Tag: marijuana arrests

Same Crime, Different Race: Guess Which ‘Car Thief’ Gets Busted [VIDEO]

For the second time in less than a year, a case in Florida that involved a young black man losing his life to gunshots fired in “self-defense” by a white man has captured the nation’s attention.

Leonard Pitts asks a pretty simple question about the death of Jordan Davis:

If Davis had been a white kid in an SUV full of same playing their music too loudly, does anyone really think the confrontation with Dunn would have escalated to the point of gunfire? And if for some reason it had, is anyone so naive as to believe the jury would have failed to convict Dunn of murder?

We’ll never know, but Simple Misfits pulled a little prank to see how people react to two young men — one African-American, one not — committing the same crime. It’s hardly scientific and designed to be comic. But it makes a point.

If you’re looking for a more substantial example, check out this chart from MSNBC’s Chris Hayes comparing arrests for marijuana possession between black and white people:
hayes-graph

As you look at this, consider that black and white people smoke marijuana at the same rate.

With this in mind, The Daily Show has some advice for black youths.