Traffic Stop

[bibiche]

This is a really powerful video that I just happened upon.

[SemiSweet]

I saw that on FB a couple days ago.  Breaks my heart.  I cannot believe how many people try to deny that we are having and have been having a serious race problem in the US.  :(

[hornblower]

Thx for sharing it.

[Guest]

What do you want us on this board to do about it?

 

People who deny personal racism are not saying stories like this don't happen - what we are saying is that we personally are not behaving that way or holding attitudes and committing actions like in the video, and are tired of being told we are responsible by group association and identity. Harping like that just makes otherwise sympathetic humans shut their ears and harden their hearts because they're being made complicit in a situation where they can personally offer no solution beyond what they're already doing.

 

It's just not going to make a dent that suburban moms aren't the ones who need to be bashed over the head with 'powerful videos' that suburban moms had no part in creating. Actionable solutions are another matter, but this just creates emotional fatigue and desensitizes the very people who would otherwise be amenable to acting to solve race issues in their own sphere of control.

 

He shouldn't have been treated that way. Full stop. And it is unacceptable. Acknowledging that solves approximately nothing, unfortunately.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[TravelingChris]

Yes, there are really bad cops out there.  Yes, there are really racist people out there.  Yes, there are really good cops out there too.  Yes, there are people of good will out there in all races and creeds and economic levels.  We live in a fallen world and life isn't perfect.  I am not happy that this incident happened to that young man.  I am not happy that a white man in my area was badly beaten by deputies and then when another man protested the injustice, he was murdered and the case is still not solved.  But as Arctic Mama said, I did the only thing I could do about it and voted against the sheriff.  He was re-elected anyway even though people on minor charges were dying from absolutely negligent medical care of things like gangrene.  WHen I mean minor, I really do mean minor like disorderly conduct or the mentally ill woman who took a pair of shoes and ended up dying from medical neglect.

 

I worry for our country in how polarized we have become.

[TranquilMind]

This is a really powerful video that I just happened upon.

 

I think the dash cam would be more powerful than a cartoon.

 

The police can search a vehicle with probable cause, which they had after finding weed on the friend.   But there certainly appears to be no cause whatsoever for force. 

More information about this:  (Nixon is one of the cops and he sounds like a violent one, as there is a subsequent case against him too)  The settlement in this case seems suspicious. Why wouldn't criminal charges be filed against the  if the city went so far as to give Landau a settlement. 

 

"Nixon has been involved in two high-profile use-of-force cases. In 2009, Nixon and another officer beat 23-year-old Alex Landau with flashlights during a traffic stop. Landau claimed that he was attacked for asking whether police had a warrant to search his car (they did not), but the officers said they feared for their lives and believed Landau had a weapon. It was later proven that Landau was unarmed.

 

No criminal charges were filed against the officers, but the city settled with Landau for $795,000. In the new suit, Nixon argues that the settlement made it seem like he had done something wrong, when in fact several investigations found that he had not.

 

Later in 2009, Nixon and Officer Kevin Devine injured four women during an incident at the Denver Diner. The women said they were beaten with nightsticks and maced even though they were not resisting, but police said the force was justified."

 

 

http://kdvr.com/2013/08/29/officer-involved-in-alex-landau-beating-sues-city-for-violating-his-rights/

 

[ChocolateReignRemix]

What do you want us on this board to do about it?

 

People who deny personal racism are not saying stories like this don't happen - what we are saying is that we personally are not behaving that way or holding attitudes and committing actions like in the video, and are tired of being told we are responsible by group association and identity. Harping like that just makes otherwise sympathetic humans shut their ears and harden their hearts because they're being made complicit in a situation where they can personally offer no solution beyond what they're already doing.

 

It's just not going to make a dent that suburban moms aren't the ones who need to be bashed over the head with 'powerful videos' that suburban moms had no part in creating. Actionable solutions are another matter, but this just creates emotional fatigue and desensitizes the very people who would otherwise be amenable to acting to solve race issues in their own sphere of control.

