Race in America - Riots Explode in Chicago

[Typical Lax Dad]

On a black person calling the police, you are again misunderstanding the challenge for black men and boys. It's not that the caller is racist, it's that they are more likely to perceive danger when the man or boy is black. This is true throughout the society, in all our messaging, and we see black police at times with these same reactions. And it doesn't matter whether the black boy or man is where they should be, dressed appropriate to their environment, driving a nice car...etc. A black person is less likely to have these perceptions of danger, but it's not a guarantee.

I worked in NYC for 2 decades, the 80s and 90s, catching the dubious end of the Koch admin and then the Dinkins mess. I traveled on foot and subways at all hours of the day, in good and bad areas, and I wasn't packing like Bernard Getz. Looking back, I was probably quite lucky not to have had any incidents. Would I cross the street or change train cars if I felt there was a chance of something happening? You bet, unless there was a cop or two (or back then, even a Guardian Angel) visibly in area, which was rare. Am I racist because of that? No F'ing way. That's called self preservation and has nothing to do with the color of anyone's skin.

I'm with you 100% on taking care to avoid an "incident". We don't walk down a darkened alley by ourselves...

This doesn't make a you a "racist" and no one suggested otherwise.

Now if you're walking down a main Ave and see a group of kids walking toward you, bouncing a basketball, do you notice their skin color? Does it make a difference to your sense of concern? do you cross the street if they're black but not if they're white?

Do those boys notice your reaction on their way to basketball courts behind the church?

It all depends of course. If it's a high crime area I would cross the road whether they were black or white. Would I care how they felt? Not in the least, since I'm looking out for numero uno in that area.

MD, you ever been a victim of a crime? Ever had you car stolen or your house broken into for instance?

Have I been a victim of a crime?
Whole bunch of times. House, car, person.

We lived in the South End of Boston in the mid '80's, last block of half rehabbed brownstones before 5 blocks north to Mass Ave and Roxbury, all boarded up blocks. Played b-ball in the church park across Columbus Ave, sole white guy (and an ex-wrestler to boot). Took me quite awhile to even be allowed on the court, but once it started to dawn on them that we'd then win game after game, (I played tough D, set a hard pick, and passed...only need 4 shooters...) it was easier, though generally the #5 pick...win and stay on...

Car was broken into so many times, the lock didn't work anymore...was really PO'd when the thief broke the window instead of trying the door, in order to steal the AM radio out of the Toyola Corolla...thief in training.

Had a purse snatched from my wife as we went into the brownstone ground level after walking home from dinner, me in front, her mom, then her...we walked by the perp a few doors down, he came up behind us and put his knee in her back and ripped it off; I took off after the perp on foot in my suit and hard soles, he in his sneakers...car saw me chasing the guy, swerved to cut him off and he cut down an alley, I continued to chase...thank goodness he didn't turn around, he came back up on Columbus, me losing ground and yelling, a gay couple walking up their stoop saw me chasing and blew a police whistle, perp dropped the bag, turned the corner and kept going...police were there in 60 seconds...but no dice catching him. when we gave our statements, each of us had seen the guy as we passed him, but we all described him differently, black, brown, white, color of his jacket, all different... So you noticed the perp and nothing registered? You didn't want to change your position in relation to the women to perhaps protect them because you were afraid you might seem racist and/or hurt his feelings?

One lazy Sunday afternoon, my wife and I were sleeping after a little 'afternoon delight' to awaken to a figure in our doorway of our bedroom...he'd come through the back garden and up the stairs..."is Mikey here?" Huh, no Mikey here...he turned and left...did it happen? Yup, found my wife's purse down the hall dropped as he ran out...

Later, we were commuting to Baltimore for business staying a week at a time...got 3 alarm calls three nights in a row...police have responded, no problem, everything looks secure...must be the rats...4th night, the police got smart and sent one cop back to the alley as well as to the front door. Saw two guys loading a TV into the trunk of a car...one guy took off, cop tackles the other guy who is yelling in Spanish....got him by the leg...and the leg comes off!!!...prosthetic leg...cop telling us the story was quite a character. Other perp running through the park got close lined by an undercover female cop...we prosecuted, but never did recover the last stuff...fortunately they didn't get the most precious stuff, though my album collection...

I've also been stuck up at gunpoint, though not in that neighborhood.

No, none of us found him to be particularly threatening or unusual. Looked like a wino, at worst.
Par for the course in the neighborhood.
And we were well lubricated ourselves from a nice dinner, wine, etc about 4 blocks away.

I was opening the door, we were all inside our little iron gate, though my wife was trailing a step behind her mother, gate still open, not that it would have prevented anything.

