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  2. I said Trade. One is capable of picking trade partners, and this issue is far more nuanced than you are allowing for. Countries positively improving the conditions of their workforce can be factored in, as can countries already treating their workers well, and appropriate and equal trade can be given to them. Exploitation of a workforce, is probably the most incorrect angle of argument against socialism that I have ever seen proposed. The workforce runs the country in such a system, it, as you have repeatedly pointed out, seeks unity amongst the world's workers for better conditions.
  3. @Bjorn K Holmstrom I'm going to go over this in detail over the weekend when I am rested, thank you for being bold.
  4. This is extremely easy to challenge. How many fathers would step in front of a bullet for their own child. But we are not talking bullets or children. We are talking collective good, a much more loosely defined term, and with a much lower bar for the ego than the cost of your life. If the country is in a pure survival state, nothing works well. The average joe isn't taking a bullet for a random person, maybe a child. If the country is reasonably well off, and survival needs have been met, its easier to think of others. But here is the kicker: The way to meet the survival needs of the worst off in society, starts with the improvement of social programs. >>Socialism would work is we were all Awakened, egoless saints. Yep. But it'll work okay if we are pretty good people. Flawed and all. Not perfect, nothing is. It'll also work okay on those that need it and would value it most, because they are bought into its success. You are right, its the people in it that matter, and the amount of people ripping it down.
  5. Gotta also add CBD and CBG in the mix cuz i am polyamorous.
  6. Throwing out a break up card like that is the beginning of an end. It destroys safe and you wont be able to feel fully safe. He should have discussed the issued with you properly first. Break up card is never meant to be used. If it is used, it is basically over.
  7. You’re right. I am not merely a person watching sports. I AM the ball itself!
  9. Thanks, I'm learning something today. Grok: The statistics on exoneration rates by race, as discussed, reveal stark disparities: Black Americans, who comprise about 13.6% of the population, account for roughly 53% of exonerations since 1989, suggesting they are around seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of serious crimes than white Americans. These patterns are well-documented and hold up under scrutiny, but whether they constitute definitive "evidence of systemic racism" depends on how one defines the term and interprets the causes. Systemic racism generally refers to embedded policies, practices, or structures within institutions (like the criminal justice system) that produce racially unequal outcomes, often without requiring overt individual prejudice. Many experts and organizations, such as the Innocence Project and the National Registry of Exonerations, view these disparities as clear indicators of such systemic issues, pointing to factors like official misconduct, implicit biases in policing and prosecutions, and racial profiling that amplify wrongful convictions for Black defendants. However, some scholars and analyses argue that these patterns aren't necessarily proof of *current* systemic racism, or at least not solely attributable to it. Below, I'll outline the key critical arguments against interpreting the data this way, drawing on available research for a balanced view. 1. Disparities May Reflect Underlying Crime Rates and Suspect Pools, Not Bias - A common counterargument is that higher exoneration rates for Black Americans stem from higher baseline involvement in certain crimes, which increases the pool of potential wrongful convictions without implying racism in the system itself. For instance, homicide rates in Black communities are about eight times higher than in white communities, often due to socioeconomic factors like poverty and segregation. This means more Black suspects are investigated for serious crimes like murder (which account for a large share of exonerations), leading to more opportunities for errors like mistaken identifications or flawed evidence. - The National Registry of Exonerations' own report acknowledges this "base rate" effect but argues it doesn't fully explain the gaps—after adjusting for conviction rates (e.g., Black defendants are 40% of murder convictions but 55% of murder exonerations), Black convicts are still about 80% more likely to be innocent than others. Critics, however, contend that incomplete data on unreported or unsolved crimes makes it hard to rule out behavioral differences as the primary driver, rather than systemic bias. 2. Own-Race Bias in Eyewitness Identifications and Evidence-Based Suspicion - Many wrongful convictions (about 69% of DNA-based exonerations) involve mistaken eyewitness identifications, and research shows an "own-race bias" where people are better at identifying individuals of their own race. Since most crimes are intra-racial (e.g., Black victims are more likely to be harmed by Black perpetrators due to residential segregation), and white witnesses may struggle more with cross-racial IDs, this could contribute to higher error rates for Black defendants without invoking racism. - Additionally, "evidence-based suspicion" differences may play a role: Black suspects might face weaker initial evidence thresholds for arrest or prosecution in high-crime areas, leading to more convictions (and thus exonerations) based on circumstantial or flawed proof. This is seen as a procedural issue tied to crime patterns, not inherent racial animus. 