 

He shouldn't have been treated that way. Full stop. And it is unacceptable. Acknowledging that solves approximately nothing, unfortunately.

 

Well there we are.  Nothing to do about it.  Thanks suburban moms!

[goldberry]

 

No criminal charges were filed against the officers, but the city settled with Landau for $795,000. In the new suit, Nixon argues that the settlement made it seem like he had done something wrong, when in fact several investigations found that he had not.

 

 

I don't know if that's the case here, but often the laws are written to protect the police officer (which is not always bad or wrong) but then make it very difficult to prosecute successfully, even when something clearly went wrong.

[Guest]

Well there we are. Nothing to do about it. Thanks suburban moms!

I'm all ears on a solution we can enact for what happened in that video that would prevent it from happening again that hasn't already been recommended, like dash cams and reform department by department (neither of which a layperson watching that video can actually do). What do you propose?

Edited November 3, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[goldberry]

What do you want us on this board to do about it?

 

People who deny personal racism are not saying stories like this don't happen - what we are saying is that we personally are not behaving that way or holding attitudes and committing actions like in the video, and are tired of being told we are responsible by group association and identity. Harping like that just makes otherwise sympathetic humans shut their ears and harden their hearts because they're being made complicit in a situation where they can personally offer no solution beyond what they're already doing.

 

 

The police force being a public entity and a servant to the public, we (collective we) do carry some responsibility for what we allow to go on there.  Much of what goes on in a society does not change until we-people-society require a change.

 

The fact that you feel threatened or accused by someone posting this story is on your end, not on the poster's end. No one is accusing anyone in specific of being complicit or responsible.  But yes, the larger group "society", of which we are all a part, holds responsibility for what we allow to go on.  

 

ETA, if someone posted a story about hungry children, would your immediate response be "what do you want us to do about it?"  Don't we share stories here that we find interesting or important without necessarily being an accusation?

Edited November 3, 2016 by goldberry

[ChocolateReignRemix]

I'm all ears on a solution we can enact for what happened in that video that would prevent it from happening again that hasn't already been recommended, like dash cams and reform department by department (neither of which a layperson watching that video can actually do). What do you propose?

 

Prevention starts with the efficient prosecution and termination of abusive cops.

 

1.) Create statewide civilian review boards that review allegations of police misconduct.

2.) Require investigations of police abuse/shootings be referred to investigators at the state level or to a jurisdiction outside of the one in which the officers are employed. 

3.) Zero tolerance for officers who abuse their authority.  Policies regarding recurring malfunctions of dashcams/bodycams for officers should also be in place.

 

How do we do that?  It starts with electing legislators who do more than give lip service to protecting the Constitution and the rights they claim to hold dear.

 

Finally, something we can all do is simply quit trying to figure out what someone didn't do perfectly at a traffic stop to justify their beating or shooting.

[hornblower]

Is the only point of learning about things so we can go back and do something about it?

 

I mean why bother learning about any history or events? 

[TranquilMind]

I don't know if that's the case here, but often the laws are written to protect the police officer (which is not always bad or wrong) but then make it very difficult to prosecute successfully, even when something clearly went wrong.

 

That's not right that they circle the wagons.  They have to be willing to expose their bad apples if they want to get rid of them and improve the image of police officers. 

 

Edited November 3, 2016 by TranquilMind

[TranquilMind]

Is the only point of learning about things so we can go back and do something about it?

 

I mean why bother learning about any history or events? 

 

So you can get on a ship like in Timeless and go back and fix it!

 

;)

 

I wish. 

 

[Guest]

Goldberry - You're making the same false equivalencies I was addressing - I was responding generally to the accusation from Semisweet that people who deny racism are essentially crazy. That's not really the argument being made, but that constantly harping on the problem we apparently all share in ignores that individuals cannot fix 'society', but only change and influence what is under their direct control. Social screeds about inequality do NOT lessen inequality, they just wear out those who do care.

