114 unarmed Americans were killed by police in 2019. [1]
While any number other than zero is unacceptable, that is also 0.000035% of the US population, or a one in 2.8 million chance. If you are African-American, that goes up to a one in 1.5 million chance – also unacceptable, while at the same time a vanishingly rare occurrence.
You are 328 times – that's 32,800% – more likely to die of suicide than to be killed by police. You are 733 times more likely to die of diabetes than you are to be killed by police.
Police reform in the US is absolutely needed. But suicide prevention and healthy eating are objectively much greater problems that need solving, and are at very least worth as much of "a talk" with developing children.
I can choose not to eat sugar. I can't choose not the get shot by the police. Diabete also kills at a much later average age than police.
Also, getting killed is only one hard-to-hide extreme flavor of police brutality. There are also beatings, rapes, and theft (both civil forfeiture and simple banditry).
This sort of argument is just straight up bullshit.
We already dedicate resources to suicide and diabetes prevention.
We do not have to wait for them to be 0 before we look at the problems with the police force.
You are also using percentage of the total population. Rather than percentage of police interactions. Why, because you know that second number is really bad. Because very few people interact with the police every day.
But, you know, I'm glad you agree that it's a real problem.
These statistics don't include all the discriminatory interactions with the police that don't end in death. Being killed by the police is only one way that racialized policing can have a disparate effect on policed populations.
114 unarmed Americans were killed by police in 2019. [1]
While any number other than zero is unacceptable, that is also 0.000035% of the US population, or a one in 2.8 million chance. If you are African-American, that goes up to a one in 1.5 million chance – also unacceptable, while at the same time a vanishingly rare occurrence.
You are 328 times – that's 32,800% – more likely to die of suicide than to be killed by police. You are 733 times more likely to die of diabetes than you are to be killed by police.
Police reform in the US is absolutely needed. But suicide prevention and healthy eating are objectively much greater problems that need solving, and are at very least worth as much of "a talk" with developing children.
[1] https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/nationaltrends [2] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm