Police shooting of unarmed teen leads to protests and Riot

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I'm just curious, because I'm not sure what justifies a riot either.

But certainly, at some point, something must justify a riot or violence, right?

What's that point? Is rioting as a result of a single incident less or more justifiable than a riot as a result of years of repressed anger over a variety of incidents?

the only thing that I can think of that would justify the riots was part of the revolution in Russia for example when the citizens protested and the military and police machine gunned them down.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

There is a tipping point though and those people just can't take it anymore. They clearly believe that Brown was only shot because he was black. Heck even if he was Latino or Asian let alone White he wouldn't have been shot that many times. And then for the prosecutor to just sweep it under the rug. There needs to be a strong reaction.



What other options are there? Peaceful protesting isn't going to get CNN there.

Do you think that the violence will result in a positive response from those they are trying to influence?

[nik-]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Do you think that the violence will result in a positive response from those they are trying to influence?

Obviously not. Sometimes people just get really angry and then there are a lot of dbags mixed in who just wanna break stuff.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by nik-

Obviously not. Sometimes people just get really angry and then there are a lot of dbags mixed in who just wanna break stuff.

I assume GirlySports had discounted those individuals or taken into account the "dbag factor".

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

There is a tipping point though and those people just can't take it anymore. They clearly believe that Brown was only shot because he was black. Heck even if he was Latino or Asian let alone White he wouldn't have been shot that many times. And then for the prosecutor to just sweep it under the rug. There needs to be a strong reaction.

Had a big laugh at the bolded part. Good one. It took that many shots to stop a charging attacker who is nearly 300lbs, regardless of race. He stopped shooting when the guy stopped charging.

But hey, facts aren't sexy.

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Police shoot white people?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...h-man-fatally/

http://downtrend.com/71superb/unarme...keeps-golfing/

Here is one that happened, I believe the week after the Mike Brown case, but nobody heard or it or rioted.

http://beforeitsnews.com/police-stat...o-stop-42.html

Here is another one since Mike Brown. Again, no media attention, no violence, no burnt towns.

I'm not sure if it happens as often as police killing unarmed black men, but sure it happens all over America.

[Minnie]

Wilson apparently spoke with George Stephanopoulos at a 'secret location' today (?) and they will be playing the interview tonight. I missed the time it will air. This seems like it could be a spectacularly bad idea...

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Do you think that the violence will result in a positive response from those they are trying to influence?

I don't know but they're just really angry. They feel wronged.

Should they just let it go and wait for the next victim?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I don't know but they're just really angry. They feel wronged.

Should they just let it go and wait for the next victim?

No not at all.


I didn't say that.


I don't think that violence/rioting is the best approach to conflict/anger resolution. Is there an issue with race and policing in America, yeah I think there probably is.

However, running wild and destorying businesses and homes, only fuels the side that says the black/asian/hispanic/white/purple community is dangerous. Their violence/rioting validates the actions of the police.

"See we have to have a strong arm approach with these people, look what happens when you don't clamp down hard on them".

I know that as a white middle aged man this is easy for me to say, but IMO violence/rioting is only useful is you look to defeat/overthrow those that you are rioting against (ie: CC example of Russia). Is the end goal of these people to over throw the current establishment in the US? I doubt it, I suspect they would like to change the current establishment/policing practices. IMO opinion that won't happen by taking an agressive violent approach.


As trite as it souinds perhaps they should "give peace a chance". What is they tried peaceful protest even when faced with resultant violence from the police?

[nfotiu]

At some point, if the black community should probably wise up a little and stop spending so much time feeling victimized, and start figuring out a way to try to influence positive change. In my state, Virginia, I believe a black person is about 17 times more likely than a white person to commit a robbery and about 8 times more likely to commit a homicide. Blacks are also far more likely to be victims of these crimes as well. So every day there are black people killing other black people that goes unnoticed and white people killing black people is a pretty rare occurrence. In terms of saving black peoples lives, the much lower hanging fruit is to get black people to stop killing other black people.

I'd assume if the black crime rates went down, that confrontations with police officers would go down too. I don't even know that it is a white police officer thing. Because I've known black police officers here to be pretty racist and profiling against segments of the black population.

White people definitely deserve a lot of the blame for how things all got this way. But focusing on guys like Wilson is not going to touch any of the root causes. Burning down their own communities is also not going to make things better.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

. What is they tried peaceful protest even when faced with resultant violence from the police?

Martin Luther King says Hi...

Oh wait...he's dead

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

Martin Luther King says Hi...

Oh wait...he's dead

Your point is......

I think that MLK was successful in generating change in the states (but that is my opinion).