 

Local issues are local. These are not uniform across a profession or even metros, but really depend on each individual department. Some towns have more and less peaceful jurisdictions, with more and less ethnic tension or crime. Even painting all of, say, Denver with a broad brush on this, or the entire department, doesn't actually fix anything.

 

Nobody is being defensive in saying 'I'm not racist and am appalled by this, racism is evil and I want to do my part to stamp it out where I live, but I can't fix this officer or department or city because I'm not them and not there'. Going over and over the injustice, pointing fingers at people completely uninvolved and horrified and telling them they're still involved and better feel appropriately upset about it, blah blah, but offering no actual fixes that *this* person can apply to their home, neighborhood, or ballot that they're not already doing? That's what I'm addressing.

 

The video itself offers no solutions either. It's just adding more stories to a narrative we already acknowledge - some people act in horrible, evil, racist ways and it should not be. But blaming all whites, or all people who aren't as visibly and vocally appalled, and saying they're part of the problem is missing something fundamental - distress is not something virtuous or commendable in and of itself, and moral outrage divorced from some actual applicable fix can actually make the apathy worse.

 

I'm trying to give voice to 'the other side' and explain the thought process with nuance so you can understand, because that is something I can *do*. Your fellow citizens who don't respond the same way to this subject as you are not in denial, heartless, hateful, or blind - we are recognizing the limits of our influence. And if you want to communicate more effectively to us then forwarding things that can be enacted or discussed to fix this in our domain of influence is a much more effective and positive thing than just sharing a terrible story or injustice as though doing so actually achieves some real justice or fixes for this man specifically or the problem in general. It really doesn't.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[bibiche]

I think the dash cam would be more powerful than a cartoon.

 

I actually don't. I think the juxtaposition of the naïveté of the medium and the violence of the subject is one of the things that made it so powerful. I also don't think people would be as willing to watch a dash cam video - I know I would have a much harder time with it.

[Guest]

The police force being a public entity and a servant to the public, we (collective we) do carry some responsibility for what we allow to go on there. Much of what goes on in a society does not change until we-people-society require a change.

 

The fact that you feel threatened or accused by someone posting this story is on your end, not on the poster's end. No one is accusing anyone in specific of being complicit or responsible. But yes, the larger group "society", of which we are all a part, holds responsibility for what we allow to go on.

 

ETA, if someone posted a story about hungry children, would your immediate response be "what do you want us to do about it?" Don't we share stories here that we find interesting or important without necessarily being an accusation?

Yes, that is absolutely my response. How do we fix it? What is actionable? This is a real problem and needs addressing so let's brainstorm things that will help. In the case of child hunger, we personally support ministries and missions to deal with that abroad and locally, and we vote for policies we think encourage human flourishing and stability for the safety and security of children. We pray. And then we do not lose sleep over it and continue to seek opportunities to show mercy and help where we can as they come about in our lives.

 

That's all we can do with what we have to work with as individuals. Facebook posting daily and ad nauseum on it wouldn't appreciably help anything.

[Guest]

Is the only point of learning about things so we can go back and do something about it?

 

I mean why bother learning about any history or events?

....

 

I hope you meant this facetiously.

 

The entire purpose of learning about it is to prevent the same mistakes from happening again. That's fundamental. And history or events divorced from an actionable lesson or influence on the individual is just a random and ineffective fact.

[goldberry]

That's not right that they circle the wagons.  They have to be willing to expose their bad apples if they want to get rid of them and improve the image of police officers. 

 

 

I don't know if the laws themselves are "circle the wagons" thinking, but more written to try to give police more leeway because they are in dangerous and fast-moving situations.  The concept isn't a bad one, but it seems in some cases to go way too far, giving them too much leeway, and not accounting for the fact that they are also professionals who should be trained to deal with certain types of situations.  

