Dallas

[Ty]

Crazy stuff happening there. Sending my prayers

[Cory]

Man, i tell you what. As a Canadian it's very tough to relate in these shootings and acts of police brutality as really in my lifetime there's maybe been 3 instances of either case I can remember for the entire country, let alone a few every year in all you guys different states.

I would say in 75% of these cop shooting black people situations I end up siding with the cops. Sure it's an absolute travesty that the constantly fail to use non-lethal ways to subdue criminals and citizens but most of the people getting caught in these situations shouldn't have been there in the first place and were resisting arrest. It's not like cops are walking up to college campuses and finding black people to harass and kill. It's majority going after low risk criminals with extreme amount of force if they put up any type of resistance. I think if you're giving a cop even the slightest resistance ESPECIALLY with the violent spree their on that's honestly on the victims.

Is it right? Fuck no, it's these people's jobs to know how to effectively mediate conflicts not shoot first ask questions later....but honestly they're fighting the system and the only way to win is for all of these people to stop resisting no matter how unfair or unjust or else they're going to a flip of the coin whether they're going to a cell or going to a grave.

The Eric Garner thing absolutely disgusted me, and I watched the two videos today of the guy in Baton Rouge and Minnesota and honestly I couldn't tell that the cops WEREN'T the criminals in each video....they were straight up murders....and I don't blame the black community for being upset, this is a situation where it transcends race.

This is a people v/s police issue at its core. I don't even get the concept of Police in 2016. For the most part they install fear instead of safety. Cops are looking to get us in trouble, not help us. They want to catch you doing something illegal more than they want to protect you. It's been this way for a long time now. If they wanted to help us you'd feel their compassion when you speak to them but Instead, you feel fear. The fear of someone trying to strip you of your money, your job, your freedom and even your existence. And WE pay their salaries to treat us this way..

TL:DR - Cops are pretty much soldiers now and have abandoned non-lethal ways of dealing with suspected criminals. Criminals need to stop resisting arrest no matter how bullshit their situations are or else they're gonna end up on a shirt. A life for a life with the Texas shooting is going to make this situation 10x worse.

EDIT: Just saw video of the attacks on the police officers in Texas and those are equally appalling man, what the fuck is going on down there? That's a fucking terrorist attack if I've ever seen one.

[Adam Wrong]

I agree with Cory on that 75% of the time I side with the police in these situations. But this week, there is no doubt that they are at fault.

Trouble will always come down to the use of firearms in this situation. It cheapest life.

This week the 2 attacks by police were completely senseless in terms of murder which was what they were.

The retaliation is the wrong way to deal with this though. Don't fight the problem to fix it. Be a difference. Join the police and make a change

[Justin]

Retaliation is not the answer and these types of things prove how difficult it is to be a police officer and the risks that come with the job.  Not to mention all of that with the amount of pay they receive.

With that said, social media will be filled with people honoring these officers, but those same people have not said a word about the two black men who were murdered this week by the police.  Which is the problem.  The life of a black man is not respected or dignified.

[Dorling]

It highlights the problems with America in a nutshell;

- Fanatical love of weapons

- Institutional and culturally ingrained racism

While those things exist, things will just get worse, and I don't know how you go about getting rid of those two things.

[Justin]

I also believe that the shooting of the police officers was an intentional act by some entity to take coverage off of the two black men that were murdered so now all the focus will be on the officers that were killed.  It's also troubling that as soon as this happened all you hear about is this officer served in Irag, this officer has four kids, etc., but when black men are killed by police often times the first thing that comes out is their rap sheet (if they have one) which has absolutely nothing to do with their murder.  Or they dig up something that shows some resemblance of violence in their past from 10 years ago and somehow gets attributed to their killing.

[Mike Powers]

The conspiracy theory thread is the next one down.

[Justin]

The conspiracy theory thread is the next one down.

And I'm sure you don't believe the government assassinated MLK.

[Jon]

The aliens did it!

[Justin]

The aliens did it!

And that's what's wrong with white people in this country. Issues dealing with race we avoid or make fun of because we are uncomfortable about having those types of conversations. But hey...Donald Trump is going to make Amerikka great again.

[Jon]

And that's what's wrong with white people in this country. Issues dealing with race we avoid or make fun of because we are uncomfortable about having those types of conversations. But hey...Donald Trump is going to make Amerikka great again.

Yep, I'm what's wrong with this country.

Blame me!!!!!!

[Gates]

It's true. We shouldn't care about the police officers and their lives/families, but we should stay focused on the matter at hand, and that is that the officers are always using brute force against innocent black men. Black lives matter. If a white guy was having the same treatment no one would care.

Listen, I get that race is a big thing, it probably always will be. I don't think we will ever live in a time when race isn't an issue. But I don't think the way people protest helps the situation any. Even if you exclude the Dallas situation, haven't there been other protests that lead to violence on cops, and then we are stuck in a situation where cops are going to fear for their safety in situations and use improper force. It's a vicious circle.

Now, the events in Dallas were a bit different. Snipers (or so I've heard, been in Montreal most of the week)? Jesus. That's more then just some guys taking it to the cops. That's pre-meditated murder right there. But we shouldn't worry about that and just focus on the black lives that matter. I don't doubt that whoever the snipers were were there to cause shit. There are people in this world who just want to see it burn so when events like this are planned they will attend and just cause shit. Is it a conspiracy? Man, that's a tall stretch.

I will close this by saying yes I might be ill informed. Yes I might not have all the facts. All lives matter regardless of race. Do people see that? No, but the protests about it prove they don't care about other races. Or maybe that's just my thoughts.

[Gates]

Man, i tell you what. As a Canadian it's very tough to relate in these shootings and acts of police brutality as really in my lifetime there's maybe been 3 instances of either case I can remember for the entire country, let alone a few every year in all you guys different states.

And I think all of them involved polar bears, no?

[Ty]

And that's what's wrong with white people in this country.

That's racist!?

Wait, aren't you a white guy living in that country?

[Jon]

But on a serious note...

I truly don't see things in color. I don't have premeditated hate. I guess I was fortunate enough to be raised without any form of racism taught down to me.

I've had friends, close ones, from many different types of races, ethnicity, religions. 

I see the bigger problem that people want to continue to see things as race. If we all keep doing that... it will always be an issue. You can talk about out until your blue in the face and it will be an issue still, because for some reason we can't get over that we are all different. 

There is racism in all races, be it white on black, black on white, white on mexican, everyone on middle easterns... it doesn't matter. I pray for a time that one day we will stop hating and start healing.