Seattle Times banning the word "Redskins"

[NorthHawk]

I think the term defunding the police is an unfortunate name for what the intent is.
What I think of it is to take some of the budget from the Police and give it to other
experts in such areas as mental health, addictions, family counseling etc. The intent
is to take those responsibilities from the Police and lessen the scope of work.

As it is today, the Police are in a no win situation. They have to be experts in all of
the above, plus the law and fighting crime. I think that's too much for any one person
to be able to do effectively.

Here's an article about what might be a taste of the future if the defunding is adopted:
https://www.mentalhealthportland.org/wh ... esponders/

[Aseahawkfan]

I thinking selling the measure as "defunding the police" is a bad idea. It's selling badly with voters too.

I would like to see them change quite a bit. If I had my way, I would do the following:
1. All statistics of arrests and police violence would be tracked carefully by "race" and location, then released in a very clear document with full numbers that allows for citizens to know exact numbers and locations to prevent the statistical games the press plays with numbers.

2. Legalize Marijuana. The fact this isn't legal is stupid. No one can make a sound scientific argument that alcohol is any better for you than marijuana. Why one is legal and he other is not with people in jail for MJ usage is beyond dumb.

3. Change the laws to make drug abuse sentences fit the crime. Forced rehabilitation. Use Tort Law and focus criminal procedures on dealers and illegal producers, not users. Let users sue their dealers and illegal producers for monetary compensation for the damage done to them by their product. Drugs that are physically addicting like heroin and opiates need the highest level of push for destruction.

4. Invest heavily in non-violent weapons for the police to use to take in suspects. I think with our modern tech, we should be able to devise weapons for the police to use to take down subjects without harming them.

5. Invest more in robotics and drone technology. If a police officer can use a drone or robot to approach a possible violent criminal, you can eliminate a lot of the emotional problems between the two and force a dialogue where each individual feels less threatened.

6. For profit prisons gotta go. Prison should be more about rehabilitation than throwing people away. The environment should be one that hopefully rehabilitates the prisoner, not turns them into an even more violent and problematic person upon release. A high rate of recidivism and a prisoner leaving with no usable skill if serving a term longer than 2 years is not a good prison system. If we're going to release prisoners, we need to know they can return to a productive working life or we're going to have problems.

7. A review and rewrite of police contact procedures with many adjustments based on race. Race should no longer be used as a determinant for who goes to what neighborhoods.

8. A general review of the laws of each area. We need to get rid of some of these laws like allowing five cop arrests for selling loose cigarettes in front of a store as in New York or other laws that create a situation where cops and citizens are coming into aggressive conflict for idiotic reasons.

[RiverDog]

I thinking selling the measure as "defunding the police" is a bad idea. It's selling badly with voters too.

I would like to see them change quite a bit. If I had my way, I would do the following:
1. All statistics of arrests and police violence would be tracked carefully by "race" and location, then released in a very clear document with full numbers that allows for citizens to know exact numbers and locations to prevent the statistical games the press plays with numbers.

2. Legalize Marijuana. The fact this isn't legal is stupid. No one can make a sound scientific argument that alcohol is any better for you than marijuana. Why one is legal and he other is not with people in jail for MJ usage is beyond dumb.

3. Change the laws to make drug abuse sentences fit the crime. Forced rehabilitation. Use Tort Law and focus criminal procedures on dealers and illegal producers, not users. Let users sue their dealers and illegal producers for monetary compensation for the damage done to them by their product. Drugs that are physically addicting like heroin and opiates need the highest level of push for destruction.

4. Invest heavily in non-violent weapons for the police to use to take in suspects. I think with our modern tech, we should be able to devise weapons for the police to use to take down subjects without harming them.

5. Invest more in robotics and drone technology. If a police officer can use a drone or robot to approach a possible violent criminal, you can eliminate a lot of the emotional problems between the two and force a dialogue where each individual feels less threatened.

