• givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I know from my days as a young white guy that enjoyed extracurricular activities that I could do damn near anything in front of cops while smelling like extracurricular activities and cops never hassled me…

    Meanwhile my Black friends constantly got hassled even if they never broke laws.

    Cops see nervousness as indication of guilt. So if you’re afraid of cops (because they may kill you over nothing) the cops are going to see that as reason to hassle you.

    Even if it’s not explicit racism on the cops behalf, the racist environment of policing means it’s going to affect how they do their job and who they hassle. That’s why people keep saying it’s a systemic issue.

    Cops are a lot like dogs or wild animals. They don’t often use higher logic like normal people. Because they’re trained to “trust their gut” even tho absolutely no science backs it up. It’s easy and makes them feel smart, so that’s what they do.