3. Weak or Inconclusive Evidence for Widespread Bias in Adjudication - A 2023 meta-analysis of over 100 studies on racial disparities in criminal adjudication (charging, sentencing, etc.) found that effect sizes for Black-white differences are very small (r ≈ 0.054, akin to statistical noise) for most crimes, except drugs, where they're still minor. The authors argue that claims of "systemic racism" overstate the evidence, as higher-quality studies (with better controls for factors like criminal history) show even smaller or no disparities. They suggest researcher expectancy effects (e.g., citation bias favoring studies that find bias) may inflate perceptions of racism. - Similarly, some analyses point out that disparities in exonerations don't prove bias in convictions—they depend on post-conviction factors like access to DNA testing or legal resources, which might vary by race but aren't necessarily racist in design. For example, if advocacy groups prioritize cases with racial angles, it could skew exoneration stats. 4. Historical Legacies vs. Current Intent, and Declining Disparities - Critics argue that while past overt racism (e.g., Jim Crow-era policies) created lingering effects like poverty and segregation, attributing current disparities solely to "systemic racism" ignores ongoing reforms and lacks evidence of intentional bias today. Psychological research on implicit bias (e.g., subconscious racism) has been debunked in some cases as unreliable, and societal norms now strongly reject overt racism in institutions. - Recent trends show disparities may be decreasing: A 2025 study found that while Black exonerees historically waited longer for exoneration, for those convicted in recent years, white exonerees now face longer waits, suggesting reduced bias over time. This could indicate that systemic issues are being addressed through reforms like better forensic standards or body cameras. Counterpoints and Why Many Still See It as Evidence While these arguments provide reasons to question if the disparities are purely "systemic racism," they aren't universally accepted. The same Registry report highlights amplifying factors like official misconduct (e.g., hiding evidence), which occurs 50% more often in Black defendants' murder exonerations, and extreme disparities in drug cases (19 times higher for Black innocents), where racial profiling is well-evidenced. Meta-analyses critical of systemic racism claims have been challenged for overlooking cumulative effects across the justice pipeline (policing to sentencing) or for not addressing victim-offender dynamics. Ultimately, the data doesn't "prove" causation in isolation—disparities could stem from a mix of socioeconomic factors, historical inertia, and biases—but the scale and persistence align with systemic critiques for most researchers.
  10. I was flying in my dreams last night inside a mall. Mall is so Beautiful!
  11. 'Systemic Racism' does not mean it's impossible for blacks to succeed, it means there are obstacles for many black people, just because they are black. There's obstacles for everyone, yes, that doesn't absolve us from looking at any of them for anyone. Take the obstacles for people in coal country, we should address that for those white people, it would benefit the entire country. Instead, you want to pay Musk to start an epstein island on mars.
  12. Letting go of a finite part of who I am, not by getting rid of it, but by expanding my sense of Self to include the Selflessness. For they are One, and Unity is my calling. Meow.
  13. Yea, I basically stay in the mature / young professional equivalent of a college dorm now. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. If you can afford it and you struggle to meet people I’d highly recommend it
  14. It probably was, Dreams tend to not be stored in memory
  15. Life is has to do with body, not You. İt is perfectly capable to do.
  16. @Someone here Same thing, dreams don't need to happen in the beginning, they may start at whatever imaginary point in time with a whole coherent back story. There's really no reference frame for reality other than reality itself, every moment therefore is the only self evident truth.
  17. Grok Black Americans use drugs at rates similar to or lower than Whites (e.g., 1.1x for recent use, but Whites higher lifetime), yet they are ~2x as likely to be arrested and 5–13x as likely to be incarcerated for drug offenses.
  18. LEGO to the LibrRy and continue studying what Love is 🦋
  19. Grok Key Statistics on Exonerations by Race Overall: Black people make up about 13.6% of the U.S. population but account for ~53% of all exonerations (overturned wrongful convictions) since 1989. White people make up ~59% of the population but only ~33% of exonerations (as of recent Registry data, covering over 3,200 individual cases). This means innocent Black Americans are ~7 times more likely to be wrongly convicted of serious crimes than innocent white Americans, based on exoneration patterns.
