Grand Jury decision for Michael Brown case

[musterion]

 

[drbrumley]

Looting for Justice: Same Old Story

Gary North

The looters and rioters in Ferguson have sent a message: the state is impotent when it comes to protecting life and property. Yet these two protections are basic to the theoretical justification for the state’s possession of a lawful monopoly of violence. The state of Missouri visibly shares this with looters. “Sorry; there is nothing much we can do.” The looters knew this, and they acted accordingly.

There is a fundamental law of economics: “At a higher price, less is demanded.” But modern Americans have been verbally assaulted for so long by the bullies in ghettos and their accomplices in the media that law enforcement agencies are today unwilling to hike the price on violence. Result: more violence.

Push came to shove in Ferguson. The law enforcement agencies figured “better safe than sorry” for them. They tried to contain the violence, not stop it. Once again, they sent a message to citizens. It was the same message sent by the looters, “You’re on your own. Do not resist.”

 

[musterion]

to be continued...

 

[rocketman]

Ugh. How repulsive. I'm surprised none of y'all has called them n*gg**s yet. The loss of Browns life is sad, HOWEVER JUSTIFIED the shooting may have been. The losses incurred by this shooting will not be easily counted. At least one life, plus I'd bet Officer Wilson will probably be gunned down, however many families that will loose their means of income, and it seems all most of the theists on this site are damn near cheering because it signals to them that our society is collapsing. Absolutely shameful. Words like punk, thug, gangster, etc are being tossed around. Does that make y'all feel better? Sheesh

Thug, thief, & bully fit quite nicely considering what we do know about the "18 Yr Old Man" Brown, and nobody but you has even eluded to the "N" word. You are correct that this decision was just, as was Officer Wilson's actions in this situation but, the elation I have seen in this thread is not for the death of Brown but, that justice was served and that says our system is not broken in the end...hurray for justice!

 

[Nick M]

Hope you get well eventually, Nick. I really do feel sorry for you, and I genuinely wish you would find your way back to Him before it's too late.

You are a liar and you fool nobody. All the saints here know you are a bastard child of satan. Save it for a fool.

 

[Nick M]

I'm surprised none of y'all has called them n*gg**s yet.

Because your judgment is lacking.

 

[MrDeets]

Thug, thief, & bully fit quite nicely considering what we do know about the "18 Yr Old Man" Brown, and nobody but you has even eluded to the "N" word. You are correct that this decision was just, as was Officer Wilson's actions in this situation but, the elation I have seen in this thread is not for the death of Brown but, that justice was served and that says our system is not broken in the end...hurray for justice!

Ugh. I just think the whole situation stinks, and while I understand and agree with your(and other's) gratefulness that justice was served, my heart still hurts over this whole thing. The fact that "justice was served" will be but the smallest thing remembered about the whole Ferguson debacle.


**Edit- Rocket, if you can honestly say the N word hasn't crossed your mind, I do believe you. However, you'd be one of the few in this thread that I think hasn't thought it, or said it recently.

 

[rexlunae]

Thug

However, to certain ears, and for good reason, that word has racial overtones. So maybe, you could think about using a different word, so as not to give that impression, if you don't intend to.

 

[journey]

I have no problem in calling Michael Brown a thug because that's what he was. His color is not material to the tag that he earned for himself. He was also a criminal who caused his own death.

 

[kmoney]

What happens outside is because of what happens inside.

To some extent, yes, but some fighting in the car doesn't necessarily mean Wilson is justified in killing Brown outside the car regardless of what else happened.

Even if Brown was charging back at Wilson, was shooting him multiple times the only way to handle it? :idunno:

Again, I've never been in a situation like that and I'm not saying he definitely should have been indicted on one of the possible charges, but I'm also not convinced that Wilson did what he had to do.

 

[musterion]

However, to certain ears, and for good reason, that word has racial overtones.

Why is that Rocket's problem?

 

[musterion]

Interesting juxtaposition.

 

[kmoney]

Justice Was Served in Ferguson—This Isn’t Jim Crow America - Ron Christie

‘Civil rights’ figures decided long ago that the only fair outcome would be indictment. But that was driven by ideology, not facts.

The day of reckoning has arrived not just in Ferguson, Missouri, but also across America. For some, the grand jury proceedings to determine whether the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer was justified was never about seeking justice. As widely anticipated in the media, the jury of nine whites and three blacks elected not to indict based on the evidence before them. Sadly, hundreds if not thousands of individuals descended upon this small St. Louis suburb to agitate for an outcome based on their ideology rather than the facts under consideration by the grand jury.

Even though the grand jury elected not to find Officer Darren Wilson responsible for the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown, sadly, I never believed that the gathering protesters gathered in Ferguson were seeking justice or a peaceful resolution to the case, which has roiled race relations in America to levels I haven’t seen in decades.

How else to explain those chanting “No Justice, No Peace” in the days leading up to the grand jury’s determination? The only justice sought by those folks involved a conviction against Wilson for killing the “gentle giant” teen. Evidence that favored Wilson’s account—that he tragically shot the teen in self-defense—was conveniently ignored, as doing so neatly fit into the narrative that whites are racist, white police officers assassinate blacks at their leisure, and America is as prejudiced toward people of color as it was in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.

