Ferguson unrest

Hal 9000 · August 27, 2014

And the point goes sailing by.

Is this the point?

There have been lots of armed robberies in Ferguson and Michael Brown did live in Ferguson....so....!

Black Dog · August 27, 2014

Well, common sense would say that if the police force was that bad that they'd feel a need to disband, then they'd all/or most all have some sort of complaint or discipline action. Darren Wilson had none such action against him...that we know of. I'm sure that if he was involved in any misgivings in his prior posting, we'll soon hear. Until then, it's just some half assed "investigative reporter" thinking he's onto something big.

The point wasn't to tar Wilson by association, but rather to show that he came up through a dysfunctional system. Who knows what kind of impression that left on him and how it impacted his approach to policing and views of the black community.

sharkman · August 28, 2014

The activists would have had me if they only made a big deal over Eric Garner. I just read about that case a couple of days ago, and what the police did there was ridiculous beyond belief. Yeah the guy shouldn't have been selling cigarettes on the street. Yeah the guy should not have entered into a stupid argument with the police, like we are going to ever win one of those. And on the video of the incident, the important first contact by the police is missing, and we really don't know if something led up to the confrontation.

But they killed the guy by choke hold. While on the ground when he wasn't resisting, they didn't let up on the hold, apparently. They should have cuffed him and helped him up and took him to a squad car, but no, for some reason they wanted to make a point. Those responsible should face criminal charges, the tape sickens me.

This Brown thing, on the other hand, has too many red flags, too many signs of a violent man/boy who attacked the cop, robbed a store, and did just plain stupid things like walk down the middle of a road with traffic. I know there will be arguments both ways on him, but it's not a open and shut case like the Garner case is.

There really seems to be an open blatant disregard for the police force among the black culture. This attitude is getting them into far more trouble than they should be. And the crime rate among blacks is way higher, so put that together with the anti-cop attitude and this issue is going to get far worse. I've heard there are areas of major cities that a cop will not patrol because he knows he'll get shot at, and it's just not worth it.

Black Dog · August 28, 2014

There really seems to be an open blatant disregard for the police force among the black culture. This attitude is getting them into far more trouble than they should be. And the crime rate among blacks is way higher, so put that together with the anti-cop attitude and this issue is going to get far worse. I've heard there are areas of major cities that a cop will not patrol because he knows he'll get shot at, and it's just not worth it.

cybercoma · August 28, 2014

Haha. That's about it. You can explain it to people, but you can't understand it for them.

Black Dog · August 28, 2014

Haha. That's about it. You can explain it to people, but you can't understand it for them.

That that mini rant came just after he talked about a guy who was killed by cops despite not showing any of the "attitude" he says causes cops to mistreat black people is just...there are no words.

jbg · August 28, 2014

Being a black teen?

OK. Maybe if you don't like the way I say it maybe you'll like the way Jesse Jackson said it in this April 13, 1976 article in the New York Times Magazine. I remembered reading it in my college days.(link, excerpts below) (I will e-mail anyone interested the full PDF of the article, just PM me):

Give the People a Vision

A civil-rights veteran calls for a new 'self-development' crusade. Black Americans, he says, must take greater responsibility for their own plight.

The thrust of my argument is that black Americans must begin to accept a larger share of responsibility for their lives. For too many years we have been crying that racism and oppression have kept us down. That is ,true, and racism and oppression have to be fought on every front. But to fight any battle takes soldiers who are strong, healthy, spirited, committed, welltrained and confident. This is particularly true when the enemy is as tough and elusive as

American racism. I don't believe that we will produce strong soldiers by moaning. about what' the enemy has done to us.

It is time, I think, for us to stand up, admit to our failures and weaknesses and begin to strengthen ourselves.

*******************

We too often condemn blacks who succeed and excel, calling them Toms and the like, when the ideal ought to be for all of us to succeed and excel.

We are allowing a minuscule minority of criminals in our midst to create disorder, ruin our schools and sap the energy we need to rebuild our neighborhoods and our cities. Many leaders who are black, and many white liberals, will object to my discussing these things in public. But the decadence in black communities--killings, destruction of our own businesses, violence in the schoolsis already in the headlines; the only question is what we should do about it. Others will object that to demand that we must meet the challenge of self-government is to put too much pressure on the victims of ancient wrongs. Yet ill spite of these objections, in spite of yesterday's agony, liberation struggles are built on sweat and pain rather than tears and complaints.

(snip)

Now, are you going to accuse Jesse Jackson of being a racist? Or an opportunist who changes his tune? I'm not sure but his words of wisdom then resonate now.

jbg · August 28, 2014

PM me your CV and I'll let you know.

How can you "PM" a CV?

Black Dog · August 28, 2014

OK. Maybe if you don't like the way I say it maybe you'll like the way Jesse Jackson said it in this April 13, 1976 article in the New York Times Magazine. I remembered reading it in my college days.(link, excerpts below) (I will e-mail anyone interested the full PDF of the article, just PM me):

(snip)

Now, are you going to accuse Jesse Jackson of being a racist? Or an opportunist who changes his tune? I'm not sure but his words of wisdom then resonate now.

I like a good bromide as much as the next guy, but what exactly is the relevance here? I mean, other than the fact a black person said something once that confirmed your own prejudices.

jbg · August 28, 2014

I like a good bromide as much as the next guy, but what exactly is the relevance here? I mean, other than the fact a black person said something once that confirmed your own prejudices.

