[Oni]

I find this incredibly funny, as I'd been telling people that the case shouldn't be about racism. Apparently Michael Brown was a robbery suspect, prior to being shot. This might not justify the fact that he was shot, but I think it proves that the situation isn't simply about a murderous or racist cop. After watching the video, it should make you wonder what transpired before his death, and why people were convinced they needed to riot.

Code:

Authorities on Friday released the name of the Missouri police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager but provided far more information about the victim, saying that 18-year-old Michael Brown was the prime suspect in a convenience store robbery just before the shooting. At a tense news conference in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, where Brown’s death on Saturday has triggered days of demonstrations, Ferguson police said Officer Darren Wilson had shot the teen during a confrontation after the robbery.

Source: Washington Post

[Dyme]

shuttup oni we all kno ur a conservative no one gives a fuk go watch some bill o'rieally fgt lol

[Losi]

Wow. People jump to conclusions too fast. I understand that there's been a lot of shootings (ex. Andy Lopez, Trayvon Martin), but not all cops are retards. People need to get solid facts before doing stupid shit like rioting.

[Oni]

Wow. People jump to conclusions too fast. I understand that there's been a lot of shootings (ex. Andy Lopez, Trayvon Martin), but not all cops are retards. People need to get solid facts before doing stupid shit like rioting.

What I love is how whenever there is some sort of a case that's related to racism and murder, they always polish the victim's reputation. All I heard was how Brown was a sweet intelligent guy, and how he was planning on going to college. Never heard anything about him being a robbery suspect, that's for sure.

[MiS]

What I love is how whenever there is some sort of a case that's related to racism and murder, they always polish the victim's reputation. All I heard was how Brown was a sweet intelligent guy, and how he was planning on going to college. Never heard anything about him being a robbery suspect, that's for sure.

I wonder how many papers, reports and people will leave out details like these to popularize and side with the victim. They tend to inflate certain aspects of one side while downplaying or leaving out other vital parts.

[Satan]

*Cough*


The situation doesn't paint a pretty picture here, to be honest.

Gruesome images warning:

Spoiler:

But, on the flip side of that, we do have this:






Honestly, regardless of the "robbery", the actions of the officer were far out of line in my opinion, and he should be disciplined as such.

[Dyme]

Never heard anything about him being a robbery suspect, that's for sure.

Considering that the police had only disclosed this information earlier today, are you really surprised that people weren't discussing facts they were not aware of? I watch quite a bit of cable news and that seems to be all they're talking about now...

I think you would find this interesting as well: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/natio...tml#page=1

[Oni]

Considering that the police had only disclosed this information earlier today, are you really surprised that people weren't discussing facts they were not aware of? I watch quite a bit of cable news and that seems to be all they're talking about now...

I think you would find this interesting as well: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/natio...tml#page=1

There had been rumors prior. My point is that I love how everyone immediately assumed that Brown's death was the product of racism. I fail to see how a cop killing someone is racist. Even if Brown were killed under unjust circumstances, it has nothing to do with race. In fact, I think situations emphasizing race (like this) are the worst thing.

[Dyme]

My point is that I love how everyone immediately assumed that Brown's death was the product of racism.

I would not say that everyone, nor even the majority, thinks this is only a case of racism.

I fail to see how a cop killing someone is racist.

So do you feel that racial profiling doesn't exist? You don't think that certain cops treat people differently, and in the case of murder, more dangerous because of their race? Do you think that the killing of Trayvon Martin had absolutely nothing to do with race? These are not rhetorical questions, feel free to answer them.

Even if Brown were killed under unjust circumstances, it has nothing to do with race. In fact, I think situations emphasizing race (like this) are the worst thing.

To me, this issue is more about police brutality than racism, but I do understand why many are discussing race in this case. The relationship between minorities and police officers is without a doubt prejudice on both sides. As you pointed out, many people jumped to the conclusion that Brown was killed because of his race, and they are wrong for doing so. What you don't discuss is why. Why is there this distrust of police among minorities in america? Perhaps it's been the continual effect of various policies which allow police to unjustly racially profile minorities. For example I'll use something that's very close to me, the Stop-and-Frisk policy under mayor Bloomberg. According to the NYCLU, the percentage of whites stopped each year has never gone above 12%, where as blacks and latinos have accounted for 56% and 34% of stops respectively, despite making up only 53% of the population. Racial profiling is a very real thing, and it has caused the relationship between law enforcement and minorities to crumble. So saying that all interactions between police and minorities have nothing to do with race is just plain wrong imo.

