(short caveat – no, I’m not black, but I was a long-haired hippie in Waco during the 60s and 70s, and can’t count the times I was pulled over and thrown onto the ground (or occasionally into a ditch) with one cop holding a gun on me while the other tore my VW beetle up looking for the drugs I didn’t have. If you think I was safe from being shot because I was white, think again.)
“Cops’ lives matter”
These days, every time a cop gets shot, right-wingnuttia goes into knee-jerk hyperdrive.
“Cops’ lives matter!!”
Duh, motherfucker.
But you know what?
It’s their goddamned JOB to put themselves in harm’s way. Their JOB dictates that they go after people who might shoot them. Every single fucking day.
I don’t recall any of the civilians they shoot on a monotonous basis having that kind of job description.
My Dad worked as a Air Base fireman for many years following his discharge from the navy. It was his job to put himself in danger (and suffered third-degree burns on his arm one day while doing so). He knew exactly what he had signed up for, and took the consequences as they came. It was his job.
It’s not my job to worry about getting shot dead by a cop with a chip on his shoulder, and it’s not yours either.
It’s not my job to be shot dead by a cop because he didn’t like my attitude, or because I had the temerity to make eye contact with him.
In related news, when a test pilot crashes, it’s a tragedy.
When someone minding his own business in his own living room has a plane plough into it and burn him to death, that’s a tragedy, too.
Now – which one of these two had “possibly dying from a plane crash” in his job description?
And when being a cop makes it into the top 10 most dangerous jobs in the US we can have a discussion. Until then, they can suck it up and do their jobs.
Replying to myself. According the Google, cops are at #22 in most dangerous jobs, between grounds maintenance workers and maintenance workers
Ah big you factor in the death rate from their refusal to take Covid vaccine?
The black and blue is the new stars and bars, the new confederate battle flag …
Not safe from being shot, just less likely than anyone with a darker skin tone than you in the exact same situation. Which shouldn’t even need to be said, but there are still people who would point to your situation and claim it means there’s no such thing as white privilege.