BTW, in chasing after him, I was in pretty decent shape still in my late 20's but I lost a lot of ground in my hard shoes...it occurred to me afterwards how dangerous it was to be playing 'Spencer For Hire'...

Despite these stories from 5 years in the neighborhood, we got pretty comfortable, though I didn't let my wife walk home by herself at night from Bain at Copley Plaza. I'd meet her or she'd get a cab, despite it being only 6-7 blocks.

For my part, playing ball with all ages from the neighborhood led to lots of quiet acknowledgement away from the court. Of course, the drug deals going down while we were playing ball didn't exactly make me feel chill...

After this incident I assume you moved to an area where you wouldn't need to decide if you should cross the road or not.

No, we were there for 5 years, only reason we moved was for a venture we were building, with a key location back near my hometown of Baltimore. We had a great experience...wish I'd been wise enough to hold onto that property though!

But when we knew my wife was pregnant, we did look for somewhere with a larger backyard, somewhere to throw a ball, etc.

Classic White Flight excuse.

classic I want to play catch with my son excuse...with the mobility to make it happen.

And yes, that's a privilege too...no one looked sideways at us when we were looking at homes to buy. And it never occurred to me that they would, and yes, that's 'white privilege'.

Anyone move out when you moved in? I bet you had an easier time finding a home than Frank Robinson did when he was the manager of the Baltimore Orioles looking for a home!

[tech37]

On a black person calling the police, you are again misunderstanding the challenge for black men and boys. It's not that the caller is racist, it's that they are more likely to perceive danger when the man or boy is black. This is true throughout the society, in all our messaging, and we see black police at times with these same reactions. And it doesn't matter whether the black boy or man is where they should be, dressed appropriate to their environment, driving a nice car...etc. A black person is less likely to have these perceptions of danger, but it's not a guarantee.

I worked in NYC for 2 decades, the 80s and 90s, catching the dubious end of the Koch admin and then the Dinkins mess. I traveled on foot and subways at all hours of the day, in good and bad areas, and I wasn't packing like Bernard Getz. Looking back, I was probably quite lucky not to have had any incidents. Would I cross the street or change train cars if I felt there was a chance of something happening? You bet, unless there was a cop or two (or back then, even a Guardian Angel) visibly in area, which was rare. Am I racist because of that? No F'ing way. That's called self preservation and has nothing to do with the color of anyone's skin.

I'm with you 100% on taking care to avoid an "incident". We don't walk down a darkened alley by ourselves...

This doesn't make a you a "racist" and no one suggested otherwise.

Now if you're walking down a main Ave and see a group of kids walking toward you, bouncing a basketball, do you notice their skin color? Does it make a difference to your sense of concern? do you cross the street if they're black but not if they're white?

Do those boys notice your reaction on their way to basketball courts behind the church?

It all depends of course. If it's a high crime area I would cross the road whether they were black or white. Would I care how they felt? Not in the least, since I'm looking out for numero uno in that area.

MD, you ever been a victim of a crime? Ever had you car stolen or your house broken into for instance?

Have I been a victim of a crime?
Whole bunch of times. House, car, person.

We lived in the South End of Boston in the mid '80's, last block of half rehabbed brownstones before 5 blocks north to Mass Ave and Roxbury, all boarded up blocks. Played b-ball in the church park across Columbus Ave, sole white guy (and an ex-wrestler to boot). Took me quite awhile to even be allowed on the court, but once it started to dawn on them that we'd then win game after game, (I played tough D, set a hard pick, and passed...only need 4 shooters...) it was easier, though generally the #5 pick...win and stay on...

Car was broken into so many times, the lock didn't work anymore...was really PO'd when the thief broke the window instead of trying the door, in order to steal the AM radio out of the Toyola Corolla...thief in training.

Had a purse snatched from my wife as we went into the brownstone ground level after walking home from dinner, me in front, her mom, then her...we walked by the perp a few doors down, he came up behind us and put his knee in her back and ripped it off; I took off after the perp on foot in my suit and hard soles, he in his sneakers...car saw me chasing the guy, swerved to cut him off and he cut down an alley, I continued to chase...thank goodness he didn't turn around, he came back up on Columbus, me losing ground and yelling, a gay couple walking up their stoop saw me chasing and blew a police whistle, perp dropped the bag, turned the corner and kept going...police were there in 60 seconds...but no dice catching him. when we gave our statements, each of us had seen the guy as we passed him, but we all described him differently, black, brown, white, color of his jacket, all different... So you noticed the perp and nothing registered? You didn't want to change your position in relation to the women to perhaps protect them because you were afraid you might seem racist and/or hurt his feelings?

