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Police Shootings About Class As Well As Race

#1

Police Shootings About Class As Well As Race

Jesse Jackson

After three days of peaceful demonstrations marking the one year anniversary of Michael Brown’s fatal shooting in Ferguson, Mo., yet another African-American man was shot by police there. While the facts are still unclear, the tragedy will surely add to the national protests challenging our racially biased structures of criminal injustice

A week earlier, a young, unarmed man was shot to death by a police officer in Seneca, South Carolina. Only this young man was not black, but white.

#2

There are many types of violence.

7-29-2015
Rep Posey: Mr Speaker, I rise today on matters of research and scientific integrity.

From the statement by CDC whistleblower Dr William Thompson as read into the congressional record by Rep Posey regarding FRAUD to hide data showing an enormous increase in the autism rate for black males receiving MMR vaccine before 36 mos.

"All the authors and I met and decided sometime between aug and Sept 02 NOT TO REPORT ANY RACE EFFECTS for the paper. Some time after the meeting we decided to exclude reporting any race effects, the coauthors SCHEDULED A MEETING TO DESTROY DOCUMENTS related to the study. The remaining 4 coauthors all met and BROUGHT A BIG GARBAGE CAN INTO THE MEETING room and reviewed and went through all the hard copy documents that we thought we should discard and put them in a huge garbage can.
However because I assumed it was illegal and WOULD VIOLATE BOTH FOIA AND DOJ REQUESTS I kept hard copies of all documents in my office and the associated computer files. I believe we intentionally withheld controversial findings from the final draft of the Pediatrics paper."

Please call the house oversight committee to ask for an investigation, open to the public, with all under oath. The house oversight committee has had these documents turned over by CDC whistleblower Dr William Thompson for nearly a year.

#3

About time someone injected a little common sense into this subject. Samantha Ramsey, a white teenage girl, shot four times in the chest for trying to drive past a cop at a field party in Kentucky. The Coungaird girl shot in a police station, the list goes on. It is about class in addition to race. A senator's son or daughter would not get shot. period. In my mind the basic cause is a complete lack of accountability of police for their actions. The know they only have to mouth the words "I was in fear of my life" and they will recieve no punishment whatsoever.

#4

Rev. Jackson, How many corporate boards are you on ? The discrimination has been ongoing, where were you when Bush was warring on the American dime ? War robs the treasury that means less for society . Corporations support wars, profits. What did MLK say in 1967...a society that spends more on war than the commonweal is a morally bankrupt society. You can imagine his reaction to the neocons and their illegal wars of aggression. Haven't heard you condemning our criminal govt. Cornell West has been the de facto civil rights leader.

#5

He's nevertheless right in pointing that class is an important motivation in police shootings, not only race.

#6

Excellent discussion, Rev. Jackson. It's class, it's race--they can sometimes blend together, though your statistics do make very important distinctions. But the bottom line is police personnel, where they come from, what their own histories are, how well they have or not have been trained, and most important, whether they have qualified themselves psychologically, emotionally and morally to justify wearing the badge. Just as we see too many teachers in classrooms who are not qualified to encounter kids, accept their challenges, and then courageously and persistently raise them up to a higher standard, so there are far too many police who are ex veterans: experts at terrorizing civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq, but not experts at creating solidarity and fellow human feeling on their beat.

#7

No one has addressed the Main cause of these shootings. That is attitude, No respect for authority, unwilling to cooperate and resisting arrest. Becoming combative is just plane stupid. Refusing to obey a lawful order.

No police officer should have to put up with any of this. A simple traffic stop can be escalated into a major incident by the actions of the driver. A cop is not a robot they have feelings and have a temper if pushed far enough by the law breaker they are dealing with. I have noticed that black women have an attitude that is ether inherited or taught from berth. Where ever it comes from they all have it.

Why is it that the blacks don't think laws and rules don't apply to them? Driving with out a license, with an open container of alcohol, no proof of insurance and think all they have to do is start the car and drive away?

Reverend Jackson you could save a lot of lives if you stopped preaching and started teaching your congregation on how to comply with the laws and how to act when confronted by the police.

#8

Exactly, Jesse,

Let's be clear about this. Masked terrorist police in a terrorist military state that maintains eternal war for the profit of corporatistas are brainwashed servants employed for class war.

I used colored bathrooms in the south a full year before all hell broke loose. Why? It was a class deal and this teen visitor and surfer friends knew it in our souls.

Soldiers and police who wear masks are bandits at war with life and common decency. Only terrorist outlaws wear masks and the terrorist US government funds masked bandits to destroy democracy everywhere it can get away with it.

Unite. There is no reason lower class vanilla clear skins and chocolate or latte melanins can't get along.

Austerity is for the benefit of the upper classes, it's a 600 year-old, very stable system based on divide and rule.

#9

You have it exactly backwards. Quite a few cops seem to have a perpetual bug up their ass. They seem pissed off all the time. They show no respect for the public, whom they are sworn to protect. They yell at people and verbally abuse them, when a polite and respectful remark would accomplish the same thing-compliance for a minor infraction like crossing the street against a light, for example. In short, they have a big attitude problem. If they want respect from the people, they need to earn it, and not assume it because they have a gun and badge. Not all cops are like this, but a depressing number of them are. And quite a few of these are primed to go off like a bomb at the slightest provocation.

