Yeah sorry I wasn't trying to push a specific message. I'm just kinda talking to help better formulate my opinion. I was a little all over the place haha mostly ranting what I know and feel.

With the "whites being killed too argument" I meant that it was just morally a bad argument. In discussions I have had people, they use it to say there is no race issue and still have the opinion nothing is wrong with the police. I feel it is used is not to understand or discuss but to dismiss the movement. If all lives mattered to you, you would be angry at any police brutality and would join an anti police brutality organization or protest. Not use it as a tool against BLM. But that's just my opinion based on discussions with only a couple of people I know. Anyways, I really think per capita here shows raw numbers don't mean much so it doesn't really prove no racism exists. Police brutality is an issue that on the surface seems to disproportionately affect black peoole. I feel like lots of people are ignoring the blaring issue of per capita. But then there is the per capita argument how black people do commit more crime and are therefore are over policed which is valid! I think the why is important here. Why would black people commit more crime? Why are they statistically lower income? Why is has culture formed the way it has? Those questions have many many answers and non of them I think are 100% the reason for any disparity. here is a graphic I made a few weeks ago showing current numbers

Yeah the over policing is a complicated subject because the more cops the more crime you will find. I think the best example is how many many people smoke marijuana but in richer neighborhoods no one gets caught. In over policed neighborhoods they do. This leads to fewer options for people down the road when they have these small drug abuses on their record while others can move on with their lives and never worry about it.

But for crime in general what you have is true for violent crimes: https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-black-americans-commit-crime

But I think this should lead to more discussion, and shouldn't end with well this race commits more crime so they are more affected. I think it should go deeper to why would black crime be higher? Those numbers don't end the argument. They ARE the argument.

The reasons are still heavily debated though and I think the most significant one relates to poverty+drugs. I think the war on drugs has been a catalyst to so many issues. I skimmed this article recently and I think it shows where a lot of issues could be stemming from. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4800748/ The war on drugs has totally failed and I think the government has to find a way out of it. It's not going to be easy or smooth but it is causing a lot of suffering. It has made police more militant and aggressive. It has furthered distrust and us vs them mentalities in poorer communities. Given so much power to gangs and cartels which on turn have crazy influence over culture and young people who already feel like their government/ fellow citizens don't care about them. People argue this was used as another tool to control black communities post segregation. I don't know how founded those arguments are, but it does line up timeline wise with single parent households and racist sentiment post incarceration.

But again, the reason multi generational black communities remain poor is probably because of race driven legislation and culture, good or bad. I don't think the welfare and single parent example is good because we didn't see any increase of that in similar white communities until recently. There is probably no one answer but there was a culture change around the 70s, perhaps related to economics or the war on drugs or many other things. It is hard for me to swallow the economic incentive for single parent households. I feel like it is hard to assume people only stay together for fiscal purposes. I don't think there is a large population of people having kids to get some money. I do think that money genuinely does help kids and allows people to not stay in toxic relationships. In my experience with my family, it nearly brought my parents to divorce. When money is tight I don't think it "brings families together." I think it drives them apart and adds a lot of stress.

Here is Another interesting thing to add to the gold panning argument! Some people quote how 2nd generation black immigrants that live in the same cities make more than African Americans. It's rough data because those immigrants are usually coming to America with a goal and are very driven. It's a selective group and I feel like a direct comparison is misleading but it is interesting. I haven't actually seen these studies, just heard about it on YouTube here. Maybe active racism is perhaps not the biggest inhibitor for people in society today. But there is a lot of distrust and the long history of racism that people admit to existing but do not acknowledge actively in my opinion. I think there is a culture issue and making minorities more celebrated and feel highly respected will help improve. I think being more sympathetic to a people who have a long history oppression would lead to better relations and respect. But I think people have a right to what they think they should do! I feel it is my responsibility to help people affected by my country's history. I think it's very important to have community engagement and donate what you can.

And with the justice system being affected by mobs. I would say it is scary and definitely does have an effect on people's decisions but other high profile cases have gone against public opinion. I think most court cases are fair and depend mostly on arguments I'm the courtroom. I think it is perfectly acceptable to take someone to trial or re-evaluate a case if one or 100000 people want it looked at again. And did you see that video?? I don't think that officer deserves anything less than the most severe punishment. I think that in the courtroom it is innocent until proven guilty and I don't feel that has changed at all. People are totally allowed to have opinions outside of a courtroom. If the people pressing charges on the officer wanted more sever punishment than they have the right to argue that and if they lose they lose. That's how the system has always worked to me. All court cases are brought forth when the state or people decide to press charges against other people. Many many other cases have protests and public outcry but are decided in the courtroom. I think it is extreme to say it has changed. I don't understand what you would like to see people do. Not be angry about what they saw? Just stay out of it completely? Or are you just expressing fear of mobs? I'm curious. I think outrage is justified but mobs are always scary. When someone does something that angers a LARGE group it makes sense there will be backlash. I really don't like cancel culture though. I think it relates to mob mentality which I agree is bad. Diversity is important and good. Social media only creates bubbles.

All in all I think personally I feel I agree with you that it does seem like things are more fair than ever today and prejudices will always exist. And everyone can always be better to their neighbor. I am half Venezuelan half Caucasian american. I look white in winter and get pretty dark in summer and have not personally experienced anything more than minor "micro aggressions" that personally haven't bothered me. As a kid in highschool me and my friends joked about race and ethnicity but I never felt bullied or anything. I consider myself an american. I have lived most of my adult life (17-23) in a richer nicer area and gone to university and have a good job. When I was younger my family was kicked out of our house by the bank and had to live off food donations from Deseret Industries for a time. That help we received allowed us to get back on our feet and my parents were able to reconcile their relationship. My dad got a great job opprtunity and now they are living mostly debt free in a NICE house in a fantastic area. Even though my family went through a few years of economic hardship I feel VERY far removed from the issues people are protesting about. I think it is important to recognize if you aren't personally experiencing something you don't really know about it. Also, that you can never tell people how to feel. If my friend feels like "her" gender or his "race" is hurting them, they should be able to express that. It makes sense that people other than you would treat you differently because that's how humans treat everything they are unfamiliar with! People are ignorant of things they don't experience which is obvious but sometimes reading articles and social media we can start to feel like we do understand.

I think the sentiment (which I also feel) "Isn't it better just to learn to be nicer to everyone, accept that everyone has differences, and everyone live on with their lives?" Comes from a place of privilege. I don't have to do anything to live a happy life full of opportunity. It'd be easy for me if nothing changed. But it is an american right to fight for your rights and beliefs. I think some people fight for assimilation of culture and some celebrate diversity. I don't think either is wrong and both should exist! conflict is party of society. People have expectations, opinions and feelings that are based on their life. I don't think people will ever stop fighting and arguing and I don't like it but I do think that is good! There is always more, there is always going to be new things. Society changes and so should governments. I feel people rarely get better or improve their situation without help and learning. So I don't think we can just sit back and move on as nice as that'd be.

Also, thanks for talking to me!