country.

White people control everything including the media and the conversation.

And no, having a AfAm president changes NONE of that.

I mean look at what happens when that man tries to say something in support of someone like Trayvon.

Holy hell breaks out.

Anyway, Corney and Smiley

Oh lord are they gonna blame this on the Prez to ya think?

Maybe what is happening in Baltimore, minus the looting, needs to happen everywhere and now, but it didnt work the first time, I remember being in a protest march in Seattle after Eric Garner was brutally murdered by NYPD.

Aint gonna change until....not even sure what anymore.

Rest assured - Blame will be placed on Obama with his assistance from our media overlords.

But a protest differs from a riot. And we need more protest. A lot more.

It is unconsciable to me that the Baltimore police murdered Mr. Gray and thought they could just cover it up and get away with it.

I'm not a gunner - but we need to defend ourselves against these low people.

I am in the waiting room waiting for a ride home, I caught the tail end of a fox reporter harassing a protester. I am so disgusted with the way things are going in this country and the way protesters are being treated like animals. The a@@holes were mostly white Orioles fans in a report I read. Of course that isn't really being reported is it? The Gray family deserves so much more respect than they are getting. They are in my thoughts and prayers.

The concern was for CVS not Freddie Gray or his family. His spine was severed!!!! Hell, I doubt they care about an unarmed child being shot to death either. Duh! Of course they don't.

The rage and desperation of the rioters. They are terrified for there lives. It is hunting season and the police are locked and loaded.

This is what you call a really bad first day at work. But - she's the right person. I don't think she's going to take a laid back approach to Mr. Gray's murder.

I hope she starts ruling with a sledgehammer from day one.

Our first black female AG ever!!!!!!!!!

Here on a state level, we just voted for the first openly gay woman as AG. They will both be making history, women rule!

we know how it rolls, they'll give her shit no matter what she does, so she might as well follow her heart, put her integrity front and center, and kick some serious ass!!!!!!

I have a sledgehammer I can let her have!

I just bet you do. I have watched you use one here yourself. I must say you do
use it with great accuracy.

So many posts on this I didn't catch all of them

A nice looking black woman with a slamming hair cut. I couldn't believe what she was saying.

Aside from the "thugs" characterization, I agree with her.

I lived through the riots in LA; unlike there, they are taking the right actions.

There are two groups of people here, the protestors, and the opportunistic thieves. I saw a lot of thieving going on.

I am leery of anyone using that word to describe people protesting police brutality. Even the "thieves" can have a different word ascribed to them other than "thug" which has become very racially charged.

than they do a CVS, there would be no need to riot or protest.

I'm sitting here listening to the governor of Maryland and the other Maryland officials making their statements but I'm don't recall hearing anything from them after it was found that the police beat this man to death. Three vertebrae broken and an injured voice box.

I would like to say I'm frustrated but that's an understatement.

I don't recall them making official statements at all.

Still waiting for an investigation.

I'm from Seattle--what I should do is link to images from the WTO riots to reinforce the example. But this sums up how I feel.

Edit: GD is making me ill with some of the threads

Thank you for that link, ism.

and in that one, they were protesting the right to keep soul-sucking depraved criminals and their enablers ON THE JOB.

What the everloving...

and everywhere else.

many people have dealt with police abuse themselves . it may not always end in death captured on video which are the cases which get attention. but things are happening everyday where the police are violating people's rights. treating people like shit.

just look at the fake stories they told about just about every case and how it was just accepted until video was released.

Some can even see it on video and say 'But oh my gosh, someone threw a brick through a window!'

Not only do the riots show there are some serious problems which aren't being addressed, the reactions here show there are many who aren't looking for the center of the problem. Are there people taking advantage of the chaos? Sure, that's to be expected, but that is not the totality of the situation; so, it shouldn't be the focus of the problems!

Some of the comments I am seeing aren't at all that surprising, nor, I would guess, aren't surprising to you or many other POC (and allies) here. Again, this is an issue of race relations being defined by the WHITE perspective and our (I am white, after all) sensitivities. I am certain there will be those who are POC who will be waved about as "proof" of whatever some white people are trying to say.

It is amazing how many just expect us to sit down, be quiet and wait for our futures to be decided for us, and be grateful they are doing it for us! The majorities are feeling their oats, telling us what is and isn't racist; what is and isn't anti-Semitic, what is and isn't sexist...homophobic...and the list goes on!

Have heart there are a few of us white folk who are behind you (beside you if you need it)!

Just absolutely horrible. I can't find the posts right now but the stories of all the oppression there were posted this morning and last night. Freddie Gray was "number 111 in the last year:

Funny how protesters can be beaten and arrested immediately but still no arrest for the cops that killed Freddie Gray.

