How Do You Detect Bias?
Another person of color murdered by privileged whites. In the video, you see Terry Thompson on top of a smaller defenseless John Hernandez. With corrupt courts and juries, be careful there is no justice.
In my opinion, John Hernandez looked white, and Terry Thompson looked whiter. But with Hernandez as the last name, he was probably Hispanic whether he identified as such I don’t know. Was there bias because of:
- the difference in ‘whiteness’
- the name ‘Hernandez’
- the killer was married to a cop
- jurors did not view the video
- prosecutors don’t care to prosecute their own
- Or was there no bias and this was a tragedy of self-defense?
The jurors seemed to assume Terry Thompson had every right to provoke John Hernandez while he was impaired. It’s not unusual for drunken young men to pee outdoors, it happens on campuses and in towns all over America. Did Terry Thompson have the authority to stop John Hernandez? If Terry Thompson did, wouldn’t that be called vigilante justice which is illegal?
Was it self-defense when a burly Terry Thompson–flattened Hernandez in a prone position on the ground with his over-sized body weight– was heard on video threatening to hit Hernandez again? In the video, Hernandez appeared utterly subdued. Why did the Thompsons hold Mr. Hernandez in that dangerous position until his body was lifeless? What were the backgrounds in self-defense of Terry Thompson, Chauna Thompson, and John Hernandez?
I see bias online, on TV, in books, in education, in healthcare and definitively in the government. Bias is natural and even instinctive, particularly towards family and friends. Being biased is normal. It can help avoid risk. Most biases or prejudices are acceptable, what makes some unacceptable or even illegal and dangerous?
How can the public tell if cops, judges, jurors, prosecutors or even defense attorneys are biased?