6. For profit prisons gotta go. Prison should be more about rehabilitation than throwing people away. The environment should be one that hopefully rehabilitates the prisoner, not turns them into an even more violent and problematic person upon release. A high rate of recidivism and a prisoner leaving with no usable skill if serving a term longer than 2 years is not a good prison system. If we're going to release prisoners, we need to know they can return to a productive working life or we're going to have problems.

7. A review and rewrite of police contact procedures with many adjustments based on race. Race should no longer be used as a determinant for who goes to what neighborhoods.

8. A general review of the laws of each area. We need to get rid of some of these laws like allowing five cop arrests for selling loose cigarettes in front of a store as in New York or other laws that create a situation where cops and citizens are coming into aggressive conflict for idiotic reasons.

I agree with #1,2, and 3 although I don't see how that's going to address the problems raised by the BLM movement.

I agree with #4. I also agree with #5, but doesn't that run counter to your expressed fear of Skynet robots controlling our lives?

I disagree with #6. Prisons aren't the problem, they are a symptom of the problem. The problem is getting to kids before they embark on a life of crime. Once they've been introduced into the prison system, they're likely to be in and out for many years. Besides, I'm not sure what that has to do with racist cops.

I agree with #7, but I don't know how much of that is being done. I'm pretty naïve regarding how officers in big city police departments are deployed.

Agree with #8. Cops should not be doing tasks like serving subpoenas or summons where there is very little chance of a violent situation breaking out. I've had to go roust employees to come to the office so they could meet with a cop so they could serve a summons for a lawsuit being served on them.

[Aseahawkfan]

Fear? I don't have a fear of Skynet taking over. That's going to happen regardless of people's fears. So might as well start developing robots and drones for civil management. No use wasting time when the inevitable is coming.

Humans being controlled by robots at some point even if commanded by mainly humans is an inevitability. You may not see it in your lifetime, but your children or grandchildren will have robots and drones used against them in nation as a means of social control.

[RiverDog]

Fear? I don't have a fear of Skynet taking over. That's going to happen regardless of people's fears. So might as well start developing robots and drones for civil management. No use wasting time when the inevitable is coming.

Humans being controlled by robots at some point even if commanded by mainly humans is an inevitability. You may not see it in your lifetime, but your children or grandchildren will have robots and drones used against them in nation as a means of social control.

OK, well I guess I read you wrong. I'm all for taking advantage of modern technology, but I'm not sure how happy the rest of society will be with Robo Cop. Perhaps some type of super enhanced body cam with a control center like the replay officials in the NFL.

Sorry for being silly, but we're decades away from any kind of tech inspired revolutionary changes in law enforcement. There's always going to be situations where a human is going to have to make a split second, life or death decision as to whether or not to pull the trigger.

[Aseahawkfan]

OK, well I guess I read you wrong. I'm all for taking advantage of modern technology, but I'm not sure how happy the rest of society will be with Robo Cop. Perhaps some type of super enhanced body cam with a control center like the replay officials in the NFL.

Sorry for being silly, but we're decades away from any kind of tech inspired revolutionary changes in law enforcement. There's always going to be situations where a human is going to have to make a split second, life or death decision as to whether or not to pull the trigger.

I think we're closer than you think. Right now bomb disposal uses drones. Surveillance uses drones both abroad and domestically. Search engines use artificial intelligence as does voice technology in devices like SIRI. Hospitals are starting to use robots to interact with patients. Surgery uses robotic assisted surgery. Self-driving drone cars are very close. And of course we have the drone assassination program deployed overseas with very little oversight by the American people. They're even banning facial recognition software which uses AI to track people until they can be sure it isn't programmed with racist overtones as amusing as that is.

I think it is only a matter of time before someone comes up with police drones for initial contact considering it would allow cops to interact with someone dangerous without feeling the fear or adrenaline that often drives them to split second decisions that cause problems. I wouldn't be surprised if cops also eventually receive a service that will allow them to shut cars down as onboard computers become standard during police chases. We already have AI tracking to keep track of cell phones and financial transactions through any device with a chip accessing a network.

I don't know how much you talk with the younger generation, but many, especially gamers, have zero fear of having something implanted in their bodies that allows them to interface with the internet. Quite a few I talk to think it would be cool because they accept electronic tracking, AI, and robots as part of life.

