When they blame the gun? Heck yes! Tell me how it's ever the guns fault.

 

Come on. No one ever said a gun jumped out of someone's pocket and fired on its own.

 

Anti-govt feelings from right-wing vocal minority, NRA, gun laws(driven by NRA), etc. Those were all listed as factors. Instead , the response was that it's strictly on the shooter and it was "mental illness." Now we have a mentally ill person and we get nothing but political grandstanding and blame-placing other than where it belongs - on the shooter.

I'll address each comment in my perspective.

 

 

Comments like “the death of Michael Brown awakened our nation to a reality that black citizens already understood".

 

Yes. A large percentage of blacks fear the police and don't trust the police and I'd say when this comment was made it was when the only story was that Brown was unarmed and shot and left laying in the street for hours.

 

 

 

“In too many communities around the country, a gulf of mistrust exists between local residents and law enforcement”.

 

Yes. This is a true statement. How do we fix it?

 

 

"The shooting death of a black teen by a white police officer last month in Ferguson, Missouri, exposed the racial divide in the American justice system that stains the heart of black children”.

 

Yes. I have had multiple conversations with my 18 year old daughter and she still thinks Michael Brown was an innocent victim who had his hands up when he was shot. She participated in the non-violent protest in Lexington shortly after the grand jury decision came out. This is my daughter's Rodney King memory.

 

I already know what your answer is to this, so you don't have to bother if you don't want to.

 

In a time when people are enraged already, these kind of statements do nothing to help the situation and, like HB20 said, is sounds like he sides against the police. Fuel for the fire.

 

It sounds like and he is actually siding against the police are two way different things. There is no way you'll ever be able to convince me that Obama is against the police. He's done nothing to prevent policemen from doing their jobs. For me that would be proof of Obama siding against the police. Not offering a perspective that has normally been silenced.

I would say they probably have. Don't remember them parading them out to speak out against black people.

 

Obama gives him a public platform next to the most powerful man in the world. That is not good for any of us.

 

I am far from naive nor am I blind to what Sharpton brings to the table. He is no different than David Duke in my opinion. That's why I can't understand how he is so widely accepted.

 

You'll have to ask someone who accepts Al Sharpton why they accept him. I can't answer that.

 

David Duke is polarizing because he could be tied to an organization that is known for being racist. We can only tie Sharpton to being a race-baiting opportunist. At the same time I bet David Duke has been invited to the White House and I'm pretty sure everyone knew his ties as well. He was a senator when his past was exposed wasn't he? Wasn't he also elected again after his past was exposed?

 

Of course we don't remember them parading out to speak against black people. Black people weren't threatening their existence so they weren't bothered by them. I'll also add that just because some of you on here think Sharpton is racist doesn't make him racist. I know plenty of white people who don't have a problem with Sharpton and who don't see him as racist either. Just saying....

Al Sharpton should have his own thread. Frankly, he appeals to the lowest common denominator, much like Rush or O'Reilly. As PP92 says, "you'll have to ask someone who accepts Al Sharpton". That person would be someone who can't think for themselves, are easy to get riled up, and are sheep/lemmings to the jingoistic rantings of someone they think is finally speaking the truth and speaking for them. They parrott their words like it's the gospel. Soon there are enough followers that the national media takes them seriously. It's a vicious cycle.

Come on. No one ever said a gun jumped out of someone's pocket and fired on its own.

 

Anti-govt feelings from right-wing vocal minority, NRA, gun laws(driven by NRA), etc. Those were all listed as factors. Instead , the response was that it's strictly on the shooter and it was "mental illness." Now we have a mentally ill person and we get nothing but political grandstanding and blame-placing other than where it belongs - on the shooter.

 

FWIW I blame the shooter...regardless of what drove him to do it that piece of crap made the decision on his own to do it.

 

I think your confusing the mental health aspect that comes up in other threads or I'm misunderstanding the point your trying to make.

 

People such as myself do bring up mental health as being a bigger causation for mass shootings than current gun laws. When I bring it up it is from the perspective that more needs to be done from a mental health standpoint than from tighter gun control laws standpoint.

 

A law I'd like to see put in place would weaken HIPPA a bit to allow reporting of Mental Health Issues to the data base used when completing background checks for firearms purchases. I'd also add Domestic Violence Orders to the Data Base as well.

 

Maybe I'm just not getting the point your making.

Sharpton

 

As PP92 said he's not a spokesperson for the majority of black Americans. He certainly has his issues. He loves a camera.

 

With all of that out of the way so that we don't have to waste time or hard drive space on those what is his true culpability in this particular case? I know there's a report of him leading a rally where "kill cops" or "dead cops" was chanted but I don't think that's been shown to be true.

 

So let's narrow it down. What did he do that could be an indirect cause of this shooting?

Sharpton

 

As PP92 said he's not a spokesperson for the majority of black Americans. He certainly has his issues. He loves a camera.

 

With all of that out of the way so that we don't have to waste time or hard drive space on those what is his true culpability in this particular case? I know there's a report of him leading a rally where "kill cops" or "dead cops" was chanted but I don't think that's been shown to be true.

 

So let's narrow it down. What did he do that could be an indirect cause of this shooting?

