Racial tensions

[rico]

We have had quite a bit of social injustice lately.  It saddens me.  The deeds were horrid and the aftermath is alarming.

[BDB]

Not a good time to be in Minnesota I am glad I am 70 miles away from the craziness.  

[Reacher]

I just saw the video yesterday and it is shocking. It appears the officer should be charged with murder. I'm curious to know what type of training there was and if there might be any other mitigating factors. I've only seen one side of the story but that side does not look good at all. 

I've seen where Amy Klobuchar may have let the same cop go after shooting a native American in 2006 and that this cop may have had a prior history with Floyd. Interested in  learning more of the background story. 

I'm outraged by the Looting. That has no place. Burning and looting stores and police stations and hurting innocent people is not going to solve anything. I feel bad for the pawn store owner who shot a looter only to have his store emptied out once taken to the police station for questioning. I hope he can sue the police to be made whole. I'm all for doing whatever is necessary to bring in order. Allowing riots to continue will only promote more in the future.

https://news.yahoo.com/amy-klobuchar-declined-prosecute-officer-183728902.html

[rico]

21 minutes ago, BDB said:

Not a good time to be in Minnesota I am glad I am 70 miles away from the craziness.  

Heck, it has spilled over into LA and Louisville from what I have seen.

[Brass Cannon]

So police just arrested a black CNN journalist for apparently nothing.  Like seriously how the heck is that gonna help this situation. All while the murderer is being actively protected by police. 
 

Do they not understand why people are upset?
 

 

[5fouls]

30 minutes ago, rico said:

Heck, it has spilled over into LA and Louisville from what I have seen.

The Louisville event was primarily related to the shooting of Breanna Taylor during a home search back in March.  Tension has been building during the last two months and seeing what was happening in Minnesota pushed things over the edge.

https://www.wdrb.com/news/lmpd-7-people-shot-1-critical-during-protest-in-downtown-louisville-demanding-justice-for-breonna/article_02ad0e8e-a144-11ea-92b5-e7682949e7c2.html

 

[rico]

4 minutes ago, RoadToZion said:

I think we can all agree that the cop needs to be arrested ASAP.

However, the looting and burning of buildings makes this a full blown riot, not a protest.
 

I think cops is more like it.  The 3 or whatever it was that were standing around should be punished as well.  

[rico]

What really gets me about the Minnesota incident is, cops aside, the amount of people that stood around and did nothing.  Badges be damned, why didn't the civilians get physical with the officers?  I know...coulda, woulda, should've.

[Brass Cannon]

1 minute ago, rico said:

What really gets me about the Minnesota incident is, cops aside, the amount of people that stood around and did nothing.  Badges be damned, why didn't the civilians get physical with the officers?  I know...coulda, woulda, should've.

People are afraid of going to prison. You hit a cop you are going to jail.  

[rico]

2 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

People are afraid of going to prison. You hit a cop you are going to jail.  

So you just watch as someone is killed?  What happened to being a "Good Samaritan?"

[Lostin76]

One of our faculty , who is black, and an extremely successful, nationally known researcher of health disparities, said the following last night: "I have two teenage sons, who I love dearly. How can I protect them from cops other than just keeping them inside for the next 50 years? I'm terrified that something bad will happen to them."

It chilled me to the bone.

How long did they think that they could get away with not valuing black men's lives? How much can people take?

Those four cops belong in prison.

[Brass Cannon]

29 minutes ago, rico said:

So you just watch as someone is killed?  What happened to being a "Good Samaritan?"

People don’t associate going to jail as the reward for being a Good Samaritan. 
 

The goal here shouldn’t be how we get more people to fight cops who are unjustly murdering somebody. 
 

Need to stop letting the cops kill people without punishment. 
 

All this destruction could have been avoided had they just arrested a murderer. Can always update charges later. 

[Reacher]

1 hour ago, rico said:

Heck, it has spilled over into LA and Louisville from what I have seen.

Plus Denver, Phoenix and others.

[rico]

4 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

People don’t associate going to jail as the reward for being a Good Samaritan. 
 

The goal here shouldn’t be how we get more people to fight cops who are unjustly murdering somebody. 
 

Need to stop letting the cops kill people without punishment. 
 

All this destruction could have been avoided had they just arrested a murderer. Can always update charges later. 

Being afraid to stand up for what is right led to the uprising of Nazi Germany.  So much for "To protect and serve."

[Billingsley99]

41 minutes ago, rico said:

Being afraid to stand up for what is right led to the uprising of Nazi Germany.  So much for "To protect and serve."