That "black person" is the same Jesse Jackson, who makes almost a cottage industry, with Al Sharpton, of stirring the pot. This may become a separate thread, but where are these "men of the cloth" in terms of helpign wayward, endangered teenagers like Michael Brown or Trayvon Martin live a productive life rather than a life of confrontation that ends tragically?

Think the Elvis (or Mac Davis) song "In the Ghetto."

Bob Macadoo · August 29, 2014

That "black person" is the same Jesse Jackson, who makes almost a cottage industry, with Al Sharpton, of stirring the pot. This may become a separate thread, but where are these "men of the cloth" in terms of helpign wayward, endangered teenagers like Michael Brown or Trayvon Martin live a productive life rather than a life of confrontation that ends tragically?

Think the Elvis (or Mac Davis) song "In the Ghetto."

Trayvon Martin was endangered in what way other than crossing paths with a cop "thug" wannabe?

GostHacked · August 29, 2014

Yeah....don't never trust no damn PIG ! The revolution will not be televised.

But it is streamed live to the Internet.

BubberMiley · August 29, 2014

That "black person" is the same Jesse Jackson, who makes almost a cottage industry, with Al Sharpton, of stirring the pot.

Stirring the pot = responding to unarmed teenagers being shot under suspicious circumstances?

jbg · August 29, 2014

Stirring the pot = responding to unarmed teenagers being shot under suspicious circumstances?

Do yo uknow that only a small fraction of those arrested in the post-shooting riots were from Ferguson?

kimmy · August 29, 2014

Do yo uknow that only a small fraction of those arrested in the post-shooting riots were from Ferguson?

What portion of those who got tear-gassed in their own yards would you estimate to be from Ferguson?

-k

kimmy · August 29, 2014

Whether Officer Wilson was completely justified or completely reckless in shooting Michael Brown is pretty irrelevant to what happened afterward.

The people of Ferguson would not have trusted the police explanation of events. When it comes to police investigating themselves, they have no credibility. We have seen the police caught lying far too many times to believe their account when it comes to brutality or homicide.

For reasons like this:

This is unreal.

Or like the guy who died from a gunshot wound to the chest in the back of a police car with his hands cuffed behind his back, and was declared a suicide by the cops. Or the RCMP attempt at whitewashing the death of Robert Dziekanski. Or many others.

-k

Bonam · August 29, 2014

The issue is much bigger than people think. Always film the police, it's obvious that their 'evidence' can and will be tampered with to cover their asses.

Indeed, the real issue seems to be that so many police forces are filled not with upstanding individuals with a dedication to protect their communities, but by thugs, criminals, and bullies. That is the real story here. Racism shmacism, I want to know why police departments are staffed by people who beat people (of any color) for no reason and then cover it up. Why do officers lie about what they do, tamper with evidence, obstruct investigations, coverup wrongdoing, or do the wrongdoing to begin with? This is what needs to be addressed. If the solution is to have anything and everything a police officer does to always be recorded and a matter of public record, so be it.

Black Dog · August 29, 2014

That "black person" is the same Jesse Jackson, who makes almost a cottage industry, with Al Sharpton, of stirring the pot. This may become a separate thread, but where are these "men of the cloth" in terms of helpign wayward, endangered teenagers like Michael Brown or Trayvon Martin live a productive life rather than a life of confrontation that ends tragically?

Think the Elvis (or Mac Davis) song "In the Ghetto."

You're getting further and further away from any point you might have had. What does any of this have to do with how young black men deserve police harassment for how they "present themselves?"

jbg · August 30, 2014

You're getting further and further away from any point you might have had. What does any of this have to do with how young black men deserve police harassment for how they "present themselves?"

You should read the Jesse Jackson article very carefully. I'll e-mail it to you if you can't access it behind a paywall.

WestCoastRunner · August 30, 2014

That "black person" is the same Jesse Jackson, who makes almost a cottage industry, with Al Sharpton, of stirring the pot. This may become a separate thread, but where are these "men of the cloth" in terms of helpign wayward, endangered teenagers like Michael Brown or Trayvon Martin live a productive life rather than a life of confrontation that ends tragically?

Think the Elvis (or Mac Davis) song "In the Ghetto."

Do you have anything to back up your comment that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are not helping the black youth community?

cybercoma · August 30, 2014

Do you have anything to back up your comment that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are not helping the black youth community?

Jon Stewart blew this FOX News lie out of the water in the video I posted earlier.

WestCoastRunner · August 30, 2014

There really seems to be an open blatant disregard for the police force among the black culture.

Please stop with the generalizations. There are just as many black, white, brown, yellow folks who have a high regard for the police force. And there are just as many black, white, brown, yellow, gangs etc who have an open blatant disregard for the police force. Why you need to single out the black culture is racist.

WestCoastRunner · August 30, 2014

Jon Stewart blew this FOX News lie out of the water in the video I posted earlier.

I saw that. It was great!!!

Hal 9000 · August 30, 2014

Do you have anything to back up your comment that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are not helping the black youth community?

Do you honestly think they are helping the situation?

Hal 9000 · August 30, 2014

I saw that. It was great!!!

Yes, I especially liked the opening.

Look, I'm glad that Jon Stewart is there to let us know that it's OK to finally laugh at the whole Brown shooting thing, but referring to blacks who shoot blacks as being "gangs" is kinda stereotyping.

P.S - Stewart is looking and sounding more like Rachel Maddow every day.

Edited August 30, 2014 by Hal 9000