 

For example, some laws excuse any action based on a "feeling" that they are threatened. Even if someone was prosecuted under that law, how likely would they be to ever be convicted.  Really, how vague can you possibly be? There have to be some parameters.  If you feel threatened by someone who is already pinned on the ground, or who is standing plainly with both hands up, you probably shouldn't be a police officer.  

 

The laws vary quite a lot it seems from one place to another.

[TranquilMind]

I actually don't. I think the juxtaposition of the naïveté of the medium and the violence of the subject is one of the things that made it so powerful. I also don't think people would be as willing to watch a dash cam video - I know I would have a much harder time with it.

 

I personally think the message is less powerful in a cartoon.

 

Different strokes, different folks.

(As my title above my name says, Just the facts!). 

 

[Guest]

Prevention starts with the efficient prosecution and termination of abusive cops.

 

1.) Create statewide civilian review boards that review allegations of police misconduct.

2.) Require investigations of police abuse/shootings be referred to investigators at the state level or to a jurisdiction outside of the one in which the officers are employed.

3.) Zero tolerance for officers who abuse their authority. Policies regarding recurring malfunctions of dashcams/bodycams for officers should also be in place.

 

How do we do that? It starts with electing legislators who do more than give lip service to protecting the Constitution and the rights they claim to hold dear.

 

Finally, something we can all do is simply quit trying to figure out what someone didn't do perfectly at a traffic stop to justify their beating or shooting.

Okay. I don't disagree with any of that except civilian review boards. I sit on a state board and the best balance comes from having all sides of the table represented, with civilian, service member/officer, and legislator, plus investigative authority and legal counsel. All civilian tends to miss legal and procedural nuance in a profession and not operate as effectively because of their lack of understanding of the profession. A mix of half civilian and half professional (like a ten person board with one of each specialist I mentioned above, balanced with five elected or appointed citizens) is a pretty good ratio in my personal experience.

 

The loudest legislative voice is often not the most effective problem solver on this sort of thing, but I agree fairness and accountability in public safety are crucial to vote for from city on up. Definitely.

 

So I am doing or in agreement on doing these things. Done. Hearing about twenty other instances won't change this stance though, and that is what I was addressing in my response. Individual solutions are going to be the most effective, compared to just making impactful and emotional videos and throwing them into the ether to show how bad the problem is. At some point even the most passionate person gets worn out, even in debates on the Hive. The horse is dead beyond a certain point and what I'm trying to communicate is that point tends to be wherever the individuals sees their influence end. It doesn't mean we don't care or see a problem, but that we see a response to the problem differently than someone who feels effective by venting their feelings and getting a lot of likes for doing it.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[happi duck]

*crying*

[hornblower]

....

 

I hope you meant this facetiously.

 

The entire purpose of learning about it is to prevent the same mistakes from happening again. That's fundamental. And history or events divorced from an actionable lesson or influence on the individual is just a random and ineffective fact.

 

Your comment was "What do you want us on the board to do about it?"  & that's what I was responding to.

 

 

If I'm understanding your posts correctly, you feel you have nothing to learn from this video.  I think others feel differently.  

 

I think watching a video like this is about helping people understand a problem, its scope, and how certain mistakes can be prevented. 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Your comment was "What do you want us on the board to do about it?" & that's what I was responding to.

 

 

If I'm understanding your posts correctly, you feel you have nothing to learn from this video. I think others feel differently.

 

I think watching a video like this is about helping people understand a problem, its scope, and how certain mistakes can be prevented.

 

 

 

 

I'm probably not explaining what I was getting at clearly, despite trying several times. My apologies on that.

 

I'm saying I don't think this video does something the previous thirty didn't. Maybe less, because there is nothing actionable attached and it just desentisizes and fatigues people beyond a certain point. But really my comment was more addressing the implication by the second poster lamenting denials of racism which is a straw man - that's not a real argument being made on this board even by the posters questioning content of this and similar threads, so I was explaining the perspective that seems to be missed as to why there appears to be apathy or disagreement over things everyone here actually agrees are indeed horrific. The accusation of denials of real and ongoing race issues isn't what's really going on, but rather individuals trying to problem solve individually or retrospectively instead of just adding more evidence to a heap that most definitely already exists. This is where there are differences of opinion, not that there isn't a problem to be solved.

