All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[Michael P]

I remember that the media called the black people looting in the aftermath of Katrina 'looters and thieves', and the white looters were 'doing what was necessary to survive'.

"Foraging", I believe was the term.

[Double 0]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't see any reason why a looter would ever need to be shot. Unless they were looting vials of ebola or nuclear codes, what logical reason is there to kill a thief?

Some people take personal property very seriously. As in, walk into their property looking to steal and they have all the right to shoot you. The rationalization is that the situation can get violent, and so they are protecting their property and themselves.

To me, it just looks like "try to steal from me, and you're dead."

I remember there was a case earlier this year when a guy outright shot a guy and his girlfriend for trying to sneak into his house and steal from him. They weren't armed, and he took his time to kill them, and then ranted about typical wingnut shit. And he recorded the whole thing.

Very disturbing, but people defended it with that personal property argument.

[Vibranium]

what galls me is that the name of the officer, details of the autopsy, and even witness statements are not happening

one of the kids who witnessed this has given interviews, yet has not had his statement taken by the Ferguson PD

[Double 0]

what galls me is that the name of the officer, details of the autopsy, and even witness statements are not happening

one of the kids who witnessed this has given interviews, yet has not had his statement taken by the Ferguson PD

People tend to balk at the idea of the Klan or some sort of racist group being involved in some of these things. Even in the midwest or the south where they had clout.


But if we got confirmation of their involvement, I wouldn't be surprised. Especially if they were in the police force. Hell, I've heard rumors of it already.

[Michael P]

So a guy killed his roommate and then asked Siri where to hide the body.

[lancerman]

what galls me is that the name of the officer, details of the autopsy, and even witness statements are not happening

one of the kids who witnessed this has given interviews, yet has not had his statement taken by the Ferguson PD

They were going to release the name of the officer, then were unable to due to death threats

[lancerman]

Some people take personal property very seriously. As in, walk into their property looking to steal and they have all the right to shoot you. The rationalization is that the situation can get violent, and so they are protecting their property and themselves.

To me, it just looks like "try to steal from me, and you're dead."

I remember there was a case earlier this year when a guy outright shot a guy and his girlfriend for trying to sneak into his house and steal from him. They weren't armed, and he took his time to kill them, and then ranted about typical wingnut shit. And he recorded the whole thing.

Very disturbing, but people defended it with that personal property argument.

The sad part about the latter case was that the girlfriend was pregnant, said "don't shoot, I'm pregnant) and fired anyways. In pretty sure they were fleeing the house as well.

[Vibranium]

They were going to release the name of the officer, then were unable to due to death threats

bulls**t, they are circling the wagons because the FBI and Department of Justice is about to crawl up their ass with a microscope

[Mr. Mastermind]

In regards to the Michael Brown murder, that's right MURDER, by police, here is an article that sums up the so called 'post-racial' America that we currently live within:
http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/ame...3/+GregHoward1

What are you talking about? Dude wasn't on the sidewalk, might as well have killed a baby. Serious criminal right there. And the "stop shooting" scream? Clearly he was a massive threat to that armed guy's life.

And yes, rioters are bad. But they actually get arrested and punished, whilst corrupt police usually do not.

[Darrell D.]

What are you talking about? Dude wasn't on the sidewalk, might as well have killed a baby. Serious criminal right there. And the "stop shooting" scream? Clearly he was a massive threat to that armed guy's life.

And yes, rioters are bad. But they actually get arrested and punished, whilst corrupt police usually do not.

This is a very, very sad truth.

[Vibranium]

there was a journalist that posted a photo on Twitter of a serene evening in another part of St Louis...people eating on a pation and such

lets just say the reaction was, not as peaceful and serene

[Shawn Hopkins]

The sad part about the latter case was that the girlfriend was pregnant, said "don't shoot, I'm pregnant) and fired anyways. In pretty sure they were fleeing the house as well.

Shot her in the back, then shot her again after he wounded her to finish her off. Was proud of it, too. That was essentially an execution, because they were already running away when he shot her and because she was already wounded and pleading for her life. But she wasn't actually pregnant. To be fair they had beaten him and he was justified in shooting to run them off, but not in chasing them down and handing out summary justice when they were trying to get away.

[Surtur]

Jesus, the whole "What the cops did was bad, BUT..." Is the kind of bullshit I'd expect to hear on FoX News. Why don't you go over there on a megaphone and tell these people from your privileged POV how they should be properly protesting.

I don't need a megaphone to tell you how to properly protest, it is called: don't be a piece of utter shit and use this kids death as an excuse to loot. Boom, done, no megaphone needed.

Also, privileged POV? So..I'm privileged because I feel people shouldn't use a kids death as an excuse to steal shit?

Interesting that with all the other dead black kids no one rioted over to chose from you used a white kid as an example whose group of mourners that was better behaved. Almost as if you were trying to make some coded racial point. You do see that it's different, though, right? The Wii shooting was freakish police incompetence, not part of a pattern of profiling and oppression that leaves communities feeling mistreated, angry, and up against the wall.

To be honest I had *no idea* what the race of the kid with the controller was, I was just mentioning another case. I also don't need to make any coded racial points. I don't care if the kid killed was black, white, purple, or green..it STILL doesn't make it okay to loot.

[Darrell D.]

The whole 'they're are looting, let's talk about that' is a very tired talking point, and does nothing but deflect from the REASON goddamned riots start in impoverished and heavily police zones in the first place

[Surtur]

Also, looting is wrong but it's wrong to tie it to this conversation. We can all agree looting and destruction of private or public property is wrong (unless looting items necessary for survival in a Katrina-like situation), but there's different levels of bad behavior. Taunting or running from a police officer is wrong, looting is wrong, but neither behavior is so egregious that it should "push a police officer" to kill someone. Ever.

First off..the looting is a direct result of the kid being shot. It ties into the conversation whether people like it or not. Second, everything else you said confused me because nobody tried to say looting was as bad as what happened to this kid. Nobody in this thread said that. What was said is that looting doesn't help and it serves no purpose and if a person is looting they don't care about this kid they are just a piece of shit using it as an excuse to act like criminals. We can say all that and have it be true without implying looting is anywhere near as bad as what happened.

What color was the kid with the game controller? Did he live in a impoverished neighborhood, where institutionalized racism was the norm? Where you would get trailed, frisked and pulled over for the color of your skin? Where police basically patrol as if it was a para-military force?

Something tells me you already know the answer to every single question you just asked me, but here lets put a spin on it. What if the answer to all your questions was: yes, he was a black kid from an impoverished neighborhood, etc. all that shit you just said, what if it did apply to the controller incident. Would..would that mean anything at all? Would it change the whole "you are a piece of shit if you use this as an excuse to loot" ?

The whole 'they're are looting, let's talk about that' is a very tired talking point, and does nothing but deflect from the REASON goddamned riots start in impoverished and heavily police zones in the first place

Discussing the looting does not prevent anyone from discussing other issues.