One lazy Sunday afternoon, my wife and I were sleeping after a little 'afternoon delight' to awaken to a figure in our doorway of our bedroom...he'd come through the back garden and up the stairs..."is Mikey here?" Huh, no Mikey here...he turned and left...did it happen? Yup, found my wife's purse down the hall dropped as he ran out...

Later, we were commuting to Baltimore for business staying a week at a time...got 3 alarm calls three nights in a row...police have responded, no problem, everything looks secure...must be the rats...4th night, the police got smart and sent one cop back to the alley as well as to the front door. Saw two guys loading a TV into the trunk of a car...one guy took off, cop tackles the other guy who is yelling in Spanish....got him by the leg...and the leg comes off!!!...prosthetic leg...cop telling us the story was quite a character. Other perp running through the park got close lined by an undercover female cop...we prosecuted, but never did recover the last stuff...fortunately they didn't get the most precious stuff, though my album collection...

I've also been stuck up at gunpoint, though not in that neighborhood.

No, none of us found him to be particularly threatening or unusual. Looked like a wino, at worst.
Par for the course in the neighborhood.
And we were well lubricated ourselves from a nice dinner, wine, etc about 4 blocks away.

I was opening the door, we were all inside our little iron gate, though my wife was trailing a step behind her mother, gate still open, not that it would have prevented anything.

BTW, in chasing after him, I was in pretty decent shape still in my late 20's but I lost a lot of ground in my hard shoes...it occurred to me afterwards how dangerous it was to be playing 'Spencer For Hire'...

Despite these stories from 5 years in the neighborhood, we got pretty comfortable, though I didn't let my wife walk home by herself at night from Bain at Copley Plaza. I'd meet her or she'd get a cab, despite it being only 6-7 blocks.

For my part, playing ball with all ages from the neighborhood led to lots of quiet acknowledgement away from the court. Of course, the drug deals going down while we were playing ball didn't exactly make me feel chill...

After this incident I assume you moved to an area where you wouldn't need to decide if you should cross the road or not.

No, we were there for 5 years, only reason we moved was for a venture we were building, with a key location back near my hometown of Baltimore. We had a great experience...wish I'd been wise enough to hold onto that property though!

But when we knew my wife was pregnant, we did look for somewhere with a larger backyard, somewhere to throw a ball, etc.

Classic White Flight excuse.

classic I want to play catch with my son excuse...with the mobility to make it happen.

And yes, that's a privilege too...no one looked sideways at us when we were looking at homes to buy. And it never occurred to me that they would, and yes, that's 'white privilege'.

Can you imagine the looks, had you found a house with a larger yard in a black neighborhood?

[MDlaxfan76]

On a black person calling the police, you are again misunderstanding the challenge for black men and boys. It's not that the caller is racist, it's that they are more likely to perceive danger when the man or boy is black. This is true throughout the society, in all our messaging, and we see black police at times with these same reactions. And it doesn't matter whether the black boy or man is where they should be, dressed appropriate to their environment, driving a nice car...etc. A black person is less likely to have these perceptions of danger, but it's not a guarantee.

I worked in NYC for 2 decades, the 80s and 90s, catching the dubious end of the Koch admin and then the Dinkins mess. I traveled on foot and subways at all hours of the day, in good and bad areas, and I wasn't packing like Bernard Getz. Looking back, I was probably quite lucky not to have had any incidents. Would I cross the street or change train cars if I felt there was a chance of something happening? You bet, unless there was a cop or two (or back then, even a Guardian Angel) visibly in area, which was rare. Am I racist because of that? No F'ing way. That's called self preservation and has nothing to do with the color of anyone's skin.

I'm with you 100% on taking care to avoid an "incident". We don't walk down a darkened alley by ourselves...

This doesn't make a you a "racist" and no one suggested otherwise.

Now if you're walking down a main Ave and see a group of kids walking toward you, bouncing a basketball, do you notice their skin color? Does it make a difference to your sense of concern? do you cross the street if they're black but not if they're white?

Do those boys notice your reaction on their way to basketball courts behind the church?

It all depends of course. If it's a high crime area I would cross the road whether they were black or white. Would I care how they felt? Not in the least, since I'm looking out for numero uno in that area.

MD, you ever been a victim of a crime? Ever had you car stolen or your house broken into for instance?

Have I been a victim of a crime?
Whole bunch of times. House, car, person.

