Kenny Smith responds to Charles Barkley

 

Kenny Smith?s open letter to Charles Barkley about Ferguson | For The Win

They both make great points...I really liked a lot of what Kenny had to say and I think he is speaking how a lot of people feel. Charles had some good points as well.

They both make great points...I really liked a lot of what Kenny had to say and I think he is speaking how a lot of people feel. Charles had some good points as well.

 

Agreed. Kenny Smith nailed it for me. That's where my head is at.

I get Kenny's point with Obama. But Barkley's points have more validity than Sharpton that was a bad comparison. Everyone knows he has an agenda .

 

Barkley love him or hate him is honest and isn't PC and doesn't say what people want to hear all the time . But no one would accuse him of being dishonest.

 

But to be fair to Charles I don't think he seeks out talking social issues people ask him questions and he never shys away from answering. Reporters are asking black people from all walks of life their opinions. Rappers, actors , directors. But no one is telling them they shouldnt speak their mind.

 

I don't mind Kenny having a difference of opinion from Charles thats America but I don't think you should act like his opinion shouldn't be heard.

 

Then after those first paragraphs he goes on to give us his opinion which seems hypocritical. I wonder what Charles think of his good friend putting him on blast to the media instead of discussing these concerns behind closed doors.

Has any black person here been oppressed by a white person? Jokerswild used that word in one of his posts above and I am curious if any of you have been personally oppressed by the white people. If so please tell who and what what done. Just curious.

I can clearly understand Kenny Smith's reasoning and thoughts.

I see where a few hours ago in Missouri someone was hit by an SUV. There were dozens of people attempting to block an intersection and started to lay down on the intersection.

 

I'm not saying it's ok to run over people in the street for no reason. BUT stay out of the street!!!!! And this won't happen!

I get Kenny's point with Obama. But Barkley's points have more validity than Sharpton that was a bad comparison. Everyone knows he has an agenda .

 

Barkley love him or hate him is honest and isn't PC and doesn't say what people want to hear all the time . But no one would accuse him of being dishonest.

 

But to be fair to Charles I don't think he seeks out talking social issues people ask him questions and he never shys away from answering. Reporters are asking black people from all walks of life their opinions. Rappers, actors , directors. But no one is telling them they shouldnt speak their mind.

 

I don't mind Kenny having a difference of opinion from Charles thats America but I don't think you should act like his opinion shouldn't be heard.

 

Then after those first paragraphs he goes on to give us his opinion which seems hypocritical. I wonder what Charles think of his good friend putting him on blast to the media instead of discussing these concerns behind closed doors.

 

I bet Charles handles it with grace and class. He can't be as outspoken as he is and not expect someone to say something back one day. I bet Kenny has even said before that next time you say something like that I'm coming at you. They have great chemistry and I imagine they are good enough friends that this is nothing. He likely told Charles about it before it printed.

Has any black person here been oppressed by a white person? Jokerswild used that word in one of his posts above and I am curious if any of you have been personally oppressed by the white people. If so please tell who and what what done. Just curious.

 

 

Nah, the whole Brown v. Board, Emmitt Till, and Rosa Parks things in the mid to late 50's, the National Guard having to be called in to take black students into colleges, the whole Selma thing in the 60's, the National Voting Rights Act of '65, Loving v. Virginia in 1967, the assination of Martin Luther King and Fair Housing Act in 1968, none of those were oppression or symptoms thereof, just a group of people trying to do the right thing?

 

I hope you can see where I'm coming from. It's 2014, and there are plenty of people still living who lived through those, so to facilitate intelligent debate, maybe it'd be a nice start if you tried not insulting what they or their parents lived through with dismissive comments. If you even really have to ask someone over 50-55 years old that question, then it should probably tell you something.

I bet Charles handles it with grace and class. He can't be as outspoken as he is and not expect someone to say something back one day. I bet Kenny has even said before that next time you say something like that I'm coming at you. They have great chemistry and I imagine they are good enough friends that this is nothing. He likely told Charles about it before it printed.

 

Valid point I agree. I also thought Kenny's response was valid.