Even my nearly retired uncle works as a machinist now spends more time making sure the computer runs right than doing actual work on machines. The computer does the machinist work.

I can't predict when police will have drones or robots to interact with people, but it will likely be fairly soon given the problem we have with humans interaction. Human interactions are the primary cause of conflict. It would go a long way to settling issues if robots or drones were able to disperse them with relatively little physical harm using microwave weapons or sonic devices. People will complain, but it will reach a point where it doesn't matter. We'll have a population so large that we won't have much choice but to enforce order from the only animal causing disorder: humans.

If I had that technology right now, I would deploy it in place of police officers to protect businesses and people from looking and burning things down. As soon as they got out of line and started committing crimes, the drone would drop down and start with the low intensity microwave and/or sonic attacks to activate their fear response and chase off the human who thinks they can damage someone else's business or create chaos to force their beliefs on people. I've reached that level of tired of these protests in Seattle where they are no longer protesting, but just trying to force their way and attack the "establishment" while governors like Inslee and Mayors like Durkan do nothing because a socialist city council is supporting this behavior. Letting a group of protesters cause fear and threaten violence on citizens who don't support them or attack police officers not engaged in bad actions is not protesting, it's mob tyranny. The elected officials should be supporting the people they hire to maintain order.

[RiverDog]

Except in situations where we're driven by the urgency of a war, technology doesn't advance in leaps and bounds, especially when it comes to the type of technology that you're talking about, ie implanting devices into the human body.

But we'll see. I don't object to the utilization of technology in police work and I do think that eventually there's going to be more monitoring of situations and direct communications from a central facility with the officers on the scene ala the NFL replay official. But even that won't be quick enough to make a decision when a situation turns deadly in a split second like when someone pulls a gun on an officer during a routine traffic stop.

Agreed with your last paragraph. The behavior of liberal politicians in Seattle and Portland was/is outrageous.

[RiverDog]

I think the term defunding the police is an unfortunate name for what the intent is. What I think of it is to take some of the budget from the Police and give it to other experts in such areas as mental health, addictions, family counseling etc. The intent is to take those responsibilities from the Police and lessen the scope of work.

As it is today, the Police are in a no win situation. They have to be experts in all of the above, plus the law and fighting crime. I think that's too much for any one person to be able to do effectively.

Here's an article about what might be a taste of the future if the defunding is adopted:

https://www.mentalhealthportland.org/wh ... esponders/

I agree. There's lots of tasks that are now performed by the police that could be handled better by other professionals. But the problem is that a lot of those situations can turn violent in a heart beat, and the person intervening could quickly find themselves in a life threatening situation. Plus there's a psychological process where most people respect the badge/gun. If we start sending unarmed, plain clothed citizens into a stressful situation, the lack of respect itself could prevent a peaceful resolution.

The same is true with what is perhaps cop's primary task, that of traffic control. The vast majority of traffic stops don't require an armed policeman to give a driver a ticket for speeding or running a red light. But as we all know, that also can turn into a life-or-death situation. There is a possibility that technology could help reduce the number of traffic stops that are required, but do we really want to go down that path? I see a whole lot of fugitives from justice apprehended as a result of a routine traffic stop.

[NorthHawk]

A lot of people also fear the badge and gun and if in an emotional state it escalates unnecessarily.
As well, Police aren't generally trained to handle people with mental challenges or addictions. There
might be a course here and there, but generally it's not an intense educational demand. The people
that deal with those in the Oregon experience seem to know some or many of the people they end
up dealing with and therefor have at least a little understanding of what peoples problems are.

Traffic control is going to become more automated with cameras and such. It's the march of
technology and should become less of an issue over time as self driving vehicles become better
and more accepted. People without the new technology will always be around, but with traffic
control and technology the vehicles could be identified. It's already commonplace that Police
don't chase offenders within City Limits because of the carnage that can result so we are part
of the way there now and things always evolve.