 

If this same video predicated a discussion on the local departments and solutions you'd see a lot more agreement among us on the subject, because the quibble is the solution more than identifying the problem. That's step one, and repeating fifty step ones doesn't get us to step four. Does that make more sense?

Edited November 3, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[Noreen Claire]

Prevention starts with the efficient prosecution and termination of abusive cops.

 

 

 

 How do we fix it? What is actionable? 

 

We do what we can do - we raise our children. I think that prevention starts by raising our children with empathy, and acknowledging *our own* implicit biases in order to make sure that we do not pass them on to our children. (I am painfully aware of the biases that were passed down to me by my parents, as I live next door to the poorest city in my state which is now majority hispanic/latino. I am aware of them because they were also passed on to my oldest son, and the things that come out of his mouth sometimes make me cringe. I am now aware, and I try not to pass those biases down to my younger children as I fight to rid myself of them - but it is HARD.)

[LucyStoner]

I am a suburban mom. I've got the beige minivan loaded up with soccer gear, emergency supplies and kid detritus to prove it. We ain't a monolith nor are suburban moms the only sort of people on this board.

 

I see no reason why suburban moms can't be anti-racist agitators for change just as easily as they they can be living in an oblivious bubble where "all lives matter".

 

Thanks for posting this video.

[Carol in Cal.]

I think the point of the videos and of dramatizations is to inform people, and there are definitely people who need to be informed.  I'm an informer myself, and I am very intentional about it.  I stay calm and recite facts and provide documentation when I hear people say things like, "If that guy just did what the PO said, he would have been fine."  Or when they say, "Just staying out of trouble with the law is the answer."  I do this because I know better, and I also know a lot of people who don't.  So, relative to the question of what does this accomplish, it accomplishes making people see a problem that for some reason they are not aware of or tend to dispute.  We need to know about this--it is done in our name, and it is absolutely deplorable.

 

I support dashcams and bodycams as well.  They protect everyone, the public and the police alike.

 

I believe that it behooves people to also inform themselves about the many execution style shootings of police officers out of discharge of their duties, when they are sitting in their cars, or having coffee, or otherwise innocuously occupied.  The recent deaths in Des Moines are only the latest example of this, and there needs to be more calling that deplorable.

 

Having said that, given that the OP piled onto a fellow homeschooling mother for noting that her white husband and other white people were the only ones laid off in a recent action that also preserved the jobs of all having the other ethnicity in his office, and calling her racist for mentioning that, I see a disturbing pattern that we are supposed to note and question and concern ourselves with preferential behavior only in some circumstances and not in others.  That's deplorable and un-American, too.

[bibiche]

I think the point of the videos and of dramatizations is to inform people, and there are definitely people who need to be informed. I'm an informer myself, and I am very intentional about it. I stay calm and recite facts and provide documentation when I hear people say things like, "If that guy just did what the PO said, he would have been fine." Or when they say, "Just staying out of trouble with the law is the answer." I do this because I know better, and I also know a lot of people who don't. So, relative to the question of what does this accomplish, it accomplishes making people see a problem that for some reason they are not aware of or tend to dispute. We need to know about this--it is done in our name, and it is absolutely deplorable.

 

I support dashcams and bodycams as well. They protect everyone, the public and the police alike.

 

I believe that it behooves people to also inform themselves about the many execution style shootings of police officers out of discharge of their duties, when they are sitting in their cars, or having coffee, or otherwise innocuously occupied. The recent deaths in Des Moines are only the latest example of this, and there needs to be more calling that deplorable.