We lived in the South End of Boston in the mid '80's, last block of half rehabbed brownstones before 5 blocks north to Mass Ave and Roxbury, all boarded up blocks. Played b-ball in the church park across Columbus Ave, sole white guy (and an ex-wrestler to boot). Took me quite awhile to even be allowed on the court, but once it started to dawn on them that we'd then win game after game, (I played tough D, set a hard pick, and passed...only need 4 shooters...) it was easier, though generally the #5 pick...win and stay on...

Car was broken into so many times, the lock didn't work anymore...was really PO'd when the thief broke the window instead of trying the door, in order to steal the AM radio out of the Toyola Corolla...thief in training.

Had a purse snatched from my wife as we went into the brownstone ground level after walking home from dinner, me in front, her mom, then her...we walked by the perp a few doors down, he came up behind us and put his knee in her back and ripped it off; I took off after the perp on foot in my suit and hard soles, he in his sneakers...car saw me chasing the guy, swerved to cut him off and he cut down an alley, I continued to chase...thank goodness he didn't turn around, he came back up on Columbus, me losing ground and yelling, a gay couple walking up their stoop saw me chasing and blew a police whistle, perp dropped the bag, turned the corner and kept going...police were there in 60 seconds...but no dice catching him. when we gave our statements, each of us had seen the guy as we passed him, but we all described him differently, black, brown, white, color of his jacket, all different... So you noticed the perp and nothing registered? You didn't want to change your position in relation to the women to perhaps protect them because you were afraid you might seem racist and/or hurt his feelings?

One lazy Sunday afternoon, my wife and I were sleeping after a little 'afternoon delight' to awaken to a figure in our doorway of our bedroom...he'd come through the back garden and up the stairs..."is Mikey here?" Huh, no Mikey here...he turned and left...did it happen? Yup, found my wife's purse down the hall dropped as he ran out...

Later, we were commuting to Baltimore for business staying a week at a time...got 3 alarm calls three nights in a row...police have responded, no problem, everything looks secure...must be the rats...4th night, the police got smart and sent one cop back to the alley as well as to the front door. Saw two guys loading a TV into the trunk of a car...one guy took off, cop tackles the other guy who is yelling in Spanish....got him by the leg...and the leg comes off!!!...prosthetic leg...cop telling us the story was quite a character. Other perp running through the park got close lined by an undercover female cop...we prosecuted, but never did recover the last stuff...fortunately they didn't get the most precious stuff, though my album collection...

I've also been stuck up at gunpoint, though not in that neighborhood.

No, none of us found him to be particularly threatening or unusual. Looked like a wino, at worst.
Par for the course in the neighborhood.
And we were well lubricated ourselves from a nice dinner, wine, etc about 4 blocks away.

I was opening the door, we were all inside our little iron gate, though my wife was trailing a step behind her mother, gate still open, not that it would have prevented anything.

BTW, in chasing after him, I was in pretty decent shape still in my late 20's but I lost a lot of ground in my hard shoes...it occurred to me afterwards how dangerous it was to be playing 'Spencer For Hire'...

Despite these stories from 5 years in the neighborhood, we got pretty comfortable, though I didn't let my wife walk home by herself at night from Bain at Copley Plaza. I'd meet her or she'd get a cab, despite it being only 6-7 blocks.

For my part, playing ball with all ages from the neighborhood led to lots of quiet acknowledgement away from the court. Of course, the drug deals going down while we were playing ball didn't exactly make me feel chill...

After this incident I assume you moved to an area where you wouldn't need to decide if you should cross the road or not.

No, we were there for 5 years, only reason we moved was for a venture we were building, with a key location back near my hometown of Baltimore. We had a great experience...wish I'd been wise enough to hold onto that property though!

But when we knew my wife was pregnant, we did look for somewhere with a larger backyard, somewhere to throw a ball, etc.

Classic White Flight excuse.

classic I want to play catch with my son excuse...with the mobility to make it happen.

And yes, that's a privilege too...no one looked sideways at us when we were looking at homes to buy. And it never occurred to me that they would, and yes, that's 'white privilege'.

Anyone move out when you moved in? I bet you had an easier time finding a home than Frank Robinson did when he was the manager of the Baltimore Orioles looking for a home!

solid bet.
I remember when everyone was in a panic when Ray Lewis was reportedly looking at the house across the street from where we are now, my dad thought it was great fun to tease neighbors that he'd heard Ray'd made a bid...think of the parties we'll get invited to...

[MDlaxfan76]

On a black person calling the police, you are again misunderstanding the challenge for black men and boys. It's not that the caller is racist, it's that they are more likely to perceive danger when the man or boy is black. This is true throughout the society, in all our messaging, and we see black police at times with these same reactions. And it doesn't matter whether the black boy or man is where they should be, dressed appropriate to their environment, driving a nice car...etc. A black person is less likely to have these perceptions of danger, but it's not a guarantee.

I worked in NYC for 2 decades, the 80s and 90s, catching the dubious end of the Koch admin and then the Dinkins mess. I traveled on foot and subways at all hours of the day, in good and bad areas, and I wasn't packing like Bernard Getz. Looking back, I was probably quite lucky not to have had any incidents. Would I cross the street or change train cars if I felt there was a chance of something happening? You bet, unless there was a cop or two (or back then, even a Guardian Angel) visibly in area, which was rare. Am I racist because of that? No F'ing way. That's called self preservation and has nothing to do with the color of anyone's skin.

I'm with you 100% on taking care to avoid an "incident". We don't walk down a darkened alley by ourselves...

This doesn't make a you a "racist" and no one suggested otherwise.

Now if you're walking down a main Ave and see a group of kids walking toward you, bouncing a basketball, do you notice their skin color? Does it make a difference to your sense of concern? do you cross the street if they're black but not if they're white?

Do those boys notice your reaction on their way to basketball courts behind the church?

It all depends of course. If it's a high crime area I would cross the road whether they were black or white. Would I care how they felt? Not in the least, since I'm looking out for numero uno in that area.

MD, you ever been a victim of a crime? Ever had you car stolen or your house broken into for instance?

Have I been a victim of a crime?
Whole bunch of times. House, car, person.

We lived in the South End of Boston in the mid '80's, last block of half rehabbed brownstones before 5 blocks north to Mass Ave and Roxbury, all boarded up blocks. Played b-ball in the church park across Columbus Ave, sole white guy (and an ex-wrestler to boot). Took me quite awhile to even be allowed on the court, but once it started to dawn on them that we'd then win game after game, (I played tough D, set a hard pick, and passed...only need 4 shooters...) it was easier, though generally the #5 pick...win and stay on...

Car was broken into so many times, the lock didn't work anymore...was really PO'd when the thief broke the window instead of trying the door, in order to steal the AM radio out of the Toyola Corolla...thief in training.

Had a purse snatched from my wife as we went into the brownstone ground level after walking home from dinner, me in front, her mom, then her...we walked by the perp a few doors down, he came up behind us and put his knee in her back and ripped it off; I took off after the perp on foot in my suit and hard soles, he in his sneakers...car saw me chasing the guy, swerved to cut him off and he cut down an alley, I continued to chase...thank goodness he didn't turn around, he came back up on Columbus, me losing ground and yelling, a gay couple walking up their stoop saw me chasing and blew a police whistle, perp dropped the bag, turned the corner and kept going...police were there in 60 seconds...but no dice catching him. when we gave our statements, each of us had seen the guy as we passed him, but we all described him differently, black, brown, white, color of his jacket, all different... So you noticed the perp and nothing registered? You didn't want to change your position in relation to the women to perhaps protect them because you were afraid you might seem racist and/or hurt his feelings?

One lazy Sunday afternoon, my wife and I were sleeping after a little 'afternoon delight' to awaken to a figure in our doorway of our bedroom...he'd come through the back garden and up the stairs..."is Mikey here?" Huh, no Mikey here...he turned and left...did it happen? Yup, found my wife's purse down the hall dropped as he ran out...

Later, we were commuting to Baltimore for business staying a week at a time...got 3 alarm calls three nights in a row...police have responded, no problem, everything looks secure...must be the rats...4th night, the police got smart and sent one cop back to the alley as well as to the front door. Saw two guys loading a TV into the trunk of a car...one guy took off, cop tackles the other guy who is yelling in Spanish....got him by the leg...and the leg comes off!!!...prosthetic leg...cop telling us the story was quite a character. Other perp running through the park got close lined by an undercover female cop...we prosecuted, but never did recover the last stuff...fortunately they didn't get the most precious stuff, though my album collection...

I've also been stuck up at gunpoint, though not in that neighborhood.

No, none of us found him to be particularly threatening or unusual. Looked like a wino, at worst.
Par for the course in the neighborhood.
And we were well lubricated ourselves from a nice dinner, wine, etc about 4 blocks away.

I was opening the door, we were all inside our little iron gate, though my wife was trailing a step behind her mother, gate still open, not that it would have prevented anything.

BTW, in chasing after him, I was in pretty decent shape still in my late 20's but I lost a lot of ground in my hard shoes...it occurred to me afterwards how dangerous it was to be playing 'Spencer For Hire'...

Despite these stories from 5 years in the neighborhood, we got pretty comfortable, though I didn't let my wife walk home by herself at night from Bain at Copley Plaza. I'd meet her or she'd get a cab, despite it being only 6-7 blocks.

