"Black Lives Matter" - it's stupid. Just cut the crap.....

[LiveYourLife]

I don't know ANYONE is offended my the sea of pink.

I know you said you're not offended, nor am I, however, there are lots of people that are offended by this. Every October there is usually a thread right here on the CB with people who take offense to this.

 

[sunshinehighway]

I didn't say they were wrong. I don't think they were wrong.The officers have as much right to make their feelings known as anyone else.

Is it continuing "us vs. them?" Sure...on both sides. We have to work through that, not ignore it.
Agreed...what's the point?

Yeah i do think it's continuing a one vs. another. If their shirts are about greater issues and not overtly anti police why is it offensive enough to walk off a job? Isn't that continuing the line drawn in the sand?
If everything is you did this so I'm going to do this, how do we get anywhere and make things better. A lot of this thread had been about disagree with the methods, not the greater message. Walking out when the shirts seemed to be including all the recent killings is saying you disagree with at least part,of the message. That just adds to the problem.

My comment about Dallas was only because you mentioned grieving for fallen officers. Their shirts included them so I'm not sure why you mentioned that.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

My opinion has always been that any "cause" that is political or divisive or contentious should be left off the playing field -- kept out of sporting events and the like. This is obviously just an opinion -- there is nothing objectively right or wrong here. Here's my thinking:

• We are BOMBARDED daily by messages that push people to their respective corners -- whatever they are.
• At a game, it should be about the GAME and people COMING TOGETHER to support their team. Something that divides people, even within a particular team is just uncalled for.
• Life is heavy enough these days -- sports can be UNIFYING and serve an an ESCAPE -- I think the latter is sorely needed these days.
• Everyone is free to make whatever nonviolent statement they want to on their own time -- let the game be about the game -- give everyone a break from it all.
• Just because a statement is "NONVIOLENT" doesn't mean that in every context it must be deemed APPROPRIATE or WELCOME by all.

I'm not sure I'd know what to say to someone who is offended by breast cancer research or the like, or finds that issue to be divisive or political. That line is the one that seems right to me personally.

 

[pat fan]

It's wrong to make a statement by wearing a shirt? Seems like a non violent way to make a statement.

The front of the shirt was great, the back, not so much. There are just the beginnings of investigations into these shootings, they should not be being used, again, as poster children for the BLM movement. What if one of them turns out like Michael Brown? Just WAIT and see what the investigations turn up.

It's also a sporting event. I understand it's not a Pro team, but I do know the Pro's frown on this type of behavior. When it's game time, leave the statements at the door.

 

[JimMIA]

Perhaps context is key here, but I'm thinking of a physical altercation between a cop and citizen - cop is allowed to shove him around, chase him and forcefully apply handcuffs.

An officer would not have a right to shove a citizen.

An officer would have a right (and duty) to make an arrest in appropriate situations, including applying the minimum amount of force necessary to effect the arrest. That use of force includes the full spectrum from talking, to raising your voice, placing the defendant on the ground, all the way up to deadly force.

But that's not a blank check. Officers are expected, because of their training and experience, to be more discriminating than civilians in the application of force.

If two citizens were involved in an altercation, that behavior would be assault, right?

If a citizen chased a miscreant down, threw them to the ground and handcuffed them -- absent a felony offense -- yes, that could be a battery...depending. If two citizens just got into a fight, whether there would be an assault, battery, or just a mutually combative disturbance would depend on the specific facts of that situation.

 

[sunshinehighway]

The front of the shirt was great, the back, not so much. There are just the beginnings of investigations into these shootings, they should not be being used, again, as poster children for the BLM movement. What if one of them turns out like Michael Brown? Just WAIT and see what the investigations turn up.

It's also a sporting event. I understand it's not a Pro team, but I do know the Pro's frown on this type of behavior. When it's game time, leave the statements at the door.

The WNBA is Pro.

 

[bcla]

I didn't say they were wrong. I don't think they were wrong.The officers have as much right to make their feelings known as anyone else.

Is it continuing "us vs. them?" Sure...on both sides. We have to work through that, not ignore it.
Agreed...what's the point?

However, they agreed to work a job and left the venue without personnel that are generally required for such events. If they had walked off the job for an on-duty assignment because something upset them, couldn't they be reprimanded?

They could have simply worked the venue as they had agreed to, then express their displeasure afterwards. In the private sector, if one walks off the job that mean never getting another one.

 

[ASchwa]

Do you agree with their verdict?

I gave this a lot of thought, no, I don't agree with the verdict, and I don't even care where Simpson is at this moment in time. I am not angry nor was I when it happened. There was a trial and a verdict, I accept it. I am not going to get riled up that I want to kill every ex football player turned movie star that killed his ex wife. So why is it ok to blame every white police officer for racism? Any altercation that has a white officer and a Black person gets labeled racist and we go through the lying rally cries and now it allowed for 5 officers dead.

 

[bcla]

The WNBA is Pro.

That's somewhat up to debate. Technically I suppose they are. The pay is notoriously low, and it's a part time gig. Some of top players play overseas because the pay is way higher.

I remember a discussion about a player drafted by the WNBA who was going back to play another sport as a walk-on at an expensive private university during the off-season. She was drafted in the first round, and many thought that she was being paid a huge salary. Starting pay was about $30K, which was less than the cost of one year at that school.

 

[Geoff_M]

It's wrong to make a statement by wearing a shirt? Seems like a non violent way to make a statement.

The players were within their rights to wear the shirts... and the cops were within their rights to walk off the job in protest. It's a two-way street.

