| HN Mirror

But as you say, based in the information provided that conclusion is speculative at best. The sensible conclusion based on the information provided is incompetence. I think hanlons razor is applicable here

cbsmith 886 days ago

Yes, I do not think one can draw conclusions. However, much as one might wish to apply Hanlon's razor, Occam's razor also applies, and from a lot of people's perspective it cuts towards racism.

But surely the fewest assumptions here points to incompetence? Or more kindly a lack of knowledge about the way the fraud was commited? Based on the information provided I'd side with belligerent incompetence.

Based on the information would you conclude it was racist if the accused person was white? Would you conclude it was racist if the cop was also a first nation/aboriginal? I doubt it. What would your conclusion be then?

michael1999 886 days ago

A little bit of column A, and a little bit of column B. Remote postings don't get star officers. And the RCMP has a famously ugly history with the natives of Western Canada. And some officers at a remote detachment might feel freer to act against some than others. What do you think the RCMP was even for?

What parts in those columns (I'm on mobile and only have one column, do you mean paragraphs?) show this was racist? I fully accept historical injustices occurred, and the possibility that remote places might not attract "star" officers and maybe that some remote officers could feel that a remote posting is an opportunity to enact their racist desires. But even if these are true it doesn't make this interaction racist.

> What do you think the RCMP was even for?

To police their communities? Or, based on your preceeding sentences are you suggesting that the RCMP's purpose is racism?

orwin 886 days ago

To protect the 'common man' from indigenous tribes at the borders. I think originally it's a military Corp designed to protect settlers.

mlinhares 886 days ago

Why not both, right?

> But surely the fewest assumptions here points to incompetence?

Don't call me Shirley. ;-)

As I said, that's very much a matter of perspective about which is more prevalent or more likely to be prevalent in the RCMP: incompetence or racism. If you include the context of the RCMP's history, racism does indeed seem more prevalent.

> Based on the information would you conclude it was racist if the accused person was white? Would you conclude it was racist if the cop was also a first nation/aboriginal? I doubt it. What would your conclusion be then?

I said I don't think one can draw a conclusion from the information provided, so I'm not sure why you are asking these questions. No, nothing you said would lead me to draw a conclusion.

andreareina 886 days ago

Halon's razor applies to the totality of the evidence, not just instance by instance. If you have a pattern of "incompetence" when dealing with First Nations issues that doesn't arise when not, that's really no longer adequately explained by incompetence.

Have we established a pattern of behaviour for this particular officer in this regard?

No, we haven't. Could be both a fair minded and competent officer for all we know.

verbify 886 days ago

Hanlon's razor is "never attribute to malice that which could be attributed to stupidity". However racism itself might be stupidity and not malice - much of everyday racism isn't the malicious KKK kind, it's much more similar to stupidity.

So if this interaction was either down to malice or stupidity it's racist? Seems like a neat tautology...

It's less a "neat tautology" and more a demonstration that Hanlon's razor isn't as useful in this situation one might think.

account-5 885 days ago

It doesn't. It's an attempt to make both sides of hanlons razor equal racism with no proof that either side is such.

Stupidity = racism Malice = racism

Sigh. No, it doesn't mean that both sides of Hanlon's razor equal racism. It does mean that Hanlon's razor doesn't rule out racism. Hanlon's razor isn't about proof. It's about recognizing that one often projects intent onto circumstances where none exists. While racism can fuel malice, it is entirely possible for racism to exist without any malice.

mikeravkine 886 days ago

The razor doesn't apply to the police.

Interesting. Why not?