Most people I have known are only even aware of the âblackâ riots past the date they happened.
Every news bit shows the protesters and they appear to be of mixed races. In Ferguson white protesters were told not to interfere with African-American protesters, and to remain inconspicuous. Is this incorrect?
Great cartoon, but sad to see that this imbalance in the supposedly liberal mainstream media is still with us. We learned so little from Katrina.
Isnât the point that two wrongs donât make a right? The police behavior was unacceptable. Itâs a deep, ugly part of American policing against the poor and disenfranchised which are usually black. AND the riots that are occurring are just as unacceptable. Both of these actions are equally despicable. Police have pretty shitty responsibilities, and theyâre often untrained or mistrained or unrestrained and we have situations like Ferguson or Baltimore. And theyâre often working in neighborhoods where theyâre the target, neighborhoods that are horrible to live in by the residents there. AND we have a huge population of America that is regularly harassed, intimidated, treated more harshly in law, discriminated against for opportunities. There is not one uplifting part of any of this issue.
Both groups need to step up though where they fall short. There is not one single positive thing about these situations but we have people on TV 24/7 trying to assign blame, decide blame, refute blame, ad nauseum as if it was a single entity at fault. WE are all to blame because weâve lost a collective idea of responsibility and integrity. This is the fallout of the ethics version of trickle down economics. Trickle down ethics, where everyone has rights but no one has responsibility.
Who says that rioting was unacceptable? Iâd do a lot more than riot if I was that disenfranchised.
If you are poor and black in the USA the rules of the system are so thoroughly tuned to deny you legitimate opportunity for success and well-being. There is literally no way to play by the rules and get ahead.
I cannot begrudge people so systematically excluded by the rules for breaking them.
The cops on the other hand are not disenfranchised. In fact the system is stacked in their favor. Just look at the ratio of grand jury inditement of police officers vs everyone else who has ever been before a grand jury. Cops in this country generally have unchecked authority to do as they please, with little or no consequence. The least the police can do is play by the rules which so thoroughly favor them.
To summarize:
Illegal activity by cops = unacceptable.
Illegal activity by persons who have no legitimate means of recourse = necessary.
Are you aware that you are incorrect when stating ââŚAmerican policing against the poor and disenfranchised are usually blackâ is incorrect? There are more poor, disenfranchised white folks in America than black. Do you have any idea why the riots have occurred, and there have been more than one prior to Ferguson? Why arenât you just as concerned about the riots perpetrated by whites after winning/losing a basketball/football/hockey games? Property is destroyed during these riots as well, and yet the police response, if you notice at all, is entirely different than the response to rioters in largely black neighborhoods. Why do you, as a citizen, accept that âPolice have pretty shitty responsibilities, and they are often untrained, or mistrained(???), or unrestrainedâŚâ and when âobservedâ using unnecessary violence, are rarely prosecuted, or if they go to trial are rarely if ever convicted? So, what do you propose to change a âshitty jobâ for people who claim to want to âProtect and To Serveâ?
In its practical use, the verb riot is a container for many possible actionsâ vandalize, loot, litter, damage, burn, harass, assault, harm, beat, rape, and (apparently) even kill.
What the hell do you have in mind that goes beyond any of these?
Being black in the U.S. is the Game of Life with the difficulty set to âJust Fâk With Meâ. Youâre right to be angry. If youâre anything like me, you probably also feel some embarrassment for American society that this sort of covert racism is still so prevalent. But the brush youâre using is waaaay too wide to elicit much sympathy from anyone who doesnât already identify with those feelings.
Iâd act like a government agency.
The inequality in this country is stunning. The amount of the black population that we incarcerate is appalling. I donât think I am being to broad. If I fail to elicit sympathy from my position it is only because the part of this country that is not suffering is so oblivious, is so numb to the human misery that confronts them, they no longer perceive it for what it is.
Crimes of a much more far reaching sort are committed every day in this country. Through a growing body of laws, policies, and editorial narratives which combine to enshrine the attitude that poverty is a crime. That the poor are somehow lazy, or otherwise weak in character and that is why they suffer, but this couldnât be further from the truth. We donât live in such a meritocracy, the gap in quality of life in this country grows wider everyday. Itâs time more people started to recognize that.
Correction, even after winning: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/10/30/violence-san-francisco-after-giants-world-series-win/jm7xt1TevQAyDSoCuoLqgO/story.html
It happens every year.
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