Free advice from a cop to young black males on this site.

I was also going to make the skinhead example lol.

Oldshadow explain it well.

Normally I would say that we take many cues from how everyone's dressed - if you dressed like a homeless person and showed up to work at a formal office, people could think you looked crazy, without being shallow/jumping to conclusions.

We use connotations in things every day in an attempt to find familiar patterns and react 'correctly' to them. If you forgot that a red light symbolized "stop" then you might get into an accident because you weren't reading the road like all the other motorists. Here's where I disagree with all that 'critically evaluative symbol reading' -

When it's people. People are tough symbols to read. In fact, I might argue that they're literally impossible to properly connote, seeing as every person alive could behave completely normally and live life properly and unassumingly, all while doing Ted Bundy serial killing shtick on the side. You may think you understand a person's intentions and capabilities, but external appearance doesn't really give you much data, if we're talking about "who's a threat" or "who looks dangerous" to a cop. It's all about actions and context in police encounters, or at least it should be.

TL;DR version: if people judge people based on what they're wearing, they could just as easily judge people by their racial connotations or skin color. Judging people based on appearance should take a backseat until you get words and actions from someone that lets you know what kind of person you're dealing with. That goes for targeted minorities in cop encounters: if you resent being stopped, so you act indifferent and hostile towards the cops, then you're validating the shitty projected opinions that cop may already hold for you. Don't give cops validation for their suspicions, even if those suspicions are dead wrong and slightly racist to boot, and that pisses you off. Makes sense, especially when someone's already judged you unfairly - but you look to prove them wrong. Also in this scenario, the other person's a cop + gun. So tread carefully.
 
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Lol, and that's why there will always be a problem with black people and the police.

Dipshits like you will walk in and flex your muscle and flash your badge and expect your blowjob. Hah, yeah the fuck right.

What do you think you represent? To me, you represent an oppressive system that sees me as an enemy combatant. To me, you're no better than 1967 police, 1950 police, 1900 police, or 1867 police. Getting it now? When you come out and hulk up for any given reason, you look exactly like the policemen turning hoses on people for being black. You REPRESENT the legacy of that.

How do you expect me to respect you when you bring a 1950s mentality and 2015 weaponry? How do you expect anyone to even humanize you when you dehumanize us?

Thats why I dont cry when a cop dies. You signed up for the largest gang in the world. and fell into the regular gang routine If you get pistol whipped and everyone around you watches, maybe you'll reconsider treating the people you come across as people. You might not owe me anything, but that goes double for you. When it's your turn to get yours, I might just stand there and watch too.
And if the cop who dies signed up simply because he wants to help try to keep his city safe for everyone and isn't racist and treated people with respect?

I understand some absolutely take a gang mentality and abuse their power but if every cop is a horrible human being by definition because they became a cop and are deserving of no empathy if killed in the line of duty then how does the gap ever start to close if even the good officers are presumed to be as bad as the worst?

We have to have police, that much is clear. We have seen countless of examples where citizens certainly aren't going to try to stop any crime that doesn't affect them and will not be coming if you call them. The good ones are not only needed but earned respect. If you don't take the time when one dies to find out if he was a decent man and just assume him to be a POS, why in return do you think they'd take the time to learn about you at a traffic stop? I'm not defending any bad thing they have done. But stereotyping never works, no matter what side you are on. And hate has a way of keeping a vicious circle going. People are both sides should save their disdain for the deserving, but neither seems willing to invest the time nor has the interest.
 
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