 

Having said that, given that the OP piled onto a fellow homeschooling mother for noting that her white husband and other white people were the only ones laid off in a recent action that also preserved the jobs of all having the other ethnicity in his office, and calling her racist for mentioning that, I see a disturbing pattern that we are supposed to note and question and concern ourselves with preferential behavior only in some circumstances and not in others. That's deplorable and un-American, too.

I applaud your efforts to confront racism.

 

For your last paragraph, I disagree. I don't see gently pointing out racist remarks as "piling on" nor did I call anyone a racist. But if you want to call me deplorable, have at it. I am a nasty woman. 😜 I can take it.

Edited November 3, 2016 by bibiche

[Carol in Cal.]

I applaud your efforts to confront racism.

 

For your last paragraph, I disagree. I don't see gently pointing out racist remarks as "piling on" nor did I call anyone a racist. But if you want to call me deplorable, have at it. I am a privileged white woman, and a nasty one at that. 😜 I can deal with it.

 

 

You said:

 

          "Yeah. I didn't bring up race. Racist remarks don't get a pass from me. Ever. Nor should they from anyone. Ever."

 

How that's not calling her racist I can't imagine. 

 

And FTR, noting a pattern fairly gently, as the poster did, is actually a weaker observation of preference in results than the video.  Both are reasonable things to point out, and there is nothing racist about pointing out either one.

[LucyStoner]

Also, aren't we like a mega voting demographic? The soccer moms? We turn out to vote fairly reliably. Even if our inner activists are buried under laundry and jobs and going back to school ourselves and Harper Valley PTA bullshit, we vote.

 

And when I vote for local offices and the sheriff you'd had best be believing I ain't voting for the candidates who don't see this issue in full technicolor 3D. And I can (and have), crawled out from under the laundry to knock on doors, make calls and take my kids to rallies and events against racism and for various other activist reasons.

Edited November 3, 2016 by LucyStoner

[shinyhappypeople]

This is a really powerful video that I just happened upon.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3P9-BjYxTu8

 

Wow.  That is so messed up :(

[gaillardia]

If you would have watched the whole "video", you would have seen the photo of his face after they beat the crap out of it.

[Guest]

Nm, I think the comment was directed at TM and not me.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[LucyStoner]

Speaking to what moms can do...

 

These officers were cleared despite the fact that the city had to pay out their second largest settlement ever on police brutality. Two of them were fired In connection with other police misconduct but one was reinstated.

 

Moms can change a lot of about who is elected locally. There isn't a place that I know of without at least some similar or even worse incidents.

 

http://www.denverpost.com/2013/04/05/review-clears-3-denver-police-officers-in-2009-beating-of-alex-landau/

Edited November 3, 2016 by LucyStoner

[Slartibartfast]

Watching actual violence is much more difficult for me to watch all the way through than something illustrated. I find it is often a medium that will keep people watching when they may otherwise turn away in despair or horror.

 

 

 

 

 

[Slartibartfast]

I think moms can be pretty effective, particularly with social media. I am kind of a confrontational blabber mouth. 

[TravelingChris]

Well that is what I talked about- voting and letting others know why I am voting the way I am.  It didn't make any difference.  The sheriff who was in charge of the prison where people died- both black and white- from medical neglect was reelected.  At least the publicity, which was done by my local paper, seems to have maybe improved the medical situation in the jail.  But in our state the legal system needs a lot of reform.  We have very overcrowded and dangerous prisons and our embattled governor tried to get new prisons approved to take the place of the old, dangerous and overcrowded ones.  It didn't pass.  We have a problem for ex cons where many of them have very high fines that they can't pay and then the interest and penalties arise so a 5000 fine becomes 40000.  Not paying means they can't even apply for getting voting rights and they can't get licenses which are required for a number of different jobs.  

 

So yes I vote and I stay informed.  But less and less people read the newspaper and these stories aren't being covered by the tv news because they are local, not statewide, and the stories are too complex.  That's how I found out about the jail medical neglect, the problems of the mentally ill and being jailed instead of treated, the problems at our prisons, the problems with our onerous fining system and so much more.  These stories take investigations.  Fewer and fewer investigations are being carried out by the media.  Quick soundbites and one paragraph stories seem to be the norm now.

