I'm not saying racism doesn't exist, so let's be clear about this.
I live near St. Louis, so I have some knowledge on the ground if you will. There are over 5 dozen governments when you consider St. Louis City, St. Louis County (incorporated and unincorporated) and the various municipalities in the county.
One of the biggest issues being investigates is the number of warrants due to unpaid fines.
Some claim that because African Americans have more warrants and unpaid fines that somehow there is some sort of institutional racism.
I don't know if anyone has checked to see if there are other correlations such as income, education level and others.
It seems there are some who don't realize that when you get a speeding ticket, you have to pay the ticket. If you don't pay the ticket, a warrant may be issued for your arrest, and the costs go up.
Combine this with the fact that many low income communities appear to write more tickets than others to supplement their income stream and you may find that some populations get more tickets than others.
Is that because the system is racist, or because some who get tickets simply don't call the courts and get on a payment plan. They ignore the problem and it gets worse. Is that a race issue, an education issue, or a behavior issue?
That isn't even addressing the fact that the communities who are aggressive in issuing traffic tickets are pretty well known and the speed limits are posted.
I drive in some of these areas to get to customer data centers. I simply follow the speed limit. No tickets, no problems.
So from my perspective, it's not a racial issue. It's an issue where people don't follow the speed limit and either don't read the instructions on the back of the ticket or don't seek competent expert advice. I don't mean lawyer, I means someone who has successfully dealt with such a ticket and avoided having an arrest warrant issued.
So my problem with such broad and vague definitions is one is only looking at outcomes. If more of one community is impacted, a label of institutional racism puts the blame on the institution. But is that really the case. Or, could it be possible that different communities, for whatever reason, choose to deal with the same issue in a different way?
If I get a speeding ticket, I pay the traffic lawyers $90+ the fine to plead it down to 30 days probation and nothing on my driving record if I get no further tickets in that period. (OK, it may be more than $90, that was some time ago.) In my case, the fee to the lawyer is less than a day of vacation is worth.
For others, with a lower income, they may have a different means to resolve the issue. Take time off their job, and see if they can get on a payment plan. Some simply do nothing.
Again, is that due to race, income, education or what?
It's too easy to say institutional racism, but that doesn't really solve the issue. If someone is poor, they will remain poor even if we don't charge them for speeding. If someone will not seek expert guidance, will that change if we don't charge them for speeding?
So even if you prove institutional racism, then what? Changing the institutions will not address the other core issues mentioned. Fixing the traffic infraction revenue machine will not fix kids dropping out of school at higher rates, or reading at lower levels, and on and on.
So even if you do find this correlation, what makes it more relevant than any other correlation one might find such as dropping out, reading levels, education levels, income, gender, two parent homes, to name a few possible correlations?
Am I saying all of those correlations exist? No, I've not seen all the data.
I simply remind folks that correlation doesn't equate to causation. Just because something appears to correlate based on race does not mean race is the factor driving the apparent correlation.
That's why generalizations are offensive. They don't say much about any one individual.
I think the reason folks are bristling at your bringing up institutional racism is that is has nothing to do with the topic of this thread, which is the lack of Federal charges against Officer Wilson. The mention of such a thing is a non-sequitur here.
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
What is your definition of "institutional racism"?
It's when an institution's actions disproportionately affect different people based on race, whether or not the people or intentions behind those actions are overtly racist themselves. This isn't my definition, by the way. Google it.
This may or may not have been a factor for Michael Brown and Officer Wilson, but it certainly is a problem generally. I'd encourage you to look it up.
