Zaac, you've said a couple times that there are standards that keep black men off the police force. I can't quite wrap my head around that. How can a universal standard be racist? Can you give an example of an actual standard that could possibly be racist?
Hey Sapper. Long time no speak. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I didn't say racist in reference to the standards. But they can be discriminatory. If you can show that the qualifying standards or something about them disproportionately disqualifies people of a specific race, color, religion, age, etc, then the qualifying standard is deemed discriminatory.
That's why I said that it's probably not a bad idea to have the DOJ look into the hiring practices of the Ferguson Police Department. 3 out of 53 when nearly 70% of the town is Black? That's just crazy and dangerous because anything the police department does is going to be looked at like an "us against them" situation.
If I were the mayor, the first thing I would have done upon taking office is started to even out those numbers.
It creates a very dangerous situation for the police when you've got communities of black people who essentially feel like they are once again being lorded over by white slave masters on a plantation.
People, no matter what their skin color, need to be able to have a connection to the people who are policing them. But the Ferguson situation is just crazy. 3 out of 53.
I'm not saying there isn't. I just can't understand how there possibly could be.
I believe there was a case against BMW a few years ago where they were using criminal background checks as a condition for hiring. There was also one against Pepsi. It's not illegal to require a background check. But if your requirement disparately impacts one of those protected groups, then it's considered discriminatory.
And when there is only 3 out of 53 black police officers in a town that's nearly 70% black, something is wrong.