Some people have a tendency to universalize for their identity group their personal lived experience. For instance if a Black man (descendant of slaves, or 'foundational') has frequent run-ins with the cops as he grows up in an urban part of USA, he can over time start believing that all other Black men in the country experience the same, even if this may not necessarily true for other Black men (say immigrants from Africa or the Caribbean) growing up in the same neighbourhood.
There is no single homogenous Black experience. Yet activist groups like Black Lives Matter premise their actions on this assumption. It is true, as Prof. Loury pointed out, that many perpetrators of violent crime happen to be Black and that police, who are not unaware of this fact, frequently use more force than necessary when dealing with any Black person they encounter. But this does not mean that all Black people have a fear of being randomly gunned down by White police every time they step out of their homes.
While Black people can and should speak candidly on their own personal experiences with the police, they should also be cognizant of the fact that not all Blacks have scary police stories to tell.
Indeed. It is common for people to seek input on contentious issues from their family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, etc. But often the people we associate with have similar views on these issues, which reinforces confirmation bias. If Jon had asked strangers or people he knew would have had contrary opinions, the responses he got may have contradicted or opposed his views. This kind of thing is done even in academia, where researchers are very selective on who and where they seek information from for fear of finding out they are wrong.
A great session!
Some people have a tendency to universalize for their identity group their personal lived experience. For instance if a Black man (descendant of slaves, or 'foundational') has frequent run-ins with the cops as he grows up in an urban part of USA, he can over time start believing that all other Black men in the country experience the same, even if this may not necessarily true for other Black men (say immigrants from Africa or the Caribbean) growing up in the same neighbourhood.
There is no single homogenous Black experience. Yet activist groups like Black Lives Matter premise their actions on this assumption. It is true, as Prof. Loury pointed out, that many perpetrators of violent crime happen to be Black and that police, who are not unaware of this fact, frequently use more force than necessary when dealing with any Black person they encounter. But this does not mean that all Black people have a fear of being randomly gunned down by White police every time they step out of their homes.
While Black people can and should speak candidly on their own personal experiences with the police, they should also be cognizant of the fact that not all Blacks have scary police stories to tell.
That was a good moment when John asked Jon Laster how he had selected for the responses he solicited for his police harassment narrative project.
Indeed. It is common for people to seek input on contentious issues from their family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, etc. But often the people we associate with have similar views on these issues, which reinforces confirmation bias. If Jon had asked strangers or people he knew would have had contrary opinions, the responses he got may have contradicted or opposed his views. This kind of thing is done even in academia, where researchers are very selective on who and where they seek information from for fear of finding out they are wrong.