All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Tami]

Independent autopsy finds George Floyd's death was homicide by asphyxia, at odds with original results

This makes more sense that the first autopsy results

[Tami]

Several cadets brought back for graduation at West Point test positive for Covid-19

[PaulBullion]

Independent autopsy finds George Floyd's death was homicide by asphyxia, at odds with original results

This makes more sense that the first autopsy results

I have this vague memory of a comic book from my youth were a really bad doctor kept diagnosing a string of highly suspicious death each time as "bite of a viper". I was reminded of it by the first coroner report.

[babyblob]

the countys medical examiner, who clearly lied, needs to be fired...then his license pulled

then maybe arrested

The Defense is going to play up the county examiner's findings big time. They are going to point out that the courts use his findings in ever other murder case as fact to put killers behind bars so why not listen to him now. And there are foolish people who despite the video are going to go along with this thinking.

[Username taken]

Independent autopsy finds George Floyd's death was homicide by asphyxia, at odds with original results

This makes more sense that the first autopsy results

The way the first autopsy report was coined didn’t even make sense.

It was clear that it was another attempt at a cover up (similar nonsense was said about Eric Garner when he was strangled to death by psychotic policeman).

[Electricmastro]

Historically, it is interesting to look at the experience of the Jews, Mexicans and Chinese in America compared to Native Americans and Blacks.

With the Jews in particular, I learned that the Nazis didn’t just go about killing Jews, but also soldiers that were prisoners of war, disabled people, Jehovah's Witnesses, gay people, and anyone who politically opposed them. It become apparent to me that any powerful organization that becomes corrupt and antagonistic enough to the point that they seek to destroy not only anyone they don’t like, but also anyone they disagree with, that isn’t like them, or anyone simply “beneath” them never feels obligated to stop their atrocities so long as they feel their selfish interests keep being satisfied. As important as it is to focus on how such corrupt groups attempt to destroy minorities, I’m sure there’s also a good time and place to consider if they’d get big and corrupt enough to the point that they’d expand their “hit list.”

[MiddleMan]

Historically, it is interesting to look at the experience of the Jews, Mexicans and Chinese in America compared to Native Americans and Blacks. All of them (including the Irish, Italians, Polish, etc.) faced similar discrimination and violence from the authorities. However, the former today have integrated and prospered much better than the latter. Even gay rights and women's rights have made incredible progress in a few decades than a few centuries of Civil Rights for African Americans and Native Americans.

I suspect a lot of this is due to the decimation and destruction of those communities. Jews, Italians, Irish and Chinese came here with strong communities while the Native Americans were outright wiped out and any progress among the descendants of the slaves was continually undercut and actively undermined by the authorities. Even during the Civil Rights movement while the Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts were becoming law and segregation was ending, the most responsible factions attempting to create self-sustained and prosperous black communities were actively targeted by Federal Authorities as threats to National Security.

So, even though I personally think the protests are irresponsible and especially that the looting and violence will harm any civil rights actions for a long time in the future, it is unrealistic to expect responsible public action from communities that have faced active degradation from authorities as well as from groups claiming to represent their interests and have been implicitly exploited economically by just about everyone for longer than I've been alive.

After Lincolns death and emancipation, black people had a legit shot, when Grant took office he fought back the Klan - though didnt eradicate them - and made sure black folk (men) could vote and the first black representatives were elected to office and turnout was steady....once Grant was out of office, that all backslid, the Klan resurfaced and there was ZERO progress for black folk until the 1960s

there is always this belief in White America that black people are not and should not be equal, the fact that you have people today still saying dumb ish like "we need slavery back" means that thinking is deeply ingrained in the American psyche

[A Small Talent For War]

It's sort of interesting, because in a lot of ways blacks have integrated less but in a lot of ways they have also integrated more.

We've had a black president before we've had a chinesse or mexican one. Of any minority group, you can make a pretty good arguement there's been bigger more sucessful black actors, musicians, and athletes over any other minority group. They're the most descriminated against minority group .. but in a lot of tangible ways they're also the most sucessful. It's sort of an interesting contrast.

True - in many ways American culture is as African American as it is white American. Rock & Roll, sports, popular entertainment. However, much of this is implicit based on the basic unequal relationship between whites and blacks going back to the beginning of the American and Western culture.

It may seem like blacks are more integrated, but I think you'd agree much of that is due to numbers. Blacks were the largest minority group in the US for quite some time. Now it may be Latino or Hispanic, but all other minority groups have more opportunities in business and professions than African Americans have mainly because despite their numbers, many of their communities remain lower working class and poor.

Like Chris Rock once said, the difference between being rich and wealthy is this "Shaq O'neil is rich. The guy who signs Shaq's check is wealthy." For all the successful sports stars and entertainers, being in sports or entertainment is not a prosperous opportunity for 99% of the actors, musicians and athletes that pursue it and the vast majority find it to be the most degrading and exploitative experience possible. Often, these people are working for producers, team owners and CEO's who certainly are not black, but also see them as something to exploit.

