This video is sponsored by Raycon.
Most of my videos are opinion essays designed
to start a conversation and encourage people
to think critically while also being thoughtful
and compassionate.
But sometimes in order to make a point, I
have to break down the facts and data surrounding
a subject.
I care a lot about facts and data, in fact
I try not to have strong opinions about anything
unless there is data to support it.
I think of myself as a progressive person,
and sometimes progressives kind of intuitively
understand that we’re on the right track
morally.
Like, sure, more freedom, more justice, less
suffering, less inequality, all those things
sound pretty good.
Like we naturally like those ideas, even when
we don’t necessarily have all of the data
to support those views.
So I think most progressives understand that
there’s something really wrong with how
the police and the justice system interacts
with black people.
We keep seeing unarmed, nonviolent black people
killed by police.
We keep hearing stories of unfair treatment
and unequal punishments for the same crimes.
We know something’s going on, we see the
activists at work, we hashtag “Black Lives
Matter” but not all of us have taken the
time to look into the data.
One of the most common tactics that bad faith
debaters like to use is to try to “gotcha”
people, by making you have to defend your
opinions on the spot by asking for sources
or throwing out statistics, which are often
decontextualized, if not completely made up.
When it comes to racial bias in criminal justice,
you may hear things like “well, white people
get killed by police more than black people”
or “Black people only get killed by police
more because they commit more crime,”
And things of that nature.
If you don’t know off of the top of your
head the facts that counter those claims,
you can be made to look foolish, and they
get to walk away as if they’ve totally owned
you.
Well I’m here to tell you, that when it
comes to bias against black people in law
enforcement and criminal justice, the data
is certainly on your side, overwhelmingly
so.
And even though, my videos are generally more
opinion than fact-based, I’m gonna help
you out in this video by sharing some of the
data on this subject, as kind of a starter
resource for those interested in researching
this stuff.
Hi, I’m T1J.
[WEIRD VOICEOVER:] Follow me!
This video, like most of my videos would not
be possible without my Members and Patrons,
including homies like Steven Kollars, malpertius,
Rachelle Anne, and Anna Lynne Heinkel.
If you’d like to support the channel, you
can become a Homie yourself, by clicking the
Join button below the video, or by checking
out my page on Patreon.
I’m going to say a lot things, and most
of the things that are reports of data or
assertions of fact will have visual aids on
the screen from the sources themselves if
such a visual aid, such as a graph, is available,
but you can check out the full text of these
sources, as well as more sources not shown
in the video by checking the links in the
description.
All of the data I’m sharing are either peer
reviewed studies, or simple mathematical analyses
using data that is readily available from
local and federal collections.
So, the police definitely kill a disproportionate
number of people of color, particularly black
people.
Although a larger number of white people are
killed, black people are killed at more than
twice the rate, even though they make up about
13% of the population.
Black people killed by the police are much
more likely than White people to be unarmed,
and less likely to pose an immediate threat.
This is all well-established by many studies.
A common argument for why this occurs is essentially
that black people commit more violent crime,
which results in them interacting with the
police a higher rate, which in turn results
in them being killed by police more often.
Keep in mind, this ignores the point that
unarmed and non-violent black people are killed
at a higher rate as well.
However several studies suggest that there
is no real relationship between the crime
rate in a given area and the number of people
who are killed by police.
It’s likely true that black people interact
with the police at a higher rate than white
people, but this is often also due to racial
bias.
One of the most famous examples of this is
the “stop and frisk” program in New York
and similar practices in other cities, which
pretty openly targets black and latinx civilians.
In 2017, 90% of the people detained by police
in New York City were either black or Latinx,
even though those groups only make up roughly
half of the population.
And again, this has nothing to do with crime
rates, even after controlling for crime rate,
people of color are stopped at a disproportionate
rate.
Although the quantity of stops have reduced
in recent years, this practice continues to
this day even though there’s no evidence
that it has had any effect on reducing crime.
In general, there’s plenty of data that
shows that Black people are more likely to
be stopped by police than white people.
Black people are more likely to be searched
during a stop, even though black people are
less likely to be found with contraband.
A couple of recent studies found that while
black people are much more likely to be pulled
over than white people, the disparity decreases
at night time, when police are less able to
distinguish the race of the driver.
Black people are also more likely to be threatened
by police, and to have police use force against
them.
This remains true whether the contact is civilian
or police initiated.
There’s a lot of talk about violent crime,
but most of the high profile media cases regarding
police killings of black people involve either
non-violent crimes, or no crime being committed
at all.
