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0 pointsCPLX10y ago0 comments

> He's a black man driving a car too nice for him. That's not about the war on drugs.

Actually, it kind of is. What's the implicit assumption in that story? Of course, that he's a drug dealer. What would be the pretext for pulling him over and searching his car? To look for drugs.

It really is the cornerstone of policing in 2015, just try to imagine counterfactuals where there was no such thing as illegal drugs and drug dealers and so on and it becomes obvious.

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beat10y ago

But again, look at the high profile shootings recently. The cops weren't looking for drugs. In all of those cases, they were stopped for basic harassment.

The nice car isn't a reason to pull over the doctor. It's an excuse.

CPLXOP10y ago

I think you're saying this is not about drugs. That's correct.

That's a distinct statement from saying it's not about the war on drugs. It's definitely about that.

beat10y ago

To push it farther, I'm saying the war on drugs is a symptom, not a cause - it's rooted in racism. So it's not about drugs... it's about race.

CPLXOP10y ago

Yes, the war on drugs is an effect, and racism is the cause. If that's what you're saying then we agree.

But on a practical level, the war on drugs is the means by which institutional racism is most likely to be prosecuted in this country. So to some extent many racist acts are the effect of the racist war on drugs.

Perhaps a distinction without a difference. Clearly our drug policy and racism are deeply intertwined. Many do in fact disagree with that or are ignorant of it.

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beat10y ago

But again, look at the high profile shootings recently. The cops weren't looking for drugs. In all of those cases, they were stopped for basic harassment.

The nice car isn't a reason to pull over the doctor. It's an excuse.

CPLXOP10y ago

I think you're saying this is not about drugs. That's correct.

That's a distinct statement from saying it's not about the war on drugs. It's definitely about that.

beat10y ago

To push it farther, I'm saying the war on drugs is a symptom, not a cause - it's rooted in racism. So it's not about drugs... it's about race.

CPLXOP10y ago

Yes, the war on drugs is an effect, and racism is the cause. If that's what you're saying then we agree.

Perhaps a distinction without a difference. Clearly our drug policy and racism are deeply intertwined. Many do in fact disagree with that or are ignorant of it.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse