General News Ferguson grand jury results

I do remember that case and as a foreigner it did strike me as odd how people were protesting about the Ferguson case (where there is at least some evidence of the police officer's actions being valid) and then remaining completely silent re a case where the police (in my opinion and probably anyone who is sane's!) drastically overstepped the line.

I did lose quite a bit of sympathy to the rioters' cause for them playing this as a race issue (I don't think it is) and choosing to completely ignore this other case.

 

>freedomoutpost "don't tread on us"

fucking libertarians

ANYWAY, that isn't reverse racism. The white man who was shot STILL has(d) the institutional backing of white privilege, meaning that saying it is reverse racism is an essentially meaningless statement, because it is not racism in the same way that is faced by black people.

 

Hope your holidays are a riot!

 

If it's not about race, then why is the KKK there?

And hey, guess what else the media is completely ignoring...
peaceful protestors and people guarding stores to stop looters.

 

Newsflash: black people can be racist too. Not liking or having negative stereotypes about a race isn't only for white people.

The KKK may be there because people have made it out to be a race issue. Just because certain people claim it's a race issue doesn't mean it objectively was.

And the media ignores that because it's not interesting. The media loves the riots. The media is just biased in whatever way gets them ratings. First it's a race issue where an "innocent" "unarmed" black "teen." Now they spin it to show the negative side of the people who believe it's a race issue. They don't care!

 

Yes, that was kind of my point........ The media ignoring the story about the guy from Utah because it's not interesting enough the same way they're ignoring peaceful protests and people guarding stores because it's not interesting enough.

Many cases of innocent people shot by cops never make the news.

 

Perhaps you are misunderstanding my point.

I don't care if you are black or white. If you attack me, try stealing my weapon, and ignore my warnings, then I will shoot you. Yes, there are some police officers who are racially bias, but when you actually look into the Michael Brown case, you'll see that Officer Wilson was justified and that it doesn't automatically make him racist because he was defending himself. Michael Brown would of been shot dead regardless of his skin color because he was assaulting a police officer.

What you are doing is turning a blind eye to what Michael Brown did, and are making this about his skin color. Please, just stop making this about racism. It has a lot less to do with skin color than you think.

 

"People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach?
And would you turn the other cheek?
Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love?"

Where is the love by The Black Eyed Peas. Furthermore, this is all such crap. Did you hear the interview with Darren Wilson? He said, "I asked myself: is it legal to shoot him?" Like really?!?! The first thing running through your head isn't the lack of morality from shooting another human being?! And to make matters worse, the protesters are no better than the hoards of police and national guard troops. "We want justice!" exclaim the protesters as they burn their own city. But on the opposite side of that coin are the police. "We are the bigger person here." as they aim guns at both peaceful and violent protesters alike. I am just disgusted by all the events taking place throughout this entire fiasco. Sorry for venting on this rant but I couldn't stop myself.​

 

not really.

ignoring race solves all racial issues don't ya know

oh wait it doesn't

good for you. do you have proof that Michael Brown tried to steal Wilson's weapon?

no you're the one who is ignoring the reality of the situation where a whiiiiteeeee cop shot a black man who was unarmed.

What, steal some cigars? smoke some pot?

No, I'm not the one making this about race, this is by virtue about race and the institutional racism in American justice.
Self-Segregation: Why It's So Hard for Whites to Understand Ferguson - The Atlantic
How to Deal With Friends’ Racist Reactions to Ferguson - The Root
it's not my fault you're privilege blind to racial issues.

 

Those guys may be dressed up like gangsters, but they are certainly good guys worthy of respect.

And to finish off my previous post, this is most relevant.

ABC News Asks Darren Wilson If He Shot Mike Brown Because he was Black — You’ll LOVE His Answer |

 

99.999% of federal grand juries end with an indictment(In other words from 2009 to 2010, there were about 150,000 federal grand juries in the US and 11 weren't indicted)
40% of the Prison Population is Black
14% of the American Population is Black
According to a Gallup Poll 24% of young black men said they had been treaty unfairly in interactions with police in the past 30 days
There are 3 black cops out of 53 on the ferguson police, the town is 2/3 black
African Americans are targeted in 92% of vehicle searches in Ferguson
The #1 Cause of Death for Black men between 18-34 is murder.


This issue is about far more than guilty or non guilty. This is an issue of racial inequality, racial profiling, over-excessive use of force and fair trials when dealing with police officers. Regardless of whether he was guilty or not(we probably will never know for sure), there should've at least been a trial. It's also not ridiculous to say that racism could be involved(although it may have not been), because racism is still prevalent in America especially in dealing with law enforcement.

 

Alright, I went ahead and read both articles in full (They were good reads). I'll attempt to come off less harshly and give you a respectful response. I'll also try to lay down my thoughts coherently and logically. For starters, it does put into perspective the racial divide. Looking at it from a neutral perspective, I'd say the issue seems to be less about Michael Brown's death, and more about the general feeling that racism still is an issue, which is very well can be. Since I come from a predominantly white neighborhood, then perhaps I really just didn't see why this was ever a racial issue to begin with.

