....is it the first time you've tried to have a conversation with this guy? He likes to post downright provocative stuff and then claims personal attacks when someone challenges his narrative...while attacking the person who supposedly "attacked" him, 'cause you know, everything is about him. Arguing with this guy should be avoided as much as possible. Especially if you are a woman, "he won't take no disrespect from women" man...

I've blissfully had him on ignore for awhile, that's the best course of action for such a person.

Most likely he feels "personally attacked" because you have proven him wrong ...

People taking "Psychology of Racism class in university" are why the US has an education problem (or rather, lack thereof)!

Tom

Why? I was a sociology major at the time. My best friend is a psychology professor and teaches classes at Indiana State University on the psychology of racism.

Would you prefer that people don't learn about racism and what drives it, etc.?

Bad cops are bad cops…..this last fall had nothing to do with race. Its anecdotal but if you search white suspect beaten by police on twitter you will come across plenty of brutal examples

Policing in the usa is in the toilet!!!

To be honest, so is the behavior of people in general and especially towards the police. So what came first…..the lousy policing or the mistrust of the police?

Well, as I said, my major was sociology at the time. I later changed it. No idea if a sociology degree obtained in the US could be used here, but there are actually a lot of career paths you can take in the US with a BA in sociology.

Again curious (not flaming)……what is a typical career you can do with that. Social work?

Anything probably, I studied languages and work in corporate finance

I studied Anthro and ended up an executive in high-tech patent licensing. It's not the subject you study; it's how you learn to learn.

Thanks to both for the feedback…..but why not go the direct route to where you ended up going?

Simple, because at the time I wanted to work as an interpreter/translator (which I did for a couple of years) and then got hired by a bank as they needed someone who spoke 3 languages fluently.

I was interested in finance to start with though.

For myself, I was quite young at the time (early 20s) and couldn't quite figure out what I wanted to do, career-wise. I felt like my interests were constantly evolving. If I could go back in time now, though, and re-do my studies, I think I would study neuroscience. I find consciousness and the human brain absolutely fascinating. The human brain is the most complex system in the universe that we are aware of.

Anyways, I suppose we've gone off-subject.

I studied history and political science and work in pharmaceutical medical compliance …

Why, when there are ways to make your eventual career richer? The best litigation attorney I've ever known got a PhD in Philosophy before his law degree from a top uni. He got a great job with a good firm and is still practicing at 75, long after most people have retired. He loves his work and will probably die in the saddle.

Some people who have studied psychology, sociology, and related degrees, far too many actually, have no idea what they're talking about. They feel compelled to demonstrate their bias and stupidity, usually without even being aware of it, whether their opinion is welcome or not.

Well, clearly you know much more than everyone else... and especially all those silly people who have actually studied something and tend to contradict your own opinions and biases.

Just passed by here to leave a little joke:

Back on topic, here is a NYTs article

Black Americans Are Much More Likely to Face Tax Audits, Study Finds

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/u...ax-audits.html

May be paywalled so a few quotes

The rich get richer …

Interesting. It seems from the quotes that the algorithms selects less sophisticated tax payers for audit (higher returns) - that on average tend to be "more black". So this is as "racist" as inflation then which disproportionally hurts poorer people?

This is an important issue.

Around here, when we do something stupid in traffic all that happens is a fine delivered via the Post to the comfort and safety of our homes. In the worst case, a new thread on EF is started to ask what are the potential consequences...because nothing happened in the physical world after the infraction https://www.englishforum.ch/transpor...at-expect.html

Compare that to being stopped roadside during the night, while an armed police officer looks for your name in criminal records databases. The irony in this difference in policing is "freedom". There's no national population register or identity cards in the US. So, the police made this check with criminal record databases. If something shows up, congrats, the police is now paranoid no matter if a dozen years has passed. Instead of getting a fine by post...you're probably now being requested to exit the car and lie on the floor face down while your car is being searched. If officer had too many stimulants, the request is done at gunpoint. Wonder why things may go wrong.