In fact Black people are arrested far more
for non-violent crimes such as disorderly
conduct, vandalism, and drug possession even
though they commit these crimes at similar
rates as white people.
The drug war has been one of the most significant
contributors to the disproportionate arrests
and incarceration of black people.
As mentioned black people are arrested at
a far higher rate for drug crimes, even though
they use and sell drugs at similar rates as
white people.
Police raids and SWAT deployments are used
disproportionately against black people and
in black neighborhoods.
When police seize assets from civilians (which
is already fucked up by the way), they do
it more to black people and other people of
color, than they do to white people.
Black people are also much more likely to
be shown to be wrongfully committed of a crime.
And the racial bias continues even after the
initial interaction with the police.
Black defendants are more likely than white
defendants to be detained while awaiting trial,
and are given higher bail amounts for similar
crimes.
Black people receive longer sentences for
the same crimes, even when controlling for
factors such as age or criminal history.
--
There are over 2 million incarcerated people
in the United States, the highest number in
the world by the way, and 40% of those people
are Black.
Also Black people make up 30% of the people
on probation or parole, and black people are
more likely than white people to have their
probation revoked, even when adjusting for
relevant factors.
Black prisoners are more likely to be punished
with solitary confinement, which by the way
is a draconic punishment that the psychological
community believe is tantamount to torture.
And there’s more to this obviously.
There’s no doubt that black people commit,
or at least are arrested for and convicted
of a disproportionate number of violent crimes.
And although, as I’ve shown, this doesn’t
explain or justify racial bias in criminal
justice, it’s still an important subject.
Black Americans are also disproportionately
poor, and poverty, with all of the struggles
that come along with it, like limited access
to healthcare or education is strongly associated
with violent crime.
The generational poverty within the black
community is largely a result of the legacy
of slavery and discrimination in America,
which continues to this day in many ways,
including bias in policing and criminal justice.
It’s kind of a sick game.
Of course I believe in personal agency, and
that we’re all ultimately responsible for
our own choices.
But our society antagonizes, marginalizes,
incarcerates and kills black people at disproportionate
rates, which limits economic opportunities
and erodes self-determination.
Which naturally leads to more crime.
And then we use those crimes as a justification
to continue attacking black people.
It’s a deadly cycle.
But again, I must emphasize.
this goes beyond crime.
Black people are more likely to be mistrusted
or perceived as threatening even when they
are not criminals.
And this bias plays a part in various aspects
of society, including criminal justice.
As with any body of data, there are imperfections
and unanswered questions, not everything is
cut and dry.
And we must always be prepared to change our
mind when provided with compelling evidence.
But the general idea that there is racial
bias in policing and criminal justice is overwhelmingly
supported by the available data.
To dispute this, you’d have to willingly
ignore mountains and mountains of evidence.
Lots of which I’ll share in the description,
as I said.
I’d also like to point out that much of
this bias affects other people of color as
well, especially Natives and Latinx people.
However, the issues surrounding black people
are front and center in the national conversation
right now, and as you might imagine, hit closer
to home for me personally.
And this is a complex issue, the fact that
this particular video is about racial bias
by no means implies that racial bias is the
only problem within the criminal justice system.
I feel like that should be obvious, but I’ve
been doing this long enough to anticipate
the inevitable whataboutism that happens in
the comments.
Either way I hope that this inspires you to
keep researching and keep informing yourself,
not only about this topic, but any issue out
there you find important, because there’s
always more to learn.
DAS JUS ME DOE.
What do you think?
Thanks for watching, and thank you to Raycon
for sponsoring this video.
Raycon offers stylish wireless earbuds in
a variety of colors and patterns.
They’re great for working out, listening
to music or podcasts, or working from home,
which I know a lot of people are still doing.
They are the earbuds of choice for celebrities
like Snoop Dogg, Melissa Etheridge, and JR
Smith.
The best part though is that Raycon earbuds
start at about half the price of any other
premium wireless earbuds on the market.
Without sacrificing the amazing audio quality
you’d expect.
The Everyday E25 Earbuds are the best model
yet, with 6 hours of playtime, seamless Bluetooth
pairing and a more compact design.
I personally love them.
They are super comfortable and discreet, and
have no dangling wires or those weird stems.
And this is coming from a person who normally
doesn’t even like earbuds.
So if you’d like to see what Raycon
has to offer, just go to buyraycon.com/T1J.
There's a link in the description below.
And if you follow my link, you can get 15%
off of your order.
And remember, by supporting sponsors like
Raycon, you not only get access to a great
product, you also support me and help me take
my content to the next level.