The only thing EVIL needs to be triumphant is for good people to do nothing 

[Reacher]

https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/armed-civilians-save-local-businesses-during-minneapolis-riots/

[Brass Cannon]

18 minutes ago, rico said:

Being afraid to stand up for what is right led to the uprising of Nazi Germany.  So much for "To protect and serve."

So what are you doing to stop this injustice. Oh that’s right your complaining that others aren’t stopping it

3 minutes ago, Billingsley99 said:

The only thing EVIL needs to be triumphant is for good people to do nothing 

“Good” people have been doing nothing as black people get murdered for centuries. Something needs to change 

[Billingsley99]

28 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

So what are you doing to stop this injustice. Oh that’s right your complaining that others aren’t stopping it

“Good” people have been doing nothing as black people get murdered for centuries. Something needs to change 

Exactly and that is why Evil is being triumphant. 

[rico]

11 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

So what are you doing to stop this injustice. Oh that’s right your complaining that others aren’t stopping it

“Good” people have been doing nothing as black people get murdered for centuries. Something needs to change 

So if your wife or daughter was getting raped by a cop, you would just stand back and watch fearing going to prison for hitting a cop?  

[Billingsley99]

1 hour ago, rico said:

So if your wife or daughter was getting raped by a cop, you would just stand back and watch fearing going to prison for hitting a cop?  

That's the thing most of us only get involved when it has direct impact on us. That's why when the few that do stand up for what is right choose to they can become heroes. There could easily have been 1000's of MLK jrs but few had the courage to stand up and fight against the establishment even when it did directly impact their lives

[D-BONE]

A significant factor here is the power distance. There is an extremely unequal power relationship between police and civilians, who have been taught to respect and obey authorities. Despite that fact that the role of police is supposed to be to protect and serve. What happened to George Floyd was a clear abuse of power that resulted in murder.

The powers that be (the institutions of our society) need to move swiftly and clearly to secure justice and charge the officers involved. That would send a message to the community at large, and the black community in particular, that this type of abuse will no longer be tolerated. That would be a major step in the right direction in a process of improving race relations and criminal justice reform that we desperately need right now.

The looting is obviously wrong and unacceptable, but how many times do we have to see a similar situation repeat itself  before we realize or act on a major root cause of that behavior - injustice?

If there is any shred of evidence that in any way defends the officers' actions with Floyd, they need to put it out there immediately. Otherwise, there is no justification for not having charged and taken them into custody already. Because there is a ton of evidence out there already that any objective observer will conclude is cold-blooded murder.

[rico]

10 minutes ago, D-BONE said:

A significant factor here is the power distance. There is an extremely unequal power relationship between police and civilians, who have been taught to respect and obey authorities. Despite that fact that the role of police is supposed to be to protect and serve. What happened to George Floyd was a clear abuse of power that resulted in murder.

The powers that be (the institutions of our society) need to move swiftly and clearly to secure justice and charge the officers involved. That would send a message to the community at large, and the black community in particular, that this type of abuse will no longer be tolerated. That would be a major step in the right direction in a process of improving race relations and criminal justice reform that we desperately need right now.

The looting is obviously wrong and unacceptable, but how many times do we have to see a similar situation repeat itself  before we realize or act on a major root cause of that behavior - injustice?

Absolutely.  Great post.

[btownqb]

Looting smh.  Losing their voice. 

[btownqb]

2 hours ago, Lostin76 said:

One of our faculty , who is black, and an extremely successful, nationally known researcher of health disparities, said the following last night: "I have two teenage sons, who I love dearly. How can I protect them from cops other than just keeping them inside for the next 50 years? I'm terrified that something bad will happen to them."

It chilled me to the bone.

How long did they think that they could get away with not valuing black men's lives? How much can people take?

Those four cops belong in prison.

I hope they've also gone over the amount of black on black crime and to be aware of that, as well. 

Obviously these officers are 99% guilty, but let's not pretend a young black man should only fear the cops. 

[IUFLA]

2 hours ago, Brass Cannon said:

“Good” people have been doing nothing as black people get murdered for centuries. Something needs to change 

Well there was that little Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, Brown vs The Board of Education, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, among others...so while there might not have been enough action for you, saying "Good people have been doing nothing" isn't correct at all either.

Even though these cops, and Officer Chauvin in particular, acted as judge, jury, and, sadly, executioner, they MUST be afforded due process. I know it's tough to say that after watching the video, but they must. 

As for @rico statement, that's a very tough call. Seeing the way these cops acted, you might have wound up being the second victim. 

Hats off to the people who were vocal...too bad they couldn't stop this...