I will add I will not watch Rachel Maddow again. I watched Al Jazeers America most of the day and night. The reporting was fair and correct. Multiple talking heads saying things about what the Baltimore government and federal government has done to cause such anger and frustration. Even some elected officials, past and present. You felt like you can understand. Then at a commercial I turned on Maddow

Within just a few minutes, she said multiple times, how the riots were destroying the neighborhood and "15 police officers were injured." A completely different feel that just made me angry

and tone down the hyperbole about the riots. All my sympathies to the family of Freddie Gray and the good citizens of Baltimore.

with regard to how they treat human life?

Why do so many make excuses for them, that they wouldn't make for anyone else?

Their customers are their victims on their road to "success".

I'm currently employed at a large enterprise Telecom. We have been encouraged in my nine years there to throw elbows at each other if it means a better customer experience.

I would be fired if I treated my customers this way.

But if I throw an elbow at another employee - I get rewarded. Numbers are one thing - winning is the other element that leads to promotions and higher pay. Code of conduct falls under civil rights. Sec of state, FCC, and customer proprietary information and being subjected to Internal Audit.

Maybe if they had to engage in fierce completion with each other and had to adhere to a strict code of conduct - they wouldn't behave this way.

Police work does not require individuals getting ahead - its about lock step, goose step and being concerned for the group as opposed to your own personal career path.

Hence why I'm convinced that body cameras are the answer. They won't police each other and use another's poor performance to help them get ahead - guess we are going to have to be their nannies and make them do it.

What if cops were licensed like nurses and doctors etc? I was a nurse and our rules and regulations are part of the state code. (Nurses can't give meds w/o an order from an MD. Doctors are subject to rules and regulations) It seems like police for the most part are accountable to civilian criminal code, which doesn't seem right to me.

I could be wrong, but I don't think there are many specific statutes(especially state statutes) regulating law enforcement. From my understanding they are about as "regulated" as politicians, but since we can't vote them out of office there isn't much accountability.

(I hope I made some kind of sense)

Last edited Wed Apr 29, 2015, 09:25 AM - Edit history (2)

in DU's different topic areas are amazing and some have made my blood boil. But having been here a while now, wolves in sheep's clothing comes to mind. Or rabid RW sensibilities covered by a false and thin veneer of liberalism. Very disappointing how generations of injustice have been swept away with the false indignation toward justified pent up emotions erupting after this murder and a fall, winter and so far spring full of unarmed and usually running away and/or not resisting killings of POC by the so called keepers of the peace. Not surprised at all.

Not surprised at all . . .

have military patrolling streets. White folk are still in denial, but the cameras will force MSM and the mainstream population to at least look.

Rev. Al is right now on MSNBC saying that "people thought we were halucinating" when discussing racism. Now it's visible to the American Public. Just seeing what Blacks have been experiencing for years.

I'm going to take a wild guess. The "rioters" were paid agitators, similar to what was used in the ME to create the appearance of large scale dangerous violent outrage over how the Holy Prophet was depicted in a RW racist movie. It coincided with the murder of Amb Stevens and his team WHILE they were in a CIA safehouse. The problem with the infiltration of the agitators is that they can use the images to gin up white fear followed by white anger and resulting in whute violence. Give the media about 10 days. At that time, you can expect a story, more like a footnote thatthe agitators were hired and paid for by some KKKoch-funded political group.

Because that was a riot.

It had nothing to do with the 10K protestors - peaceful - righteous - on point. It had nothing to do with yesterday's protestors. It was also confined to a small space. The "gangs" meme was bullshit too. I thought so as a gut instinct - but when they came out yesterday to say they were trying to get together to stop the violence - I then knew I was right.

Which movie are you talking about?

The most suffering in the moment, and through the decades, are the people who are protesting. The only way there seems to be any real interest is when a building burns. To understand the issues that protesters across the nation are in protest over, read this article: In 2012, the most recent numbers available, there were almost 10.9 million adults arrests. Of that 10.9 million arrests, whites accounted for 7.6 million and blacks accounted 3 million
http://www.theamconscience.com/race-relations/an-honest-look-at-race-relations-within-the-us

around black anger at injustice. Yet sadly, and in some cases here, predictably, white people will only start to take notice when buildings start burning and extreme pent up anger is discharged because of injustice. And that injustice is in a lot of cases diminished by some people here who can only focus on the anger and not the reason(s), as pointed out in numerous studies of white racism and and social/economic injustice, for the anger. Sad indeed.

etc

Time to ignore them and when possible, shame them.

We need to move to a new era where discussing the obvious is no longer an option.

They can learn and grow or they cannot, up to them

NOT up to us to educate them anymore.

Someone attempts to warn that a certain word has become a slur by RW racist POS yet we have DU members going above and beyond digging up the history of that word. They completely ignore all attempts to educate them, instead these few individuals feel the need to double down and wallow in their own ignorance and make silly jokes and asinine attempts at sarcasm.

Well, never thought I'd ever say this about these individuals but here it goes: if the shoe fits, Fuck You.

When they dodge, deflect, defer - it's always deliberate.

They aren't ignorant.

They know PRECISELY what they are doing. I especially loved the 'what's p.c.?' comments. Yeah - like they don't know.

They spend more energy denying than learning.