Why can't we learn?

white privilege is why we cant

That's why I posted this. White people, like me, aren't likely to have their necks broken by the cops. So it's easy for us to ignore such things and blame people for acting in anger. Blaming the police for killing that young man is the appropriate reaction.

Baltimore PD should be very afraid right now...

30 years of eviscerating the 99% has turned parts of America into a tinderbox. It'll get set off one way or another, and when it does... it won't be enjoyable.

Though most immediate part to correct is to stop the murders. But without a change to the system, that won't happen. Not for any length of time

The reason at hand is the murder of young black men, but the underlying demoralization and fear of the present and the lack of hope for the future is a much larger basis for violent malcontent. Many different situations growing out of the willful demoralization of parts of our citizenry could set off the tinderbox.
It's not until we have all men created equal in reality and with equal opportunities for all who apply themselves that it gets turned around.

the older folks like to cluck cluck abt those bad kids, but there's a reason for it.
I agree with manny, race is a problem, but inequality may also be an underlying issue.
a few months back I told someone that there would be race riots in my home town b/c poverty and racial abuse was so bad. not too long after, ferguson happened.

Show them a video of these towns burning and ask if they want their town to look like this.

And for the "I was scared for my life by the scary black male" argument, I'd tell them that they are free to resign if they are too scared to do their job.

I'd pound my fist on the podium and tell them to only shoot when necessary (ie, the cops' life is in real danger). Use less than lethal, and generally try to de-escalate situations instead of agitate and make them worse.

(Keep dreaming NW, right)

it was only thru spending time with others different from her that she learned that the 'all black men are rapists' meme was bullshit.
maybe these white cops never learnt better.

No police murder, no riot today. One riot at a time, thanks. This one was completely preventable.

Sorry if I wasn't comprehensive enough with my qualifiers. I'll go edit my OP now.

I'm a member of the LGBT community, and to me I can't imagine what would have happened had we not reacted with riots in Stonewall. Or the White Night Riots after the assassin Dan White was let off the hook for murdering Harvey Milk. Things would have been different for sure, but most people point to moments like that and recognize them as pivotal points in the LGBT rights movement.

I have never personally engaged in rioting, but that's from my privileged position of thinking I have some other recourse to take my frustrations out. When people riot, it's because they've been fighting for change and nothing else has worked. America has elected a black President, passed civil rights laws, and raised all the awareness that a rational person needs to realize the police are out of control...and it feels like NOTHING has changed! Freddie Gray was still murdered by the cops for no reason at all. So people are taking that anger out in a way that others can sit from afar and criticize, but I'm not sure we can judge from afar without truly knowing that experience..

We humans are a fiery bunch, just the other day I saw a woman go into a violent fit at a restaurant because the service was slow. This morning my co-worker and I came close to yelling at each other just because the office printer jammed. These are small things that nearly send us all over the edge, a real pittance compared to continued violent assaults on a community. For the people here who do live that anger, yet harness it and work for peaceful change, I have so much respect for you. You're doing better than a lot of the rest of us. And for those who can't contain their anger? I don't know what it feels like to be pushed that far, but I don't think I can be judgmental because I don't know what I would do if in that situation. Part of me suspects I'd be out there cutting off fire hoses too.

It's become all about "manners." Shoot a black kid, or bash a transgender woman? You might be all over the news but you'll also get off. Mess with someone's *gasp* property because nobody will listen and the state continues declaring open hunting season on you and your friends? My gods, the rudeness! You should all be in JAIL right now!

10 cops. to deal with a handful of polite hippie occupy kids.
when I needed help w/ domestic violence, nada, zilch, zero.
in america, stuff>>>people.

How some people adore property they'll defend it at the cost of everyone else's life.


When will this shit end?

So someone steals, if you are poor as dirt it might be a break from the same old shit you eat,wear or whatever in your substience life.

I remember it was near the end of the month and I was out of food save a box of pasta an orange tortilla chips and kook aid. We were hungry big time, so without my knowing,my ex stole a chunk of Pecorino Romano and Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and a couple of ripe tomatoes once,I had grown basil in my window box, I saw it was ready to harvest we cooked some noodles ,he made pesto,first time I ever had it, it was so delicious. We had noxious farts that night .The next two days we lived off stale tortilla chips and free sauces we got from mc Donald's ,that's how poverty is.and it sucks.

