It's another sad day in America. Truly a sad day and moment in our country. I feel horribly and will pray for the girlfriend's family, the police officers families and the killer's families. I still pray that one day things will get better. Even though I know they won't.

 

I used to play hockey with a team that used a high school home rink as their base. I will always remember a slogan they had over the door to the ice:

 

If you think you can't, you are right....If you think you can you are right.

 

I will leave it at that.

Edited December 23, 201411 yr by True blue (and gold)
fixed quote tags

Organizing vigils and protests stretches the definition of "indirect."

No it doesn't.

 

If Sharpton didn't spend months leading up tithe acquittal organizing protests across the country I doubt very seriously there would

have been the protests outside

of ferguson and would not have given the psychos out there ammunition to actually believe they were in the right and shouted about killing cops etc.

 

I believe eve his actions are directly related to many of the hurtful things we've witnessed this past month.

Edited December 23, 201411 yr by Hellbird

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.

This. All of this.

 

This thread makes me want to have a morning drink. I truly don't understand how many on here are so blind to what PP92 has tried over and over to bring up.

This. All of this.

 

This thread makes me want to have a morning drink. I truly don't understand how many on here are so blind to what PP92 has tried over and over to bring up.

We truly don't understand how so many can be blind to what we are saying. That's the point of having the discussion.

http://sagebrushscot.blogspot.com/2014/12/no-justice-no-police.html?m=1

 

Interesting blog with a lot of the statistics I posted in the other thread.

Akai Gurley by all accounts I've read was a tragic accident, not murder. Negligence was probably involved, but it's different and there's really no reason to discuss it here.

 

Your comparison is ignorant anyway. The discussion regarding funerals is about respect. Obama sent representatives to the funeral of a man who tried to injure/kill a police officer. It would be nice if for once, his office pretended to care when someone dies in service of their city, state, and their country. Most pepole have a problem with him sending reps to Brown's funeral and barely mentioning the murders of two (three in 24 hrs) police officers.

 

As for your comment about turning their backs...the NYPD turned their backs on the Mayor. I don't blame them. They feel like he threw then under the bus and backed over them. I doubt anyone will be thinking about that at the funeral of their dead coworker, friend, husband, dad etc.

 

No, what is ignorant if you failing to see what I'm talking about by refusing to look at both sides of things. The Michael Brown incident was broadcast by the media as a senseless killing of an unarmed man. The fact that it did not happen that way is of little consequence now. What it did was put a spotlight on the killing of minorities by the police--and it angered people. By the time it came to light that Brown's death was his own fault we had the killings of Eric Garner, Tasmir Rice, John Crawford and shortly afterward Akai Gurley. All 4 of those killings raise legitimate questions as to the behavior and tactics of the police. In the case of Gurley negligence was certainly involved and the officer should most likely face charges. Whether it was murder or not is semantics--it was the wrongful death of an innocent person at the hands of the police. My point is that for all of the people wanting Obama to send representatives to the funeral of the fallen officers: Why should the NYPD not do the same for the family of Gurley out of respect for him? They don't want to be seen as racists that don't care about black lives? Then step up and show respect for the life of a black man that was snuffed out by their mistake. Show that his life mattered to them. Gestures like that could go a long way to healing the wounds that our country is suffering from right now. .

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

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

"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”.

 

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.

 

Spot on. To every one that wanted to hear it that way, he picked sides.

No, what is ignorant if you failing to see what I'm talking about by refusing to look at both sides of things. The Michael Brown incident was broadcast by the media as a senseless killing of an unarmed man. The fact that it did not happen that way is of little consequence now. What it did was put a spotlight on the killing of minorities by the police--and it angered people. By the time it came to light that Brown's death was his own fault we had the killings of Eric Garner, Tasmir Rice, John Crawford and shortly afterward Akai Gurley. All 4 of those killings raise legitimate questions as to the behavior and tactics of the police. In the case of Gurley negligence was certainly involved and the officer should most likely face charges. Whether it was murder or not is semantics--it was the wrongful death of an innocent person at the hands of the police. My point is that for all of the people wanting Obama to send representatives to the funeral of the fallen officers: Why should the NYPD not do the same for the family of Gurley out of respect for him? They don't want to be seen as racists that don't care about black lives? Then step up and show respect for the life of a black man that was snuffed out by their mistake. Show that his life mattered to them. Gestures like that could go a long way to healing the wounds that our country is suffering from right now. .

