I call that a white privilege, don't you?

[drmeow]

4. While I agree with your basic premise

that it is a systemic problem and the "divide and conquer" issue of turning it into a racial issue is a valid concern, we still need to acknowledge and do something about the fact that race plays a huge role. We need to find ways to address it on both levels which starts (for me) with keeping an "and" in there. It is a racial AND systemic problem. Reversing the militarization of the police is not going to end stop and frisk. Both sides need to be addressed at the same time ... because history suggests that the benefits to addressing systemic issues take longer to reach minority populations (I'm thinking of things like gendered income disparity - black women still make less than white women even though women's wages overall have risen). Racial inequality in law enforcement and justice is at epidemic levels and minority communities can't and shouldn't have to wait for the benefits to reach them.