People said the same of MLK.
Gun control advocates in Ferguson MO
- Thread starter soberups
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People said the same of MLK.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
If the facts of the case are that the cop rolled up on Brown, got out, and gunned him down in cold blood while his hands were raised in surrender, then the cop needs to be tried and convicted for murder.
I don't think that's what actually happened, though. I don't think the cop woke up that morning and thought to himself "I'm going to murder a black man today just for the hell of it."
I am hearing reports that the first shot was fired when the cop was flat on his back in the front seat of his patrol car, getting beat down by a 295 lb man. If, and I say if that is the case...it fundamentally alters the nature and culpability of the shots that were fired after that.
This isn't Mississippi in the 1950's. This isn't an all-white police force brutalizing and dehumanizing a black populace. I watched the press conference and I saw diversity behind the podium, with black politicians, police officers and religious leaders being given full air time. The FBI is involved now, going door to door seeking witnesses.
What the people need to do is calm down, quit looting, and let the justice system do its job. What the prosecutor, the police and the politicians of that area need to do....is to make sure the investigation takes place with total transparency and accountability.
I don't think that's what actually happened, though. I don't think the cop woke up that morning and thought to himself "I'm going to murder a black man today just for the hell of it."
I am hearing reports that the first shot was fired when the cop was flat on his back in the front seat of his patrol car, getting beat down by a 295 lb man. If, and I say if that is the case...it fundamentally alters the nature and culpability of the shots that were fired after that.
This isn't Mississippi in the 1950's. This isn't an all-white police force brutalizing and dehumanizing a black populace. I watched the press conference and I saw diversity behind the podium, with black politicians, police officers and religious leaders being given full air time. The FBI is involved now, going door to door seeking witnesses.
What the people need to do is calm down, quit looting, and let the justice system do its job. What the prosecutor, the police and the politicians of that area need to do....is to make sure the investigation takes place with total transparency and accountability.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Would you be willing to concede that Sharpton likes to play the race card when it is convenient to do so and can be as white as Sober and I when it is also convenient to do so?
Resident know-it-all.
Resident know-it-all.
Regardless when the first shot was fired, the final kill shots were in the middle of a street with the perpetrator surrendering.
oldngray
nowhere special
Whether the perpetrator was surrendering is still unclear. Maybe or maybe not. People assuming and jumping to conclusions before all of the facts are known is the problem. Other than the violent protests and looting.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
Don't give me that crap.
MLK, Mandela, Malcolm X, Tutu and Rosa Parks had balls. They put their lives on the line for a just cause. Rosa Parks didn't have a bunch of cameras and sympathetic white people on her side when she refused to give her seat up, and she knew damn good and well that she might get beaten or lynched for her actions. MLK died at the hands of a racist. Mandela spent decades rotting in prison. They were heroes. Al Sharpton, on the other hand, is a race-baiting demagogue, a glorified ambulance chaser. He used his influence and fame to nearly destroy the careers of the public officials whom he falsely accused of raping Tawana Brawley. As far as I am concerned he lacks the moral authority to presume to speak for the black community as a whole.
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Race, for the most part isn't talked about anymore. Statistic after statistic illustrates that justice is not color blind, that sentences are heavily influenced by race, and Rodney King had it coming.
So when it comes to pass (as it too often does) that race and especially race with regard to law enforcement is concerned, I would expect Sharpton to grab the spotlight. He has been consistent for 50 years.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Sharpton tends to make mountains out of molehills.
Resident know-it-all.
Resident know-it-all.
Pardon me, but Jackson and Sharpton didn't just show up on the scene in the mid 90's.
Do you believe civil rights today is a mole hill? That is a valid opinion. I just don't agree with it.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
The movement as a whole? Of course not, but he does take relatively minor incidents and blows them out of proportion.
Resident know-it-all.
Late to the party? Wasn't he next to MLK the day he was murdered? This has bee a smoldering fire for 50 years.
To some this may be relatively minor. To others it isn't.
oldngray
nowhere special
I was referring to the current situation in Ferguson. Jackson didn't jump in until yesterday I think after a couple of days of rioting.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
Ever hear of adrenaline? Ever hear of panic?
If the reports are true and the first shot was fired when the cop was flat on his back and getting beat down by a 295 lb man, is it possible that the cop might have subsequently panicked and spazzed his way thru a full magazine?
People...even cops...don't always make rational decisions under the influence of panic and adrenaline. That doesn't make them criminals or murderers. If the cop truly was was getting beat down and fired the first shot in justifiable fear for his life, then adrenaline and panic might very well be mitigating factors when judging the justification for the subsequent shots.
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