For my part, playing ball with all ages from the neighborhood led to lots of quiet acknowledgement away from the court. Of course, the drug deals going down while we were playing ball didn't exactly make me feel chill...

After this incident I assume you moved to an area where you wouldn't need to decide if you should cross the road or not.

No, we were there for 5 years, only reason we moved was for a venture we were building, with a key location back near my hometown of Baltimore. We had a great experience...wish I'd been wise enough to hold onto that property though!

But when we knew my wife was pregnant, we did look for somewhere with a larger backyard, somewhere to throw a ball, etc.

Classic White Flight excuse.

classic I want to play catch with my son excuse...with the mobility to make it happen.

And yes, that's a privilege too...no one looked sideways at us when we were looking at homes to buy. And it never occurred to me that they would, and yes, that's 'white privilege'.

Can you imagine the looks, had you found a house with a larger yard in a black neighborhood?

Can I imagine such a 'black neighborhood'?
Unfortunately, no, (though ideally we wouldn't think of any neighborhood as a black neighborhood or a white neighborhood) and It would never occur to me to even wonder.

But that's not the case for everyone...some folks do need to think about it...

[Typical Lax Dad]

On a black person calling the police, you are again misunderstanding the challenge for black men and boys. It's not that the caller is racist, it's that they are more likely to perceive danger when the man or boy is black. This is true throughout the society, in all our messaging, and we see black police at times with these same reactions. And it doesn't matter whether the black boy or man is where they should be, dressed appropriate to their environment, driving a nice car...etc. A black person is less likely to have these perceptions of danger, but it's not a guarantee.

I worked in NYC for 2 decades, the 80s and 90s, catching the dubious end of the Koch admin and then the Dinkins mess. I traveled on foot and subways at all hours of the day, in good and bad areas, and I wasn't packing like Bernard Getz. Looking back, I was probably quite lucky not to have had any incidents. Would I cross the street or change train cars if I felt there was a chance of something happening? You bet, unless there was a cop or two (or back then, even a Guardian Angel) visibly in area, which was rare. Am I racist because of that? No F'ing way. That's called self preservation and has nothing to do with the color of anyone's skin.

I'm with you 100% on taking care to avoid an "incident". We don't walk down a darkened alley by ourselves...

This doesn't make a you a "racist" and no one suggested otherwise.

Now if you're walking down a main Ave and see a group of kids walking toward you, bouncing a basketball, do you notice their skin color? Does it make a difference to your sense of concern? do you cross the street if they're black but not if they're white?

Do those boys notice your reaction on their way to basketball courts behind the church?

It all depends of course. If it's a high crime area I would cross the road whether they were black or white. Would I care how they felt? Not in the least, since I'm looking out for numero uno in that area.

MD, you ever been a victim of a crime? Ever had you car stolen or your house broken into for instance?

Have I been a victim of a crime?
Whole bunch of times. House, car, person.

We lived in the South End of Boston in the mid '80's, last block of half rehabbed brownstones before 5 blocks north to Mass Ave and Roxbury, all boarded up blocks. Played b-ball in the church park across Columbus Ave, sole white guy (and an ex-wrestler to boot). Took me quite awhile to even be allowed on the court, but once it started to dawn on them that we'd then win game after game, (I played tough D, set a hard pick, and passed...only need 4 shooters...) it was easier, though generally the #5 pick...win and stay on...

Car was broken into so many times, the lock didn't work anymore...was really PO'd when the thief broke the window instead of trying the door, in order to steal the AM radio out of the Toyola Corolla...thief in training.

Had a purse snatched from my wife as we went into the brownstone ground level after walking home from dinner, me in front, her mom, then her...we walked by the perp a few doors down, he came up behind us and put his knee in her back and ripped it off; I took off after the perp on foot in my suit and hard soles, he in his sneakers...car saw me chasing the guy, swerved to cut him off and he cut down an alley, I continued to chase...thank goodness he didn't turn around, he came back up on Columbus, me losing ground and yelling, a gay couple walking up their stoop saw me chasing and blew a police whistle, perp dropped the bag, turned the corner and kept going...police were there in 60 seconds...but no dice catching him. when we gave our statements, each of us had seen the guy as we passed him, but we all described him differently, black, brown, white, color of his jacket, all different... So you noticed the perp and nothing registered? You didn't want to change your position in relation to the women to perhaps protect them because you were afraid you might seem racist and/or hurt his feelings?

One lazy Sunday afternoon, my wife and I were sleeping after a little 'afternoon delight' to awaken to a figure in our doorway of our bedroom...he'd come through the back garden and up the stairs..."is Mikey here?" Huh, no Mikey here...he turned and left...did it happen? Yup, found my wife's purse down the hall dropped as he ran out...