This statement was regarding black history month, which I also think is a stupid thing but I just thought I would put it in context. I hardly believe that making a subject taboo is going to help any society progress in any aspect. If Martin Luther King Jr. had just "stopped talking about race", where would we be as a civilization today? Automatically excluding the aspect of race from a situation is just as ignorant as bringing race into every little thing.


I worked really hard on this reply so read it and then proceed to disagree with it and respond. I won't be continuing to have this conversation as I'm too lazy to do it right and don't want to half ass it.

[Oni]

I would not say that everyone, nor even the majority, thinks this is only a case of racism.

Using the word "everyone" was poor rhetoric on my part. While the majority of protesters might not believe it's a case of racism, a large portion of them do. Just watching the news, you'll hear them babbling about racial equality, civil rights, and not so much about the excessive force used. It wasn't until after the robbery was reported on that people started to wake up.

So do you feel that racial profiling doesn't exist? You don't think that certain cops treat people differently, and in the case of murder, more dangerous because of their race? Do you think that the killing of Trayvon Martin had absolutely nothing to do with race? These are not rhetorical questions, feel free to answer them.

It clearly exists and there's definitely racist cops (and citizens) out there. The issue is, people make it seem as though there's more racial profiling going on than there actually is. They made it seem as though a white officer just went and randomly shot a successful and ambitious black teenager. However, we both know that they didn't stop Brown because he was black, they stopped him because he was blocking traffic. Obviously, Brown's death wasn't that simple. The issue with the Trayvon Martin case wasn't really about racial profiling either, as Zimmerman was Hispanic and could technically be classified as a minority.

To me, this issue is more about police brutality than racism, but I do understand why many are discussing race in this case. The relationship between minorities and police officers is without a doubt prejudice on both sides. As you pointed out, many people jumped to the conclusion that Brown was killed because of his race, and they are wrong for doing so. What you don't discuss is why. Why is there this distrust of police among minorities in america? Perhaps it's been the continual effect of various policies which allow police to unjustly racially profile minorities. For example I'll use something that's very close to me, the Stop-and-Frisk policy under mayor Bloomberg. According to the NYCLU, the percentage of whites stopped each year has never gone above 12%, where as blacks and latinos have accounted for 56% and 34% of stops respectively, despite making up only 53% of the population. Racial profiling is a very real thing, and it has caused the relationship between law enforcement and minorities to crumble. So saying that all interactions between police and minorities have nothing to do with race is just plain wrong imo.

I'm by no means justifying racial profiling, but I'm giving a few statistics that might explain why it exists. First, you'll find that there is an uneven distribution of wealth among races in the USA, with minorities being the least wealthy on average (Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks, Hispanics). Poverty and crime tend to have a relatively intimate relationship and it's fair to say that history is partially to blame for this situation. However, some people like to argue that there isn't a correlation between poverty and crime, but you'll find that minorities are incarcerated the most (U.S. incarceration rates by race). On average, minorities aren't doing as well socioeconomically and people tend to pick up on this. That's likely why racial profiling exists.

This statement was regarding black history month, which I also think is a stupid thing but I just thought I would put it in context. I hardly believe that making a subject taboo is going to help any society progress in any aspect. If Martin Luther King Jr. had just "stopped talking about race", where would we be as a civilization today? Automatically excluding the aspect of race from a situation is just as ignorant as bringing race into every little thing.

Ignoring the subject completely would be an foolhardy thing to do, but bringing up race every time excessive force is used is just moronic. The main point of the image is that putting too much of a focus on race causes conflict.

I worked really hard on this reply so read it and then proceed to disagree with it and respond. I won't be continuing to have this conversation as I'm too lazy to do it right and don't want to half ass it.

Well, ok.