Feb 25, 2015

An Overview Of The Sharp Racial & Political Divide Laid Bare By The Ferguson Incident

Introduction


News

1. at 20 secs We know from the video an eyewitness say Michael Brown's hands in the air & he was no threat at all.

2. From a closer angle a witness saw movement towards the officer (who, we know, has stated he saw Michael Brown like a devil i.e. it seems likely given the shots already fired that the officer made it clear he was going to kill Michael Brown and maybe Brown tried to gear himself up for a final rush to save his life as a last resort.)

It wouldn't surprise me at all. The officer wouldn't care cause he was dealing with a devil and Brown was too injured to make any dramatic move on the officer and with a tiny indication and no video camera to record his personal interactions I think the officer simply took his chance knowing he would probably get off.

3. at 59 secs other eye witnesses didn't notice any movement suggesting any forward movement at all must have been unnoticed from a great distance - a movement of 1 or 2 steps in self-defense may have presented no perceptual difference in freaked out spectators.

Shocking mistake in Darren Wilson grand jury
In the Rewrite, Lawrence looks at a major correction the assistant prosecutors had to make to the grand jury in the Michael Brown case.
 (Unconstitutional law forced upon jurors)


Going Deeper With Chris Hayes...

Obama laments ‘simmering distrust’ after Ferguson
As President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder seek solutions, St. Louis Rams football players join ongoing Ferguson protests - prompting an angry response from local police.

The Ferguson incident laid bare a long standing problem of race in the country & of cops role in society. The most clear example of this racial break in society is the football players with their hands up in silent protest to an audience which doesn't understand what they are protesting...
Picture
And the most clear example of the political divide is the clear use of Bill O Reilly's faulty arguments by thepolice chiefs who are obviously Republicans...
Picture
Picture
As Chris points out, ballistic evidence doesn't say one way or the other, so this statement by the police chiefs is misleading as it portrays something which is not true to a skeptical public but it's what the cops want to hear so they will tend to believe good things about themselves as that is human nature. All in all, this sort of deception just makes their case weaker especially if you compare it to the sort of slander campaign started by the Fergusun police right after Officer Wilson investigated himself and declared himself not guilty.


This is probably what this incident would have looked to the public like if we have video of it (or worse):
How reliable is police testimony?
Video of the officer-involved shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice contradicts key parts of the officers’ account of the incident. Chris Hayes and Connie Schultz discuss the issue.

What happened to Tamir Rice?

How reliable is police testimony? In the officer-involved shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice there are contradictions.

Video shows police killing of 12-year-old boy
Amid continued unrest over the decision not to indict Darren Wilson in the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown, police in Cleveland release surveillance video showing the police shooting of a 12-year-old boy with a pellet gun.

The cops think they are being unfair as the officer was cleared in a court of law while the black people are very aware of the lack of respect towards them as a race and of the unfair practices they have to experience as a part of living which a white person simply doesn't (so they lack any frame of reference to understand what is going on)

Side note: Clearly cops watch or glean their views from Bill O Reilly & Fox News which creates a whole other set of problems. Why do I say that? Cause they are literally following Bill's views from his TV Show. Since Bill is always lying, with a few unconnected facts and views from twitter thrown in as decoys, (& he is always easy to prove to be a liar ) when police chiefs follow his tactics not only are they showing themselves to be not doing what is best for the public but they are also easy to prove wrong. Not to mention the ridiculousness of the cops listening to a party that is out to get them and has been out to get them for a while (not being rich, they are not the base the GOP serves).

Alternet:5 Not-So-Credible Events in Darren Wilson’s Testimony - You might hear these issues raised again in a civil trial.
Breaking down Darren Wilson’s story
The officer who killed Michael Brown casts himself as blameless – and casts Brown as irrationally aggressive and seemingly determined to be shot.


Former cop weighs in on Ferguson and racial bias
A former Baltimore police officer joins the conversation on policing and perceptions of African Americans.
African Americans and ‘superhumanization bias’
Darren Wilson’s testimony describing Michael Brown’s almost superhuman strength reflects common, subconscious perceptions about black people in America.

No comments:

Post a Comment