My issue is this... What form do you think the player think "Justice & Accountability" for Castile and Sterling looks like? If the investigations, grand jury, and/or jury think that one of the shootings of either man was defensible, do you think that would satisfy the players? Past experience says "It's doubtful." BLM didn't exactly accept the findings of the multiple investigations into the death of Michael Brown that brought them into the national lexicon, nor the grand jury's decision. The exact events surrounding the deaths of Castile and Sterling are still being investigated and we don't have a complete picture of the actions of the officers, yet again BLM and their supporters have seemingly already put their stakes into the ground based on what can only be described as a limited set of facts.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

In all those stops, he never received a ticket. I imagine if he was a crappy driver he would have received at least one ticket. Since I have not been pulled over in the same area I cannot tell you if they are more or less cautious with him vs me. But I guess yes.

Fair enough

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Really than you should come visit by me. There are several predominately black, or ethnically diverse middle, upper-middle class neighborhoods and towns in my area. They even have good schools.

Cool. To be clear, it's not that I don't expect to see black people in upscale neighborhoods - actually the VERY nice neighborhoods seem to be quite diverse. But, when I hear "black neighborhood where people are instinctively locking their car doors", that's not what I'm picturing at all.

 

[Skywalker]

I worked for the police for 10 years. In my city, I can tell you that 99% of suspect descriptions that came in were for "male, black, 16-30 years old". That is not racism - that was just a fact. So police officers patrolling and seeing, say, two white guys with red beards on one side of the street, and on the other side two young black males, just common sense would tell them who it would be more logical to stop and question. Good police work is not knowingly going off on a red herring just to be politically correct. That does not make the police racist. I am myself 50% black, my family is good upper middle class people - but if they get extra scrutiny by the police I do not blame the police, I blame the thugs that have given "black people" a bad rap. And that is because I worked for the police and I saw the information they were given. And I hate seeing criminals held up as poster boys for a cause and I hate seeing racism being the go-to excuse. I think the common denominator in most of these cases (not all) is criminality, not race, and based on what I have read and seen, I do not blame officers for being a little more jumpy with certain people than with others.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

O.J. Simpson was found not guilty. Do you agree with that decision? If not, then perhaps you can understand why I (and
I'm sure many others)won't change my opinion based on that idiot cop being absolved.

I believe the jury made the correct decision with OJ. Do I think he had nothing to do with those murders? No, not going that far.

 

[asta]

The players were within their rights to wear the shirts... and the cops were within their rights to walk off the job in protest. It's a two-way street.

My issue is this... What form do you think the player think "Justice & Accountability" for Castile and Sterling looks like? If the investigations, grand jury, and/or jury think that one of the shootings of either man was defensible, do you think that would satisfy the players? Past experience says "It's doubtful." BLM didn't exactly accept the findings of the multiple investigations into the death of Michael Brown that brought them into the national lexicon, nor the grand jury's decision. The exact events surrounding the deaths of Castile and Sterling are still being investigated and we don't have a complete picture of the actions of the officers, yet again BLM and their supporters have seemingly already put their stakes into the ground based on what can only be described as a limited set of facts.

I wonder where the protests go next. In both recent cases there is word from the police officers involved that there was a gun present and the officers thought the victims were going after their gun. The police in Baton Rouge saw the gun in the guys pocket and in the video it is clear he is resisting. I think it looks like he is reaching to his side while on the ground but I am sure BLM will not see it that way. You have to wonder if there is enough to charge the officers. In Minnesota it looks like it will be the word of the police officer against the girlfriend. I don't know how you decide which to believe. Does the presumption of innocence mean that you have to have more than her word? There is obvious bias on each side.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

How in the world can a police officer or anyone else determine someone's income level just by looking at them?

I'm not so much saying police go out of their way to choose poor people to harass, but it's a well-known fact that income level plays a large part not only in your chances of being arrested, but also of being convicted & receiving harsher sentences.

Face it, poor neighborhoods & high crime have a tendency to be intertwined.

Having said all that, it's really not too terribly difficult to pick out a low income person out on the road.

 

[pat fan]

The WNBA is Pro.

They are definitely athletes, but I guess I never considered them "Pro". My bad.

 

[rickybobby]

It's wrong to make a statement by wearing a shirt? Seems like a non violent way to make a statement.

The officers made their own statement. Isn't that their right?

 

[asta]

I am not questioning any of the anecdotal reports of police stopping black people for just driving. I have nothing to contradict them but am offering up an explanation as to why some of us don't get it. Our local police (Nashville) are so busy and so understaffed that it is hard to believe they have time for making those kind of stops. They don't even want to respond to non personal injury calls. We are a low tax state so we might operate with a smaller police force and that could affect the number of stops they make. I don't personally know anyone randomly stopped and do not hear news stories about it. I am not saying it isn't happening, just that I don't hear about it.

 

[rickybobby]

Actually, I don't believe I addressed you at all. FTR one of the biggest gangs in my area is actually Latino.

There is a vast difference between being Snoop Dogg and dressing like Snoop Dogg. I would have absolutely no fear of the actual Snoop Dogg at all. I'm actually a Snoop fan. IJS. ...and Snoop was charged with murder. He was found not guilty as it was judged to be self defense.

However, as it was said upthread, making judgments based on superficial things like style of dress, skin color, accent is, pretty much, the definition of prejudice. Wearing a hijab doesn't make someone a terrorist any more than baggy pants make them a gang member, or a white guy with a shaved head makes him a white supremacist.

I also believe that I said upthread that EVERYONE needs to examine their own ingrained prejudices, not just the police. It is a systemic and societal problem.

Yeah, good old Snoop Doggy Doo posted what he thought was the address of the officer involved in the shooting of Michael Brown out, but it was incorrect, resulting in a lot of harassment to the elderly couple who actually lived at the residence.

 

[MariMama]

Not having a father in the home doesn't mean you do not have father.

They obviously all have fathers (I'm aware of how biology works). A lot don't have contact with their fathers.