Thom Hartmann: What If the NYPD patted down briefcase-holding whites at gunpoint?

[thomhartmann]

Robert Stephens II, Orchestrated Pulse, joins Thom Hartmann. A federal judge has found New York's controversial stop-and-frisk program unconstitutional. Mayor Bloomberg and NYPD Police Chief Ray Kelly are outraged - but is today's ruling as sweeping as it sounds?

The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann on RT TV & FSTV "live" 9pm and 11pm check www.thomhartmann.com/tv for local listings

[Half-Century Man]

1. When the only way people know you are not racist is when you tell them..

you aren't racist; you're racist.
Being racist is like being cool, a great lover, a good parent; you don't get to claim the title. It must be awarded to be true. You can strive to be a good parent, a great lover or not racist, but without public recognition from affected persons; you could, with equal validity, claim to be a giraffe.

Minorities of NYC; keep in mind "the beatings will continue until morale improves".

[Bay Boy]

2. Are brief-case carrying whites...

...the prime suspects in the crimes? That's not to say stop and frisk shouldn't be eliminated.

[adieu]

3. They are definitely the prime suspects

for all financial crimes, yes. Although, I understand that a stop and frisk would do nothing to halt their nefarious ways.

[A Simple Game]

4. What crimes would you be talking about? I watched a video on DU yesterday

about a man that was seriously injured in a fight with a knife wielding serial killer on a subway car. Several NYPD stood and watched him get cut up by the assailant. Now who was the main suspect in this case? Oh, it doesn't matter, they didn't stop either of them. They did arrest the assailant after he was probably too tired to resist, and the other man almost bled to death. The man tried to sue the police because they weren't protecting and serving. The case was thrown out because the police do not have to protect and serve, their main task is to protect property. What property are they protecting when they stop and frisk? What do you want to bet most of these stop and frisks occur in daytime and when multiple police are on the scene?

Can you tell me the success rate if success is measured by arrests? Well here is what the judge had to say:

“What troubles me is the fact that the suspicion seems to be wrong 90 percent of the time,” Scheindlin said during the city’s closing argument at a trial challenging the so-called stop-and-frisk policy. “That’s a high error rate.”

[Taitertots]

5. "Prime suspects"? What criteria should they use to determine this?

Based on what the NYPD has been doing, "Prime Suspects" = African Americans.

[Scuba]

6. I'd cheer and bring them donuts and coffee!