Perhaps the reason "reverse racism" is not heard of is because blacks never, in American history, had superiority over white men. Same being for womens' rights and 'feminism', as the issue really just goes down to our repulsive history of oppression and segregation. The dark reality that these issues still exist today is what fuels all this tension in racial divide. People today may be so concerned with not being racially bias, that they ironically become racially bias themselves. This is not usually the case, but it does appear to be swept under the rug when it does occur. Regardless, I do agree that racial bias still exists today, but in a more subtle form than how it existed 50 years ago. 50 years ago, people would be as racist and discriminatory as they wanted without the slightest consideration for the rights of people in other ethnic groups. Today, people are more fortunate as our general consensus is that all races are equal and should be treated equal, even though we may have to accept the fact that we haven't yet reached the perfect nation of equality for all. So yes, you are right, racism still is a problem and it is still a problem even in our criminal law system.

Despite my agreement for racial divide and that racism still exists today, there still remains the question on whether or not Officer Wilson was justified for attacking Michael Brown. One can still argue for Officer Wilson's justification, but one can also argue that the issue could have been resolved without Michael's death and done so without any bloodshed. I still do believe that this single case, out of many others, just isn't one that should be created with racial bias, but rather, one police officer doing what every single other police officer does, protecting his own ass. And could we really blame Darren Wilson for doing what many other people would have done? Do we know for sure whether or not Darren Wilson is telling the truth, or if witness testimony hasn't been flawed by different perceptions? In today's world, it's unfortunate that we even have to pay attention to one's race. I wish we could all live equally and barely notice one's skin color; to treat skin color like we do any other feature of our bodies and not care. And because we care, we, to an extent, disregard the situation and focus on our racial divide.

However... I do think we should look at this case as raising awareness for innocent black people who are victims of police brutality. I will say I have looked at statistics as to how many black people are killed by police as opposed to white people being apprehended. It's amazing that black people have, and still are killed at higher rates than white people since the 1970s by law enforcement. Of course, the ratio is much closer than what is used to be, but the ratio is still more than 2 black deaths per 1 white death by police. What sets Michael's case different from many other cases is that Michael came in physical contact with the officer and, as I've heard, attempted to take his weapon while ignore warnings. The death was inevitable, and would only have been prevented if Michael was lucky enough to survive the bullets.

So, to wrap up my claim, I agree with you on the point that black people are treated lesser than equal in our criminal justice system. While I still think Michael's death was justified, I don't disagree with people when they say there were other ways to resolve the issue. But since this was a spur of the moment incident, I'm sure Officer Wilson regrets that his actions had to take a life, but that he also wasn't in the wrong in doing so.

 

You summed up my views of this perfectly. Speaking as a black person myself, I'm in complete agreement with you.

 

This is when I wish the site had a "Like" button. Very well-stated, Skaros.

 

Skaros, you truly put out a great resposne!

I was going to post about how I was sick and tired of how judgmental people were...then I read your post. It was so calm and collected and made me think about things. I appreciate that!

What I came to do was just vent my frustrations. I've seen so many posts and so many comments (not just here) that are so judgmental and rude. I know this whole story offends and upsets folks - I get why. I want people to be upset. However, I don't want everyone to rip each other apart. The only way we can get through this craptastic ordeal is if we work together to find a way out.

 

For all that you're now half-heartedly playing the moderate card, it's pretty significant that you interpreted multiple shootings as automatically Brown's fault and rushed to Wilson's defence (eloquently, but not truly moderately or in an unbiased way) before embarking on the projection of a calm and collected response.

You've assumed that Brown kept going after being shot, not that Wilson shot an unnecessarily large number of bullets at him. Either could be true, but you're painting the issue with patronising and rather dubiously-intended concern to justify it without a proper case going forward.

You acknowledge that there is a pattern, but I doubt you'll ever acknowledge any individual case as part of the pattern, such as what you're doing now.

 

Yes, I've now drawn back from my side of being completely opinionated on the Michael Brown case. If I've offended anyone, then I'd like to apologize for my recent comments. I suppose there comes a time when I must accept that I was wrong about something. Whether or not it was Michael's fault, I won't know for sure. Judging on what I've heard, it seems to be so, but I'll accept that the evidence isn't sufficient enough for me to make a firm judgment on the matter. I meant what I said in my last statement, but I guess my place in this is to just stay out of the debate. Again, sorry if I've offended anyone with my prior remarks.

 

Does it really help to patronize him? Where is this back and forth shit getting us?

I'm not being silly, I'm being truthful. I see this constant back and fort "You're stupid and I'm right" crap and I don't see how that will ever get us anywhere.

 

We stop pretending there's a perfect middle ground, that there's a magical way to address the issue without really getting ourselves dirty in and hostile about the social and political problems that led to this.

We need to begin to cry justice for the bigger picture instead of bemoaning people's anger at judicial process as useless anti-authoritarianism without importance or reason, we stop pretending this issue can be solved without turning things over and upsetting ideas.

We stop the ridiculous rhetoric of getting along peacefully by refusing to acknowledge the violence. We stop pretending this is a distraction from the "real problems", because this is entirely an enormous problem that is tearing communities apart and goes without real change after each incident.

That's where we'll get; somewhere, not just shutting our eyes.

 

That's what you believe.

I still believe the world can get through these hard times with peace, love, and working towards changing these shitty moments. I'm more along the lines of the "Rosa Parks" school of thinking.

But we all believe different things. We all are right and wrong. Not one of us is better.

I just see everyone talk about how wrong this whole case was....while bashing, belittling, and just being rude. Where does that get us?

Oh, and by the way - my eyes aren't shut...all the time. I do get tired in my lecture class, so I have to shut them then because there's only so much I can take of fluids and electrolytes!