  20. @Beans Wow. Super inspiring. You’ve put in so much work over the past couple of years and I am so proud of you.
  21. Grok: Critiquing the Claim: The Sampson Case as "Evidence" of Systemic Racism While the Earl Sampson incident undeniably reveals troubling police misconduct, racial profiling, and overreach in Miami Gardens, labeling it as straightforward "evidence" of *systemic racism* in U.S. policing warrants scrutiny. Systemic racism implies a pervasive, intentional, or structurally embedded bias across the entire criminal justice apparatus, rooted in historical discrimination and perpetuated through policies that disproportionately harm racial minorities regardless of other factors. Critics of this framing argue that such claims often overgeneralize isolated or localized issues, ignore contextual drivers like crime rates and departmental incentives, and fail to account for how the system self-corrects. Below, I break down key criticisms, substantiated by data and analyses, to show why this single case doesn't conclusively prove a nationwide systemic issue. 1. It's an Isolated Departmental Failure, Not Nationwide Proof The Sampson case stemmed from a specific "Zero-Tolerance Zone Trespassing Program" in Miami Gardens, a small Florida suburb, implemented poorly under one police chief (Matthew Boyd, who resigned amid the scandal). While whistleblowers alleged directives to target young Black males, this was tied to a local quota system aimed at boosting arrest numbers for performance metrics, not a coordinated national racist agenda. Broader studies of U.S. policing find no consistent evidence of systemic anti-Black bias in outcomes like shootings when controlling for factors such as violent encounters; instead, disparities often correlate with suspect behavior and crime hotspots, not race alone. Extrapolating from one flawed department to indict the entire system risks confirmation bias, cherry-picking anecdotes while ignoring reforms in thousands of other agencies. For instance, the U.S. has over 18,000 police departments, many with increasing diversity that correlates with reduced misconduct. If systemic racism were the core driver, we'd expect uniform patterns nationwide, but variations (e.g., lower disparities in diverse departments) suggest local policy failures. 2. High Crime Context Explains Aggressive Tactics, Not Just Racism Miami Gardens was (and remains) a high-crime area, with violent crime rates far exceeding national averages during 2008–2013. Data shows murders per 100,000 residents hovered around 20–24 (vs. U.S. average ~5), assaults over 600 (vs. ~250 nationally), and robberies ~300–500 (vs. ~100). The city's population is ~76% Black and lower-income, meaning proactive policing in "high-crime" zones naturally disproportionately affects Black residents due to residential segregation and socioeconomic correlations with crime, not inherent racial animus. Neighborhoods with more Black residents often have higher poverty and crime rates, leading to more police presence without proving bias. The zero-tolerance approach was ostensibly crime-fighting, not race-based, though its execution was abusive. Critics argue that framing this as systemic racism overlooks how policing responds to victimization patterns—Black communities suffer higher violent crime victimization, so aggressive tactics, while flawed, aim to address that. Disparities in stops or arrests often vanish when adjusting for crime exposure, suggesting behavior and location, not race, drive outcomes. 3. Driven by Quotas and Incentives, Not Explicit Racism Internal pressures like alleged quotas for stops and arrests explain much of the overreach, diluting claims of racism as the primary motivator. Whistleblower Officer Jose Rosado claimed orders to "target young Black males" but tied this to a numbers-driven culture, not overt hatred. Such systems incentivize volume over validity, leading to harassment regardless of race, though demographics amplify impacts on Black individuals. Broader critiques of systemic racism claims note that psychological studies alleging subconscious bias (e.g., implicit bias tests) have been debunked for poor reliability and failure to predict real-world behavior. If quotas were the root, the issue is managerial incompetence or corruption, not a racist "system." Moreover, the department's chief was Black, complicating simple narratives of White-on-Black oppression. 4. The System Self-Corrected, Countering "Systemic" Entrenchment A hallmark of systemic racism is resistance to change, yet here the system responded: media exposure led to a federal lawsuit settled in 2015, Chief Boyd's resignation, and a state investigation. Whistleblowers were protected (though Rosado's firing was litigated), and the case influenced broader discussions on oversight. This accountability—via lawsuits, resignations, and reforms—shows the system isn't irredeemably biased but capable of addressing abuses. Critics argue that true systemic racism wouldn't allow such corrections; instead, historical efforts like civil rights laws and diversity initiatives have reduced overt discrimination. Disparities persist due to socioeconomic factors (e.g., poverty correlating with crime), not unchangeable racism. 