kpete
kpete's Journal‘I Can’t Breathe’ — Rep. Hank Johnson’s incredible tribute to Eric Garner
Heres the full text of Johnsons tribute:
Black men and boys killed by police.
I cant breathe.
Impunity for the killersno justice, no peace.
I cant breathe.
Militarized police met peaceful protesters on their knees.
I cant breathe.
Weapons of wara show of force on our streets.
I cant breathe.
Disenfranchised youth driven to violence as speech.
I cant breathe.
Cynical media think this makes great TV.
I cant breathe.
This cowardly Congress afraid of losing our seats.
I cant breathe.
Half-hearted reform when theres more that we need.
I cant breathe.
Just thinking about the despair that this breeds.
I cant breathe.
Black lives matter. Hear my pleas.
I cant breathe. I cant breathe.
I yield.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/watch-i-cant-breathe-rep-hank-johnsons-incredible-tribute-to-eric-garner/
Luckovich Draws Iconic Toon: Justice's White Entrance/Black Entrance
Hillary: These are our streets, our children, our fellow Americans, and our grief.
Hillary Clinton on police killings: Justice system out of balance
............
I want to say a few words about the pain and frustration that many Americans are feeling about our criminal justice system, I know that (applause) a lot of hears are breaking and we are asking ourselves, aren't these our sons? Aren't these our brothers? I'm very please that the DOJ will be investigating what happened in Ferguson and Staten island. (cheers) Those families and those communities and out country deserve a full and fair accounting, as well as whatever substantive reforms are necessary to ensure equality, justice and respect for every citizen.
Now more broadly, each of us has to grapple with some hard truths about race and justice in America, because despite all the progress we've made together, African Americans, most particularly African American men are still more likely to be stopped and searched by police, charged with crimes and sentenced to longer prison terms. And when one stops and realizes a third of all black men face the prospect of prison during their lifetimes, what devastating consequences that has for their families and their communities and all of us. The United States has less that 5% of the world's population yet we have almost 25% of the world's total prison population. Now that is not because Americans are more violent or criminal than others around the world, in fact that is far from the facts. But it is because we have allowed our criminal justice system to get out of balance. And I personally hope that these tragedies give us the opportunity to come together as a nation to find our balance again.
All over the country there are creative and effective police departments demonstrating that it is possible to keep us safe and reduce crime and violence without relying on unnecessary force or excessive incarceration, So let's learn from the best examples. Let's invest in what works. Let's make sure that federal funds to state and local law enforcement are used to bolster best practices rather buy weapons of war that have no place in our streets or contribute to unnecessary force or arrests. (applause) And I support the president's announcement of a task force on policing that will make recommendations in about 90 days. He's proposed funding for technology and training which are important steps.
But as we move forward we can't leave it to presidents, governors, mayors, police commissioners and chief. The most important thing that each 9f us can do is to try even harder to see the world through our neighbor's eyes, to imagine what it is like to walk in their shoes, to share their pain and their hopes and their dreams. These tragedies did not happen in some faraway place. They did not happen to some other people, These are our streets, our children, our fellow Americans, and our grief.
MORE:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/each-of-us-has-to-grapple-with-some.htmlhttp://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/12/hillary_clinton_on_police_killings_justice_system_out_of_balance
I'm Going To Let It Shine
Click here for smiles:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152690506157771&set=vb.690972770&type=2&theater
"The Cop Was Huge"
NY Daily News Makes Huge Statement With Front Page On Eric Garner Decision
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/03/ny-daily-news-eric-garner-front-page_n_6265964.html
“Nobody did nothing.”
COP: Were going to try to get him up on the stretcher. Its going to take like six of us.
They hoist him up and literally drop him onto a gurney. Or at least the left side of him. One cop catches his legs falling off. Another holds Garners shirt, apparently to keep the rest of him from rolling off the gurney. Garners belly is exposed. He appears to be unconscious.
VOICE: Why nobody do no CPR?
VOICE: Nobody did nothing.
COP (as he walks by): Because hes breathing.
The camera turns to Pantaleo, about 20 feet away. He waves and steps out of the picture. The camera shifts back to Garner strapped to the gurney and being wheeled away
As he lay dying, he was treated like a piece of meat. By Pantaleo. By the other cops on the scene. Even by the medical technicians. Had Garner been treated with basic human dignity after he was violently, and needlessly, taken down, he might not be dead.
more, bring kleenex:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/harry-siegel-lonesome-death-eric-garner-article-1.2032281
they "won"
:largeThese are New York's finest lettin' it all hang out.
I love how they believe it's unusual for a cop not to be charged in a killing of an unarmed citizen. If only ...
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/they-won-one.html
Charles Blow:'Black Men-Supported by people who understand their plight are saying WE CAN'T BREATHE'
The Perfect-Victim Pitfall
Michael Brown, and Now Eric Garner
At some point between the moment a Missouri grand jury refused to indict a police officer who had shot and killed Michael Brown on a Ferguson street and the moment a New York grand jury refused to indict a police officer who choked and killed Eric Garner on a Staten Island sidewalk on video, as he struggled to utter the words, I cant breathe! a counternarrative to this nations calls for change has taken shape.
........
Reality doesnt bend under the weight of wishes. Truth doesnt grow dim because we squint.
We must acknowledge with eyes and minds wide open the world as it is if we want to change it.
In this most trying of moments, black men, supported by the people who understand their plight and feel their pain, are saying to the police culture of America, We cant breathe!"
................
oh my PLEASE read the WHOLE thing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/opinion/charles-blow-first-michael-brown-now-eric-garner.html?_r=0
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