POLL: Ferguson Cops, Curfew & Protesers (St. Louis: assess, average, working)

[kbt1766]

Originally Posted by oldschoolChevy

This Ferguson situation has caused me to think a little bit about past experiences that I had with police and hearing the outrage behind the video you posted really made me think even deeper and I was amazed at how ingrained and "status quo" certain aspects of life can be when if we just see an outside perspective on the situation we would truly see how messed up it is. I say all that because I am a black male, I grew up in a rough neighborhood in an inner city and I have seen police "draw down" (pull their weapons out and point them at you) as we called it on someone more times than I can count. It even happened to me one time. Its amazing how that was just normal to me, I never really thought anything of it, it was just the way things were in my mind. Only until last night and today after watching the news and hearing a Police training expert say on CNN what the proper procedure was for a cop to draw his service weapon and aim at a citizen did I realize that I basically have been witnessing the same thing the people in Ferguson are uspet about, I just didn't realize it. Basically a cop is only supposed to draw his weapon and aim when there is a confirmed report of a threat to their life or someone else. And I can honestly say that I have seen personally with my own 2 eyes cops draw down on people for mundane things such as a traffic stop or even drinking in public. These people posed not the slightest threat to them or anyone else. But yet they did something illegal and were met with a reaction that was not equal to what they did. Getting pulled over for driving without insurance should not warrant you having 2 cops pointing guns in your face. Say what you want, getting a gun pointed in your face is some scary sh*t and not something that you can just forget that easily.

There a good # of decent and honest cops, but there are also a decent number of cops who are basically modern day cowboys and they get their kicks from busting heads and have no intention of helping anyone in any form or fashion. And that has to change.

You didn't get killed though, so it looks like everything is okay.

[1smalldot]

Move to the islands in the pacific.. our cops dont carry weapons, but yet, we have no crimes.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by luzianne

Well, from my personal experience with immigrants, it seems to me that they come here looking for a better life and THEY MAKE IT HAPPEN. They will take the lowest paying jobs, two or three of them if they have to, and work their way through school. I don't think they try to align themselves with whites so much as they see this as the land of opportunity - BECAUSE IT IS - and they do what they have to do to get where they want. I think they know what it is like to live in another country where those opportunities aren't available and they appreciate it.

A lot of blacks who were born here, though, take our freedoms and opportunities for granted. They think they don't apply to them or they think it should just be handed to them without them having to do anything to have a better life. It takes hard work, for sure. I guess I shouldn't just say blacks, though, because there are a lot of white kids who don't appreciate and take advantage of the opportunities that are available to them. But then, from what I see they aren't blaming blacks or any specific race for their not getting ahead, they just mainly blame corporate America or rich people. But then, I don't see them throwing Molotov cocktails, looting and destroying cities over it, either.

What I have seen in immigrant families is that their families stress hard work and education. It is impressive how well Asian and Indian children especially do academically. I have had a little bit of exposure to that because my kids had friends of other races, so I ended up interacting with their parents and knowing the family dynamic and what was expected of them. In particular, my son had an Asian friend whose parents guided him all the way through school. They knew where he was at all times. If he wasn't home when they expected him to be, they would be calling my house or they would come to my house to see if he was here. I imagine they went to other friends' houses too. He tried to slack off and wasn't the best student, not because he wasn't capable but he didn't put in the effort. But their efforts paid off because now he is college and doing well. Better than my son, in fact, who would be one of the kids who doesn't appreciate and take advantage of the opportunities available to him. But he works and he works hard and he is supporting himself and not blaming anyone that he's not making more money. I just wish he'd realize that education really is important if he wants something better in the future.

I also saw an Indian girl who won every science fair award, every academic reward, and was just truly outstanding academically. Again, a credit to her parents who came here for a better life for them and their kids and made sure they achieved that better life. That is pretty typical of what I see with immigrant kids.

So no. People don't come here from overseas and align themselves with white people so they don't get "hosed over" like the blacks. They come here seeking opportunities they didn't have in their country and when they get there they work hard and make it happen. You could take a lesson from them.

You can't just say black Americans take for granted the opportunities that come with being born in America. That can apply to all who on born here.

