Africans are most likely correct in their acertation that racism is common, even among the police. The system is in fact in need of change, and that starts with changing the attitudes of citizens to respect public officials.
The needed changes are deeper than simple racism. This is an issue that goes straight to the core of ethical values necessary for the functional living of American citizens. Too often teens and even children have fallen into prejudice against the police as a direct consequence of tolerance for hip hop culture. Hip hop culture attitude tact is a great offender because it does not tolerate ways that will ever result in respect for police officers, but instead degrades the fabric of society for what rappers see as truth. I remember the songs from grade school, like "Fuck the Police," by N.W.A. or 911 is a joke by Public Enemy. Those types of attitudes improve nothing, and quite contrarily ruin the idea of respect crucial for a positive perspective of police.
For there to be improvement, hip hop culture must change its attitude toward police by viewing officers who work such jobs as of caliber as most of us view doctors. We as Americans need better leadership that fosters respect among our youth. We all know what sells, so people sell it. That is capitalism in a nutshell. I suggest making capitalism smarter through censorship. If the USA is to get beyond this, we need to stop selling millions of dollars and copies of anti-law enforcement media paraphernalia. In order to improve our condition merely rioting, protesting, and/or complaining is not going to cut it. It will take legislation, and giving up some freedom through permission of censorship. The situation with the police will not get better unless we as a society act to make the job of being a police officer a more respectable position. What I mean is rather than protesting or rioting against the police or the criminal justice system, we should be encouraging and fostering respect of public officials, such that respectable people will find these jobs more desirable. Then, respect for the police will come more naturally because racism won't be tolerated.
from CNN:
There is a startling racial divide in America between how whites and nonwhites view police and the criminal justice system, according to a CNN / ORC poll released today.
More than half of white Americans - 57% - think none or almost none of the police in their area are prejudiced against blacks. Just one quarter of nonwhite Americans feel the same way.
The survey, which was mostly conducted before the shooting of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in New York on Saturday, found similar results on perceptions of the justice system as a whole. While 41% of Americans say the criminal justice system treats blacks fairly, far more whites - 50% - see equity. Among nonwhites, that figure drops to just 21%. Two-thirds of nonwhites said that the criminal justice system favors whites over blacks.
