Seahawks' Cornerback Richard Sherman talks police shootings at game presser

[Sunny05]

Huff Post describes it better than I can:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/richard-sherman-police-shootings_us_57e303bfe4b0e28b2b521b2a?section=&

[pipoman]

1. Which is more persuasive/shocking?

At least 15 black people have died during police encounters since Aug. 26, when San Francisco’s Kaepernick began taking a knee during pre-game national anthems in protest of police violence, according to The Guardian

Or

'at least 45 people have died during police encounters since Aug. 26, when San Francisco’s Kaepernick began taking a knee during pre-game national anthems in protest of police violence,

There is strength in numbers, divisiveness is weakness...

[Orrex]

4. What's your source for that second blurb?

Also, what were the circumstances of those other 30 deaths? Were they gunned down in the street with their hands raised after committing no crime, for instance?

[pipoman]

5. BJS stats, and at the same rate innocent people are gunned down of any other race..

Being shot by police while wielding a gun isn't injustice and it is a mistake for the cause of police reform to pretend it is....there are plenty of good examples of bad shoots and coverups, we don't need to pretend...

[Orrex]

6. So, the ratio is 3:1?

Cops kill three white people for each black person killed?


Whites outnumber blacks by 6 or 7 to 1, so the rate of blacks being killed is much higher.

You're correct that we don't need to pretend, but (even unintentionally) misrepresenting the numbers is more divisive than it would be to focus principally on black deaths.

[pipoman]

11. 2:1 has been the norm according to BJS

And yes a higher percentage of the population, a similar percentage of murder convicts..around 1 white murder convict for each black convict...

Reality is that by far most people of any race killed by cops are justifiable homicides. The real problem isn't unjust killings, it is unjust killings that result in no charges, coverups, and the thin blue line...

[Orrex]

12. Let's not forget a vastly disproportionate black prison population

Also, I'm not comfortable with the "justifiable homicide" metric, because we've seen a number of cases in which the suspect is killed because the cop thought that he "posed an imminent threat of harm." And with that nebulous, arbitrary and generally inscrutable standard, summary executions magically turn into "justifiable homicides."

Reality is that by far most people of any race killed by cops are justifiable homicides.

If that is indeed the reality, then we have no way to confirm it, since police departments famously don't report the killing of civilians in anything like accurate or comprehensive numbers. We can hardly even determine how many cop-inflicted homicides occur, much less how many are justified.

[Egnever]

2. Well done Mr. Sherman.

[Sunny05]

3. Ohhh, yeah. (n/t)

[madokie]

7. Well done

Richard Sherman, good man good role model. Good football player too boot. Puts his money where his mouth is+

My hat is off to Mr Sherman

[nolabear]

8. The Seahawks are the smartest, most socially conscious team out there. Not that I'm biased.

Yeah, I'm biased. But they're really cool people.

[Sunny05]

9. I don't know much about football, but I now know the Seahawks for this. / nt

[nolabear]

10. To be honest I NEVER thought I'd follow football, but these guys are worth it.

My younger son is the sole sports guy in the family. I began paying attention as a way to enjoy something with him. I still don't care about watching anyone else but I like these guys and really root for them.

[Sunny05]

14. 😊 / nt

[Sunny05]

15. I wanna a Seahawks jersey with an image of Skittles bag added somewhere.

Wonder if that could be arranged given copyright laws.

Ya' know, wasn't Trayvon Martin carrying a bag of Skittles? I used to want to get a grey hoodie with a big Skittles bag image put on it. But I wasn't sure how to pull that off. Plus I suppose it could come across as trivializing tho it would have been meant as show of support.

Anyway ... It's a crazy world. But these Seahawks guys' courage and devotion to what's right are uplifting.

[rockfordfile]

13. I agree