Ferguson

[madkiwi]

People seem to focus on the individual actions, and miss the big picture.

Mike Brown was no angel, and may well have provoked the actions leading to his shooting, but the reaction is not due to just his death, but all the other incidents with the police. It was the last straw.

Arguing about whether or not Mike Brown deserved to be shot is missing the wider issue. Even if it was his fault, there is still clearly a problem given the statistics for stop and search etc.

I can't condone rioting or looting, but even the reaction to relatively peaceful protesting seems heavy handed.

The powers that be need to take a good look at the situation. There are clearly systemic issues that need addressing.

There seems to be a culture of fear, which never helps anyone.

Peace!

 

[Dell Boy]

Scanning the news wire, I saw this:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/19/liberal-activists-set-voter-registration-booth-mic/

There are no words.

Increasing voter registration is a positive thing - no? There's clearly a huge amount of angst in the area to put it mildly. Attempting to channel that into political engagement is a good thing surely.

 

[Dell Boy]

Yeah, the guy was within 3 feet of the officers and didn't drop his knife. He was threatening them and armed. The guy was obviously an idiot.

It's all very unfortunate and doesn't look good. At the most extreme case - a man with a knife 3Ft away is clearly very very dangerous and life threatening.

It's one of these where the detailed facts will make all the difference. So was it 3ft or 6ft? How big was the knife? Why didn't the police officers try and incapacitate the guy with a shot to the leg or arm etc? Did they try that and missed? I read two armed police officers against one guy with a knife.

The timing here is pretty awful.

 

[Fuleco]

Tbf if Michael Brown had a gun he could have defended himself a bit better.

America needs more guns.

 

[madkiwi]

America needs more guns.

One's enough.

 

[davek]

That lad that was killed to kick all this off....I've been racking my brain thinking who he reminded me of:

Not a great contribution to the debate, it has to be said.

Carry on.

 

[Del]

So are we saying American police officers are so weak they can only take down a suspect by shooting them in the head?

"but he ran at me like he was going to hit me in the face, So I shot him in the head"

LOL at America

 

[RaleighBlue]

So, let's call this for what it is and answer his question. If you don't recall, his request was show the whites that are rioting in Ferguson MO.

Let me save you the trouble. You can't. So when he says that the "blacks" are rioting in Ferguson MO., he's making a factual assertion. One that many on here either don't want to see or worse, willfully refuse to see it.

Yes. I was not addressing his question. I was addressing the fact that his statement contained racist content. And it did. Because it painted black people as rioters rather than simply asking the question you suggest.

Yes, the majority (perhaps the entirety!) of the rioters are black. That does not make black people rioters. It makes some black people in this specific context rioters. Which is not what his post said.

It said "The Blacks have been out looting and burning for nearly a week".

That's not exactly what you're presenting, is it?

 

[RaleighBlue]

Ouch. Nailed on mate.

By the way, imagine trying to start up a white, raced based equivalent of the NAACP or LULAC.

Why would you? The whites do not start from a position of disadvantage in the United States due to their race - we don't need any group to fight for 'White Equality'. Unless you're advocating a group that harms white quality of life to bring it more in line with minority groups.

 

[RaleighBlue]

That's a very legitimate question and in fact, that will be the question asked of Officer Wilson.

From what I'm understanding, and reading witness reports, the young man first tried to get the officer's gun. When that didn't work, he took off. When the officer told him to freeze, he turned and bull rushed him.

If that's the case (and no other facts or statements come to light) then it would seem to me that situation would allow for the officer to fire at suspect who is in the process of making an aggressive/assault move. Furthermore, the officer doesn't know if the suspect has a concealed weapon. If the suspect is able to get to the officer, then the officer is at additional risk of losing his weapon and having it used on him.

In short, when a law enforcement officer tells you to stop, stay where you are, freeze, etc... you don't turn and charge the officer. That's just common sense but you know the saying, "If common sense were so common, why don't more people have it?"

Here's a recent news report on the assault:

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/201...-eye-socket-during-encounter-with-mike-brown/

If, of course, Mike Brown was assaulting the officer, then force could have been acceptable. Obviously there are aspects to the story that we don't yet know.

Either way, the militarization of the police force is upsetting, and there are clear racial tensions at play in the town (and the country!), even if the straw the broke the camel's back should not have.

I also wonder, still, if I had done the same thing if I would be dead, or just tazed to hell.

Furthermore, the officer doesn't know if the suspect has a concealed weapon. If the suspect is able to get to the officer, then the officer is at additional risk of losing his weapon and having it used on him.

This amuses me considering your stance on gun rights (yes I know that some criminals will always have guns).

 

[mezzrow]

I contribute this from the fever swamps of the American right to illustrate that the deal is different, this time.

See if anyone here can suss out what really bothers these gentlemen... Also another question - what do you think is going on elsewhere while we're spending our energy looking at this and wondering where Ferguson goes today? Why do you think the media has focused on this as they have?

 

[orchard]

I contribute this from the fever swamps of the American right to illustrate that the deal is different, this time.

See if anyone here can suss out what really bothers these gentlemen... Also another question - what do you think is going on elsewhere while we're spending our energy looking at this and wondering where Ferguson goes today? Why do you think the media has focused on this as they have?

I was reading a paper (on the non-absolute rights of property in law), and he briefly mentioned the US has come full circle since it's independence from corrupt political and mercantile (West Indian, and other trading companies) governance.

 

[ilikecheese]

This thread

 

[Moomin]

I contribute this from the fever swamps of the American right to illustrate that the deal is different, this time.

See if anyone here can suss out what really bothers these gentlemen... Also another question - what do you think is going on elsewhere while we're spending our energy looking at this and wondering where Ferguson goes today? Why do you think the media has focused on this as they have?

Wow, the manufacturers of these "toys" must be making some buck from the police departments across the US.

 

[SerenityNigh]

Wow, the manufacturers of these "toys" must be making some buck from the police departments across the US.

They're actually repurposed military equipment. The Pentagon sells off equipment it no longer wants/needs for military use at very low cost to police departments across the US. The secondary cost is next to nothing, but the practice itself is alarming, probably worthy of another thread.