 

I can agree with you on a lot of topics but if your trying to defend sharpton back away from the keyboard not a good look.

Sharpton

 

As PP92 said he's not a spokesperson for the majority of black Americans. He certainly has his issues. He loves a camera.

 

With all of that out of the way so that we don't have to waste time or hard drive space on those what is his true culpability in this particular case? I know there's a report of him leading a rally where "kill cops" or "dead cops" was chanted but I don't think that's been shown to be true.

 

So let's narrow it down. What did he do that could be an indirect cause of this shooting?

 

Talk about having your head in the sand.

You'll have to ask someone who accepts Al Sharpton why they accept him. I can't answer that.

 

David Duke is polarizing because he could be tied to an organization that is known for being racist. We can only tie Sharpton to being a race-baiting opportunist. At the same time I bet David Duke has been invited to the White House and I'm pretty sure everyone knew his ties as well. He was a senator when his past was exposed wasn't he? Wasn't he also elected again after his past was exposed?

 

Of course we don't remember them parading out to speak against black people. Black people weren't threatening their existence so they weren't bothered by them. I'll also add that just because some of you on here think Sharpton is racist doesn't make him racist. I know plenty of white people who don't have a problem with Sharpton and who don't see him as racist either. Just saying....

 

 

You can polish a turd all day, it's still a turd. Sharpton IS a racist. I'm sure there are plenty of people that don't think David Duke is a racist. Does that make him any less of a racist?

 

I don't think one can find anyone more polarizing than Sharpton recently.

I can agree with you on a lot of topics but if your trying to defend sharpton back away from the keyboard not a good look.

 

Nope. Not defending. Just trying to determine where he fits in this case.

Talk about having your head in the sand.

 

Educate me about his culpability.

Sharpton

 

As PP92 said he's not a spokesperson for the majority of black Americans. He certainly has his issues. He loves a camera.

 

With all of that out of the way so that we don't have to waste time or hard drive space on those what is his true culpability in this particular case? I know there's a report of him leading a rally where "kill cops" or "dead cops" was chanted but I don't think that's been shown to be true.

 

So let's narrow it down. What did he do that could be an indirect cause of this shooting?

Before the grand jury acquittal of the officer in the Michel Brown shooting, he was already organizing protests across the country in major cities such as LA, NY etc.

 

Reverend Al Sharpton: Activists ready for Michael Brown decision in Ferguson | 7online.com

 

Sharpton's National Action Network has plans in place for vigils and protests in at least two dozen cities no matter what decision is announced, he said. Demonstrators will gather outside U.S. government buildings to demand federal prosecutors take over the case.

 

 

You wanted proof of his indirect cause, there you go.

 

Come on. No one ever said a gun jumped out of someone's pocket and fired on its own.

 

Anti-govt feelings from right-wing vocal minority, NRA, gun laws(driven by NRA), etc. Those were all listed as factors. Instead , the response was that it's strictly on the shooter and it was "mental illness." Now we have a mentally ill person and we get nothing but political grandstanding and blame-placing other than where it belongs - on the shooter.

But yet people still blame the gun when it's a mass shooting, don't they? And, really? Anti-govt feelings from right-wing vocal minority, NRA, gun laws(driven by NRA) [i need examples of NRA driven gun laws], these are why you think there are mass shootings or people shooting spouses, etc.?

I'll address each comment in my perspective.

 

 

Comments like “the death of Michael Brown awakened our nation to a reality that black citizens already understood".

 

Yes. A large percentage of blacks fear the police and don't trust the police and I'd say when this comment was made it was when the only story was that Brown was unarmed and shot and left laying in the street for hours.

 

 

 

“In too many communities around the country, a gulf of mistrust exists between local residents and law enforcement”.

 

Yes. This is a true statement. How do we fix it?

 

 

"The shooting death of a black teen by a white police officer last month in Ferguson, Missouri, exposed the racial divide in the American justice system that stains the heart of black children”.

 

Yes. I have had multiple conversations with my 18 year old daughter and she still thinks Michael Brown was an innocent victim who had his hands up when he was shot. She participated in the non-violent protest in Lexington shortly after the grand jury decision came out. This is my daughter's Rodney King memory.

 

I already know what your answer is to this, so you don't have to bother if you don't want to.

 

In a time when people are enraged already, these kind of statements do nothing to help the situation and, like HB20 said, is sounds like he sides against the police. Fuel for the fire.

 

It sounds like and he is actually siding against the police are two way different things. There is no way you'll ever be able to convince me that Obama is against the police. He's done nothing to prevent policemen from doing their jobs. For me that would be proof of Obama siding against the police. Not offering a perspective that has normally been silenced.

And the timing of the statements were extremely bad. I argue that it only helps enrage already enraged people even more.

 

If Obama cared so much for the police, maybe he would send representatives to a at least a few of the funerals of slain police officers like he did for a guy that attacked a police officer. That alone could seem like a message to some.

They weren't facts. You're a smart guy, I don't need to tell you why running with or believing the first thing said by a guy that was already part of the problem to begin with is a poor decision. Do I?

 

Where did I say Obama said anything about the grand jury's choice to not indict?

 

 

Seems to me that if Obama has said anything inflammatory it would have came after the grand jury decision.