It's hard to build trust when there seems to be such obvious distrust from the black community . Kenny's points are valid , there is a struggle in this life , but we all go thru it , not just black people . Do they have their own unique set of troubles ? Sure , so do single white moms in pike or letcher co . And in general I'm proud that our country offers what I'd call pretty generous hand ups and a safety net to each group . But if the white mom in poverty is selling meth I've got no problem stating her behavior must change , and I wish the black community would have no problrm telling the micheal Browns of the world " don't rob people and assault police officers and you won't get shot " in other words - your behavior has to change . How many respected black leaders have stated " a huge part of the entire ordeal was michael Browns behavior " ? Not enough in my opinion

It's hard to build trust when there seems to be such obvious distrust from the black community . Kenny's points are valid , there is a struggle in this life , but we all go thru it , not just black people . Do they have their own unique set of troubles ? Sure , so do single white moms in Pike or Letcher co . And in general I'm proud that our country offers what I'd call pretty generous hand ups and a safety net to each group . But if the white mom in poverty is selling meth I've got no problem stating her behavior must change , and I wish the black community would have no problrm telling the Michael Browns of the world " don't rob people and assault police officers and you won't get shot " in other words - your behavior has to change . How many respected black leaders have stated " a huge part of the entire ordeal was Michael Brown's behavior " ? Not enough in my opinion

 

In my own personal opinion I feel like had the Mike Brown case been allowed to play out in court as opposed to the grand jury that things may be different. I feel like the hard feelings and distrust comes from it not even going to court.

 

 

I've seen tons of black people in the media, on social media and other platforms say that behavior has to change and our youth need to understand to respect authority in these situations. Just because you haven't seen that message from blacks doesn't mean that message isn't being preached. I promise you that it is.

I'll put it this way: Officer Darren Wilson is the only man I've ever heard of testifying before a grand jury for over 2 hours to NOT be indicted.

 

The worn out "you could indict a ham sandwich" is still pretty true. This wasn't a federal case, but in 2010 there were around 162,000 cases prosecuted and only 11 of those saw a grand jury fail to return an indictment (that's the most relevant available data-- key word available).

 

The grand jury is the prosecutor's show. Target/Defendant can't have their lawyer in the room. Some Constitutional rights (e.g., double jeopardy) don't attach at that stage.

 

If you want an indictment, you'll get it. The basic reason why is there's just an extremely low burden of proof and all that you essentially need to show is that there's enough to take it to trial where the actual outcome is decided.

 

All that said, it's also extremely rare that police involved in shootings actually are indicted. Kind of the exception that proves the rule.

 

I thought the ESPN Five Thirty Eight article below was pretty well written and gives good insight into how skewed the numbers are while still being realistic about some reasons why the numbers may not tell the entire story at first glance.

 

 

It?s Incredibly Rare For A Grand Jury To Do What Ferguson?s Just Did | FiveThirtyEight

 

You forget about the most important part. Rules of evidence don't apply. Hearsay, fruit of the poisonous tree...all available for use by the Prosecutor in front of the Grand Jury. A lot of that stuff will be left out of the trial if they don't fit into the exceptions.

In my own personal opinion I feel like had the Mike Brown case been allowed to play out in court as opposed to the grand jury that things may be different. I feel like the hard feelings and distrust comes from it not even going to court.

 

 

I've seen tons of black people in the media, on social media and other platforms say that behavior has to change and our youth need to understand to respect authority in these situations. Just because you haven't seen that message from blacks doesn't mean that message isn't being preached. I promise you that it is.

 

I agree with that. If it goes to trial, it is nationally televised. All PERMISSIBLE evidence is presented in real time. The crime scene will be explained better. The PRESENTATION to the public would be more trustworthy.

You forget about the most important part. Rules of evidence don't apply. Hearsay, fruit of the poisonous tree...all available for use by the Prosecutor in front of the Grand Jury. A lot of that stuff will be left out of the trial if they don't fit into the exceptions.

 

Yep. I just did a disservice to my Tex Crim Pro teacher. I can remember almost all the jokes he told us though and he was one of my favorite professors (who I really learned a lot from). We didn't really cover GJ's in Con Crim (like none that I can recall).

 

Those and not having counsel right there with you heavily skew the process.

 

Don't know how it is in Kentucky, but in Texas any felony charge requires an indictment, so I guess they figure everyone picks all that up there.

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