Miscellaneous
Greg opens by describing a scene from Star Trek - where characters are tested by how they handle the “no-win scenario”; and asks if the nationwide protests and violence are Donald Trump’s own No-Win Scenario. The panel, however (Jeff, Jim, and Jerad) quickly moves on to a bigger discussion of racism and crime in America; Jerad focuses on the threat of explicit white nationalism; Jeff, as the whitest man in America, gets emotional while arguing structural racism and the legacy of slavery are crippling the country; while Jim counters with statistics about racial involvement in criminal behavior, contending that unarmed blacks are not killed by police in greater proportions than unarmed whites. Greg points out that human beings learn by experience and not through statistics; and that black Americans have long learned to fear the police, with justification, based on their experiences. Greg notes the War on Drugs has also had an unjust and disproportionate effect on people of color. The panel concludes with a passionate debate over systemic changes needed to address the deep issues exposed by the protests and riots.