[kidfresh512]

Louisville police chief fired after no body camera footage of shooting

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer fired police chief Steve Conrad on Monday after learning that police officers did not record body-camera footage of the fatal overnight shooting of David McAtee, a black man, in west Louisville.

"This type of institutional failure will not be tolerated," Fischer said.

'My son didn't hurt nobody:' David McAtee, Louisville business owner, killed by authorities

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — David McAtee, the owner of YaYa's BBQ in western Louisville, was shot and killed by law enforcement officers early Monday morning, an incident that's now under state and local police investigation.

McAtee was known as a "community pillar," said his mother, Odessa Riley.

"He left a great legend behind. He was a good person. Everybody around him would say that," she said. "My son didn't hurt nobody. He didn't do nothing to nobody."

Riley was among the hundreds who had swarmed the corner of 26th and Broadway on Monday where Louisville police and National Guard personnel were breaking up a "large crowd" that had gathered in the parking lot outside a Dino's Food Mart, according to law enforcement officials.

LMPD Chief Steve Conrad said in a statement on Monday that someone shot at officers and both officers and soldiers "returned fire." The identities of the suspect and the law enforcement officers who returned fire have not been released.

McAtee's barbecue business is next to the Dino's Food Mart parking lot where the shooting took place around 12:15 a.m. Monday.

His identity was confirmed to The Courier Journal Monday by his nephew.

[Electricmastro]

It's sort of interesting, because in a lot of ways blacks have integrated less but in a lot of ways they have also integrated more.

We've had a black president before we've had a chinesse or mexican one. Of any minority group, you can make a pretty good arguement there's been bigger more sucessful black actors, musicians, and athletes over any other minority group. They're the most descriminated against minority group .. but in a lot of tangible ways they're also the most sucessful. It's sort of an interesting contrast.

Not sure if it would be accurate to say that black people have been discriminated more than Jews, because Jews weren’t only a main target of the Holocaust, but that Jews were also actively discriminated in antiquity and the Middle Ages, but I suppose the main point is is that there have been notably successful black people even in the Jim Crow era. Not to downplay the atrocity of Jim Crow, but to also downplay the achievements and successes of black people would perhaps be discrediting and disrespecting them at the same time, such as:

Professional major-league baseball player Moses Walker

Author Booker Washington

Olympic participant and medal winner George Poage

Heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson

Millionaire Madam Walker

Police Lieutenant Samuel Battle

Military pilot Eugene Bullard

U.S. Army Colonel Charles Young

F.B.I. agent James Jones

NFL football player Bobby Marshall

NFL football coach Fritz Pollard

Fire Department officer Wesley Williams

U.S. House Representative Arthur Mitchell

Orchestra conductor William Still

TV star Ethel Waters

Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel

U.S. Navy officer Samuel Gravely

Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson

Professional boxer Joe Louis

Olympic runner Jesse Owens

Ambassador Edward Dudley

NASCAR driver Wendell Scott

Scientist George Carver

Judge William Hastie

And many more

[Farealmer]

For what it's worth... there are studies that show that even though a black suspect is more likely to get shot than a white suspect, a black police officer is just as likely to shoot a black suspect as a white officer.

Not sure that means anything.. but it could support the notion that there's more going on there than just race. Though for studies like this, I suppose you can read the results how you want to read them.

It helps that police officers of all races know they are less likely to face consequences for using excessive force on a black person. Police like most people wish to minimize risk. So when faced with a perp that they can minimize risk to themselves using brutality and are less likely to get in trouble if things go wrong they will.

[ed2962]

Trump? Calling someone weak after he hid in a fucking bunker? Are you kidding me? I'm surprised one or more of those governors didn't tell him pound sand. That's outrageous!

Reportedly the gov of Illinois told Trump, "It's the rhetoric from the White House that's making things worse." Trump replied, "Well, I don't like your rhetoric either."

I don't know if this was brought up a couple of days ago in this thread, but the mayor of Chicago said in a press conference, "I'll code what I want to say to Donald Trump...it begins with a F and ends with You."

[Tami]

A video clip to check out

White people rolling up handing Black men bricks to throw during the protests? Glad a Black woman was there to set they asses straight.

[ed2962]

The Sen Scott part of this clip is unintentionally funny to me. The guy does back flips to avoid criticizing the president, then calls the worst pandemic in 100 yrs and the worst rioting in 50 yrs, "distractions" from Trump's great economy.

[Gray Lensman]

A video clip to check out

White people rolling up handing Black men bricks to throw during the protests? Glad a Black woman was there to set they asses straight.

Don't read the replies, Ray.