On the same day when blacks and whites came together to celebrate the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and on the same day when President Obama paid a visit to Omaha Nebraska, a Trump supporter decided to display his racism on full view for all to see.
In the window of his home, the Trump supporter, a man named Steve Bowman, put up a sign saying “NIGGA OBAMA” next to his “TRUMP” poster. When asked about his racist views for the first African-American president, Bowman answered that he “was born in the 60’s,” and is apparently doing all he can to keep his 60’s racist mentality alive and well in 2016.
His neighbor, an Africa American woman with two small children said that she is used to seeing this level of racism and hatred from her neighbor. She said that she will not allow Bowman’s hate to get the best of her.
“He’s been putting up stuff like that constantly. Constantly putting up stuff like that and I’ll bring it up to him gently, you know, ‘take that down please you know this is not the neighborhood for that. He understands and he will take it down after I mention it to him, but then he’ll put something else up.”
Racial politics is sometimes like the weather. Everybody complains about it or has an opinion about it, but there’s precious little that we can seemingly do about it. Here we are again, having the same conversation about the same issue and the politicians are crafting their statements and the sociologists are telling us about how the Internet is the problem and the gun enthusiasts are telling us that it’s a mental health issue and there’s a debate about whether this is only a hate crime or is it home-grown terrorism. And then there’s that darned Confederate flag flying over Charleston. Which seems to be causing a bit of angst in the Republican Party.
The race is on and race is now a major part of it. This time, though, it feels different.
Nine African-Americans were killed in their church simply because they were African-Americans. Yes, I know that many people say that Walter Scott and Eric Garner and Michael Brown were killed because they were African-American, but they were also involved in activities that brought them attention from the law. The victims in Charleston were doing no such thing. They were being good citizens, were praying, were welcoming a stranger into their world as many other Americans would. Such a terrible tragedy.
What we know for sure is that the shooter did not like black people, and he said so explicitly. He grew up in a country that’s supposed to be post-racial with a more enlightened group of young people who did not experience the Civil Rights movement or institutional segregation. They’re supposed to be more welcoming, more open, more accepting. We now know about one of the exceptions to that interpretation.
But we are also at the beginning of a presidential election cycle and we need to measure the candidates and potential candidates against their words and actions. The initial reactions were sober and immediate, with quick condemnations and expressions of horror and disbelief. That sentiment soon turned to the issue of why Dylann Roof perpetrated this crime. Many on the right called it an attack on religion.Some said worse things. President Obama looked anguished and sad when he addressed the news media the day after the killings, and his inclusion of the gun issue showed that he truly regrets not being able to get any kind of meaningful background check legislation through the Congress.
I want to know specifically what the candidates plans are in reaction to this event. They all say that we need to bring the country together, but how will they do this? I understand that I might have to wait a good long time, but now is the moment when we need to push anyone who wants to occupy the Oval Office in 2017 for answers. Specific answers.
Right now we’re asking questions from our homes and places of worship. Next time, we’ll be in the streets.
I’m so tired of writing about this crap. I’m sure you are tired of reading about it. None of us are surprised another grand jury didn’t indict a cop. Grand juries indict 99.9 percent of time. The .1 percent of the time they don’t is because a cop is on trial. The entire grand jury system needs to be scrapped. There is simply no need for it. They do exactly what the prosecutors want. If they want an indictment, they hand it down, if they don’t, they vote “no true” bill, whatever the hell that means or meant back in 1787 when maybe the grand jury system was necessary. They are now worthless, chocked with people who don’t think on their own, and just march in lock step with the orders they are given. They are just slaves to their prosecutor masters. It is time for the entire system to go.
In the Eric Garner case we have a video. Much like in the Ray Rice case. Before we had the Rice video many people were saying his punching out his fiancee wasn’t a big deal. After the video many wanted to hang Rice. Same case, same offense, but there was video. In the Michael Brown case there is no video. Imagine the difference if there had been. Now I don’t mean a difference in the outcome of the grand jury. We have all seen Eric Garner choked to death. It’s clear to see and it didn’t make a difference. Therefore there is data now that tells us police wearing cameras will not make much of a difference. Yes like with Garner, there would be a difference with public opinion but not where it counts most, in the justice system. Because a grand jury simply will not indict a police officer.
We all saw what happened. There really is no excuse to not get an indictment for probable cause. Which brings up another issue. An issue which is so glaringly unfair, such an obvious conflict of interest that the fact it had not been remedied decades ago proves that our justice system is not the best in the world. People can scream and yell about how it’s the best as much as they want, just like they scream and yell that everything in this country is the best, it still doesn’t make it a fact. In this case I’m talking about having an ordinary prosecutor take cases involving police shootings or misconduct. The same prosecutors who are on the side of the police, who work with them daily and need them to make their cases. The same prosecutors who are buddy buddy with cops, who go out and drink with them and socialize with them. This is the greatest injustice of all injustices. Any case which involves law enforcement needs to be assigned immediately to a special prosecutor that has NO connection with the cops involved. If the federal government needs to be involved then so be it. Any country that is serious about its judicial system being the best and most fair would have had this in place already. It’s that simple.