As far as foreigners go, many who move not only don't have any loyalty to this country they don't think the rules apply to them.

You get people who have lived in the US from Asian countries(and other places) for several years who think it is OK to push and shove or cut in line at a store, than they play the "I don't speak English" card when you point out that they're not playing nice.....LOL.

It used to be the norm that immigrants came to this country and wanted to be Americans, and some still do, but there are many who still act like they're living in the country they left. And they don't follow the rules and mores of this country.

Sorry, all foreigners who move here don't strive to be successful, make good neighbors, or follow the "when in Rome do as the Romans do" mindset.

[Podo944]

Thank you all for the clarity on that!

[augiedogie]

I think its interesting that real estate agents are accused of fear mongering to gin up business because of predicted drop in real estate values. Unfortunately, the agents are not "fear mongering" If you check other suburban cities and large cities, you will find that very nice homes are available for very cheap prices when start moving in. For example, Brown Deer Wi. used to be a very nice white middle class suburb of Milw. Now it has a large minority population, but the values of the homes are close to 1/2 of what they would probably be if it was all white. Whites do self segregate when the minority population starts to increase significantly. It happens all over America.

[augiedogie]

It certainly isn't going to attract anyone. Ferguson will certainly go down hill. Businesses will leave. New businesses will be reluctant to start up there. I'm loving to move after retirement. After seeing the actions of the governor, Mo is permanently off my list. No wonder they have problems in that state.

[Above Average Bear]

Originally Posted by oldschoolChevy

This Ferguson situation has caused me to think a little bit about past experiences that I had with police and hearing the outrage behind the video you posted really made me think even deeper and I was amazed at how ingrained and "status quo" certain aspects of life can be when if we just see an outside perspective on the situation we would truly see how messed up it is. I say all that because I am a black male, I grew up in a rough neighborhood in an inner city and I have seen police "draw down" (pull their weapons out and point them at you) as we called it on someone more times than I can count. It even happened to me one time. Its amazing how that was just normal to me, I never really thought anything of it, it was just the way things were in my mind. Only until last night and today after watching the news and hearing a Police training expert say on CNN what the proper procedure was for a cop to draw his service weapon and aim at a citizen did I realize that I basically have been witnessing the same thing the people in Ferguson are uspet about, I just didn't realize it. Basically a cop is only supposed to draw his weapon and aim when there is a confirmed report of a threat to their life or someone else. And I can honestly say that I have seen personally with my own 2 eyes cops draw down on people for mundane things such as a traffic stop or even drinking in public. These people posed not the slightest threat to them or anyone else. But yet they did something illegal and were met with a reaction that was not equal to what they did. Getting pulled over for driving without insurance should not warrant you having 2 cops pointing guns in your face. Say what you want, getting a gun pointed in your face is some scary sh*t and not something that you can just forget that easily.

There a good # of decent and honest cops, but there are also a decent number of cops who are basically modern day cowboys and they get their kicks from busting heads and have no intention of helping anyone in any form or fashion. And that has to change.

I support our police 100% that said the PO in that video was way out of line.

[jskirwin]

(ahem) back to the original post.
I doubt this will have a long term impact on the area as a whole though the scars in Ferguson likely won't fade for a generation or two.

I base this assessment on my understanding of American History and the short attention spans of Americans. We are regularly criticized for our societal ADD but honestly at times like this I think it's a blessing. Here's a link that visits in 2012 the site of the LA Riots that went down in 1992 http://www.laweekly.com/microsites/la-riots/. If LA can survive it so can St. Louis.

[lucky2balive]

Originally Posted by mrviking

We have people everyday who have hopped a fence and can't speak English, yet in a few years open up their own business. If you stand around waiting for everyone else to make your life easier, good luck. There are lots of other minorities in this country that don't have time to make excuses generation after generation. They just do it. Perhaps instead of doing what doesn't seem to work. How about checking out the brown and yellow brothers and sisters and see what does work.

perfect post!!

Regardless of race, if you punch a cop in the face and charge him, you deserve to get shot...once or 10 times...

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by lucky2balive

perfect post!!

Regardless of race, if you punch a cop in the face and charge him, you deserve to get shot...once or 10 times...

How do you know if that is what happened?