Minneapolis Riots

[OurLadyofSorrows]

They may have been tased and/or killed, as well. With four armed officers present, there would have been at least two deaths instead of one, and quite possibly inadequate filmed evidence. Intervention may have been possible, but it’s not a clear-cut decision.

Which leads to my next thoughts. Is society being conditioned to just stand back and watch those in authority take whatever action they feel is justified.
This is the direction it is going in at the moment. If they were not police, people would have intervened and the victim would have a chance.

 

[Poet]

As shown in my link above, Black Americans are 3X more likely to be victims of police violence. This isn’t data that we should ignore.

Which was not my point. I stated (but you didn’t quote) that yes, they do die at higher rates. I addressed the false claim that this would never happen to a white man. It does and in fact, it happens to white men hundreds of times every year.

So yes, it HAS happened to white men and we can guarantee it WILL happen to white men again.

The point is whether this is the pure racism that’s only happening to black men, as claimed by many people and implied by the media. That point is false. It happens to white men and black men (and to some women) because cops can be bad, overzealous, evil, improperly trained, panicked when they thought they saw a real gun–there are MANY reasons other than racism why a cop kills a man and it happens to white men too.

 

[Poet]

You asked the question I’ve had: why did a whole crowd stand around filming a man being killed and do nothing?

That the police might have tased or pepper sprayed is a fair answer.

But yes, these people ALSO stood around filming instead of doing something and I have to ask: if the outrage is SO GREAT afterward that thousands are now facing rubber bullets and pepper spray in order to show us how outraged they are–why in the world could five or six of them watching face a taser in order to save a man’s life?

This is part of what makes me think this is more about getting a big screen TV and new cell phone than about caring about George Floyd.

 

[redbetta]

No, it would be bold to claim on a Catholic site that people who loot and harm innocent people in response to one man’s death should not be judged.

These crimes are a bit too egregious to excuse with “don’t judge.”

 

[OurLadyofSorrows]

That the police might have tased or pepper sprayed is a fair answer.

Or shot (for 10)

 

[Pattylt]

This is part of what makes me think this is more about getting a big screen TV and new cell phone than about caring about George Floyd.

For those that did the looting and burning, I think they joined the protests for just that opportunity…but, this was not the protesters in general. By 3am those protesters had left.

The looting opportunists are hurting the purpose of the protests but I doubt they care. I also hope most people realize that the protesters and looters were probably not the same people.

What needs to be done is a change in police training and protocols. They obviously have some serious problems and whether the victims are black or white, innocent or guilty, they need to stop killing people. The system needs fixing!

 

[Anrakyr]

OK… I went back and looked up the case, but didn’t see that. Especially “with his hands on the steering wheel”…

Aside from disappearing down the rabbit hole of videos and his partners recounting all of which is going to take an ungodly amount of time. Go watch his spouse interviews.

No, you don’t know what was in his head–whether he killed because he hates black people or killed because he’s a bad cop. A lot of things that are blamed on ‘racism’ are nothing but human nature. Some people are lousy human beings and treat everyone badly.

Have you seen police culture in america?

 

[pnewton]

Have you seen police culture in america?

I am thinking there is no such thing as a “police culture in America.” There seems to be such wide variation. What I see on television is nothing like what I see in person.

 

[mythbuster1]

St. Katherine Drexel, pray for us.

 

[Anrakyr]

I am thinking there is no such thing as a “police culture in America.” There seems to be such wide variation. What I see on television is nothing like what I see in person.

When police consistently across the country all behave the same way, theres a culture.

 

[pnewton]

When police consistently across the country all behave the same way, theres a culture.

You beg the question. They don’t. Please put aside bigotry and prejudice. Not all police are the same. Not even all departments are the same.

 

[mythbuster1]

Passing counterfeit currency is a crime. That said, I have no way of knowing if he knew the bill was counterfeit. It’s at least as likely that he received the counterfeit bill unwittingly as payment for some service (or even from an ATM, considering how good some of the counterfeits are these days), and he was just the unlucky sap who got caught with the bill in his possession when a store identified it as counterfeit.

 

[otjm]

Get all white cops out of black areas. Only have black cops in black areas.

So does that mean get all black cops out of white areas?

Really?

And what happens to the black cop who is trying to enforce the law, and gets a group around him screaming “Uncle Tom” and worse?

 

[LeafByNiggle]

Passing counterfeit currency is a crime.

…which in no way justifies murdering the one doing it.

 

[mythbuster1]

Of course, and it is all the more outrageous that he may well have been innocent.

 

[HerCrazierHalf]

What do you guys expect these protesters to do? Attempts at dialogue haven’t been successful in reducing these incidents nor have attempts to let the justice system address it (in many but not all cases).

The anger seen in these riots is not from this singular incident but numerous incidents in each area over years upon years.

 

[redbetta]

My brother is a white police officer who works in a lot of minority neighborhoods. He does not particularly relish his job and prefers not to talk about it. He just wants to punch in his hours and go home alive to his family, not cause anymore trouble than it’s worth when dealing with a suspect.

While there is no doubt there are some individuals in the police force who get high on power, most just want to get the job done as quickly and painlessly as possible and go home in one piece.

 

[pnewton]

What do you guys expect these protesters to do?

The protesters? I totally support what they are doing. The rioters? I expect them to be arrested, prosecuted, or at least pay for all the damage they do. I expect them not to torch some poor guy’s business whose life’s dream was to own his own place, then show back up to rob him of anything that remains.

I have been watching the protest at Houston. They have gotten a little out of hand, but not bad. As George Floyd was a native Houstonian, they interviewed one of his friends on the scene. I saw one arrest, where maybe alcohol was involved from the looks of the guy, at a location where one officer was hurt and a police car had windows busted out.

But over all, I am proud of the restraint on both sides. Boy, the police sure got cussed out and belittled non-stop, but the only time I saw one raise his voice was when a potential weapon appeared, and then I guess the guy put it up. Except for the one car, I think a lot of anger was expended without damage to private property and only a few minor injuries. It is still in progress at this time, but the crowds are small enough some of the protesters and police are talking.

 

[VanitasVanitatum]

What do you guys expect these protesters to do? Attempts at dialogue haven’t been successful in reducing these incidents nor have attempts to let the justice system address it (in many but not all cases).

The anger seen in these riots is not from this singular incident but numerous incidents in each area over years upon years.

That sounds more like nothing is going to happen anyway.

 

[Anrakyr]

You beg the question. They don’t. Please put aside bigotry and prejudice. Not all police are the same. Not even all departments are the same.

No, this is an observation on the militarization of police over the last 30 years on the “war on drugs”.
Consistently police have been pointless brutal too collect money offered by the government for programs that do nothing but make politicians look good.

Swat is supposed to be used to take down high end well armed drug cartels. instead its used for anyone who supposedly has a weapon and drugs. Often most of these raids uncover neither and at lest 40% find nothing and 10% (in the case of the state of New York) go to the wrong address.

All of this culminates in racial bias in black neighborhoods that frequently have a higher police presence for no other reason then bias statistics.

In 2017 crime went down in new york after the police went on strike only responding when required too by law. In New York, major crime complaints fell when cops took a break from ‘proactive policing’

This tells me that the problem is the police. Even if you completely ignore the racial bias there is a clear and systematic culture of toxic authority and misused power.