I have to love those right wingers who are now feigning bewilderment at the Garner case. Because there is a video they cannot dispute. Well, most of them. I’m not talking about the disgusting Rudy Giuliani or abhorrent Peter King. They both have enough white ethnic cop apologists (some who are indeed racists) among their followers and constituents that they can be as grotesque as they want with no consequences. The others are, all of a sudden, shocked and amazed that a grand jury didn’t indict. As though this was the first injustice ever. Even though we just had one before this. Of course they still won’t admit any kind of racism was involved. You see it’s all just a coincidence that these are white cops killing blacks, time after time.
Timothy Loehmann, the cop in Cleveland who killed 12 year old Tamir Rice was rejected by the NYPD. The same department that allowed Daniel Pantaleo, the cop who killed Eric Garner, (and who already had one civil case against him settled for tens of thousands of dollars), onto the force, rejected this guy. That’s how bad he is. He was also thrown off a previous police force due to emotional and other issues. He has been reported to have said that he wanted to join the Cleveland police department because he wanted “action.” Action? I thought cops just wanted to go home at night? Oh, and by the way, citizens deserve to go home at night as well. Even more so actually because they aren’t willingly taking a job that can be dangerous and getting money and a pension for it. But this cop was obviously nuts, so why was he hired? Because they never checked into his background. Disgraceful. And the police unions, willing to defend everything and anything a bad cop might do, make this liberal want to hate unions.
Police departments not checking backgrounds before they hire. Cops with no ability to relate on a human, emotional level to another person. When a child puts a chokehold on another, when they are just doing horseplay, and the other child screams or says they can’t breathe, the other child releases. Why? Because human nature kicks in and makes them care about the other kid, to understand that causing distress is bad and wrong. But our cops seem to lack this most basic human ability. Time after time. Whether it’s someone with their hands up or someone who has already been shot two or three times, or a child with a toy gun, or a guy gasping for air, saying 11 times, “I can’t breathe.” Several cops just stood around while Garner was choked to death, both during and after the act.
Too often these cops have no emotional or ethical conscience. There is something sociopathic about it and that’s frightening. Not only do we need police departments to do the BASIC operations of checking backgrounds but we also need better psychological screenings or people wanting to be cops. We need police officers with true concern for the lives and well being of the citizens they are sworn to serve and protect. Not just the old deli owner who serves them lunch, that’s easy, but the people they encounter daily who might be breaking the law as well. That the lives of these people are as important as their own. That they have families they want to go home to as well.
The mentality of the warrior cop must be expunged from the police force. It must be replaced by the human cop.
Darren Wilson resigned as a police officer. Why do people think this is some kind of victory? Did you really expect him to go back to work as a Ferguson police officer? Seriously? And why would he bother when he can now make six figures for an interview? This is America folks. Where you can kill a black kid and justified or not (NOT!) you will then become a millionaire through interviews and book deals and film rights. Not to mention the right wing talk radio show Wilson will probably be offered as he fits in perfectly with all of the talentless slobs in that business.
This is your capitalist system at work. No laws that make this illegal. A cop can actually kill someone on purpose if they want, because they get away with almost anything, with the knowledge that they can then quit their shitty job that nobody with a brain would want anyway, and become rich. What a country! These are the times when I want to get the next flight available and head to any other country. I truly need to get out of this lunatic asylum.
There were reports that Wilson may have received a half million for the ABC News interview with George Stuffituphisass. Georgie boy asked the obvious questions, feigning true emotions as he inquired about Wilson’s actions and if he would do anything differently. He went through the motions of asking about Brown being far away from Wilson when he shot him several times or with his hands up, but basically he just allowed Wilson to tell his side. Hey, who else did that without question? Oh yeah, Bob McCulloch!
The interview with ABC wasn’t an exclusive. Meaning the killer, Wilson, now has an agent who negotiated the deal, and other news agencies can also pay six figures for future interviews. It’s just that ABC was the most aggressive whore this time. To think I used to work for them. Makes me feel like I need one of those showers they gave to Karen Silkwood at the nuclear power plant.
But there will be other media whores that will throw big money at Wilson. Meanwhile Michael Brown’s family is left with nothing. No son and no justice. Yes the more money Wilson makes the more they can get from him in a civil suit but that’s even a long shot since a jury won’t side against a cop even in that setting. Against O.J. Simpson yes, a cop no. Funny how all of those white people who were up in arms about Simpson getting off are so joyous about Wilson getting off.
