Memories of the 1995 OJ Verdict Unrest (plantation, office, racist)

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by BeatAngMoh

But the police could have shot him in the legs.

If you read the transcript, you can understand why Wilson didn't shoot Brown in the legs. Brown kept running through the first few shots. Wilson said that Brown previously reached under his shirt for what Wilson thought was a gun.
Darren Wilson's grand jury testimony released - CNN.com

[Exitus Acta Probat]

So it looks like there's going to be something new opening where Daily Grill was previously located across from CPK in the Brentwood Gardens shopping center. And remember Humphrey Yogart right up above? I used to work there. That frozen yogurt was delicious.

[nslander]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

If you read the transcript, you can understand why Wilson didn't shoot Brown in the legs. Brown kept running through the first few shots. Wilson said that Brown previously reached under his shirt for what Wilson thought was a gun.
Darren Wilson's grand jury testimony released - CNN.com

The eyewitness accounts other than Wilson's are all over the map, but the one commonality is that none of them has Brown reaching for what could be a weapon. And it's hard not to consider Wilson's own testimony about Brown's reaching for a weapon while attempting to "run through" Wilson at the same time as self-serving (e.g. coached):


12 A His hand was in a fist at his side, this
13 one is in his waistband under his shirt, and he was
14 like this. Just coming straight at me like he was
15 going to run right through me. And when he gets
16 about that 8 to 10 feet away, I look down, I
17 remember looking at my sites and firing, all I see
18 is his head and that's what I shot.

This was tragic all around, but the grand jury probably made the right call. The incidence of police killing of unarmed people with impunity is beyond obscene, and law enforcement in this country is due for a reckoning. But this should not be the lead case.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by MordinSolus

Your entire argument is dependent on ignoring Michael Brown's actions and treating this case as another example of injustice toward the black community. I've already acknowledged that the justice system is unfair to blacks(especially black men) but this case has nothing to do with race. This cop is not George Zimmerman, he was protecting himself from a thug who was beating him and trying to take his service weapon. Explain to me how this is race related? I would get shot to death if I did what Brown did.

Using this case as an example of 'justice not served' does a disservice to those 'fighting for justice' as it relies on only people that aren't really looking into the actually FACTs of the case.

Also I can imagine there are at least a few people that went out and protested and then later felt dumb that they were lied to by the media and others about this case about "A white cop that shot and killed an unarmed black teen"

If there was ANYTHING that came out about the shooter being racist , it certainly would have come out by now.

[Exitus Acta Probat]

I also miss Regular John's. I'd love to once more walk across the sawdust covered floor, play a game of Donkey Kong, and then sit down for a little pizza.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by MordinSolus

Your entire argument is dependent on ignoring Michael Brown's actions and treating this case as another example of injustice toward the black community. I've already acknowledged that the justice system is unfair to blacks(especially black men) but this case has nothing to do with race. This cop is not George Zimmerman, he was protecting himself from a thug who was beating him and trying to take his service weapon. Explain to me how this is race related? I would get shot to death if I did what Brown did.

Let me clarify: Considering I never stated my opinion in that comment and made sure to use the appropriate pronoun indicators to reiterate that fact, use the terms "your argument" a little more loosely. I separated Michael Brown's criminal actions from the reason people were protesting clearly by using a paragraph marker. So my comment would not be misconstrued to convey what you've said above.

People are upset and protesting, not because Michael Brown was innocent. He wasn't. But because this event was another catalyst for taking a stand against police brutality in the city of Ferguson against blacks. There is a longstanding history of racial tensions between the majority black residents of Ferguson and the majority white government officials of Ferguson. Google, you can read about it. That is why this has become such a racially charged issue.

I'm going to make a wild assumption that there are a fair number of black criminals shot or killed by white cops on a regular basis that we never hear about. That isn't the point. This case is circumstantial given the fact that he was unarmed, young, excessive force was believed to be used, and the already present racial tension in Ferguson and lack of minority representation in the government. Many Ferguson residents felt that if Brown was white, he would be sitting in a prison cell right now, with 5 or 6 less gunshot wounds.

I've left my personal opinion out because there's no point in these instances of arguing back and forth.

[jm1982]

But , excessive force wasn't believed to be used by the grand jury...which included black people too.

It seems like you don't want to include Michael Brown's criminal actions...but you want to link Officer Wilson's actions to the 'racial tension in Ferguson and lack of minority representation in the government"

Also I keep hearing that "if Brown was white , he wouldn't have been shot"

Can you please guide me to some proof that Wilson was some racist out for blood on that day?

