I was afraid to report bc both the lawyer and the cop kept asking me out. The cop even showed at my apartment where I lived alone scariest and most confusing thing ever. I can't imagine what that man felt. It's been 25 yrs and I still feel gross about it all.
Is it a pre-requisite for getting a job as a US cop to be so downright racist? It’s not OK for me to want to rant and rave at these posts - that’s not going to do any good. What I want to know is how we from the rest of the world can do something to physically change things? And how the hell can a cop mistake a gun for a taser?
Ok, white people, name the dumbest reasons you've been pulled over by the police. Everyone has been pulled over for stupid s**t. My buddy and I, both white, heading back to our base in Ft. Stewart, GA. Somewhere back roads.. Got pulled over, middle of the night, because...ready? One. ONE of the license plate lights was out and the other was "too dim to see." Now, we're both in our fatigues and handed over driver's license. Cop no lie, told us that "Outsiders aint none to welcome around here. Might be best you move along and don't come back through this area." After they had got us out of the car, handcuffed us and searched us and car. We just played it cool, trying to be as respectful as we could until they let us go. One of the scariest times I've had. I've been pulled over numerous times for some stupid ass stuff. "Your vehicle matched a description" etc. Quit making everything about race.
So why don't we ask white people the same question?? I got pulled over once because I was driving too close to the white line and when he approached me he said that people who drink ride that line. I hadn't had a sip of alcohol so I was let go but I didn't make a big deal about it.
I am white and have been stopped by the police for ridiculous reasons.Where is my lollipop?
America is a good country. We have things and abilities other countries don't. Go check Africa for example. Not one government there is not corrupt. I wish this could be posts from people from every race who were hurt by the police. Most police by the way are good people and not racist. You can find bullies everywhere. All I want is for people to understand that America is a land of opportunity and that not all police are bad. I really want to cry because America is being shown like this. I'm not kidding. I'm really not. If no one wants to stick up for America, I will. It's my home. I've been raised here my whole life. I'm mixed, half black half white. I've never been bullied and I'm bully worthy. I'm going to prolly be downvoted into oblivion, but all I ask is that you think about what I have to say before. Thank you and God bless you, all of you.
It’s okay to love the good parts about your county and still acknowledge it’s shortcomings. Just because the US has more opportunities than some countries doesn't mean it’s the best and can’t improve in any way. On another note, maybe you should do a little research before painting all of Africa as a monolith. Not all of Africa is corrupt, just like how the entire US system is not perfect. It’s okay to be patriotic and still acknowledge systemic issues <3
Load More Replies... In the United States, it takes more training to be a hairdresser than a cop. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not insulting hairdressing, but hairdressing doesn’t involve always being armed and getting into physical altercations.
In my experience, the best chances you have are ones you display. Wear appropriate clothing, keep music at inside car levels, do not walk or ride in areas that have a history of crime, have identification on you, listen to the cops(walking out of jail pissed is better than being the next cop victim story). Whining about it does not help. Want to stop the trend? stop the trend on your end. No one has ever been in trouble with the law for staying away from the situation.
The most ridiculous reason I was pulled over was for changing lanes. I worked 3rd shift. I got on the freeway. It was always almost empty. As always, I got on, then changed lanes into the left lane. Very relaxing for a 15 mile drive when there is no traffic. I used my turn signal to change into each lane. I got pulled over for something like "changing lanes like a mad woman". The officer was REALLY angry at me, and I didn't know why. I was honestly a bit scared. She said I didn't have a seatbelt on, but the car was so old it only had a lap belt. She was literally hopping mad at me. She got another call and left, so that was that. I'm white.
This post makes me want to have an opinion on Facebook... AND DEFEND IT
That first one is legit though, isn't it? At least where I live the law states you have to indicate for 3 clicks or 3 seconds before changing lanes. Not indicating long enough is dangerous.
you was stopped for speeding when you were actually speeding?
Load More Replies... nobody ever said that black people are the only ones being targeted. they are however, the majority targets of cops due to their skin color.
Load More Replies... So long as "Good" police officers are allowing bad police officers to remain as their colleagues, then they are ALL the problem. It ain't enough to simply be "not racist". They have to be ANTI-RACIST.
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