#crimingwhilewhite on twitter is generating an astonishing list of crimes committed by white folks that resulted in a police officer escorting them home, buying them groceries, or doing just about anything other than shooting them.
The Line Between Law-abiding and Law-breaking is thin and blurry
Everyone, even the most law-abiding among us, has probably broken the law, likely multiple times. Here is a simple list of 67 common violations.
1. driving faster than the posted speed limit
2. driving faster than 20 MPH in a school zone
3. seriously speeding on a highway
4. minor shop lifting (including office supplies from work)
5. cheating on taxes (for those old enough to understand)
6. parking illegally
7. consuming an illegal drug
8. transporting (knowingly or not) someone in possession of an illegal drug
9. living in a home where someone is growing pot
10. living in a home where someone is selling pot
11. driving after drinking alcohol
12. driving while drunk
13. driving with a child who is not in an approved car seat
14. consuming a prescription drug recreationally
15. taking a prescription drug from someone else
16. taking your parents’ liquor
17. jaywalking
18. getting into a fist fight
19. threatening to hurt someone
20. sex before your age of consent
21. underage drinking
22. failure to report a crime against a minor
23. trespassing
24. doing a donut on someone’s lawn
25. vandalism
26. smuggling cigarettes and wine in from Mexico w/out paying the duty
27. hiring an illegal maid
28. Using mother nature as your restroom
29. ripping the tags off of pillows and mattresses
30. movie hopping...paying for one but watching more than one
31. jumping the turnstiles on the subway
32. littering
33. illegal downloading
34. keeping a library book
35. seeing a crime and failing to report it
36. not stopping at a stop sign
37. bringing your own snacks into the movies
38. public intoxication
39. sex acts in public spaces
40. some sex acts in your own home with your legal spouse
41. loitering
42. pulling over on side of highway/road
43. doing u-turn in a prohibited zone
44. slander
45. too many occupants in car
46. not wearing seat belts
47. providing false identification…using a fake ID
48. inaccurately filling out a form for the government, or school, or a job app
49. workplace theft of time…personal calls, etc all while being paid for that time
50. fireworks (in some states)
51. backyard fires (in urban areas)
52. TPing someone's property
53. texting/talking on cell while driving (some states)
54. parking too far from curb (parallel parking)
55. improper passing
56. driving with a tail light out
57. driving with expired plates
58. driving without a valid license
59. opening someone else's mail
60. smuggling chocolate into the USA
61. violating Fire Code by exceeding maximum number of occupants in a space
62. making moonshine
63. riding a bicycle on the sidewalk
64. not wearing a seatbelt
65. staying after hours in a public park
66. running a red light
67. not cleaning up a pet's droppings when not dropped on your own property
Of course, we can all identify one or two items on this list that we might challenge as not technically illegal or whatever, but that is not the point. Step back and take in the list as a whole. The message is not really controversial: we are all law breakers.
That does not mean we are not upstanding citizens (some of us anyway!) who contribute to our communities, love our families, and work hard. It turns out that the meaning of being a law-abiding citizen is something of a paradox in the real world.
This matters and it doesn’t.
It doesn't matter, when we are blithely pointing our fingers at other’s law-breaking to demand ever more extreme forms of punishment for minor crimes.
It matters when we hear the most common response to any discussion of racism in our CJS: ‘there are more blacks in prison, so they chose to commit more crimes, and deserve it.’
If we start from the premise that we all commit crimes, multiple crimes, but only some of us are stopped and arrested and charged and sentenced and then labeled a felon for the rest of our lives, or even shot on the spot...
If we start from the premise that we all commit crimes, multiple crimes, but only some of us are stopped and arrested and charged and sentenced and then labeled a felon for the rest of our lives, or even shot on the spot...
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