Don’t take my word on this. Consider the incendiary words spoken by civil-rights hero and Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) last week, when he observed: “When we were beaten on that bridge in Selma, the people couldn’t take it, when they saw it, when they heard about it, when they read about it. There was a sense of righteous indignation. And if we see a miscarriage of justice in Ferguson, we’re going to have the same reaction that people had towards Selma.”

I had yet to be born to observe the events of Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965. On that date, some 600 civil-rights marchers departed Selma and shortly thereafter were met by state troopers who attacked them with dogs, billy clubs, and tear gas. However, one can hardly equate the Jim Crow Deep South, fraught with systemic racism, poll taxes, literacy taxes, and segregated accommodations, to a tragic shooting some 50 years later in which none of us were privy to the facts of the encounter between a police officer and teen in Ferguson.

That Rep. Lewis, who was beaten to within an inch of his life in Selma, would draw a moral equivalence between violence on the part of police officers who viciously beat nonviolent civil-rights protesters with the encounter between Brown and Wilson, where the facts indicated the teen had struggled to wrest control of the officer’s gun, is disheartening. Disheartening because Lewis’ words will give strength and solace to those who believe in the narrative that our country remains overwhelmingly prejudiced toward blacks, instead of confronting the sad reality that almost all shootings involving black men in America today take place at the hands of other black men rather than white police officers.

How can Lewis prejudge an outcome as a miscarriage of justice unless he considers the only proper outcome to be Wilson’s indictment (and, ultimately, conviction)—when the congressman had no access to the evidence considered by the grand jury? While the grand jury ultimately voted in a manner that would displease Lewis, its members were tasked with weighing evidence and facts, while his finger had already tipped the scales of justice to meet an ideological rather than impartial outcome.

Last year, 76 law-enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty, and I’m hard pressed to name one of them. Yet, high-profile cases such as the shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown have made these names well-known around the world. Their sad fame comes at the hands of those who push the narrative that white cops are motivated by racial animus to kill blacks. How else to explain the media ignoring the thousands upon thousands of blacks who die at the hands of other blacks—but the sensationalized 24/7 coverage involved when violence is inflicted at the hands of whites toward blacks?

Finally, someone needs to stand up to denounce the violence, rioting, and looting that has besieged Ferguson since the tragic shooting occurred. I fully support nonviolent demonstration—a right enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution. I do not support the belief that violent protest is justified regardless of the outcome of the Ferguson grand jury. But the fact that the Missouri National Guard had to be mobilized, along with thousands of state, local, and federal law-enforcement officers, to quell potential riots and acts of violence is nothing short of a disgrace. That gun sales would skyrocket in the town as shop owners boarded up their places of business to prevent looting is a beacon of clarity that illuminates the fact that for many, Ferguson has become a symbol of lawlessness, civil unrest, and violence rather than one of seeking justice for a slain teen.

Photos: America's Front Pages React

One can certainly understand that peaceful protesters would convene at the county courthouse where the grand jury rendered its decision. But I’m at a loss as to why demonstrators also planned in advance to target the headquarters of Boeing, Anheuser-Busch, and the Ritz-Carlton, unless more ulterior motivation was at hand. These businesses had nothing to do with the fatal shooting last August, and their selection as sites for potential protests only point to civil unrest.

Following Gov. Jay Nixon’s news conference last night, protesters were given a two-and-a-half hour head start to assemble prior to the decision being revealed around 8:25 p.m. Watching the coverage, I was worried as I watched protesters converge, with signs such as “No Justice, No Peace. FTP,” or “400 Years of Afrikan Slavery.” Many of those gathering in the run-up to the grand jury decision wore hockey and tear gas masks to conceal their identity.

As the announcement was read, the reaction from the gathered crowd was one of anger and disgust. Justice may well have been served in Ferguson, but the deep wounds of division of race—and the perpetuation of the meme that America is racist toward blacks in confrontations with police—will be the enduring tragedy we must confront in the days to follow.

I thought this was a good article. Many people had their minds made up long before the grand jury made a decision and the evidence was released.

I'd be curious to know how many of the protesters around the country have actually looked at the evidence or if they stopped at "unarmed black teenager shot" and made a decision that the officer should be arrested.

There may be problems in Ferguson and the rest of the country related to the justice system and blacks but I don't really think Brown is a great poster child for the cause.

If you're worried that what happened to Brown could happen to your child, tell them not to rob convenience stores and then fight with a cop. lain:

 

[kmoney]

Interesting juxtaposition.

CNN was just giving you all the relevant details.



EDIT: what's going on with the 'eek' smiley??? :AMR:

 

[musterion]

True human beings do not bite other human beings.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/11/26/45-arrested-in-boston-ferguson-protests/

 

[musterion]

Leftist mentality on public display (apart from the smashin' and grabbin'):

 

[musterion]

I did not know it was Take Your Kid to Work day.

Maybe he's a midget.

 

[Stripe]

Meaning?

Meaning that you "understanding why" people feel a certain way does not justify them feeling that way.

 

[kmoney]

It is important to remember that the guy who wears the badge is in charge and if you intend to act in violence towards the guy with the badge you might just get shot for your effort...as Brown found out the hard way.

I understand. And I hesitate to second-guess what an officer does when he's being attacked.

Some of the ways Wilson described Brown are just bizarre though. "demon", "hulking up to run through the bullets"? :AMR:

It is also an important point that if Brown was a white kid and shot by this officer nobody would blink an eye.

Probably not.

 

[drbrumley]

Interesting juxtaposition.

That about sums it up right there