[Aseahawkfan]

I agree. There's lots of tasks that are now performed by the police that could be handled better by other professionals. But the problem is that a lot of those situations can turn violent in a heart beat, and the person intervening could quickly find themselves in a life threatening situation. Plus there's a psychological process where most people respect the badge/gun. If we start sending unarmed, plain clothed citizens into a stressful situation, the lack of respect itself could prevent a peaceful resolution.

The same is true with what is perhaps cop's primary task, that of traffic control. The vast majority of traffic stops don't require an armed policeman to give a driver a ticket for speeding or running a red light. But as we all know, that also can turn into a life-or-death situation. There is a possibility that technology could help reduce the number of traffic stops that are required, but do we really want to go down that path? I see a whole lot of fugitives from justice apprehended as a result of a routine traffic stop.

Not to mention the vast majority of police are usually fairly reasonable or at least aren't even involved with high stress situations. For some reason it's completely ok to paint police officers with a broad brush regardless of how small the percentage of police officers are that make errors or engage in these hostile behaviors. It seems like another 60s style "throw out the baby with the bathwater" scenario.

I can't stand how these opposing groups go back at each other with statistical manipulation absent the release of actual numbers, locations, and deeper statistical data that would really help clear up issues. When there is this blanket idea about differing groups, you end up putting polices in place that may not apply to a given area or group. It's really terrible how racist the progressive left is focusing everything on race absent any deeper study into existing issues. I'll bet you money that once this all dies down, they'll discard this issue to the side as they always do to focus more on some other issue of the moment like the wealth gap or pushing socialism once again using the broad brush to paint every group as some kind of hidden enemy as these two sides do all the time.

That's humans for you. Emotionally driven, not very capable of logic, and often the willing subject of mob belief because they are incapable of processing and analyzing information in a fashion sufficient to make good decisions. We should start pushing the Vulcan philosophy of emotional suppression more. The world would run better.

[RiverDog]

Not to mention the vast majority of police are usually fairly reasonable or at least aren't even involved with high stress situations. For some reason it's completely ok to paint police officers with a broad brush regardless of how small the percentage of police officers are that make errors or engage in these hostile behaviors. It seems like another 60s style "throw out the baby with the bathwater" scenario.

Agreed. It must really suck to be a cop nowadays. That's one of my fears, that there will be unintended consequences as a result of what could otherwise be a very productive discussion as to how to improve policing and ferret out bad cops of all races. I'm afraid that we're Demonizing the occupation to such a degree that we won't be able to attract the good people needed to compose an intelligent, rational police force.

I can't stand how these opposing groups go back at each other with statistical manipulation absent the release of actual numbers, locations, and deeper statistical data that would really help clear up issues. When there is this blanket idea about differing groups, you end up putting polices in place that may not apply to a given area or group. It's really terrible how racist the progressive left is focusing everything on race absent any deeper study into existing issues. I'll bet you money that once this all dies down, they'll discard this issue to the side as they always do to focus more on some other issue of the moment like the wealth gap or pushing socialism once again using the broad brush to paint every group as some kind of hidden enemy as these two sides do all the time.

That's humans for you. Emotionally driven, not very capable of logic, and often the willing subject of mob belief because they are incapable of processing and analyzing information in a fashion sufficient to make good decisions. We should start pushing the Vulcan philosophy of emotional suppression more. The world would run better.

I honestly want to be understanding of the grievances raised by the BLM movement. I have been brought to the realization that there is a genuine problem that has never been fully addressed. But it has to be a two way discussion. That's why I was so intense in my discussion with my friend I-5 (and I'm not using the term "friend" sarcastically, he is a friend) regarding his "overthrow" comment. We need to accept the fact that we're always going to have a sizable police force, that we will never be able to self regulate.

[Aseahawkfan]

I honestly want to be understanding of the grievances raised by the BLM movement. I have been brought to the realization that there is a genuine problem that has never been fully addressed. But it has to be a two way discussion. That's why I was so intense in my discussion with my friend I-5 (and I'm not using the term "friend" sarcastically, he is a friend) regarding his "overthrow" comment. We need to accept the fact that we're always going to have a sizable police force, that we will never be able to self regulate.