Later, we were commuting to Baltimore for business staying a week at a time...got 3 alarm calls three nights in a row...police have responded, no problem, everything looks secure...must be the rats...4th night, the police got smart and sent one cop back to the alley as well as to the front door. Saw two guys loading a TV into the trunk of a car...one guy took off, cop tackles the other guy who is yelling in Spanish....got him by the leg...and the leg comes off!!!...prosthetic leg...cop telling us the story was quite a character. Other perp running through the park got close lined by an undercover female cop...we prosecuted, but never did recover the last stuff...fortunately they didn't get the most precious stuff, though my album collection...

I've also been stuck up at gunpoint, though not in that neighborhood.

No, none of us found him to be particularly threatening or unusual. Looked like a wino, at worst.
Par for the course in the neighborhood.
And we were well lubricated ourselves from a nice dinner, wine, etc about 4 blocks away.

I was opening the door, we were all inside our little iron gate, though my wife was trailing a step behind her mother, gate still open, not that it would have prevented anything.

BTW, in chasing after him, I was in pretty decent shape still in my late 20's but I lost a lot of ground in my hard shoes...it occurred to me afterwards how dangerous it was to be playing 'Spencer For Hire'...

Despite these stories from 5 years in the neighborhood, we got pretty comfortable, though I didn't let my wife walk home by herself at night from Bain at Copley Plaza. I'd meet her or she'd get a cab, despite it being only 6-7 blocks.

For my part, playing ball with all ages from the neighborhood led to lots of quiet acknowledgement away from the court. Of course, the drug deals going down while we were playing ball didn't exactly make me feel chill...

After this incident I assume you moved to an area where you wouldn't need to decide if you should cross the road or not.

No, we were there for 5 years, only reason we moved was for a venture we were building, with a key location back near my hometown of Baltimore. We had a great experience...wish I'd been wise enough to hold onto that property though!

But when we knew my wife was pregnant, we did look for somewhere with a larger backyard, somewhere to throw a ball, etc.

Classic White Flight excuse.

classic I want to play catch with my son excuse...with the mobility to make it happen.

And yes, that's a privilege too...no one looked sideways at us when we were looking at homes to buy. And it never occurred to me that they would, and yes, that's 'white privilege'.

Can you imagine the looks, had you found a house with a larger yard in a black neighborhood?

That would be Atlanta

[Cooter]

Keep closing your eyes and putting your fingers in your ears guys.

It's a heck of way to keep from learning anything.

Take a number a get in line.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6753362/b ... rre-stunt/

There are a lot of black racists out there. The press and people like to act as if it is just a white thing.

my opinion but if we don't see each other as equal, we can really never reach the goal of being equal.

Certainly, one should believe in equal in the eyes of the law.
But ignoring race, do you find people to be equal to each other?

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

yes- both with race and without race.

[Cooter]

yes- both with race and without race.

I have doubts about your answer.
I know I don't find people equal. I have run into a few that are exemplary, and others who don't measure up - and most are somewhere in between.

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

yes- both with race and without race.

I have doubts about your answer.
I know I don't find people equal. I have run into a few that are exemplary, and others who don't measure up - and most are somewhere in between.

you can doubt it all you want. and youll be wrong!

[CU88]

Has anyone seen other reporting on this type of "policing"???

Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets

https://www.opb.org/news/article/federa ... rotesters/

I saw images of unmarked "police" at the Lincoln Memorial during DC unrest, which was troublesome, but if this is real, it is some scary UNAmerican stuff.

[Kismet]

Has anyone seen other reporting on this type of "policing"???

Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets

https://www.opb.org/news/article/federa ... rotesters/

I saw images of unmarked "police" at the Lincoln Memorial during DC unrest, which was troublesome, but if this is real, it is some scary UNAmerican stuff.

Both Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting Commissioner of Customs & Border Patrol Mark Morgan are BOTH reported to be in Portland directing this illegal activity against U.S. citizens. Why CPB head is there defies explanation other than he's an expert at grabbing people off the streets.

Telling that both the mayor and governor have been asking them to leave.

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/202 ... ation.html

https://katu.com/news/local/oregon-lead ... d-protests

[CU88]

Has anyone seen other reporting on this type of "policing"???

Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets

https://www.opb.org/news/article/federa ... rotesters/

I saw images of unmarked "police" at the Lincoln Memorial during DC unrest, which was troublesome, but if this is real, it is some scary UNAmerican stuff.

