In good news …
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/08/michael-slager-gofundme_n_7028300.html
I suppose we could argue endlessly as what’s most socially harmful - violent crime or banking fraud -but statistics suggest only one of them is likely to get you shot.
I’ll agree that a lot of good people are getting lumped together with a segment that neither lives nor believes as they do. That excusing that segment’s behavior as the result of of some type of chicken/egg causation is going to solve things, not so much.
The witness is a Dominican immigrant. I’m watching him being interviewed. After the killing, he was petrified with the video he had taken, once he looked at it. He thought of just erasing it. But then he saw the news coverage of the lying story of the police and decided to come forward.
There’ll always be people who support murderers like Charles Manson, Jodi Arias, et al. In my opinion, I think it would be a crime in itself not to vote to convict him.
The videographer is a hero.
Well, that’s to be expected. These are the same people who subscribe to the “rabid dog” view of black men, ie., “he had it coming”/“good thing he was put down before he committed more crime.” SSDD.
Poetsheart, your statement in post #33 about “some denizens of CC” is, sadly, all too true. 
Disgusting.
The partner of the killer cop needs to be charged with accessory to murder. He went right along with all the lies.
When the victim’s brother showed up at the shooting site, he began snapping pictures. The police confiscated his phone. The legitimate law enforcement purpose for confiscating the brother’s phone is what, police defenders?
Help me out here, those of you who are so sure that a police investigation without video would have come to the truth without a coverup. And while you’re explaining that, you can also explain why the killer’s partner backed up everything the killer said, including the lies about the first aid, and why the partner hasn’t also been fired.
True, true…However, the scope of a violent crime is likely limited to a relative few victims, even though that crime is unarguably extremely devastating to anyone targeted and their loved ones. Little is more visceral than the fear of being assaulted or murdered.
Fiduciary criminality as evinced by the 2008 economic meltdown, on the other hand, is devastation on a massive scale, such that it caused untold numbers to lose not only their livelihoods (jobs, homes, entire life’s savings), but in some cases, their very lives. The monetary loses (both individual and collective), as well as tax payer dollars used in the recovery were staggering, and left few of us untouched. Had the American economy actually collapsed, the global economy would surely have followed suit (which doubtlessly would have had apocalyptic implications—world war, famine, disease, genocide, displacement, you name it) . Had every burglar, petty criminal, or armed robber in this country worked around the clock everyday, they still would not have been able to match the scale of economic devastation resulting from the banking meltdown of '08.
As much as people love to tsk, tsk, and point fingers at “those people” so lacking in moral scruples as to murder, car jack, riot and loot, gang-bang, break and enter, etc., they themselves will never likely fall victim to any of those criminals, so the harm to society at large is, I would argue, akin to that of a constant low-grade fever. Crime that results in near economic collapse, on the other hand, is social harm akin to an Ebola infection. One is merely wearing/tiring. The other is deadly.
More horrifying tales of police abuse - this time involving a woman who was 38 weeks pregnant. “Which narrative is correct”? Idiot. The one shown on the film.
I’m sorry, I don’t honestly understand the meaning of that sentence. Could you elaborate?
So you’ve seen it too, huh?
That was likely illegal. Isn’t there something in the Constitution about “unreasonable search and seizure”? The police had no right whatsoever the brother’s phone or its contents.
Oh gawd yes, poetsheart, I’ve seen it - To the point where I dread even opening threads involving topics concerning people of color or the poor. The usual suspects virtually always show up, and the bigotry/hatred/selfishness (take your pick, or various combinations of these) they spew can be stomach-turning.
From Greenwitch’s linked article about another case occurring in S.C. on the same day:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/04/08/south-carolina-cop-now-faces-felony-charge-for-fatally-shooting-a-black-man-in-his-driveway/
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Why can’t they at least be more original? “He tried to grab my gun/my taser.” “He was resisting arrest./assaulted an officer.” “He was interfering with official police business.” Yeah, yeah, we know…
8-|
In response to poetsheart’s comment about posts in threads of this nature, I’ve seen and to this day I will not forget the apathy and insensitivity towards people of color.
Unfortunately, I’ve spoken so much on race threads and racial issues in real life that I’m a bit tired. I’m not giving up, but I don’t have a raging fire seething through my teeth when I counter people (which I think is a good thing).
Major spirit hands and kudos to those who understand that justice is not limited to convicting this mna, but ending the racism and prejudice not only in our law enforcement system, but the system in entirety. You guys get it and are a significant help towards the cause.
After seeing the video, I’m beginning to think the old “he tried to grab my gun” excuse, should be an excuse - but for the victim. It appears that in some of these cases, trying to grab the officer’s gun may not have been an act of aggression, but rather of self-defense.
^ exactly, Hayden. That is what I think happened in the Michael Brown case.
My biggest fear is to be stopped by two cops who have mistaken my car for another that has been recently involved in a crime, and both cops with guns drawn giving me conflicting guidance. One cop saying “Don’t move”, while the other says “Hands Up”. No matter what you do, you are wrong, the cops have their adrenalin pumping in trying to stop a criminal and their guns are drawn. I see this scenario when the most caring and considerate cop can make a mistake.
Remember the two women delivering papers who were shot at during the hunt for the rogue police officer in California.
Sadly police departments attract a certain segment, bullies and others, who have no business being police officers.
As we can see in this case, not every person has a conscience.