More U.S. Cop Shootings Since Christmas than UK's Last 5 Years

[Shiranu]

https://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/us-police-have-already-killed-more-people-since-christmas-than-uk-cops-have-killed-in-the-last-5-years/

In all of 2011, British police killed 2 people. In 2012, 1 person. In 2013, a total of 3 bullets left the barrels of British police guns, and no one was killed. In the last two years, a total of 4 people have lost their lives because of British cops, bringing the total number of citizens killed in the UK to 7 in the last 5 years.

Since Christmas, police in America have killed 14 people. In 1 week, American cops have killed twice as many people as the British police have killed since 2011!

But if we zoom out just a little further, those numbers become even more shocking. Since 1990, police officers in the United Kingdom have killed exactly 58 people.

Since the 14th of December, police in America have killed 60 citizens â€" It took English cops 25 years to do what American cops have done in the last two weeks of December.

On average, British police kill around two citizens a year. American cops kill more than that every day.

Of course, all those killed were not innocent, but many were unarmed, shot while running away, and their deaths recorded on video. And all of them deserved due process.

But... the UK is a smaller country so that has to be the reason... right? Not exactly...

To expose this farce, we can compare the US with communist China.

China, whose population is 4 and 1/2 times the size of the United States, recorded 12 killings by law enforcement officers in 2014.

Law enforcement in the United States killed 92 times more citizens in the same period.

That's right... China has more control over it's cops than we do. Just let that one sink in.

The article goes on to talk about the profitability of the drug war and private prisons... that one could be a whole-nother thread of it's own (and one I think we have had more than once) so I will just leave a small snippit here.

o better understand the multi-dimensional answer to that question, we can start by looking at the prison population of the US.

America imprisons almost twenty-five percent of all people imprisoned in the world, although containing only about 5% of the world’s population.

The U.S. houses 2.3 million inmates, the majority of whom are in for drug offenses.

Absolutely ridiculous. The fact that people still think America is great is beyond me... I don't know of a period in U.S. history besides maybe just after WWII that America was truly "great" (Showed respect to it's citizens and had a stable economy). It's been a long time since then.

[drunkenshoe]

I just whistled.

I thought of offering a few opinions connected to each other and all of them makes me the 'condescending heinous witch', but  not one of them makes 2.3 millions of inmates look reasonable without defining American culture exclusively in certain terms which can't be done provoking the usual responses. Not that I am good at it, but there is really no sugarcoating this.

[Baruch]

Americans are naturally violent ... like certain tribes in other places and other times.  Criminal science in the US is about racism, classism and punishment as part of an S&M society.  Most people don't realize this derives from the Puritans, who were child abusers, "spare the rod and spoil the child" was taken literally.

The example of what makes US different from GB, or Canada, couldn't be more plain.  But being a nation of Gandhis doesn't get the job done.  And it is in fact better to be feared than loved.  The problem with fear, is that it generated hate in the target ... and too much hate produced blow-back.  But blow-back whether in the 'hood or in the ME ... is a gift that keeps on giving.  Think Israel vs Palestine, only long distance.

And it isn't just fear of Pearl Harbor ... which was a racist fear of the Yellow Peril anyway ... Mussolini and Hitler weren't as feared, but seen as potential allies of the Anglo-American empire ... in the great war against Bolshevism.  War is very profitable and stimulative.  Vietnam wasn't an anomaly ... it was deliberate ... just as the invasion of Iraq was.  I prefer preparation for war without the actual fighting ... but I am nobody.

[drunkenshoe]

What does it even mean "Americans are naturally violent"? Yes, humans are violent we all know that. 'Ghandis' make up a very little of our population. Negligible. Also, apperantly the majority of the prison population is in for drug uses.

All the mass shootings, random gun violence didn't just pop up, because 'Americans are violent' or some are mentally ill. Yes, gun worshipping is a problem. But most importantly, Americans are angry. Different Americans from different groups. They are angry.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

One million LEOs. How many shootings?

[Youssuf Ramadan]

The fact that people still think America is great is beyond me... I don't know of a period in U.S. history besides maybe just after WWII that America was truly "great" (Showed respect to it's citizens and had a stable economy).

I don't think that many people outside of America think that America is great.  Influential, yes.

America seems very weird to those of us that take an interest and communicate with people from the US - guns, rampant cops, fundamentalist religion, corporate hegemony.  The rest of our population probably think it's all sunny skies, Disney and McDonalds, if they thought about it at all....

[GSOgymrat]

All the mass shootings, random gun violence didn't just pop up, because 'Americans are violent' or some are mentally ill. Yes, gun worshipping is a problem. But most importantly, Americans are angry. Different Americans from different groups. They are angry.

Many Americans are angry but my perception is that many more are fearful. Fearful people are compelled to defend themselves and some Americans believe that self-defense justifies lethal force. When I listen to people regarding guns the common theme is "people have a right to defend themselves" but what I don't often hear is avoiding unnecessary harm to others. It seems using non-lethal force isn't a priority, otherwise more Americans would be defending themselves with Tasers instead of guns and more Americans would be horrified by the number of citizens killed by law enforcement.

