It is tempting to look at the problem of police brutality and try to summarize it into a problem we have the tools to repair. Then you read a quote like this one, about Tamir Rice. “Tamir Rice is in the wrong,” he said. “He’s menacing. He’s 5-feet-7, 191 pounds. He wasn’t that little kid you’re seeing in pictures. He’s a 12-year-old in an adult body. Tamir looks to his left and sees a police car. He puts his gun in his waistband. Those people — 99 percent of the time those people run away from us. We don’t want him running into the rec center. That could be a whole other set of really bad events. They’re trying to flush him into the field. Frank [the driver] is expecting the kid to run. The circumstances are so fluid and unique.
We are The Police and we're here to help.is an utter farce to so many people.
Tamir Rice lost his life because he was too young to know it was a marketing tagline that had zero relevance to his life. Police didn't mean humans like him or his sister.
Okay, I'm not the banhammer, but I think even Aspergers' commenters should get a second chance to not comment.... say something else, wonkettesawanker....
I'll agree with you up to a point -- if Tamir Rice had been a white adult with a real gun, he wouldn't have been shot dead immediately. But Open Carry fetishists (and believe me, I loathe those guys) are right about one thing -- even open carry laws don't allow "brandishing" a gun, as Tamir was doing with the toy before the police arrived, and which prompted the 911 call. (A more professional police department would also make damn sure the caller's "it may be fake" was passed on by the dispatcher to the cops.)
Of course, had he been white, there's a far greater chance they'd have tried to talk him down, like the crazy old dick-grabbing guy in Michigan who was screaming about revolution. And then they may or may have not charged him, or just given him a stern talking to.
As someone whose peaceful son was beaten up by the St. Paul police (long hair, poor identification, car that stopped due to bad gas), I'd have to add that, in our major cities, police are the most dangerous attribute of all....
When visiting Brooklyn in the way back I used to stop in a -mostly white - cop bar (nearest drinking establishment by a number of blocks - and pretty amusing). One evening a couple of young black men stopped by. Immediately the place hushed and police hands got twitchy. You could tell where their backup gun was by where their hands moved.
Better part of valor the young fellows left without ordering. Finished my beer, left no tip, never went back.
My son is 13 and is 5'7". But he's white, so he's not considered a threat. Does this Loomis douchenozzle think every child stops growing at 10 and magically become 6 foot tall on their 18th birthday?
Yeah. After a little time as I was doing housework I thought of a couple of mildly amusing (to me anyway) responses to your reply. Then I started thinking about the content of the post again. Words fail me.
The problem of tribalism is a very large one, and a threat to humanity as a whole. Most because it takes so many forms and those forms combined (mostly out of convenience) to make new ones. Religious, political, racial, economic, and in this case, occupational. What makes it particularly egregious on the part of the police is that it is not the result of experience working at a dangerous job, but of conditioning and training before they even hit the streets. All of these tragedies have been, in some way, planned for.
They do this with impunity because historically there have been few, if any, consequences. There are jurisdictions with records going back 160 years that cite not a single instance of a law enforcement officer being held responsible for a wrongful death. It's almost statistically impossible.
Combine this with high powered weapons and technology, and it's hard to look at the future with any hope...
My stepson was 6'1" at 13. He was very skinny; still, strangrrs thought he was 18. He grew to be 6'7". He was much taller than most teenagers. Did that mean he had an appearance that police saw as threatening? No. He is white.
We are The Police and we're here to help.is an utter farce to so many people.
Tamir Rice lost his life because he was too young to know it was a marketing tagline that had zero relevance to his life. Police didn't mean humans like him or his sister.
Nah,.
That's making themselves a big juicy target. Changing levels by dropping down is still a movement that can be interpreted as hostility.
Catching the attention of the police can be a death sentence no matter what.
That's being an actual threat. There's nothing to assume once a child actually does a violent act.
Agreed. That didn't mean "all white boys"
Okay, I'm not the banhammer, but I think even Aspergers' commenters should get a second chance to not comment.... say something else, wonkettesawanker....
I'll agree with you up to a point -- if Tamir Rice had been a white adult with a real gun, he wouldn't have been shot dead immediately. But Open Carry fetishists (and believe me, I loathe those guys) are right about one thing -- even open carry laws don't allow "brandishing" a gun, as Tamir was doing with the toy before the police arrived, and which prompted the 911 call. (A more professional police department would also make damn sure the caller's "it may be fake" was passed on by the dispatcher to the cops.)
Of course, had he been white, there's a far greater chance they'd have tried to talk him down, like the crazy old dick-grabbing guy in Michigan who was screaming about revolution. And then they may or may have not charged him, or just given him a stern talking to.
As someone whose peaceful son was beaten up by the St. Paul police (long hair, poor identification, car that stopped due to bad gas), I'd have to add that, in our major cities, police are the most dangerous attribute of all....
When visiting Brooklyn in the way back I used to stop in a -mostly white - cop bar (nearest drinking establishment by a number of blocks - and pretty amusing). One evening a couple of young black men stopped by. Immediately the place hushed and police hands got twitchy. You could tell where their backup gun was by where their hands moved.
Better part of valor the young fellows left without ordering. Finished my beer, left no tip, never went back.
Jacques Derrida called - he wants his Disqus login back.
My son is 13 and is 5'7". But he's white, so he's not considered a threat. Does this Loomis douchenozzle think every child stops growing at 10 and magically become 6 foot tall on their 18th birthday?
We have a serious problem in our country..............it is time to demand federal action to correct it.
Yeah. After a little time as I was doing housework I thought of a couple of mildly amusing (to me anyway) responses to your reply. Then I started thinking about the content of the post again. Words fail me.
VOMITS
The problem of tribalism is a very large one, and a threat to humanity as a whole. Most because it takes so many forms and those forms combined (mostly out of convenience) to make new ones. Religious, political, racial, economic, and in this case, occupational. What makes it particularly egregious on the part of the police is that it is not the result of experience working at a dangerous job, but of conditioning and training before they even hit the streets. All of these tragedies have been, in some way, planned for.
They do this with impunity because historically there have been few, if any, consequences. There are jurisdictions with records going back 160 years that cite not a single instance of a law enforcement officer being held responsible for a wrongful death. It's almost statistically impossible.
Combine this with high powered weapons and technology, and it's hard to look at the future with any hope...
My stepson was 6'1" at 13. He was very skinny; still, strangrrs thought he was 18. He grew to be 6'7". He was much taller than most teenagers. Did that mean he had an appearance that police saw as threatening? No. He is white.
Obama's sons should all be shot