Meanwhile this sham of a verdict with the Grand Jury, which every legal scholar has torn apart especially since the transcripts were released, has really brought the usual right wing vicious scum out of the closets. None worse than Rudy Giuliani who continues to live in 1990’s New York City when his police department was regularly violating the civil rights of blacks. He won’t stop talking about black on black crime which he incredulously correlates to the need for an all white police force. Also he won’t talk about how the people who commit those crimes almost always go to jail, unlike cops who commit crimes. Black on black crime, which has gone way, way down takes place in black neighborhoods as white on white crime takes place in white neighborhoods. Makes sense no?
Look, let’s remember who Rudy is shall we? He is the guy who bullied the New York City emergency response center into One World Trade Center after the first terrorist attack there even though the people who knew better were against it. We know what the result was of his power grab. He also took away vital firefighting gear which led to the deaths of many fire fighters on 9/11. Because you see Rudy always gets what Rudy wants.
But wait there’s more. He is also the guy who hired Bernie Kerik as police chief. Kerik the felon. He also recommended the soon to be felon for Homeland Security Director! This is Rudy Giuliani. A man who is still worshiped by some idiot New Yorkers yet despised by his own children. A guy who cares more about the welfare of the New York Yankees than Americans.
Anyway I truly digress. Darren Wilson is becoming rich. Rich off the killing of Michael Brown. Can you just imagine what Brown’s parents are going through? I can’t. They have to hear about these interviews, maybe even watch them. I hope they don’t. Wilson’s story would be given zero stars by any reviewer if it were made into a film because it is that unbelievable, actually laughable if the result wasn’t so tragic. But seriously folks, even if you are brain dead enough to buy his depiction of the events that led to him killing Brown, you can’t believe that he should become rich over someone else’s death. To make money that he wouldn’t make in a full career as a cop from one or two interviews.
Or maybe you are so brainwashed by the out of control capitalist system you live in that you think it’s all just fine and dandy. If so I feel sorry for you and have disdain for you in equal measure. This is one of those things that truly would never happen in any other country.
You know it was just a matter of time before video of the latest St. Louis police shooting made its way on the Internet.
After I heard about this latest shooting, I chose to not be judgemental. I mean, what police officer will shoot another black man in the midst of nationwide protests against a police shooting of Michael Brown? You’ll have to be real stupid, or you just don’t give a damn to murder another man.
So I watched the press briefing by the Chief of Police after the shooting and I was under the impression that the two police officers felt their life were threatened, and they used deadly force to stop that threat. The police chief said the man had a knife and was charging the offices, so they both shot to stop that threat.
I thought stopping the threat meant a couple shots were fired, but theres a video.
After watching this video, I found it extremely hard to see how this one man with a so-called knife made two police officers think their life was in danger. Two police officers, with semiautomatic pistols!
And whatever happened to the use of a taser or stun gun? Is there ever a situation when non lethal weapons can be used?
This video contains strong language and other content that may be objectionable to some.
It baffles my mind to see the extent at which these people go to prove that racism still exists, in spite of the laughable recent Supreme Court decision that said racism was dead.
In Norfolk Nebraska, the patriotism was strong as residents celebrated the 4th of July festivities. Onlookers lined the parade route as different floats went by. Then there were loud laughter and applause as a specific float made its way along route.
Perched on a flatbed truck was an outhouse with a dark figurine of president Obama dressed in overalls and propped up by a metal walker. And nailed to the sides of the wooden latrine were two signs, in all cap letters that read, “OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY.”
“We don’t feel it’s right to tell someone what they can and can’t express,” said parade committee member Rick Konopasek. “This was political satire. If we start saying no to certain floats we might as well not have a parade at all.”
Konopasek cited the fact that the float received loud applause from the onlookers as the reason why it wasn’t racist or offensive, saying “its obvious the majority of the community liked it. So should we deny the 95 percent of those that liked it their rights, just for the 5% of people who are upset?”
Rick also said that the community is predominantly conservative. And he admitted that it would have gone against free speech and the 4th of July independence celebration, to deny the float’s entry into the parade. With that said, sexually explicit floats will not get the same freedom of expression rights Rick awarded the Obama hating float. According to the parade organizers, sexually based floats were denied participation in the parade.
It is abhorrent and absolutely disgraceful that in 2014 racial prejudice and intolerance still exist and is so outwardly expressed.
There is no consideration given to the marred history of this country. A history based in slavery, lynchings, and some of the most vile acts committed against any group of people. And it is even worse that this intolerance is the ideology adopted by the Republican party.
Here is a racist. Her name is Connie Trube and she is a councilwoman in Texas. Here are the racist things she said to describe why the Texas school system is messed up and why it will stay messed up.
