General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLongtimeAZDem
(4,494 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)Maybe I am a hopeless dreamer but I believe most folks want the same thing; to be treated with respect and no better or worse than anybody else.
LongtimeAZDem
(4,494 posts)and thus our first response is to point a finger, rather than to extend a hand.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)LongtimeAZDem
(4,494 posts)iandhr
(6,852 posts)cilla4progress
(24,736 posts)to lead a Truth and Reconciliation Commission here, similar to the one in S. Africa led by Bishop Desmond Tutu and others. A nationally prominent Republican (dare I suggest, W? he seems to have a lot of time on his hands), should be selected to co-lead it with him.
This would be a years-long process, like, a town hall for a decade.
bdwker
(435 posts)showing how to act when you are pulled over.
YES, it shouldn't be needed but it will decrease tension among drivers and police.
And no I'm taking up for police...but if everyone knows what to do, hopefully it will decrease any misunderstanding.
My 2 cents
jtuck004
(15,882 posts) Respectability Politics Wont Save Us: On the Death of Jonathan Ferrell
You can do everything right in America, but if youre black, racism will always pose a threat to your life.
By Mychal Denzel SmithTwitterSEPTEMBER 16, 2013
Jonathan Ferrell is seen in an undated photo provided by Florida A&M University. Ferrell, 24, was shot and killed Saturday, September 14, 2013 by North Carolina police officer Randall Kerrick after a wreck in Charolette. Ferral was unarmed. (AP Photo/Florida A&M University).
When they went on the air this weekend, CNN anchor Don Lemon and comedy legend Bill Cosby, known not only for their day jobs but also for their unrelenting critiques of black culture, may not have been aware of the killing of Jonathan Ferrell. The 24 year-old former football player at Florida A&M University was shot and killed by Officer Randall Kerrick of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police in Charlotte, North Carolina, this past Saturday. Ferrell had been a car crash and then ran to the nearest house to find help. The woman inside answered the door, believing it to be her husband on the other side. When she realized it wasnt, she immediately closed the door, hit her panic alarm and callled 911. She reported a man attempting to break into her home. When the police arrived, Ferrell approached them, presumably still trying to get help, at which point one of the officers fired his stun gun, which was unsuccessful. Thats when Kerrick fired his weapon, hitting Ferrell multiple times, and killed him.
Having a stranger knock on your door in the early morning hours is surely frightening. And Ferrell did fit the description of a man reported to the police as attempting a burglary. But did it ever cross the mind of anybody involved that he might not have been a burglarthat he might have been an innocent bystander, needing some help?
The tragic aspect of this is, as a young black man in America, Ferrell probably knew in that moment he couldnt expect anyone to help him. He was likely very aware that knocking on a strangers door might backfire. But he took the risk anyway because he needed help. For that, he was killed.
Which brings me back to Don Lemon and Bill Cosby. Lemon and Cosby are not pioneers in the field of respectability politicsthe idea that one can overcome racism (or any other form of oppression) by way of your personal actions, presenting ones self as a citizen worthy of respect as defined by the dominant cultural norms and standards. They stand in a long tradition that includes Booker T. Washington and Elijah Muhammad, while also sitting alongside contemporaries such as Condoleezza Rice and President Barack Obama. But they cause a stir every time they say things like the reason why Im giving you this information is because I was living in the projects. I was not taking care of myself in terms of managing my education, and once the door opened and I saw quote, unquote, the light, I started to become very successful, as Cosby did over the weekend. When someone of his stature says,It is not what they werent doing to me, its what I wasnt doing. Its a very simple thing, he does more harm than the good he thinks his empowering words do. The problem with these comments is not that they dont reflect his truth, but because they erase an even larger truth about racism.
...
https://www.thenation.com/article/respectability-politics-wont-save-us-death-jonathan-ferrell/
You say you don't support racists, but you should know this is their number one excuse, that someone ELSE should have acted differently.
I don't know about anyone else, but if the Barneys with the guns could have acted differently we wouldn't be having these conversations.
CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)...of the episode of The Sopranos when they decided they had to do an Intervention on one of them. Didn't turn out that well.
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DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)Which episode are you referring to?
There was no BLM when the series was made.
CanSocDem
(3,286 posts)...the whole family got together to talk 'Christopher?' out of drinking and doing drugs. What was at the same time funny and sad, was that everybody there had a drug and alcohol problem and Christopher knew it. It didn't take long for some to start throwing punches....which is the exact opposite of what Intervention is supposed to do.
Getting BLM and police forces together to discuss why they hate each other would, in my humble opinion, end up the same way. That's all...
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DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)would be the Barack Obama counterpart? Answer: They lacked such a person, which is why their intervention lacked authority.
I think the OP's suggestion is not exactly analogous.
treestar
(82,383 posts)he is going to contribute in such a fashion.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)ancianita
(36,095 posts)continue until all 3,143 counties have a
1. majority lawyer-led civilian police review board with power to hire/suspend/monitor internal affairs depts./fire police who fail #2 below.
2. background checks; mandatory certified completion with grade B or better of college re-education for every cop with 3+ civilian complaints, at each cop's personal expense;
2. working, unremovable video cams on every cop who leaves the station for duty.
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)as it should be, with regards to the mandatory college at the expense of the police officer.
ancianita
(36,095 posts)overriding interest in quality professional policing calls for at at least two years of college education as it stands now.
And private security firms should be subject to the same civilian oversight and stipulations.
Or don't apply for a public protection job. Because that's who police work for. The public.
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)And what kind of complaints? Abuse of power? Sure. The cop wasn't friendly enough? Who determines what is friendly enough?
Who is going to determine if the complaints are valid? What will be the standard?
Way too much subjectivity, IMO.
ancianita
(36,095 posts)What makes you think people got time for creating false complaints anyway.
That's a presumption of bad faith toward the public which, in itself, is highly subjective.
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,290 posts)It's the presumption that there are people out there who would, under this kind of policy, file numerous frivolous complaints against police officers in attempt to financially punish them.
ancianita
(36,095 posts)Don't even go down the road that unarmed civilians should be abused, killed because cops can't handle an occasional bullshit complaint.
If I as a teacher used your logic about getting yearly evaluations I'd be laughed out of my profession.
Any review board can see through through frivolous charges and throw them out as materially baseless. Presume that people know how to do their jobs well -- cops and review boards, and let the KKK reveal themselves as their hate inevitably drives them to.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)sangfroid
(212 posts)This type implies we need to reach a peace agreement between BLM and the cops. In fact, there seems to be a false equivalency here; the Dallas shootings had nothing to do with BLM.
What we really need is a society wide discussion why we need armed police.
Exilednight
(9,359 posts)Wouldn't invite BLM.
They've become a joke to the general public. After attempting to invade and replace the message of the Orlando vigil, no on with a brain will take them seriously.
Their are groups out there with better bonafides on the issue, BLM is just a bunch of noise makers trying to stay in the news.
Something needs to be done, and the adults of this country need to take charge. Hold rallies is great for awareness, but it's doing nothing to solve the problem.
ecstatic
(32,712 posts)And when cops break the law, they need to be punished. Harshly.
If "the powers that be" aren't willing to punish their blue warriors, then at least stop having them accost us over minor traffic infractions. Maybe split apart the duties--cops can continue to be warriors in situations that actually require it, and traffic and other petty issues will be dealt with by unarmed peace offers.
Without agreement on those basic ideas, there's really nothing to discuss.