Ever think some of those looters might be wanting the equivalent of a pesto dinner? One they could not afford otherwise? Sometimes you need a little bit of something nice to feel human when you are poor and ground down by it.

These riots were not caused by the majority of protestors. Hundreds upon hundreds marched peacefully and many more attended Gray's funeral. Don't lump outsiders who could have cared less about Gray in with the main message surrounding the protest in the first place.

Unlike you, I don't know any of the protesters personally, so I'm unable to determine their motives. Since you seem to be able to discern such things, you must be on the scene. Do be careful, won't you...

because she just said the rioting is being caused by those SEPARATE of the largely peaceful protests.

And why do you NOT believe her?

He would be alive, doing whatever he did on Mondays and there still would have been riots in Baltimore.

Interesting.

resulting from generations of oppression.

violence over what was necessary. Make it ILLEGAL for a jurisdiction to hire a LEO who has been fired by another jurisdiction.

SHOW the public that local governments are working toward a solution to the problem of police violence. Right now, I don't see anything but rhetoric flying back and forth, without a single solution being proposed.

Saying "if they'd just stop" is like saying if frogs would just stop jumping, they'd solve the problem of bumping their asses on the ground.

Simple? Nope. Not without some kind of tangible action by local and state governments.

Your ideas are excellent.

Remember how the federal government brought about seat belt use and a 21 y.o drinking age? Economic arm twisting. I'd like to see civilian oversight of law enforcement come about by the same means. The problem is that I'd like to see the federal law enforcement agencies put under the same oversight. We both know that would never happen...

Peace
Chris

we'll continue seeing moments like we're seeing in Baltimore in the future. I agree that there needs to be civilian oversight but I also think we need to go further... no police department should be able to investigate themselves. Nor should the local DA because they work too closely and rely too much on their local PDs. I don't know who best to investigate the police departments but the police departments themselves are not the answer. I also think that police unions have too much power and say over what happens to officers whom shouldn't be supported.

Real investigations, real consequences. Let's start seeing some cops go to jail for killing people instead of arresting them to stand trial. Or just issuing a misdemeanor citation for selling loose cigarettes instead of killing via choke hold. No longer letting a cop ger away with murder by saying he was so afraid for his life that he had to shoot and kill a black man in the back as he is running away....

Well said.

Rec

Rioting or looting is wrong and was NOT being done by the TEN THOUSAND people who were protesting today.
A handful of people do this, no matter who they are, and all of a sudden the murderous police forces all over America are absolved

FUCK THAT

and for me it is s selfish reason too, while I want justice, I dont want to be the victim of random violence because the white privileged ASSHOLES cant get it together

doth enable social blindness. That will never go away, but their numbers will become insignificant as the numbers of enraged grow. They, the privileged, mean jack shit and are trying at all cost to hold on to that privilege even if it means siding with murderers and executioners of the 1%.

comments about this event, and surprised at who made them. Shocked, even.

So I did not. I said "If they stop." How that might be accomplished is more complicated and is for another thread.

you agree with what I posted above.

You're not why I added those words. It was cherokeeprogressive' s post. Yours made no sense. See you around.

I see you stopped laughing. That's good, Manny. This is no laughing matter.

I'll fix it.

with nothing changing, something is bound to boil over. You just can't brutalize and murder people. Talking about the right or wrong of a 'riot' misses the point. It is the direct result of police committing murder and brutality, then consistently lying about it. That implicates the entire system, bottom to the top.

we can believe in would help also.

vandalism in regards to a lot of what is going on in our country already. And I am talking about in respect to both the murders of so many helpless people by the police and our economic conditions.

Amen.

This is precisely the thing we should be talking about here.

white people have to progress on racism. This is on us. Only white people can end racism in America because white people have the power.

but wont help any of them tomorrow when they try to get something to eat.

If I could just cut off my nose I wouldn't ever have to smell things.