I wasn’t aware kindergarten teachers are constantly raising consciousness of racial inequality.
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This will save a lot of effort. Cops can carry small baggies of white powder around for planting that will weigh less & take up less space than even a pinner joint.
I was referring to the way it was written. An author can talk to their audience like adults about racial inequality, or they can refer to unfairly targeted groups as “brown people”.
FTFY…
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Ah. That’s kind of like saying “I’m not calling you a racist. I’m saying the things you say are racist.”
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Well, yes. Exactly. ?
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Okay, so I see you have two separate complaints, one is that the headline is racist, the other is that it is dumbed down. Are there other complains to add?
Maybe you could add something constructive by suggesting a better headline and we could agree with you or critique that.
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I’m sort of baffled as to why you’re hounding me on this, as I’ve said repeatedly what exactly is wrong with the way the headline is worded.
In short, for the fifth or sixth time: This is a story about pot decriminalization. That’s what it’s about. That applies to everyone. The headline on BB added the words “brown people”, which is reductive, childish, and adds a racial element to a story not in any way at all about race. I disagree with the way it was handled. That is my personal opinion, and it’s clear that I’m in the minority. Now, rather than split hairs further, can we let it rest?
I believe under Federal law over 30 grams is considered not for personal use, or in other words “possession with intent to distribute” (PWID) - which means that if you have more than 30 grams you are presumed to be a dealer. That’s the reason most possession laws in states that have legalized or decriminalized are under 30 grams.
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The thing about message boards is that they exist nearly entirely as a forum for people to tell other people that they are wrong on the internet, and yes, I chimed in to do that.
This is not a story about pot decriminalization but a story about ending a practice that had the primary function of justifying racism on behalf of the police. As others have noted, these amounts of pot have already been decriminalized. I have literally no idea why this practice was instituted or what the hell it was trying to accomplish, but the exact same practice could have been instituted without targeting minorities disproportionately - even in a country that constantly targets minorities disproportionately - so the policy is racist and a headline noting it’s end should rightly contain reference to the racism of the policy.
The most fundamentally unjust thing about the war on drugs is that it is racist. As the system stands in the US, all drug laws are racist and have a racial element to them, the DEA is a racist institution, and police enforcing drug laws are working in a racist system.
That is my personal opinion, and yes, now I am willing to let it rest.
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It’s sort of like how if I buy three packages of paper towels they check my business license to make sure I’m allowed to resell it commercially.
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The largest effect of this decision is the dent it puts in the racist system described by @anon50609448
Many of us who walk with weed while white merely recieve a validation of our privilege since we were far less likely to be arrested to begin with. But for they who walk with weed while brown it could make a significant difference.
I don’t see a problem with the original headline, it’s a minor decriminalizatiom until put into the context of the whole system & NYPD in particular enforcement practices.
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See, that’s the “noticing race disparities is racist” argument. “This was just a conversation about drug laws, but you made it about race!” “Race wasn’t really an issue here until you injected it into the headline!” Etc.
Drug policy is ALWAYS about race in the US.
An author can talk to their audience like adults about racial inequality, or they can refer to unfairly targeted groups as “brown people”.
Perhaps you’re not aware of the fact that POC often use terms like “brown people,” “driving while brown/black,” etc. to discuss race.
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Drug policy is ALWAYS about race in the US.
Drug policy is also about money. Decriminalizing pot is a massive money saver. No, it’s not only about race.
Perhaps you’re not aware of the fact that POC often use terms like “brown people,” “driving while brown/black,” etc. to discuss race.
I am. I think grownups can use grownup words. I’m silly that way, I know.
I’ve been hesitant to get in to this debate, since it seems like a trivial disagreement between people who largely agree with each other. But it seems to me that if you’re going to insist on people using phrases like “people of color” instead of “brown people” then you should use “proper terminology” instead of “grown-up words.”
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No one is saying it’s ONLY about race, your argument, and correct me if I’m wrong, seems to be that it is NOT about race.
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I loathe PC terms like “people of color”. I prefer proper terminology. Or grown-up words. Either works!
That’s very true! I didn’t think anybody thought that it was only about race. We definitely agree.
You’ve just reminded me why, when I start a comment with “I’ve been hesitant to get in to this debate,” I really should just not comment at all. This whole topic is banal.
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It isn’t a trivial disagreement between people who fundamentally agree with one another. I actually find the suggestion that I fundamentally agree with @nungesser kind of offensive. We both think pot should be legal (or at least that current pot laws are problematic - I don’t to put words into anyone’s mouths) but we also probably agree that the sun will come up tomorrow (in a colloquial sense, for all I know he thinks that improper terminology for referring to the rotation of the Earth and I should be using grown up words, but he probably knows what I mean).
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