Mine is that if you want to affect change, then live in the same society as those you changed, it might be useful to use means other than violence.

[Clever_Iggy]

Originally Posted by Realtor 1

I am referring to when the officer felt the need to put the final shots in the head of the victim after he was already shot.... at this point they were about 10 feet away from each other and not in the vehicle.

As for the "this is why they released all the information" when they rarely do .... why were so many things handled differently in this case compared to others. Is the prosecutor not supposed to sift through and give basic evidence to the jury for them to decide on "probable cause"? The more evidence that was handed over was actually to benefit the officer.

** I am adding this to each post so you can understand , I am on the side of the cop and understand the severity of their job (especially in certain areas of the US) / split second decisions they need to make. I just question some of the practices in the case in general for future cases moving forward.

Seriously, do some reading yourself. All of your questions can be answered with 20 minutes of research and I'm confident all of those answers can be found in the past 10 pages of this thread and the links provided.

[Clever_Iggy]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

What is the difference between the two?

While the NBA may have points, this issue, like so many before it, is so racially charged, that it's tough to weed through the ridiculous and inflammatory Al Sharptons for those that are pissed/content based on fact and law. This thread is a great example of those who are ignorant, informed, biased, neutral or have an agenda.

Unfortunately, that pulls legit organizations into a position where they have to take a certain position, right or wrong, true or not, or else risk being alienated and criticized by the exact demographic they represent.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

At some point, if the black community should probably wise up a little and stop spending so much time feeling victimized, and start figuring out a way to try to influence positive change.

This is the root of the problem! Exasperating the problem is white Americans, when convenient, adopting the black victimization angle. I only follow relatively smart people on Twitter, but yet my Twitter timeline last night was filled with people calling for Wilson's head, and the vast majority of them are white Americans.

Obviously the end result of this shooting is correct, that Wilson is free (not a fan of how they arrived at the decision, but that's another story). The aforementioned white people, the majority of whom are presumably quite intelligent, are approaching this illogically because an unarmed black kid is involved... and this stance is actually a detriment to the situation.

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by Minnie

Wilson apparently spoke with George Stephanopoulos at a 'secret location' today (?) and they will be playing the interview tonight. I missed the time it will air. This seems like it could be a spectacularly bad idea...

I disagree. I think getting Wilson's first hand account out there will go a long way to calming things down. He needs to explain how it went down and why he felt like he needed to continue to fire his weapon at this guy.

[AcGold]

I blame the media, the police and the justice system for the situation. Placing undue attention, sensationalizing the whole thing, releasing the verdict late at night, leaving a police car unprotected right near the protesters, surrounding peaceful protesters while not arresting violent offenders exacerbated what should not have happened. It got so out of hand and it shouldn't have, I know many of you are blaming the violent offenders and stupid protesters but the government has to take some accountability for its negligent at best response to the situation. The whole thing was treated like entertainment and there should be no surprise people over reacted.

[Clever_Iggy]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

I disagree. I think getting Wilson's first hand account out there will go a long way to calming things down. He needs to explain how it went down and why he felt like he needed to continue to fire his weapon at this guy.

Will that really matter? Really? Lots of people's minds were made up before the grand jury decision. I'm sure he feels compelled to try and "clear his name" or "get his side of the story out", but in terms of calming things down, I don't think it'll help.

[combustiblefuel]

What's weird to me is during the Hearings Officer Wilson said he Knew Brown was a robbery suspect. Yet at the time and following weeks after the police maintained they didn't have an indication of it at the time.

Also it should be noted only 4 of the twelve grand jury members only had to agree not to indicte.

The prosecutor basically didn't even try or want to be involved by passing it to a grand jury. The grand jury isn't to establish guilty just whether or not he needs a trial.

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Does it matter if he was stealing $10,000 or a box of cigarellos? The cop was responding to knowledge of a robbery with 2 black males fleeing. Brown escalated the situation as a result.

Most young shoplifters I know would admit to it or at least cooperate with the police when confronted, not attack them and try and steal their gun.

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

Let's not forget that he assaulted the shopkeeper...

Originally Posted by terminator

Steal a couple cigars leading to getting shot? Seriously how many 18 year old kids do you know shop lift? Please, that does not equate to being a crook.

Originally Posted by Ducay

The fact he was fleeing a robbery? Which was the whole reason the officer wanted to talk to the guy further. And likely the whole reason Brown wanted to escalate the situation? (To avoid capture for the robbery).

But hey, mass media and the protesters would love you to think I called him a "crook" because he is black.

You guys must have a short memory. At the time of the shooting the Ferguson police chief had said that the officer was unaware Brown was the suspect. That theory goes out the window.