Man, I went through this whole thread (again) just to try to see things from Matty44's perspective. Here are some highlights and my thoughts on the matter (as a person of color).
I'm not sure what you were trying to argue here. Multiple times, you brought up the fact that an officer claiming Elijah was reaching for his partner's gun is evidence that a chokehold/submission was warranted, but then you say that the third option (i.e., the cop made it up) is less likely without really further qualifying that statement. I'm not sure I believe that, given that police perjury and the blue code of silence is well-documented in court opinions, news reports, scholarly literature, police reports, etc. I'm not going to do your research for you. It's not that unbelievable that a cop would make some stuff up just to body slam an innocent, 140 lbs. autistic black kid for "not complying." I'm not saying that that's what happened, but it's not as rare as you would like for it to be.
In this day and age, I'm still surprised that people still resort to this argument of "a few bad apples," conveniently forgetting the second part of the expression, "spoils the bunch," which literally and figuratively happens. The important question isn't whether or not these individual officers were "bad apples," but what systems and tools are in place that allow for (and encourage) racial discrimination. We need to be honest about the history of policing (i.e., slave patrols) and the systemic oppression of black people (Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, etc.) that leads to the very statistics that you like to quote. We also haven't addressed the mentality of policing in general--that they are "above the law," using "fear" as an excuse to enact force, using the "warrior" mentality (a la Dave Grossman) when dealing with citizens, and again, the blue wall of silence that pervades police departments, prosecutor's offices, and courtrooms.
When George Floyd was murdered for using a counterfeit $20 bill, most people (including some police chiefs) were willing to denounce that act and call it is such, yet about 75 officers stood outside of Chauvin's home in an act of solidarity. A few bad apples, I guess.
Being intellectually honest would mean admitting that he was never actually under arrest.
The 500 mg IM dose of ketamine is a hefty dose, sure, but you can't definitively say that ketamine was the "largest culprit," especially in the context of a maximally, physically and mentally stressful interaction with the police in a kid with whatever underlying coronary artery abnormality. His death was multifactorial, and we'll leave it at that.
This is an old argument, which in America, is mostly made by white people who have never faced any sort of discrimination, and as such, proceed to claim that no such thing exists without relying on the "burden of proof" argument. It's dangerous. Racism is not a mathematical proof. The standard for evidence to meet that burden of proof is determined by context/societal standards and conventions. People of color get discriminated against by the police disproportionately compared to white people in America. Period.
I get your point, but at the same time, why does the argument have to end at whether or not black people get killed disproportionately? Data are out there about police disproportionately harrassing black people and people of color during traffic stops or while they're walking in the streets (e.g., the Stop-and-Frisk policies in NY).
I don't need you to stand by me on a mountain top and call out racism harshly and demand punishment for the racist AFTER I show you some proof of racism. I need you to acknowledge that it exists within nearly every aspect of America and is deeply engrained in its roots, rotting the system to its core. Much like the argument that it's "only a few bad cops," it's akin to attributing racism to "a few bigots." These ideologies are sustained by systems of belief/perception, stereotypes, and cultural/social practice. These ideologies influence policing in America, and that's what the riots are about. These issues are not small issues to people of color who face harassment and discrimination day in and day out. These are the actual things that drive more and more of a wedge into our society. It's hard for you to see this as a non-black person, unfortunately, as you've alluded to in your previous posts.
Rayshard Brooks, the guy who pointed a non-lethal taser at an officer from 18 feet away and was fatally shot twice in the back and buttocks, after which the officer kicked his body while he was down? The killing was not justified. Whether or not it was due to racism is a different question.
You live in the same world actually, just a different reality. This is obvious. Again, an officer's credibility is not a good argument to hang your hat on.
Kind of like how George Floyd did, or Philando Castile. These statements are nice and convenient when you are a white person in America. Even if it would have led to a different outcome in Elijah's case, it unfortunately doesn't address the aforementioned issues of police culture and systemic racism in America that leads to these kinds of things happening over and over and over again.
I can regale you with my stories of police stopping me, frisking me, handcuffing me, checking me for gang tattoos, pointing an assault rifle at me, etc., as many people of color in America can, but to what end? It starts with you, for you to be as "open-minded" as you expect others to be, and to actually understand the history and be willing to listen to people like me and believe us when we say we are suffering and have been suffering for a long time.
