QFMFT.
Also, I happen to be in Minneapolis at the moment and was curious where Falcon Heights was. Kudos to Minnesota Public Radio for being the only traditional news outlet on the first page of google results that didn’t go with the reprehensible “officer-involved shooting” phrase(there were a couple of blog hits that also didnt).
That stream was very difficult to watch. I’m amazed how calm his girlfriend was during the whole ordeal, and that she possessed the foresight to not only record it, but live-stream it so that the footage wouldn’t ‘disappear’ as well. If this case isn’t the one that finally sees some modicum of justice found at the end of it then there’s no hope for America.
I have done a lot of surveillance of police. And a disturbing, self-serving creed which I have found is common among (at least some populations of) police is that: “There are no innocent people!” If somebody arouses your suspicions, they are certainly guilty of something, and it is the perceived job of the cop to figure out what that something is. And most cops don’t have extensive legal training, so that “something” often is only that they “didn’t like the look” of the people, or that they “weren’t acting right”, or some such bullshit. And many of them lack the self-awareness to really consider what the sources of these intuitions may be.
I don’t have any love for lawyers, but I can respect that at least they need to have some idea what the laws are before they go making up weasel stories
I mean that in terms of arms smuggling.
You’re aware that Papua New Guinea (crime rates that make Mexico look like Switzerland) and Indonesia (source of the most deadly terrorist attack on Australians in history) are both close enough to Australia that you can easily make the trip in a small open boat?
You really think anyone needs to smuggle guns INTO the US? Really?
I can’t speak for Mr. Blanke, but I suspect we’ll be heading down this path if we pursue that avenue:
Pretty far off topic for the thread we’re in.
Which avenue? My point was that we’re already awash in both legal and illegal guns… no needs to smuggle them in since they are already here in abundance.
I know we’re off topic… but we had to be told that racism isn’t the problem by people who know better than the rest of us, so here we are. It’s getting pretty tedious, in fact that these threads always get knocked off topic because we need to be informed about how racism isn’t the problem when cops shoot black Americans…
I’m entirely in agreement with you. I just prefer not entertaining the notion the US border with Mexico or illegal guns have anything to do with this topic. Why argue with someone who is coming in at a 90° angle from the topic being discussed?
I see that as the problem here, of course. But I’m probably just adding to the problem, though…
I’m not trying to call you out for responding to the statement. I’m tired of derailing. If someone wants to have a conversation about gun laws, the US border, ATF negligence, etc, start a thread somewhere else. There isn’t a damn thing in this case that has anything to do with the US / Mexico border, or how it is policed.
I know, I didn’t think you were! 
I just realize I’m not helping, but I’m also tired of this sort of derailing. That’s in real life, too though. You try to talk about race in America, and some white guys going to derail.
He’s good at slipping snide shit like that into his comments, isn’t he.
Yes. The lady is the most dignified, intelligent, composed, crisis-capable human being I’ve probably ever seen in an online video. She is 100% awesome and more qualified to lead the country, just to pick a topical hypothetical, than any candidate that was in the running.
It’s not a myth. I grew up with the passive-aggressive bullshit. They’ll smile at your face while they stab you in the back. To this day, I have a special level of loathing for duplicity.
Nor have police in the Twin Cities ever had a great reputation in black neighborhoods. They’ve simply replaced “crack house” raids of the 80’s with extrajudicial killings. Stillwater must be full.
That’s what I meant: “Minnesota Nice” is a myth.
I’m pasty-as-fuck.
Does that count as an ‘illegal tint?’
I’ve never been to the USA, but here is an article that essentially says the same thing:
vox.com: “I’m a black ex-cop, and this is the real truth about race and policing”.
We are rooted in racism in spite of the better efforts of Americans of all races to change that. Because of this legacy of racism, police abuse in black and brown communities is generations old. It is nothing new. It has become more visible to mainstream America largely because of the proliferation of personal recording devices.
I’ve never been to the USA, and I have a hard time wrapping my head around the US race discourse. For example, in continental Europe, you would rather not use the word “race”, it would be inappropriate and most likely identify you as a racist! Whereas in the US, it is used as a neutral term. Of course we have racism here (duh), but the discourse works rather differently.