 

In the Gurley case the Mayor and the Police Commissioner did got to the families house and apologize for what happened. I don't know if they were needed or wanted at the funeral after making personal and public apologies. A City Councilwoman, Assemblyman-elect and Public Advocate for the city did attend the funeral.

In the Gurley case the Mayor and the Police Commissioner did got to the families house and apologize for what happened. I don't know if they were needed or wanted at the funeral after making personal and public apologies.

 

That was why I asked the question to begin with. All I had seen was the interviews that stated that it was an accidental shooting. Unless the family wanted them there after the meeting then I see no reason for them to be there--just like I see no reason for Obama to send representatives to the funerals of the officers unless they requested it. His speech that he gave should suffice otherwise.

 

I hadn't been able to find any statements from the commissioner or mayor after the initial stories. Do you have a link to the story where they visited his parents?

No, what is ignorant if you failing to see what I'm talking about by refusing to look at both sides of things. The Michael Brown incident was broadcast by the media as a senseless killing of an unarmed man. The fact that it did not happen that way is of little consequence now. What it did was put a spotlight on the killing of minorities by the police--and it angered people. By the time it came to light that Brown's death was his own fault we had the killings of Eric Garner, Tasmir Rice, John Crawford and shortly afterward Akai Gurley. All 4 of those killings raise legitimate questions as to the behavior and tactics of the police. In the case of Gurley negligence was certainly involved and the officer should most likely face charges. Whether it was murder or not is semantics--it was the wrongful death of an innocent person at the hands of the police. My point is that for all of the people wanting Obama to send representatives to the funeral of the fallen officers: Why should the NYPD not do the same for the family of Gurley out of respect for him? They don't want to be seen as racists that don't care about black lives? Then step up and show respect for the life of a black man that was snuffed out by their mistake. Show that his life mattered to them. Gestures like that could go a long way to healing the wounds that our country is suffering from right now. .

 

 

You kept saying killings but I think you meant deaths.

 

Their deaths were unfortunate, as we're their actions that led to them.

You kept saying killings but I think you meant deaths.

 

Their deaths were unfortunate, as we're their actions that led to them.

 

Yeah, it is a shame that Akai Gurley insisted on using the stairs...

Yeah, it is a shame that Akai Gurley insisted on using the stairs...

 

 

 

Why are you even lumping him in here. That's a negligent homicide case. Carries no weight here but good try. So what about the others?

Why are you even lumping him in here. That's a negligent homicide case. Carries no weight here but good try. So what about the others?

 

Because he was killed by the police just like the others. Trying to separate it given what is going on in this country right now is just viewing things from the side of the police. There are serious questions surrounding the other 2 as well. What was Crawford doing wrong? He picked up the gun off of the store's shelf. The video shows that he wasn't waving it around or pointing it at anyone. Last I saw Ohio is an open carry state. Even if it had been a real rifle he was within his rights to be carrying it unless he had been asked to leave the store by management. I understand that the officers were given bad information by the dispatcher because of what the person that called it in told them. That doesn't mean that he was doing anything illegal that lead to his death. The Rice death is not exactly cut and dried either.

That was why I asked the question to begin with. All I had seen was the interviews that stated that it was an accidental shooting. Unless the family wanted them there after the meeting then I see no reason for them to be there--just like I see no reason for Obama to send representatives to the funerals of the officers unless they requested it. His speech that he gave should suffice otherwise.

 

I hadn't been able to find any statements from the commissioner or mayor after the initial stories. Do you have a link to the story where they visited his parents?

 

I didn't have one but this mentions them going to his families home to apologize... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/nyregion/police-tactic-scrutinized-after-accidental-shooting.html

Within hours of the shooting late Thursday night, the Police Department had conceded a grave error. The mayor and William J. Bratton, the police commissioner, visited the family home on Friday to apologize.

I didn't have one but this mentions them going to his families home to apologize... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/nyregion/police-tactic-scrutinized-after-accidental-shooting.html

 

Thanks. That's what I was looking for.