I'm always against racism. But racism can manifest in different ways. There's the obvious, crude racism you often see televised or exhibited by the ignorant and violent. There's the white collar, middle or upper class racism which is more quiet, nuanced, and hard to spot that can cause headaches. There is the ingrained racism in professions like the police where long work in a profession dealing with the worst people causes them to start to see people in certain troubling communities like a high crime ghetto community in a negative way regardless of where they come from. And there is liberal progressive racism where you pretend you care but really you exploit some group you look down upon in a piteous way as forever a victimized minority or subclass that will forever need your pity and protection to rise up to accomplish anything. You get to attack others by developing clever sounding terms like "white privilege" and "systemic racism" to bludgeon anyone who disagrees with your view regardless of their background.

Being from a minority background and having a grandfather and family that was part of a minority group, I was taught to vehemently reject that last type of racism as well as the others. My side of the family that were Americans of Mexican ancestry prided themselves on taking care of themselves and building their lives absent government help. They did not want "white" people looking at them like some liability they had to spend extra attention taking care of or pitying. People that pity you or encourage you to think of yourself as always a victim of something like "white privilege" or "systemic racism" are just as racist as the other subtle forms of racism, but they don't get they're being racist because their guilt and liberal indoctrination doesn't doesn't allow them to say to themselves, "Am I treating this person as equal if I am viewing them as a constant victim? Am I treating them as equal, if I am holding them to a lower standard of behavior than I do say white or Asian people? Am I treating them as equal, if I am constantly looking at them as some poor, disenfranchised minority incapable of rising up by their own power because the system is so mean to them?" The answer to those questions is no, you do not look at me as equal. I refuse to accept the pity of others based on racial or ethnic background.

The reality no one much talks about is you don't need much money to build a good life and the vast majority of people including white people in America will treat you with respect and as an equal if you carry yourself in a way that encourages it. I'm glad my Mexican side of the family taught me by example that I was not limited based on ethnicity or anything of that kind. My grandfather never taught his kids to believe they were limited. Never taught them to hate another person based on race. Never taught his kids to look at themselves as somehow less of a person based on income or ethnicity. Whenever I hear these liberal folks talking about being trapped or can't stand up to "systemic racism", I think of my dark-skinned, Mexican grandfather who grew up in Colorado and Texas during The Great Depression, was so poor his family couldn't take care of him so he had to leave home to survive and pick up coal to sell that dropped off the train, and joined the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) with a whole bunch of white, black, and other people to survive during that time, then joined the military, then spent years mining and as a mechanic to carve out a middle class life for him and his family. He did so without buying into to all this liberal garbage you hear today. The thing that makes it hit home even harder is when I compare his life to the life of my white-skinned European ancestry grandfather who did nearly exactly the same thing as a dairy farmer milking cows six and seven days a week for 10 plus hours a day after fighting in WW2 as well and growing up in a small town in Texas.

When you have these two examples set for you, liberalism seems morally bankrupt, racist, and just straight up false. They seem to be looking to turn minorities into a permanent underclass casting votes for the Democrats and liberals with promises of improvement that won't come because the very ways which people like my Mexican ancestry grandfather used to improve his life and the life of his children require hard work, intelligent money management, learning, self-respect, and accountability. Too many humans of any race don't want to encourage or accept the reality of the work it takes to build a quality life and find it much easier to cast blame and cry for the government to fix their lives rather than take responsibility for fixing their own life. I am glad I wasn't raised by the type of people that teach that philosophy of victim hood. I tend not to associate with anyone that would dream of treating me as a victim. I would never raise my children that way regardless of their ethnicity. You want to build a better life then do the things that lead to a better life. They do not change for a person based on their race or ethnicity. And being white will not protect you from having a terrible life if you make bad decisions.

[RiverDog]

Interesting stuff, ASF. I'm not going to claim to have a special insight into the minds of minorities and other groups that are subject to discrimination, but I have seen it close up via the many friends I've developed over the years to know that it's an awful gut aching feeling to have to endure that kind of experience. That's my main beef with Donald Trump.

