June 18, 2019

"They put a gun in my daughter's face, and you're asking me about drawers?... My family has been through enough. You see in the video the fear. The sounds of my daughters crying, and you're asking me about some drawers? That's insensitive, that's insulting... I thought we were all going to be executed. By the grace of God, someone was there to video this."

Said Dravon Ames, quoted in "Phoenix PD releases surveillance video showing moment four-year-old girl stole a doll and her father shoplifted underwear from Family Dollar store before family was held at gunpoint by cops... Family is now suing the city for $10million and Jay Z is paying their legal bills" (Daily Mail).

This connects to the Oberlin story we were discussing 2 days ago, when I blogged that I understood the argument that the accusation of racism did not depend entirely on the question whether the suspected shoplifters were guilty. I wrote:
The store clerk seems to have suspected shoplifting not because of the person's race but because he could see 2 wine bottles hidden under his coat, but he "chased the student out onto the street and tackled him," and that's what's racist (in this view). If the chase-and-detain approach is racist, even when the shopkeeper is right about the theft, then it's not false to accuse the shopkeeper of racism.
There's a very long comments thread at that post, and while I haven't read it all, I know many of you resisted what I was saying. I encourage you to continue the conversation here, where the police went wild confronting shoplifters.

ADDED: If I weren't taking this legal issue so seriously, I would be sorely tempted to say now we can replace the question mark in the famous "South Park" mystery....
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Profit
Phase 2 is bring a $10 million lawsuit.

219 comments:

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mockturtle said...

When my older daughter was about six we exited a store and I noticed a distinct bulge in her coat pocket. I pulled out a Barbie doll. We marched back into the store where I made her hand it to the clerk and apologize for the transgression. I wonder if these parents would ever do likewise or is there an unfortunate criminal mentality constantly being reinforced by bad adult behavior? This is not a racial thing--although it is more common among some subcultures--but represents a dearth of moral guidance as well as a victimhood ideology that absolves one from social and legal responsibility.

tim in vermont said...

According to the Obama era CDC, sexual coercion includes begging; mentioning that maybe if she’s not into sex with you, it might be time for you to move on; and “telling stuff that’s not true,” which could mean exaggerating the size of your johnson, I guess.

tim in vermont said...

All of these rules treat classes of people not so much as special classes of people with superior rights, like the way Indians don’t really have to obey the fish and game laws, which is fine, but as children.

Jim at said...

This sure looks like a local story to me.

tim in vermont said...

Oh yes, and let’s not forget pretending that transgenders are women in every sense of the term.

Three Connecticut girls who participate on high school track teams have filed a federal discrimination complaint against a statewide policy on transgender athletes, saying it has cost them top finishes in competitions and possibly college scholarships.

Let them compete against men, oh wait, they will lose, let’s let them compete against women where they will be guaranteed to win!

tim in vermont said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tim in vermont said...

“"Racist" is just a word. It acquires meaning through use. I see how you want to use it, but you don't own it."

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.”

n.n said...

Oh yes, and let’s not forget pretending that transgenders are women in every sense of the term.

Transgender/neosexuals certainly aren't feminine females. If they have the masculine physiology, and the requisite masculine chemistry, then Democrats are normalizing women as second class members of their sex.

mockturtle said...


“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.”


Exactly so!

mockturtle said...

And those who define 'racist' can also define the 'OK' sign. We can choose to go along with this type of totalitarian oppression or we can ignore it. I choose to ignore it.

tim in vermont said...

During the fall 2018 semester at the University of Minnesota, an Asian-American student stopped by one of the restaurants in the Coffman Memorial Union to pick up a snack.

At the register, a food service worker said something the student didn’t understand. When the student said they didn’t get it, the woman at the register said she was saying “hello” in Japanese, and asked where the student was from.

“Wisconsin,” the student replied.

The cashier laughed and told the student to have a nice day, but the student did not find much humor in the experience.


Rayssist!

tim in vermont said...

Cashier was probably a townie.

Mary Beth said...


There's glory* for you!

* a nice knock-down argument

Doug said...

Would you not also agree that it's a problem if people believe law enforcement is different and more harsh when the suspects are black? it's a problem for the black criminal. Prove that the store owner or police pursue and prosecute white shoplifters more leniently.



n.n said...

An Oberlin alumnus?

Unknown said...

"Would you not also agree that it's a problem if people believe law enforcement is different and more harsh when the suspects are black? If it's not true, what would you do to help people gain confidence that they are not being discriminated against."

No, I absolutely disagree that this is a "problem." People believe all kinds of stupid and unfounded things. It is not my job, nor society's job, to disabuse them of their stupidity. Most certainly, I would not dispense "get out of jail free"cards to those who falsely imagine themselves the victims of a discriminatory criminal justice system.

Bunkypotatohead said...

https://nypost.com/2019/05/16/wisconsin-firefighter-fatally-shot-while-responding-to-emergency-call/

White EMR saves life of black junky who OD'd, gets murdered for his efforts.
Try reading your local news instead of the NYT.

Derve Swanson said...

mockturtle said...

And those who define 'racist' can also define the 'OK' sign.
---------------

Lol. I think that meme has lost steam: Gayle King is shown flashing the OK sign at the end of the new promo for the CBS Morning New show.

Unless... she's in on it too?

FIDO said...

There will always be crime, and part of the rule of law is treating those accused of crime with equal justice and refraining from violations of due process.


It is always a hoot when Althouse says things like this. Yes, women should be treated with equal justice as men. Men should get due process. Men don't get away with a minor lecture from a principle about dress code violations. They get sent home and suspended without an appeal.

Black and white men get shafted by the legal system compared to women.


"The study found that men receive sentences that are 63 percent higher, on average, than their female counterparts.

Starr also found that females arrested for a crime are also significantly more likely to avoid charges and convictions entirely, and twice as likely to avoid incarceration if convicted.

Other research has found evidence of the same gender gap, though Starr asserts that the disparity is actually larger than previously suspected because other studies haven’t looked at the role of plea bargains and other pre-sentencing steps in the criminal justice system.

A 2009 study suggested the difference in sentencing might arise because “judges treat women more leniently for practical reasons, such as their greater caretaking responsibility.”



So be careful what you wish for, Madam Althouse. Currently you are using a Post Modernist definition of 'racism' to scourge your readerships sense of fairness (where 'racism' means exactly what you want, no more and no less)


It might lead to places where we discuss sexism, and a Christine Blassey Ford is held accountable for her lies, Hillary is held accountable for her crimes, Loretta Lynch is actually penalized, and Lois Lerner loses her cushy golden parachute because 'they are women'.


The places Feminism have brought us may lose black men from the Democratic party.



But the biggest flaw in her argument is her legal dodge of noting that innocence IS a protection! Outside of a controversial episode in Israel, virgins don't get pregnant and LEOs who abuse people who didn't do crimes are criminals.

LEOs who afflict criminals is far more nuanced fare. I am supposed to believe, without argument, that there exists racism and that it affects all criminal justice interactions with black people. Well, I lived during Althouse's salad years in the 70s, where black criminals were given passes for crimes due to 'racism'. It goes both ways!

The most distressing thing is that this criminal is trying to change the subject of his criminality, and because Althouse wants to have a Post Modern discussion of language, she buys this nonsense to 'make a point'.

At the end of the day, he is a criminal. He is teaching his daughter to be a criminal. And while I would object to him and his daughter being shot or physically manhandled for this crime unnecessarily, that he was waylaid in a way which resulted in NO DAMAGE to him or his daughter makes me think this is a Liberal Molehill Althouse wants to virtue signal about.

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