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by pietroglyph 2208 days ago
> US cops work in a dangerous environment

In the US policing doesn’t even make it in the top 20 most dangerous jobs by fatalities [1] or injuries [2].

[1]: https://advisorsmith.com/data/most-dangerous-jobs/ (original source is BLS; this source just did the per-worker math) [2]: https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/os/snr02_00_2018.xlsx (2018 is the latest data available from BLS)

1 comments

There is a difference between the hazard (what would happen) vs the risk (what can happen after adding in precautions). Eg, maybe a lot of police would die, but they are wearing body armour so they do not. Compare to forestry workers who are in an environment where they don't need armour at all.

But the stats aren't really relevant here; the issue is that there is a video going around in which official appears to brutally murder someone in cold blood. And a sneaking suspicion that justice won't be served. And a large population suffering under an uncertain non-economy for around 2 months now.

The issue is that there’s a large population suffering under fear and injustice for over a century now. Maybe you’re just now noticing the pleas for it to stop.
> In Saint Paul, a Dollar Tree store and another Target store were looted, and a Wendy's restaurant was set ablaze. [0]

That is also a factor, but I'm going to interpret this as tell-tale signs of a breakdown under economic stress.

I can't see a train of thought that starts with a century of injustice and ends with "therefore I should loot Target". I can very easily see a link from "I can't afford stuff because my job just vanished" to the burning and looting.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Cities_protests#Day_3:_Ma...

The people demonstrating aren’t the same as the people looting. Do you truly believe they are?
I don't even believe the 'people looting' are one mass. And I doubt the protestors are working off a single hive mind.

But in particular I don't believe that the protestors are worried about police vs forestry fatality statistics.

I don’t understand what statistics have to do with this.

It might be possible that the quarantine and economic hardships are a factor at play, but the ultimate causative factor is that non-white Americans are tired of both the veiled and bald faced racism and mistreatment that is a daily issue.

The protests aren’t just about cops killing black men; they’re about every single aspect of daily life being made more difficult because of constant racism and abuse.