[Aseahawkfan]

Interesting stuff, ASF. I'm not going to claim to have a special insight into the minds of minorities and other groups that are subject to discrimination, but I have seen it close up via the many friends I've developed over the years to know that it's an awful gut aching feeling to have to endure that kind of experience. That's my main beef with Donald Trump.

Just know the minds of minorities are not different from your own insofar as they just want to live, work, and build a decent life. They don't want a special life or even to be noticed any more than you are. It's the people that won't let them walk the world without harassment that are the problem, not people of another racial group just because they're part of that racial group. You should never have to pull down someone else to rise up. Wealth and a quality life is not a zero sum game where only one group gets to win. That's always been one of the reasons I reject liberalism. They want to pull everything down like it's the problem rather than force others to rise up to become better. What does it say about your philosophy when you are calling being good at math or science a part of "systemic racism"? Or having to return library books on time is racism? Or follow very basic laws? What do you have to think of another group of people when you believe holding them to lower standards of behavior is "equality"? Do you ever contemplate that idea that liberalism pushes so vehemently? What must the white liberal think of the African and Latin man when he thinks he can't even achieve equal work or behave equally to a man of European or Asian ancestry? How you would feel as a man of European ancestry if a group of people supposedly helping you were looking at you like you were incapable of working at an equal level to them or following the laws equally? It's just liberal racism disguised as assistance. The liberal establishment will turn on those same people as you see them doing as soon as they exhibit an opinion that doesn't align with the mob. Modern liberalism is one of the most morally bankrupt philosophies I've ever seen, yet people eat it up. I believe they eat it up because it allows them to completely forego responsibility for their actions, as though they are forever trapped in poverty because the evil rich man or white man is holding them back even though there are literally millions of examples of them being wrong. Very few people can look in the mirror and admit they are the problem and sabotaging their success with a variety of bad behaviors whether poor money management, skill acquisition, vices, or similar behaviors. Modern liberalism acts as a catch all scapegoat for them to look to a government to somehow provide them a means of success absent having to put in the work.

Even sports teaches you many valuable lessons as much as people talk all that garbage about "2nd place is the first loser" stuff. Sounds great in the trenches. The reality is that anyone who competes in sports gets a lot of value out of doing so and learning to compete at any level also teaches a lot of valuable lessons you can take to other parts of life.

[RiverDog]

Just know the minds of minorities are not different from your own insofar as they just want to live, work, and build a decent life. They don't want a special life or even to be noticed any more than you are.

I think that's true of most people regardless of race or ethnicity. I do think that immigrant minorities have a stronger desire for acceptance, that they want to integrate with the rest of us, be considered as one of us. I've mentioned it before, but on Blue Friday, when us Seahawk fans will wear to work something Seahawk, we have people that don't know the first thing about American football buying apparel just so they can wear it and be like us fans.

It's the people that won't let them walk the world without harassment that are the problem, not people of another racial group just because they're part of that racial group. You should never have to pull down someone else to rise up. Wealth and a quality life is not a zero sum game where only one group gets to win. That's always been one of the reasons I reject liberalism. They want to pull everything down like it's the problem rather than force others to rise up to become better.

Agreed. It's their steal from the rich and give to the poor concept that I've never agreed with.

What does it say about your philosophy when you are calling being good at math or science a part of "systemic racism"? Or having to return library books on time is racism? Or follow very basic laws? What do you have to think of another group of people when you believe holding them to lower standards of behavior is "equality"?

I remember being in a seminar one time at work as a trucking fleet supervisor when the topic was DUI's and their effect on our hiring process. The presenter said that if you're a black male from the south that you were going to have a DUI on your record, the implication being that a white guy would get a break from a cop but not the black man.

Even sports teaches you many valuable lessons as much as people talk all that garbage about "2nd place is the first loser" stuff. Sounds great in the trenches. The reality is that anyone who competes in sports gets a lot of value out of doing so and learning to compete at any level also teaches a lot of valuable lessons you can take to other parts of life.