#10

Flatman;
Every incident that has been in the news was escalated by the reactions of the person that has broken the law.
No matter how minor the law was, in every case the person that broke that law, with their actions, attitude and refusal to comply with a lawful order and becoming combative and resisting arrest brought on the reactions of the officer and they got what they deserved. What ever happened they brought it on themselves.

You think a minor infraction of a law is crossing the street against a red light. By crossing the street against the red light could cause their own death or the death of other people. Cars with the green light could swerve and crash into other cars or slamming on their brakes and get rear ended and cause a chain reaction. Not so minor after all is it?
If a police officer is primed to go off It would be smart not to provoke them even slightly.
If you don't respect the man in the uniform you should respect the uniform.

#11

That's precisely why I don't provoke cops.Stupidity and arrogance ( frequent characteristics of cops) are a deadly cocktail. That's why I bite my tongue and say "yessir boss", when one of them acts out. Sorry, I don't respect the uniform any more than I respect other forms of empty suit. I respect the person inside the uniform, if that person respects me.You seem to be suggesting that if someone gets killed by a cop for a minor infraction that he had it coming. Clearly a lot of cops 'think' that. It's gratifying to see that some cops-at least-are being charged with murder. More need to be charged, and convicted. Then maybe things will improve.

#12

Have a lot of encounters with law enforcement do you Flat man? I am not suggesting any thing this is what I said.

No matter how minor the law was, in every case the person that broke that law, with their actions, attitude and refusal to comply with a lawful order and becoming combative and resisting arrest brought on the reactions of the officer and they got what they deserved. What ever happened they brought it on themselves.

It is not the minor infraction that gets them killed it is the disobedience, the unwillingness to comply and cooperate and the rest of their stupid acts that get them killed.

Do you encounter a lot of police officers that "acts out?" maybe you should stop doing what ever it is that gets the attention of the police. How is it that you have witnessed cops yelling at people?

How do you expect to respect the person in the uniform when you don't get a chance to know them. If you respect the uniform you may find that the person wearing it deserves your respect.
as long as there are people like you things will never improve.

#15

Comrade;
I'm no boot licker. Just an honest man that has never been arrested. Never done drugs, never smoked pot.
I am a veteran, US Air Force 1964 to 1968. I have always paid my bills and on time. I disobeyed one order
in the Air Force. Stationed in Japan we were ordered not to wear or uniforms in town the Japanese communist
were demonstrating at the main gate with the usual 55 gallon drums with fire in them and anti American signs.
two weeks earlier in Korea the North Koreans were clearing brush along the De military zone with machetes and saw two American GIs in uniform, they charged across the DMZ into South Korea and killed them. They just didn't kill them they hacked them into little pieces then ran back into the north.
I was not going to hide so I put my dress blues on and went to town. I learned in school to stand up to bullies
by looking them straight in the eyes, stand my ground never back down never, show fear and never ever run.
I went out the main gate and started walking thru the crowed and the commies encircled me I was standing
in the middle of a three foot clearing and I started turning and looking in the eyes of each person. When I started to walk on thru the shit hit the fan. I got in a few punches before I hit the ground then a Japanese guy I worked with on base came to my rescue pushing, shoving and barking orders in japanese they let me up but they encircled me again and again I looked into their eyes but this time some looked down or off to the side
and let me thru. I didn't know it at the time The Japanese guy I worked with was also the mayer of the town lucky me.
I'm not a boot licker but I am a good citizen. You should try it some time.

#16

On what planet do you live? Why don't you just troll yerself outta here!

#17

dogsface.
What a great reply. You sure added a lot to this conversation. You must have been up all night trying to put this reply together.

#18

The killing of any innocent person, regardless of race, age or class, by police officers is wrong and repugnant in every way! I'm happy to see African-American citizens standing up for themselves against this unbelievably sickening situation and to see it shared in a variety of media. That being said, why is it that Native Americans are being killed by police at a greater rate that any other racial group and it is completely ignored in the media? Native Americans are the invisible race, ignored and shoved onto reservations. I'm not trying to imply that Black lives matter less but where is the outrage for all the murders of innocent, unarmed Native Americans by police?! ALL lives matter!

#19

Tamir Rice was not resisting -he didn't have a chance-and the same could be said for the young man in walmart. Its interesting how little has been said about the walmart killing.

#20

I remember movies from the 50's about Nazi Germany were they have road blocks and ask for your papers. Commentators always said that would never happen in the U.S. Its interesting to watch UTUBE as patriots demand to know why they are being stopped at check points. And it is incredible how the police react. Just as social security numbers were only to be used for social security-people in the 40's feared it would become a persons number-people were assured no it will only be used for social security-funny my number is required for everything.---I just saw a great discussion on Thomas Paine-check out what Paine was about-we live in an Orwellian world to prop up a broken economic system. Here's a challenge- get in an old car and drive thru a wealthy neighborhood-its almost a guarantee you will be stopped- the crime -driving while being poor----John Kennedy gave a speech about how important it is to have an independent media-and once the independent media is gone freedom is gone-

#21

Yes.

O/T, but I'll add that this is a much bigger issue. CDC is now controlled by Pharma, and the complex has been pushing bills (111 in 36 states at last count) to create a direct pipeline for their vaccine products into our children, sans checks & balances. Pharma owns congress & the media, and for this product, and only this product, congress has neutralized the judiciary.

We have to wake up to what's happening. We already have 2-3x as many mandated vaccines in this country as in any country in the EU - 69, with boosters, by age 18 - and each provodes about $1B/yr of income for the manufacturer. Some of these bills are beginning to move in on adults, the CDC schedule being another 72 by age 65.