[P1]

What if Officer Wilson was a black cop as opposed to a white cop? Would it still be about "police brutality"? Would there still be riots and looting?

Please discuss.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Al,

There is a much larger issue that an officer (although of any color, it doesn't matter) shot a suspect (of any color, it still doesn't matter) who had his hands up and was surrendering. I don't believe that was the case here, and I think the GJ proceedings bear that out.

Why even mention it since that was proven not to be the case?

Originally Posted by UncleWede

The very fact that Wilson resigned after the GJ decided not to prosecute shows that either
1) Wilson is truly innocent of the accusations and has the interests of the community in his heart, or
2) he is a great con-artist who figured he could just kill a black youth and be set for life on money without ever working again.

Your "option 2" is so silly it doesn't even warrant a response.

What it shows is that he knows full well that he can't get back into a cruiser in that town and that his quality of life would be literally zero. Do you think he would be able to go about his daily duties in peace or do you think the same people who are rioting and protesting would be following him around making his life a living hell?

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by P1et

What if Officer Wilson was a black cop as opposed to a white cop? Would it still be about "police brutality"? Would there still be riots and looting?

Please discuss.

It wouldn't have even made the news.

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by P1et

What if Officer Wilson was a black cop as opposed to a white cop? Would it still be about "police brutality"? Would there still be riots and looting?

Please discuss.

Nobody would have given a shit.

[P1]

Originally Posted by ragingclue

Nobody would have given a shit.

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

It wouldn't have even made the news.

But I thought it was about "Black Lives Matter"? Don't they matter, whether they are killed by another black person, a white person or really anyone of any race?

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

There was no race component in the incident. The only race part of this unfortunate event is by the race mangers who use it to personally or politically profit such as sharpton, Obama, etc. the cop was helping a black mother just prior to the incident and the physical evidence and black testimony back up the cops account which was totally proper and correct. The guy was a thieving thug and got what he deserved. To bad the town and a good cop have to pay for his mistakes.

Still can't imagine the ignorance needed to destroy your own neighborhood because you don't like a court ruling. Cities like Newark, Detroit, etc never recovere from the riots of the 60s. They should use video tape to prosecute every rioter, looter, and clear the garbage out off that town and others. There should also be stronger felony laws that they can use to dissuade people from doing violent protests, riots, etc. punishment instead of jail should offer the option of becoming a laborer that fixes the damage done or military service if appropriate.

LOL Obama? Sharpton? What does Obama have to do with this, and why the fuck do you care what Sharpton says? NO black people I know listen to him, why do whites continue to hold him up as the spoke person for all minorities?

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

It's a culture thing. Men in power in the black community use these events to keep their power and try to justify their existence. The political arm also used fear tactics to do the same thing. It's perpetuated by ignorance and a media vested in it as well.

L-O-L.

[MiddleAgedAl]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Al,

There is a much larger issue that an officer (although of any color, it doesn't matter) shot a suspect (of any color, it still doesn't matter) who had his hands up and was surrendering.

That's exactly the premise that makes no sense to me, hence my question.
It's basically suggesting that x people being unjustly killed one way is more of a problem than 100x people being unjustly killed a different way.

To put it another way, it's like the idea that a bad racist cop got away with the murder of 1 person keeps people up at night worse than the idea that 100 gang members routinely get away with the murder of hundreds of people.

I get that people need to think that officer must be trusted to a higher standard, but it's like the outcome itself matters less than feelings surrounding the situation that led to that outcome.

If you could wave a magic wand and remove 100% of all bad racist cops in the country tomorrow, the number of innocent black lives that would save over the next 5 years would not even move the needle when compared to the number of black lives you could save if you could wave that wand and stop even 25% of existing black on black, gang-related murders.

The asymmetry of the outrage continues to baffle me.

[MiddleAgedAl]

Originally Posted by P1et

But I thought it was about "Black Lives Matter"? Don't they matter, whether they are killed by another black person, a white person or really anyone of any race?

Based on the way people reacted (or didnt, as the case may be), apparently the life of Michael Brown mattered more than the combined, cumulative worth of all the lives of many black kids killed in Chicago last year, or anywhere else, for that matter.

[F1Venom]

I'm just angry America forgot about Obama's unconstitutional use of executive order to grant amnesty to tens of millions of illegals just two days before the grand jury decision was made public. Just lol if you think it was all a coincidence.
And this should've angered black people more than anyone else too.

[leJUNd]

Originally Posted by MiddleAgedAl

That's exactly the premise that makes no sense to me, hence my question.
It's basically suggesting that x people being unjustly killed one way is more of a problem than 100x people being unjustly killed a different way.

To put it another way, it's like the idea that a bad racist cop got away with the murder of 1 person keeps people up at night worse than the idea that 100 gang members routinely get away with the murder of hundreds of people.