[Mike Cl]

What does it even mean "Americans are naturally violent"? Yes, humans are violent we all know that. 'Ghandis' make up a very little of our population. Negligible. Also, apperantly the majority of the prison population is in for drug uses.

All the mass shootings, random gun violence didn't just pop up, because 'Americans are violent' or some are mentally ill. Yes, gun worshipping is a problem. But most importantly, Americans are angry. Different Americans from different groups. They are angry.

How about changing 'naturally' to 'historically'?  Would that suit you better?

[Baruch]

I don't think that many people outside of America think that America is great.  Influential, yes.

America seems very weird to those of us that take an interest and communicate with people from the US - guns, rampant cops, fundamentalist religion, corporate hegemony.  The rest of our population probably think it's all sunny skies, Disney and McDonalds, if they thought about it at all....

Guns are only a technical problem.  Japanese fetishize swords ... if we were more Japanese, we would be decapitating each other with katanas.  And swords are regulated in Japan for that very reason, in a way not seen in the US.  At Medieval Faires ... talk is the same as at gun shows ... Obama Anti-Christ is going to take away all our medieval re-enactor shit ... and our sporks too!  Bwahah.

The mental illness angle is debatable.  Most people legally, don't consider criminality as insane.  But in some ways one can assume that antisocial behavior is sociopathic, and therefore insane.  And even if we weren't insane ... yes, Americans are very fearful.  Fear sells.

[Solomon Zorn]

Life is cheap, in the USA. But, hey, it's even cheaper in Syria...

I find avoiding the cops, to be the best solution for me.

[drunkenshoe]

Yes it is a freaking war machine, Mike. But we are talking about people.

Guys, when I say 'Americans are angry' I do include  fear or desperation or whatever they think is the 'right' reaction in it when they feel they are in danger. Therefore the observable violence pattern.

But there are many other things that make people violent besides just fear and defense. This is what we can't agree on.

You know how America looks from outside? Scary. Like Jurassic Park. Obviously, I don't mean it is a live dinosaur park out of control, but a place where people created fantastical rights, concepts of freedom, unreal goals, unreal life styles and a system like a wild jungle to get it. And just the paranoia created out of nothing is enough to make a lot of people go crazy. It's isolated, it is under constant unbelievable propaganda.

Are you aware what kind of a change your country went down under the last 15 years? I guess you are. Just the change on how Americans talk about their country in the last 15 years on the net is unbelievable. Young American men talking about America here in this forum were between ages 10-14 when the planes hit twin towers. It's just 15 years ago.

Has any of you ever considered that these things are happening because it actually started to go better? I don't know of course if you see that as a 'better' thing, because it is about what I keep saying on general American identity crisis. America is coming down to the real world from the clouds people wise, but general culture doesn't go that fast and it gets ugly. Your class balance has changed socially and moving to change economially even in a slow pace. It's not going to happen with roses and candy.

[GSOgymrat]

But there are many other things that make people violent besides just fear and defense. This is what we can't agree on.

I wasn't disagreeing, merely pointing out another piece of the puzzle.

[Baruch]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ... where did I read that?  There are revolutions in progress, not just in color revolutions outside the US.  In theory, Conservativism aside, America is supposed to be in continuous revolution ... same as France, Russia, China.  Republics are like that ... monarchy not so.

I think that the US has always been scary to most people outside the US.  A few have admired the ideals ... fewer have admired the reality.  Most people in the world want to either stay in the Middle Ages or Early Modern periods ... with patriarchal tradition and kings and Popes.  A few want to jump right into outer space with the Rebel Alliance against the First Order.  I would see that both progressive Americans and progressive anti-Americans would imagine themselves first as the Rebel Alliance.  But much of America has been coopted by the First Order from London.  The First World is stormtroopers with blasters ... the Third World is Jedi with lightsabers.  Foreign policy = kill them before they kill you.  Domestic policy = you can't be paranoid enough.

[drunkenshoe]

Just to make it clear.

The Jurassic Park example is important, because it is the flee circus. The crucial thing with the flee circus is that it actually doesn't exist. If you create an isolated culture; a country on unreal, fantastical notions, generations and generations after people eventually start to act according to it. Doesn't matter how fantastical it is. That doesn't mean they are stupid or extra violent or believe in every one of those or any of those notions. This is human nature. 

Americans are not extra violent. The American who believes he needs to kill anyone who attacks him is moving from an unwritten cultural point that it is his right to do this. He doesn't need to be in lethal danger. They are just acting according to what has been given to them. It's coming out with anger because that's how it gets translated through fear when the most basic thing gets changed; identity starts to SHRINK. While the Christian is having this identity crisis, so does the secular democrat. Ironically with similar reasons, from different aspects. 

[drunkenshoe]

I wasn't disagreeing, merely pointing out another piece of the puzzle.

I didn't mean you. You are right. I wrote about this before. It was about that. :) Just talking to myself, lol.