From my experience, those kind of lessons are something that aren't realized until later in life once your days in competitive sports are over. But you're right. Losing teaches you humility.

[Aseahawkfan]

I remember being in a seminar one time at work as a trucking fleet supervisor when the topic was DUI's and their effect on our hiring process. The presenter said that if you're a black male from the south that you were going to have a DUI on your record, the implication being that a white guy would get a break from a cop but not the black man.

That's the kind of thing I am talking about. You are already setting that person up for failure by teaching them this idea that they are somehow guaranteed a DUI because of a racist cop. Like you can't be expected to not drive drunk and get stopped as a man of African descent.

I heard a similar thing about a guy of Latin descent who ended up sleeping with this girl at work. The boss said the Latin guy can't help but sleeping with the girl because his Latin manhood wouldn't allow him to resist it. I was like WTF are you talking about. I've known plenty of men of all descents that sleep around like cheating, low life dudes. My Mexican grandfather never acted like that. Why are you held to some kind of low class standard for your ethnic background? Ridiculous.

It's that kind of crap I just can't stand. I can't even imagine someone holding me to a lower standard based on my ethnicity. If they said you can't do that because of your Mexican half, I'd lose it. I don't want any handouts from any reparation, affirmative action, or tribal money or any of that trash. I'm a self-made man. I can compete with anyone. I don't need their pity or charity, just equitable treatment and non-prejudiced decision making based on merit.

From my experience, those kind of lessons are something that aren't realized until later in life once your days in competitive sports are over. But you're right. Losing teaches you humility.

And how to work hard towards a goal as part of a team. How to improve after losing. How to keep yourself in shape. A lot of great things taught by sports.

I know lifting weights has taught me a lot about how to work towards goals. How to stay fit. How manage injuries. It helps you stay in better shape and keep your strength and livelihood as you age.

[RiverDog]

I remember being in a seminar one time at work as a trucking fleet supervisor when the topic was DUI's and their effect on our hiring process. The presenter said that if you're a black male from the south that you were going to have a DUI on your record, the implication being that a white guy would get a break from a cop but not the black man.

That's the kind of thing I am talking about. You are already setting that person up for failure by teaching them this idea that they are somehow guaranteed a DUI because of a racist cop. Like you can't be expected to not drive drunk and get stopped as a man of African descent.

We had a person that was adamant about not hiring anyone with a DUI in their past. My response was that our truck drivers, due to being subjected to both DOT and company random drug tests, a lower tolerance for DUI's (it's .08% for CDL holders) were expected to maintain a higher degree of personal conduct than our management was, especially those managers that didn't happen to work at a production facility, like our company president. That's when the presenter brought up the point about young blacks in the south. I'm not sure what the policy is now, but it used to be that we didn't employ anyone with a criminal conviction in their past. I actually had a guy we fired for throwing rocks at his girlfriend's house. It wouldn't take much of a bias in the justice system to condemn a person for life under our company policy.

I heard a similar thing about a guy of Latin descent who ended up sleeping with this girl at work. The boss said the Latin guy can't help but sleeping with the girl because his Latin manhood wouldn't allow him to resist it. I was like WTF are you talking about. I've known plenty of men of all descents that sleep around like cheating, low life dudes. My Mexican grandfather never acted like that. Why are you held to some kind of low class standard for your ethnic background? Ridiculous.

It's that kind of crap I just can't stand. I can't even imagine someone holding me to a lower standard based on my ethnicity. If they said you can't do that because of your Mexican half, I'd lose it. I don't want any handouts from any reparation, affirmative action, or tribal money or any of that trash. I'm a self-made man. I can compete with anyone. I don't need their pity or charity, just equitable treatment and non-prejudiced decision making based on merit.

It's possible that your boss was influenced by the image of a Latin lover, like Rudy Valentio. Hollywood in the 50's and 60's created this myth that males of Latin decent are more romantic and have a higher sex drive. Another poplar urban legend is that black males are more sexually well endowed than other races. You're right, it is outrageous. I'm surprised that someone that was intelligent enough to become your boss was ignorant enough to actually be influenced by that type of myth.