5. Broader Methodological Flaws in Systemic Racism Claims Using Sampson as "evidence" exemplifies wider issues in racism allegations: focusing on offender disparities while ignoring victims. Black Americans are overrepresented as both offenders and victims in violent crimes, so policing that reduces crime benefits those communities. Statistical analyses claiming bias often suffer from "collider bias," where restricting data to police encounters distorts results by not accounting for why encounters happen (e.g., higher crime calls in certain areas). Comprehensive reviews find no systemic bias in sentencing or arrests when controlling for priors and behavior. Theories like Critical Race Theory, which underpin many systemic claims, are criticized for ignoring causation—linking modern issues to slavery without proving direct links, while downplaying post-1960s reforms. In sum, while the Sampson case highlights real injustices warranting reform (e.g., better oversight, body cameras, quota bans), it doesn't substantiate systemic racism across U.S. policing. Alternative explanations—high crime, quotas, segregation—better fit the facts without invoking an all-encompassing bias. Overemphasizing racism can erode trust in reforms that work, like community policing, and distract from addressing root causes like poverty. For balanced views, consider sources from across the spectrum, as partisan ones often amplify or minimize based on ideology.
  22. blacks are 15% the population. show me 1 innocent white person arrested 3 times at work. Grok Criminal Justice System Black Americans are incarcerated at roughly 5 times the rate of white Americans. Black men receive sentences about 19% longer than white men for similar federal crimes (accounting for factors like criminal history). Black youth are over 4 times more likely to be detained in juvenile facilities. These disparities are linked to differences in policing, arrests, charging decisions, and sentencing practices. Policing and Surveillance Black drivers are stopped more frequently than white drivers during daylight (when race is visible), with disparities decreasing at night. Black people are 3 times more likely to be killed by police than white people, according to various analyses. Housing and Homeownership Historical redlining (government-backed denial of loans/mortgages in Black neighborhoods from the 1930s–1960s) created segregated communities with lower property values. Today, Black homeownership is around 46% vs. 76% for whites, and homes in majority-Black neighborhoods are often valued tens of thousands less than comparable homes in white areas. This limits wealth-building through home equity. Employment and Wealth Resumes with "Black-sounding" names receive about 50% fewer callbacks than identical ones with "white-sounding" names. Black workers earn roughly 71 cents for every dollar white workers earn. Black unemployment is typically double that of white unemployment. These gaps persist even among college graduates in some fields. Education Schools in predominantly Black and Latino areas often receive less funding (due to reliance on local property taxes in segregated neighborhoods). Black K-12 students are nearly 4 times more likely to receive out-of-school suspensions than white students. Black preschoolers face suspension at 3.6 times the rate of white preschoolers. Healthcare Black Americans have shorter life expectancies (e.g., Black men live about 4 years less than white men on average). Black women are 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. Disparities appear in treatment for heart disease, cancer, and other conditions, compounded by poorer access to quality care in segregated areas. Environmental Injustice Communities of color are more likely to be located near pollution sources (e.g., highways, refineries), leading to higher rates of respiratory illness and other health issues. These examples reflect persistent racial gaps in outcomes, which many researchers attribute to the cumulative effects of historical and ongoing institutional practices rather than solely individual actions. Disparities often intersect with class and geography.
  23. The most social I've ever been was staying in a college dorm with a bunch of other 19-21 YO dumbasses. Socialization happens naturally when logistic align.
  24. a black guy getting arrested 60 times at work is my emotions speaking?
  25. That's your emotions speaking, bro. Leave the cult.
  26. Love this interview, in Eric Weinstein words “We tripped over a thing called Jeffrey Epstein” he mentions the case like a massive web, a system, which is probably still running today, so the problem of course wasn’t one man, but a big group of elite committing all sorts of cruel and horrendous crimes.
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