[Janeway]

This is a really powerful video that I just happened upon.

Aren't you the one who said this.....

 

Janeway, I realize you are under a lot of stress, and I sympathise, but even now you don't get a free pass to say offensive things. What you said here is very offensive. Playing the "reverse racism" card is neither appropriate nor productive. I think when people get laid off or when equally unfortunate things happen, they have a tendency to look for someone or something to blame. But I think it is important to not strike out with barely veiled racist statements such as "it is not okay to be white and all," implying that your husband is being laid off solely because he is white. Resist racism.

 

 

 

I thought you didn't like the "racism card." We don't know if this guy was attacked because he was black. We know he was attacked and he was driving a car that had a passenger who had what was an illegal drug at the time and he resisted further search which was being done based on probable cause rather than a warrant. The "racism card" is ok or not. You may need to explain when YOU think the "racism card" is ok.

[hornblower]

Acknowledging there is systemic racism in a society (even if one is not sure to what extent racism played a role in a singular event) is not playing the 'racism card'. 


This link was posted in another thread very recently. I think a copy of it might be helpful here.

Among other things, it discusses reverse racism. 

 Racism 101 for Clueless White People, Written by a Slightly Less Clueless White Person

[LucyStoner]

Aren't you the one who said this.....

 

Janeway, I realize you are under a lot of stress, and I sympathise, but even now you don't get a free pass to say offensive things. What you said here is very offensive. Playing the "reverse racism" card is neither appropriate nor productive. I think when people get laid off or when equally unfortunate things happen, they have a tendency to look for someone or something to blame. But I think it is important to not strike out with barely veiled racist statements such as "it is not okay to be white and all," implying that your husband is being laid off solely because he is white. Resist racism.

 

 

 

I thought you didn't like the "racism card." We don't know if this guy was attacked because he was black. We know he was attacked and he was driving a car that had a passenger who had what was an illegal drug at the time and he resisted further search which was being done based on probable cause rather than a warrant. The "racism card" is ok or not. You may need to explain when YOU think the "racism card" is ok.

That you don't know or accept why this man was beaten doesn't mean that the rest of us don't know why this man was beaten.

 

Even if he had been resisting a search, there's no cause for what was done to that man'a face. If they needed to stop someone from resisting a search, if that's the only way they can do it they need a new line of work.

 

Two of the officers were fired for wholly seperate acts of misconduct, 1 related to ANOTHER beating.

 

I know all too well why this man was beaten. I've seen differential treatment by LEOs play out up close and personal.

 

I did not learn about this case from this video being posted today. He is but one of many. I am thankful and grateful that he's alive.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

Aren't you the one who said this.....

 

Janeway, I realize you are under a lot of stress, and I sympathise, but even now you don't get a free pass to say offensive things. What you said here is very offensive. Playing the "reverse racism" card is neither appropriate nor productive. I think when people get laid off or when equally unfortunate things happen, they have a tendency to look for someone or something to blame. But I think it is important to not strike out with barely veiled racist statements such as "it is not okay to be white and all," implying that your husband is being laid off solely because he is white. Resist racism.

 

 

 

I thought you didn't like the "racism card." We don't know if this guy was attacked because he was black. We know he was attacked and he was driving a car that had a passenger who had what was an illegal drug at the time and he resisted further search which was being done based on probable cause rather than a warrant. The "racism card" is ok or not. You may need to explain when YOU think the "racism card" is ok.

 

1.)  What you posted is pretty gross.

 

2.) Pretty sure having a passenger with a couple of joints on him doesn't justify beating in someone's face.  Now we can't say for certain he was beaten because he was black, but what happened there has transpired elsewhere enough that I know when I hear those hoof beats I should look for horses before zebras.