"There are 330 million people in this country. That's an enormous figure. There are at least 800,000 police officers. Early 21st century outrage doesn't scale safely to a country this size. With 330 million people and 800,000 cops, there will always be a bad shooting or death caused by abusive cops. This will never end. It cannot end, not given such enormous numbers.
People should know in advance that in a country this size this is never going to stop happening. If everything that happens in a country of 330 million people can be broadcast instantly by mass media, then amplified by social media, we need a different coping strategy. Endless outrage is not a healthy strategy.
We should also decide in advance what base rate of these sorts of incidents we expect for a country of this size and demographics. Then figure out if we are exceeding that base rate. It may not be possible to arrive at a base rate we like or think is validly produced, but framing it this way is extremely important. It highlights that we know in advance that these incidents are going to happen, and will never stop happening. This in turn highlights that when they do happen, they aren't necessarily telling us anything we didn't know already. They're not proof of extraordinary racism. They might just be proof of math."
-- Joe Duarte
People should know in advance that in a country this size this is never going to stop happening. If everything that happens in a country of 330 million people can be broadcast instantly by mass media, then amplified by social media, we need a different coping strategy. Endless outrage is not a healthy strategy.
We should also decide in advance what base rate of these sorts of incidents we expect for a country of this size and demographics. Then figure out if we are exceeding that base rate. It may not be possible to arrive at a base rate we like or think is validly produced, but framing it this way is extremely important. It highlights that we know in advance that these incidents are going to happen, and will never stop happening. This in turn highlights that when they do happen, they aren't necessarily telling us anything we didn't know already. They're not proof of extraordinary racism. They might just be proof of math."
-- Joe Duarte