Why would any Officer want to kill someone if they didn't feel it was in self defense or in order to protect the public?

Why don't people protest over someone that was actually innocent , as you yourself said Brown was not innocent.

It just makes the whole group protesting look bad, people of all races because people think , "wow , this is the best you have? You are going to protest in the name of a guy that had no respect for the law, was a robber himsef and on top of that assaulted an officer??"

It's like, "That's your guy???"

Kind of like when they found Palin to be Vice President for McCain. It was like , "Really?? We are supposed to take this seriously?"

Why on earth would you pick someone that isn't innocent to make your point?

Don't you see that as pretty foolish?

[MordinSolus]

Too many people are waving off that particular hypocrisy by saying Brown's case is "just another" instance of police brutality against the black community or "the straw that broke the camel's back," as if Wilson's racism is already proven.
Everyone knows Brown got himself shot but too many people went all in on this shooting before they knew what actually happened. Once this case went national every liar and racebaiter came out of the woodwork to spin what happened to fit a narrative.
"He had his hands up!" Then why didn't any of the credible witnesses see it? Only "witnesses" whose testimony was inconsistent with physical evidence said he had his hands up.
"His body was laying in the street for over 4 hours!" That's terrible but it has nothing to do with the shooting nor is it reason to riot and disrupt people's lives. There are idiots out there blocking freeways, vandalizing, looting, assaulting random white people, burning down businesses, etc because they're ***holes and nothing more. It has nothing to do with Brown.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by jm1982

But , excessive force wasn't believed to be used by the grand jury...which included black people too.

It seems like you don't want to include Michael Brown's criminal actions...but you want to link Officer Wilson's actions to the 'racial tension in Ferguson and lack of minority representation in the government"

Also I keep hearing that "if Brown was white , he wouldn't have been shot"

Can you please guide me to some proof that Wilson was some racist out for blood on that day?

Why would any Officer want to kill someone if they didn't feel it was in self defense or in order to protect the public?

Why don't people protest over someone that was actually innocent , as you yourself said Brown was not innocent.

It just makes the whole group protesting look bad, people of all races because people think , "wow , this is the best you have? You are going to protest in the name of a guy that had no respect for the law, was a robber himsef and on top of that assaulted an officer??"

It's like, "That's your guy???"

Kind of like when they found Palin to be Vice President for McCain. It was like , "Really?? We are supposed to take this seriously?"

Why on earth would you pick someone that isn't innocent to make your point?

Don't you see that as pretty foolish?

Why do you structure your sentences like that? I've always wondered.

Originally Posted by jm1982

Can you please guide me to some proof that Wilson was some racist out for blood on that day?

Ingrained racism is usually not pre-meditated.

I doubt the officer was like hey I'm going to kill a black dude today. That isn't what anyone is protesting at all and it exposes your deductive reasoning skills.

The majority of racism in this country is passive and it takes looking past privilege to see it. For example if a white person says "I don't date black girls because I'm not attracted to them." Is he being racist? Yes. Are his racist remarks affecting or hurting others? No. The racism is inherent in the fact that he is taking a group of people from all walks of life, with different genetics, different looks, different upbringings, etc and classifying them altogether by the color of their skin. All black people are not the same and suggesting that they are is racist. Racism can range from something as small as that to killing someone or shouting a slur at them because of their skin color. Most people come to think of racism as the latter, that it has to be in it's most extreme form to be racist. This is simply not true.

Is anyone getting hurt over some white dude not dating black women? No. Is he obligated to date black women so he isn't racist? No. But he should recognize why saying something like that is problematic. If you don't want to date them, you don't have to. But keep it to yourself. Hopefully you can comprehend that and won't give me another analogous response about something completely unrelated.

To further clarify, the analogy above is unrelated to Michael Brown and why this case is racially related. Don't confuse the two. I'm simply explaining what ingrained or passive racism is and why your statement above is illogical. The officer doesn't have to meditate killing a black person or even think about it for it to be racist.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by MordinSolus

There are idiots out there blocking freeways, vandalizing, looting, assaulting random white people, burning down businesses, etc because they're ***holes and nothing more. It has nothing to do with Brown.

Opportunists are different than protestors. And people have opportunistically rioted for a lot less. Like when their favorite football team loses whatever bowl. I'm sure you know this, but your comment was worded almost as if these αssholes are mutually exclusive to the Brown incident. They're present in every issue.