According to LeBron James - basketball star and apparent expert in law enforcement practices and procedures - black people are "literally hunted every day" by police. He, along with the corporate media, "woke" celebrities, and liberal politicians, would have us believe that there is a nationwide epidemic of police shootings of black men and boys. Unfortunately for them and their narrative, this is patently and verifiably untrue.
Wait. Why would anyone want us to believe a lie?
It's a great question, right? Why would our elected officials and news sources say anything untrue to us, their beloved and esteemed constituents and patrons? The answer is both appalling and predicable. Politicians need division. They need people to need them. The more dependent a population is on their government, the more control they have over them. The only way they can do that, is by keeping them ignorant, scared, and angry at the "other side." Cue the corporate, liberal owned media. Don't believe it? Do a little digging as to who owns what... and who.
As for the entertainers, eh, well... chalk it up to virtue signaling, grandstanding for attention, and following the dangling carrot that is wealth. That's not to dismiss their power, though. As we're all aware, celebrities have tremendous influence on all aspects of society, particularly on the young and impressionable. The wise know to never have idols, but the weak seek them and thereby succumb to their false charms.
So, what does that have to do with police and systemic racism?
These politicians and corporate media monsters need to point the finger away from themselves and away from the problems they've caused. They need a scapegoat, a villain. Who better than the police? After all, they are the ones arresting their voters, their consumers. Their message?
Look, guys, we're trying to help you. It's them. They're the ones ruining your lives. Don't notice your cities are run by us. Disregard that we're against school choice. Never mind that the system we say is rigged against you... is run by us.
Our culture climate has been taken over by people who guise their evil agenda with "political correctness" and valuing feelings over facts. But facts still matter and it's our responsibility to know and share them. So, let's discuss the facts of policing. Ah, finallly, right?!
The simplest way to state it: There is no systemic racism in policing. That is not to say racism doesn't exist. We all know it exists in every walk of life, including some people who wear the badge. Racism is a person problem, not a system problem. At least not in policing. (*To state the obvious - anyone using their power/authority for ill-intent or with malice deserves legal consequences and/or termination.)
Don't take my word for it. Look at the data.
To start, let's look at the U.S. population and demographics. There are over 330,000,000 people residing in the United States. Those identifying as black - according to US Census reports - make up approximately 36,000,000 of the population.
For the entire population, there are approximately 700,000 sworn police officers in the U.S.
In 2018, there were about 10,000,000 arrests, which is a general and approximate annual trend. Race was known for half of those arrested. Of those arrested (and race known), 1.5 million were black. According to the FBI, 229 blacks were shot and killed by police that year. That equals one in every 7,000. As for the "unarmed" black persons shot and killed, the total number that year was 23, or one out of 67,000. Pointing out the incredibly low numbers is not to devalue loss of life, but to emphasize the non-existence of an epidemic. Nor is pointing out another fact - more whites are killed by police annually than blacks.
Why the quotations around unarmed, you ask?
Using the term unarmed is often misleading, deliberately so. The majority of these officer involved shootings are cleared because the suspect displayed behaviors and actions of intent to harm. This could mean furtive movements, violent non-compliance, and in some cases, brandishing then dropping a weapon seconds before lethal force. Furthermore, the implication that an unarmed suspect is not dangerous is absurd. Anyone who has ever been beaten with hands and feet can attest.
Back to the data.
While it's true that the relative - and that's the word of note - number of blacks killed by police is higher than whites, the mainstream media and "activists" fail to account for confounding variables. Most simply put, any group that engages in more criminal activity is more likely to have police encounters.
According to the FBI UCR, there were 1,186,742 incidents of violent crime in 2018, and of them, 14,123 were homicide victims. Blacks comprised 54.9% of all homicide offenders, compared to 42.4% for whites. Blacks are 13.4% of the US population, yet they accounted for more than half of all homicides. -Jeffery James Higgins
The varied reasons for this could take up its own space, and has been addressed by many, including Candace Owens, who discusses it length HERE . But for how this relates to policing, consider the following truths.
Police are the response to a problem, not the cause. When crimes are committed, it is their duty to answer those calls.
Rarely, if ever, are police being called out to see people at their best.
No one - or nearly no one - is happy to be arrested.
There is no nice way to arrest a combative suspect.
More disturbing data from Jeffery James Higgins' article:
Homicide is not the only crime where the black population offends at higher rates. According to the FBI UCR, of 7,710,00 arrests reported in 2018, blacks comprised 27.4%. Approximately 28.6% of people arrested for rape were black, 54.2% of robbery arrests, 33.7% of aggravated assault arrests, 29.4% of burglary arrests, and 30% of arrests for larceny-theft. Black arrest rates for violent crimes are also correlated with victim descriptions of offender race. Higher crime rates within the black population increases contact with police and therefore the chance of police shootings within that community.
An ironic consequence...
As a consequence to the unjust scrutiny and persecution of police, studies have shown police are in fact less likely to use justified lethal force against people of color. This hesitancy - in addition to movements like defund the police and corporate backed groups like BLM - has resulted in more officer deaths & injuries and a mass exodus of police leaving the job, as well as the lowest recruitment numbers in years.
The misconceptions.
"If you Back the Blue, you support bad cops." The belief that people who are pro-police are pro-any and all police is a myth. No one hates a bad cop more than a good cop (and a good cop's family). We want them gone, too.
"If you get rid of qualified immunity, you'll get better cops on the job." This statement comes from those who have no idea what qualified immunity is. By it's very wording, it means an officer must qualify for immunity. Meaning, his/her actions must be within the legal scope of duties in order to have immunity. If they act outside of that scope, they are personally liable and responsible. What ending qualified immunity actually does is open police officers to frivolous lawsuits from people who are mad about being arrested. (See above bullet points).
"Defunding the police doesn't mean taking away their funding, it just means re-allocating money to other services." Ah, okay. Technically, sure. And we're all fine with alternative and preventative services, by all means. But... and there's always a but... you don't get to ask for the best possible service from a defunded (or reduced funded) department. If you want the best, you pay for the best by way of training, resources, and community support. So, in other words, we need to REfund the police.
Devastating irony.
Movements like Defund the Police and groups like BLM are proving cause way more harm than good for the very communities they claim to be helping. In all the major cities where these politically motivated campaigns "succeeded," the violent crime rates have soared, leaving innocent people to be prey to the wolves. This is unforgivable, especially when it was easily foreseen. The data doesn't lie. It is indisputable: The diminished presence of police directly correlates to the rise in crime. It is time for the people of this country to stand up and say enough is enough, truly protect the innocent by letting the police do their damn jobs.
Sources: Washington Post’s Fatal Force database, FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), US census, Jeffrey James Higgins
Elsa Kurt is a multi-genre author, host of the Blue Family Unity Show & brand CEO of Blue Family Apparel, & Igoodhuman. Her book, Welcome to the Family (Life Behind the Thin Blue Line) has been called the "must have survival guide for new LEO spouses."