Both Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting Commissioner of Customs & Border Patrol Mark Morgan are BOTH reported to be in Portland directing this illegal activity against U.S. citizens. Why CPB head is there defies explanation other than he's an expert at grabbing people off the streets.

Telling that both the mayor and governor have been asking them to leave.

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/202 ... ation.html

https://katu.com/news/local/oregon-lead ... d-protests

Without badges or ID, how is the average citizen supposed to differentiate one of these anonymous "federal officers" from a militia member? How would anyone reasonably be expected to know of they're being lawfully arrested, or kidnapped?

And what if they defend themselves?

If this is true, they are gestapo. Nothing says fascism like federal police that just pick people up off the street for no reason and don’t say a damn word.

[6ftstick]

Has anyone seen other reporting on this type of "policing"???

Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets

https://www.opb.org/news/article/federa ... rotesters/

I saw images of unmarked "police" at the Lincoln Memorial during DC unrest, which was troublesome, but if this is real, it is some scary UNAmerican stuff.

Both Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting Commissioner of Customs & Border Patrol Mark Morgan are BOTH reported to be in Portland directing this illegal activity against U.S. citizens. Why CPB head is there defies explanation other than he's an expert at grabbing people off the streets.

Telling that both the mayor and governor have been asking them to leave.

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/202 ... ation.html

https://katu.com/news/local/oregon-lead ... d-protests

Without badges or ID, how is the average citizen supposed to differentiate one of these anonymous "federal officers" from a militia member? How would anyone reasonably be expected to know of they're being lawfully arrested, or kidnapped?

And what if they defend themselves?

If this is true, they are gestapo. Nothing says fascism like federal police that just pick people up off the street for no reason and don’t say a damn word.

Guess ya just have to club them all over the head.

[Peter Brown]

Has anyone seen other reporting on this type of "policing"???

Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets

https://www.opb.org/news/article/federa ... rotesters/

I saw images of unmarked "police" at the Lincoln Memorial during DC unrest, which was troublesome, but if this is real, it is some scary UNAmerican stuff.

Both Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting Commissioner of Customs & Border Patrol Mark Morgan are BOTH reported to be in Portland directing this illegal activity against U.S. citizens. Why CPB head is there defies explanation other than he's an expert at grabbing people off the streets.

Telling that both the mayor and governor have been asking them to leave.

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/202 ... ation.html

https://katu.com/news/local/oregon-lead ... d-protests

Without badges or ID, how is the average citizen supposed to differentiate one of these anonymous "federal officers" from a militia member? How would anyone reasonably be expected to know of they're being lawfully arrested, or kidnapped?

And what if they defend themselves?

If this is true, they are gestapo. Nothing says fascism like federal police that just pick people up off the street for no reason and don’t say a damn word.

Guess ya just have to club them all over the head.

Antifa and Dem activists have been rioting in Portland for 49 straight nights causing untold physical damage and also injuries to officers, as well as threatening the lives of prisoners and staff inside the federal building. I'm no fan of much of American federal justice unless it comes to violent crime, and all of this equates to violent crime.

It's funny to see Kismet and CU88 finally opine on the situation there, which I have been writing about for the last several weeks with nary a reply. It is instructive to see that they take their cues from media, clearly showing they have not even one clue what has been occurring. Ted Wheeler, the Mayor of Portland, is a Democratic activist who has shown great sympathy to the anarchists; all you need to do is take a look at the mugshots of the arrested to know what the police are dealing with.

In this situation, I pray that the Feds crack skulls.

Next.

[Cooter]

yes- both with race and without race.

I have doubts about your answer.
I know I don't find people equal. I have run into a few that are exemplary, and others who don't measure up - and most are somewhere in between.

you can doubt it all you want. and youll be wrong!

So Jerry Sandusky and Frank Sinatra are equal?

[ChairmanOfTheBoard]

i see what youre saying. i meant a human is a human is a human. regardless of race or not.

[jhu72]

News from CPB. No problems in this organization.

Given the reports starting to come out of Portland, it looks like those wanting to disband CPB may have a case.

[6ftstick]

News from CPB. No problems in this organization.

Given the reports starting to come out of Portland, it looks like those wanting to disband CPB may have a case.

Defund the police. Disband the police.

Lotsa people gonna vote for that in November. Given the reports.Yep lotsa people.

[jhu72]

C.T. Vivian died this morning.

Obit

[jhu72]

News from CPB. No problems in this organization.

Given the reports starting to come out of Portland, it looks like those wanting to disband CPB may have a case.

Defund the police. Disband the police.

Lotsa people gonna vote for that in November. Given the reports.Yep lotsa people.

… defend fascists and thugs.