(07-08-2016, 11:42 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: It really is sad how much had been going on lately. Again, I don't know if it is truly an uptick or if we are just hearing about it more, but it is very concerning.
It's all good. I figured that was the case.
Oh, I have no doubt that he will be getting a visit from some federal LEOs.
This is part of the problem with how the information is put out there. Instead of individual actions, we like to make people a part of a group and then blame the group. This isn't to say we shouldn't look at the group when something like this happens, but recognizing that there is a distinction between those that carried out these actions and the group as a whole is often a line that gets blurry for some people. Whether we are talking about cops, Muslims, the LGBT community, feminists, whatever.
It's an uptick.
Polarization was already at a all-time high, and it's skyrocketing. I had to block so many people on my FB last night because of how many people endorsed the violence. Shit, people were advocating for a "race war" when Lil Boosie entertained the idea.
Shit. I'm too scared to even discuss this and a ton of other issues now in fear of experiencing reprisal for expressing the wrong view. People are done talking; talk-time is over.
Quote:Investigators identified the dead attacker as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas, a military veteran who'd served in Afghanistan.
Police said they searched his home Friday afternoon and found bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics. Investigators are analyzing information in the journal, a police statement said.
...
Johnson told police negotiators that he was upset about recent police shootings, that he wanted to kill white people -- especially white officers -- and that he acted alone, the city's police chief told reporters Friday.
...
Johnson had no criminal record or known terror ties, a law enforcement official said.
He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from March 2009 to April 2015, training as a carpentry and masonry specialist, according to records released by the Pentagon. Johnson was deployed for about seven months in Afghanistan, from late 2013 to mid-2014, and recevied an honorary discharge.
Wayne Bynoe, a neighbor, said police cars were outside Johnson's home Friday. Johnson lived with his mother and kept to himself, Bynoe said.
Johnson had at least two weapons with him -- a rifle and a handgun, two law enforcement officials said.
One of the officials, familiar with the latest information from the Dallas police investigation, said the rifle was an SKS semi-automatic. The other official said Johnson legally bought multiple firearms in the past.
Dallas police said in a statement Friday that investigators discovered rifles and ammunition in Johnson's house.
He was the "lone gunman," Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said.
Another nut with a gun and a grudge....
Your anger and ego will always reveal your true self.
Is it too early for me to recognize the fact that the old argument all mass shooters are crazy white people has been debunked? Because that used to be a big talking point against "crazy crackers".
(07-08-2016, 02:34 PM)Au165 Wrote: Being black does not inherently make you a criminal and being a cop does not inherently make you racist. If both those preconceived notions can be overcome we have a chance. The first thing that needs to happen is the media needs to stop portraying both as such. Every case is unique, but we have started treating them like they are connected.
Honestly, I think if you peel back the onion your going to end-up with gangs/drugs as the root cause. Violent, "organized" and armed criminals in dense urban, mostly minority areas, contributes to cop biases that create heightened stress that leads to more mistakes. Disproportionate outcomes in the justice system further exacerbates that on both sides, including juries.
And when you promote the narrative that racist cops are killing minorities, you provoke actions from civilians that adds to that stress.
As for the media, just report the facts. They spend like 30 seconds on facts, and then 15 minutes interjecting opinion and speculation...and when they have sometimes extreme people advocating opposite views in the interest of "presenting both sides", all it does is further polarize.
The one thing I worry about is will the shooting of police officers in Dallas lead to even more African-American deaths?
I'm not talking about revenge type of murders but that of police being even more stressed with the common traffic stop which will lead to mistakes and more death.
What about White people being overly cautious and shooting first if an African-American walks up to their front door since the one guy said he wanted to kill White people and especially white cops?
This is going to get out of control, who do we blame when it does?
(07-09-2016, 03:09 AM)Nebuchadnezzar Wrote: The one thing I worry about is will the shooting of police officers in Dallas lead to even more African-American deaths?
I'm not talking about revenge type of murders but that of police being even more stressed with the common traffic stop which will lead to mistakes and more death.
What about White people being overly cautious and shooting first if an African-American walks up to their front door since the one guy said he wanted to kill White people and especially white cops?
This is going to get out of control, who do we blame when it does?
Logically, probably. That's why it was one of the most counterproductive actions that could have been taken if one truly cared about how black people are treated. This is something we have to all unite about, but instead we're fracturing.
(07-08-2016, 09:41 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Even if there wasn't a race angle being highlighted there would be another one. People killing other people. Police get so much attention because they have authority. The citizens of this country want them to be held to a higher standard, to be perfect, but we are all humans and no one is perfect. No matter whether the angle is race, gender, religion, ethnicity, whatever, it boils down tot he police having authority and power and when people are killed by police in ways that are seen by the public as questionable it is going to create a backlash because it is seen as an abuse of that power.