I get that people need to think that officer must be trusted to a higher standard, but it's like the outcome itself matters less than feelings surrounding the situation that led to that outcome.

If you could wave a magic wand and remove 100% of all bad racist cops in the country tomorrow, the number of innocent black lives that would save over the next 5 years would not even move the needle when compared to the number of black lives you could save if you could wave that wand and stop even 25% of existing black on black, gang-related murders.

The asymmetry of the outrage continues to baffle me.

It's an problem of perception.

Racism, police brutality, corruption, social injustice... historically have always been a hot, sensitive topic. It's almost as if there is certain mystique to it. There is question of "is there system wide racism and prejudice?"; question that can't be definitively answered. Consensus is divided and for most part people are confused, not sure what to think. With past events involving these issues (Rodney King, LA riot, OJ Simpson, Trayvon Martin, etc...), their cases may be closed, but to the masses underlying issues have not been resolved.

Ferguson case is a quadrefecta in away. Especially when the issue involves race and the police. it's battle between power and the powerless.... it's David and Goliath... People are going to be drawn to. Media is going to sensualize it. Look at how similar events in the past drew people's attention.

50 years may seem like a long time but it's still not long enough as a society to completely forget about the past injustices. It is a reminder that the past wounds have not healed and are still on people's mind and it's going to take more time and effort.

There are also these self serving activist who will jump on any event with controversial issue and make it serve their belief. People are already sensitive and confused about these issues and these so called leaders manipulate them in to follow their cause.

Gang violence is such a norm it is almost expected. Gang violence in a way is almost is perceived as a war. People are going to kill and be killed criminals will kill each other some innocent will die. That's the nature of the business.

[davis449]

The same prosecutor is being put to for possibly indicting his step dad for inciting a riot. This is gonna get very interesting.

I think his step father deserves to be indicted.

[Billup]

Originally Posted by MiddleAgedAl

Based on the way people reacted (or didnt, as the case may be), apparently the life of Michael Brown mattered more than the combined, cumulative worth of all the lives of many black kids killed in Chicago last year, or anywhere else, for that matter.

That's like watching the news back home in Detroit. The news will make a story if the city goes longer than 2 days without a homicide like it's some milestone breakthrough.

Then you get an officer who happens to be white, and everyone goes ape (heh) shit. Look back at the Trayvon Martin / Zimmerman case and how well the media blew that shit up.

[KingOfJericho]

There's crystal clear video of him screaming "burn this bitch down!" to a crowd that was ready to blow and did actually burn buildings down. Seems like an pretty open and shut case to me.

[m3ray]

The shit could hit the fan in NYC if they let this cop off.

http://nypost.com/2014/12/02/indictm...ome-wednesday/

[Fundguy1]

Originally Posted by m3ray

The shit could hit the fan in NYC if they let this cop off.

http://nypost.com/2014/12/02/indictm...ome-wednesday/

Why I left there. To many ignor any idiots.

[P1]

Originally Posted by m3ray

The shit could hit the fan in NYC if they let this cop off.

http://nypost.com/2014/12/02/indictm...ome-wednesday/

What have we learned here? Don't resist arrest and you'll be fine.

[m3ray]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

Why I left there. To many ignor any idiots

Originally Posted by P1et

What have we learned here? Don't resist arrest and you'll be fine.

Yeah but still, chokeholds are not sanctioned by many police depts. for just this reason. They could have tasered him, pepper sprayed him. This is excessive force imo. Plus the coroner has ruled this man's death a homicide.

I think cops are out of control, a message needs to be sent.

[KingOfJericho]

The situation only escalated to that point when Garner failed to comply and resisted arrest. If he put his hands behind his back and let the justice system do it's work, he would be alive today. I'm on the fence on this one. If that particular "hold" is actually banned then I think the officer will likely end up in court. However, this is just more proof that failing to comply and resisting arrest is a recipe for disaster.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by m3ray

They could have tasered him, pepper sprayed him. This is excessive force imo. Plus the coroner has ruled this man's death a homicide.

He could EASILY have a heart attack from a taser as well and you would be right here saying "couldn't they just grab him without tasering him????". Nobody likes to see these videos but people have accept responsibility for the choices they make. There is no "easy" way to take in a perp who is 400lbs and does NOT want to be arrested.

Originally Posted by m3ray

I think cops are out of control, a message needs to be sent.

That's a very irresponsible and inaccurate statement.

[squishy]

I feel this is very relevant:

[Fundguy1]

He couldn't have tasered him. The cop was attacked and struggle for his firearm ensued. Cop used his pistol because if he went for his taser he would have been shot. That said the cop shot him several times because each time he kept coming instead of giving up. This is backed up by the physical evidence and black witness testimony. . He got what he deserved.