“It’s not going to get any better until you get those blacks off the school board,” Trube said. “She really turned black. She got on the school board with the rest of the blacks and they all just ganged up and that’s why the school system has gone to hell.”
Trube is not denying she made the comments, nor is she backing down from them, nor is she apologizing, nor is she resigning — despite public calls for her to do so.
“What is on the tape is nothing more than me stating my honest opinion, and I don’t back down from that,” Trube says. “I never denied what was on the tape.”
The investigation into her remarks is slated to end at the end of the month and the findings will be given to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Here’s more from our Constitution loving “Patriots” on the right. Hanging an effigy of the president from a bridge on Interstate 70 in Missouri, with what authorities thought was a bomb attached to it.
Now I’m not the brightest one in the class, but it sure sounds like Mr. Reilly is suggesting that we just leave the racists alone. Which then mean that if we’re not pointing out their hate and racism, aren’t we in fact enabling them through our silence? Like Bill O’ and his ilk at Fox News are doing now?
See their love fest with Cliven Bundy for reference.
Personally, I think all the black players in the NBA including the ones playing for the LA Clippers and their fans, should boycott the LA Clippers. If the racism expressed by Donald Sterling turns out to be true and he prefer blacks not come to his games, then shouldn’t that include the players?
I think it should. The way you hurt rich racists is in their wallet. A black boycott of the Clippers will not end Sterling’s racism, but it may starve the bastard for the duration.
Before taking on the Charlotte Bobcats in Game 3 of Miami’s first-round playoff series, James said that if the report is true, then “there is no room for Donald Sterling in our league.”
“It’s unacceptable and as a commissioner in our league, they have to make a stand, and they have to be very aggressive with it. I don’t know what it’s going to be, but you just can’t have that in our league,” James said, via the Miami Herald. The four-time NBA MVP also said he even contemplated not playing. “I kind of wavered back and forth whether I would actually sit out. If our owner would come out and say the things that he said, I would really have to sit down with my teammates, talk to my family because at the end of the day, our family, and our teammates are way more important than that.”
James also wondered aloud what would happened to a player who “came out and said something of that stature” and called on NBA commissioner Adam Silver to “do something very fast and quickly before this really gets out of hand.”
LeBron was not alone. TNT analyst and former NBA star Charles Barkley said Silver”suspend [Sterling] and fine him immediately.” Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson described Sterling’s alleged remarks as a “black eye for the NBA.”
I think the Democratic Congressman is just calling it as he sees it. They claim that they’re against “big spending government,” but where was the Teaparty when Bush spent us into oblivion?
In an interview with NY1, Rangel said “it’s hard for me to explain how you work with a president that thought that he could really deal with the Republican leadership,” Rangel said. “Maybe it was the water that they drink at Harvard,” he continued, referring to Obama’s time at Harvard Law School.
While Rangel was disappointed with the president, his ire was at its most intense when discussing the Tea Party. If Rangel had to describe the right-wing movement in a word, it would appear he’d have a hard time choosing between “racist” and “mean.”
“They are mean, racist people,” Rangel said of the Tea Party. “Now why do I say that? Because in those red states, they’re the same slave-holding states.”
“They had the Confederate flag,” he continued. “They became Dixiecrats; they had the Confederate flag. They’re now the Tea Party; they still got the Confederate [flag].”
“I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” Rangel added. “There is nothing the president can do – not love of country, not love of party – that they’re not prepared to kill themselves to get to him.”
As Politicker.com notes, this isn’t the first time Rangel has attacked the Tea Party and described the movement as racist in nature. During the Summer of 2013, Rangel said Tea Partyers were “the same group we faced in the South with those white crackers and the dogs and the police.”
Lawrence Wilkerson, a critic of Bush administration detainee policies and a former chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, gestures duirng an interview with the Associated Press in Washington, Monday, Nov. 28, 2005. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
That was the response from Mitt Romney’s top adviser John Sununu, who criticized General Colin Powell‘s decision to endorse President Obama in the presidential election. Sununu insinuated that Colin Powell only endorsed the President because they’re both black.
“Frankly, when you take a look at Colin Powell, you have to wonder whether that’s an endorsement based on issues or whether he’s got a slightly different reason for preferring President Obama,” Sununu said in an interview on CNN. When asked to explain his statement, Sununu continued, “Well, I think when you have somebody of your own race that you’re proud of being president of the United States, I applaud Colin for standing with him.”
On The Ed Show, the guest was Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, the Former Chief of Staff at the State Department for Colin Powell. Ed asked his guest to comment on what John Sununu said, and the Mr. Wilkerson’s response took me by surprised. Although I believe what Mr. Wilkerson said is true, hearing him say it was sad. Sad that this was our reality, but still refreshing to hear a Republican telling the truth.
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