1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Running racism in America thread

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Scout, May 26, 2020.

  1. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    And some reporters were tear gassed, shot with rubber bullets, etc., too.

    Don't know about a Federal lawsuit, because these are city and state issues.

    But no, the police don't get to label anything that is difficult to handle an "unlawful assembly" and just detain or arrest people on that basis.

    The bill of rights still needs to matter. And I hope someone fights that one, even if the cost feels like it is going to outweigh the practical consequences to the locality it happened.

    I get that riots and looting are very difficult situations for them to manage, and I am sympathetic to the fact that they have a tough job, but it's their job to try to get it right. If they can't distinguish between people who are breaking the law and people who aren't, they are utterly purposeless to a free society. It's one more reason why we need to rethink their purpose and the powers they have. Why even bother having a police force?

    I particularly felt that way this weekend, because they were utterly useless while the area I was in was being destroyed. They made the decision to stand by and watch a mob grab clothing, sneakers and iPhones and destroy everything in sight, because it was better than going in and risking a full-fledged riot and dead bodies. And that was probably the right decision given the circumstances.

    But we shouldn't have been there in the first place. The reason they now have to be so concerned about their actions in the face of a full-fledged mob destroying people's property is the years of goodwill they have destroyed with their behavior in poor, minority dominated neighborhoods.

    And now, when they are reduced to spectators in the face of mob looting and violence, I really kept saying this weekend, "Why do we need a police force at all?"
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2020
  2. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    I would expect our usual 1A defenders to pipe up about this.

    Clearly the Trump 'Fake News' and 'Enemy of the People' rhetoric has had its effect.

    The cops have always kicked the press around at times like this.They don't want to be seen doing what they're doing.

    And frankly lots of citizens don't want to see it either.

    But this seems more targeted and more obvious - and when you get orders like the one in Cleveland, you're really in the constitutional red zone.

     
  3. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    Looks like SOMEBODY is teaching good penmanship these days.
     
    Donny in his element likes this.
  4. Mngwa

    Mngwa Well-Known Member

    Watching it and/or using twitter to see/read about what's happening is such an incomplete picture, I know. But, in general, it seems like through the day it's all peaceful and then as the sun sets, people rampage? Is it the same group? (Sounds like it in Santa Monica at least). But the thing that I keep seeing, in city after city, is the police attacking protesters who are already retreating, aiming at journalists and going after people who generally pose no threat. Again, over simplified. But it really does seem when the police act, they're making it worse.

    I don't know what to say about the looters and those setting fires. People always take advantage during periods of unrest and it's wrong.
     
  5. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    let's go ahead and stipulate early that we all condemn and deplore looting and violence
     
  6. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    that's why it's called a 'police riot'
     
  7. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I can just speak for where I was. And I hate speaking in generalities.

    But no, it largely wasn't the same people Saturday night as it had been Saturday during the day.

    That isn't to say that Saturday during the day here had gone all that well. In Philadelphia where I am, there was a big demonstration near city hall that eventually made its way to the art museum. Of course the majority of people were there to demonstrate peacefully. You had parents bringing their kids with them. But when it turned unruly, and it was fairly early, it got out of hand quickly. The worst of it was a Starbucks they set on fire near city hall, and some police cars they destroyed and set on fire. Also, a ton of senseless graffiti and just breaking things for no reason. It was disheartening.

    Unfortunately, just as you thought that was ending, early evening came, and as you can probably guess, anyone who had come out to protest peacefully had gotten the heck out of there. And the troublemakers took over. That was when the target became this small area in center city near Rittenhouse Square where there is an apple store, sneaker stores, and clothing stores. To state the obvious, the roving bands of teenagers who spilled into the area had not been the peaceful protesters during the day. Looking out the window, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. They were emptying garbage cans from businesses in the area and dragging them around to use to load up the stuff they were stealing. They literally broke windows in stores, and then streamed in, and were carrying shopping bags, like they were out for a night of shopping. Some of then would go in grab clothing, step out, try what they had taken on, throw it in the street and go back in to try to find a better fit. It was insane. They eventually just lit a Vans store on fire and caused a three-alarm blaze. At 2, 3 in the morning, I saw a scene out my window with about 40 kids with shopping bags running around and laughing, and they were standing in the middle of the street using their cell phone lights to show off to each other what they had stolen. They then broke a few windows in a restaurant just for the hell of it.
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2020
    TigerVols, OscarMadison and Mngwa like this.
  8. Jerry-atric

    Jerry-atric Well-Known Member

    This weekend we “binge watched” the Netflix television series “Waco.” One of the FBI gentlemen told the other that they needed a military “show of force” so that “the people” did not finally realize that law enforcement was actually out-numbered. I paused the television show and told my wife: “I think they realize it.”
     
  9. Machine Head

    Machine Head Well-Known Member

    As the Twin Cities enter an anxious and uncertain weekend, fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is in custody and accused of murder, while the three other ex-officers present at George Floyd’s fatal arrest are keeping an extremely low profile.

    Tou Thao, videotaped watching as Chauvin continued to press on Floyd’s neck with his knee, has left Minnesota, his lawyer confirmed Friday. Criminal defense attorney Robert Paule said Thao is “safely elsewhere” and that he couldn’t comment further.

    J Alexander Kueng, one of the two first officers at the scene who helped pin Floyd down, is believed to be staying with family in Minneapolis. Thomas K. Lane has left and didn’t tell anyone where he was going, a relative said Friday.

    Protests continued to erupt across the Twin Cities after Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced murder and manslaughter charges against Chauvin and said he anticipated charges against Thao, Kueng and Lane but declined to speculate what they would be.

    With social media pages scrubbed, phones turned off or disconnected, and people now fearing violence, details on the men are getting hard to come by


    A deeper look at the four officers fired after George Floyd death
     
  10. Regan MacNeil

    Regan MacNeil Well-Known Member

    The tiger is hatless. Repeat, hatless.
     
  11. Machine Head

    Machine Head Well-Known Member

    In an unusual legal maneuver, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will take the lead in the prosecution of the fired Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died last week in police custody.

    Gov. Tim Walz said Sunday that he concluded Ellison needed to take over the case from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office at the urging of Floyd’s family, community activists, and some members of the Minneapolis City Council seeking a vigorous prosecution of the officer, 44-year-old Derek Chauvin.

    Minnesota AG Keith Ellison to take over case in Floyd killing

     
  12. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page