How we fix this, I don't know. There are a lot of theories out there, a lot of ways LE agencies around the country, and really the world, try to do community outreach to make it so there isn't so much tension. But because they have that authority, that power, any minor slip up is magnified in the minds of those that feel a commonality to those that are the victims. And that isn't to say the use of deadly force unnecessarily is a minor slip up, just saying that even minor slip ups are magnified, so situations like those as of late are even more tumultuous.
Edit to add: I am not saying they don't deserve a high level of scrutiny, because anyone given the authority they have by the state should be under scrutiny, I am just explaining why this becomes such a heated topic.
"How we fix this...."
I saw a couple interesting pieces yesterday advocating police departments following the fire department model. Firefighters don't patrol for fires, they are called and respond to them. The idea was to end police patrols which so often lead to people feeling harassed for doing nothing or for very low level crimes and just have police respond when called. I thought the idea seemed to have some merit - maybe a thread is already here for it or should be... I have only been on the MB a few minutes today...
JOHN ROBERTS: From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly so that you will come to know the value of justice... I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either.
(07-09-2016, 01:09 AM)JustWinBaby Wrote: Honestly, I think if you peel back the onion your going to end-up with gangs/drugs as the root cause. Violent, "organized" and armed criminals in dense urban, mostly minority areas, contributes to cop biases that create heightened stress that leads to more mistakes. Disproportionate outcomes in the justice system further exacerbates that on both sides, including juries.
And when you promote the narrative that racist cops are killing minorities, you provoke actions from civilians that adds to that stress.
As for the media, just report the facts. They spend like 30 seconds on facts, and then 15 minutes interjecting opinion and speculation...and when they have sometimes extreme people advocating opposite views in the interest of "presenting both sides", all it does is further polarize.
I don't know if you realized what you said there.
It doesn't matter to me if the officer was beaten by a gang of black kids in grade school and still carries a grudge or if he is black and knows too many other blacks who are in gangs or on drugs...you treat each person as an individual.
Maybe we should start reinforcing that.
Your anger and ego will always reveal your true self.
(07-09-2016, 12:06 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Is it too early for me to recognize the fact that the old argument all mass shooters are crazy white people has been debunked? Because that used to be a big talking point against "crazy crackers".
Yes.
However I'm sure BLM will still be blamed along with the President for "stirring up race".
This is from my Facebook page.
The response that is highlighted is from a friend, closer to my father's age, who is very religious. In fact he believes the Earth is 6000 years old because it says so in the Bible. One of those type of religious.
Your anger and ego will always reveal your true self.
Actually, no, because it wasn't true to begin with. Mass shootings are defined as four or more people being shot in a single incident. Using this criteria most mass shootings are committed by young black males. Ironically the far left decided on this criteria to inflate the number of "mass shootings" to illustrate the need for gun control. Unintentionally they then lost their "crazy white men" narrative. Unintended consequences and all.
(07-09-2016, 01:12 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Actually, no, because it wasn't true to begin with. Mass shootings are defined as four or more people being shot in a single incident. Using this criteria most mass shootings are committed by young black males. Ironically the far left decided on this criteria to inflate the number of "mass shootings" to illustrate the need for gun control. Unintentionally they then lost their "crazy white men" narrative. Unintended consequences and all.
The sky is not really blue.
Your anger and ego will always reveal your true self.
(07-09-2016, 11:27 AM)GMDino Wrote: I don't know if you realized what you said there.
I don't think you understand the complexity and nuances of what was said.
First, cops are not responsible for disproportionate outcomes in the justice system. They arrest, not prosecute or decide on a jury.
Second, the biases I refer to you're calling racism is what most call learned experience - not being beaten as a kid but what that cop is seeing every day, on the job (either that sailed way over your head or you were being deliberately obtuse). Otherwise, you end-up accusing black police officers of being racist.
Armed Citizens standing guard outside of police stations in Texas showing support to the LEO's.
Very cool, but probably more of a distraction that's not needed.
(07-13-2016, 06:52 PM)Mike M (the other one) Wrote: Armed Citizens standing guard outside of police stations in Texas showing support to the LEO's.
Very cool, but probably more of a distraction that's not needed.
Yeah, I remember folks did the same thing at recruiting stations after one was attacked (hell I had forgotten about that attack until you just mentioned this). I get the desire to show your support, but these things are best left to the professionals.
Thought about making a separate thread for this one, but I figured there were enough, so I put it here:
I thought Chris Paul's remarks were disrespectful to the memory of the currently deceased; as he grouped them in with Michael Brown. I thought LeBron's comments were excellent.
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