How are we not more outraged about these shootings?

[Maistre Gracey]

The governor of Minnesota said "Philando Castile would still be alive if he had been white" and "racism exists."

Ahh.... Case over because a politician said so prior to an investigation.

That makes perfect sense to me...

MG

 

[disneyjunkie]

I don't want to live in yours, but would like to experience it.

Btw, do you live in Colorado?

That said, what facts do you have????

MG

I have history and a laundry list of young black men and women killed at the hands of BAD cops ( and no I do not believe all police officers are bad)

 

[TLSnell1981]

Let me ask you a question since you seem to like quizzes:

What does this have to do with a police officer shooting an African American man while he was reaching for his drivers license during a traffic stop?

Back to this story and the important things. A black man was shot by the police and so far the only reason we know of was that he had a tail light out.

He had a gun and was reaching for (whatever) in the vicinity of the weapon. Not a smart move.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

And I have a list of recent that were found not guilty....
Sometimes a coincidence is just a coincidence.

Obviously there are some very troubling occurances... I don't remember the name but I remember a white cop shooting a black man while on the ground. It was sickening. Clearly murder.

That said, was it because he was a rogue cop and would have shot him even if he was white, or was it an instance of only shooting him because he was black??
I'm not sure we will ever know. There are also white/black cops shooting white guys, but it doesn't make the headline news.

MG

 

[lizabu]

The problem is that the media doesn't make a big deal about when an officer kills a white man. Instead, the media makes a huge deal about when an officer kills a black man.

I don't think a huge deal has been made. In fact I started this thread this morning because this was the second black man in two days killed by a police officer and it was caught on video and even so it was a 2 second ticker tape along the bottom of the screen during the morning news. As the day wore on I have seen more and more coverage on the shootings but I think that may have to do with the family members speaking about what happened and a number of celebrities tweeting and talking about it. I think the fact that both incidents being on video and in both instances it doesn't appear that the men did anything to provoke the police officers to shoot them (that we can see or that has been reported by any witnesses) and the timing of the shootings being only a day apart has brought more attention to these shootings.

I think if 2 white men were shot by police officers a day apart, people would be losing their minds. The attention these shootings have received would be nothing in comparison. Just look at what happens when a little white girl goes missing for example. If she's blonde forget about it...its national news. Now compare that to a little black girl going missing or especially a little black boy. He might get his local news but I can't think of a single missing black child who's story has gone national. I think it's pretty much impossible to deny that there is a difference as to how much attention a story gets and race is a huge factor. And the difference is the opposite of what you are inferring.

 

[TLSnell1981]

.

I think if 2 white men were shot by police officers a day apart, people would be losing their minds. The attention these shootings have received would be nothing in comparison.

I seriously doubt it would be a blip on anybody's radar.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

He had a gun and was reaching for (whatever) in the vicinity of the weapon. Not a smart move.

And he told the police officer he had a license to carry. Of course he was going for a weapon instead of his license. It makes perfect sense. Think of the element of surprise involved. It's the perfect plan. Announce you have a weapon, then go for the weapon. The police officer will think you are just going for your license, because what idiot would announce he was armed and then go for the gun? Especially for getting pulled over for a "broken taillight". And his four year old is in the car. It's a double-fake!

 

[mnrose]

And he told the police officer he had a license to carry. Of course he was going for a weapon instead of his license. It makes perfect sense. Think of the element of surprise involved. It's the perfect plan. Announce you have a weapon, then go for the weapon. The police officer will think you are just going for your license, because what idiot would announce he was armed and then go for the gun? Especially for getting pulled over for a "broken taillight". And his four year old is in the car. It's a double-fake!

And, everything about this guy's history says he wants to draw gunfire in a car holding his girlfriend and a 4 year old. No wonder the cop pulled his gun and fired. Phew. Now we can all rest easy.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I'm not saying the cops were innocent in either of the two cases....

I'm just saying we should wait and see what the investigation unfolds.
MG

 

[JillianMarie]

How do you know???
I think that's pure speculation, especially seeing as though the authorities don't know that yet. Let's not jump to conclusions.

MG

I know. It makes me sad and uncomfortable too so I also wish to live very deep in denial. It's a very human reaction. I don't necessarily blame people for hiding behind the idea that somehow all of this is just a rush to judgement and we should just sit back and wait for more people to be murdered before anyone even deigns to admit that there *might* be a problem. But, no. Even without the advantage of glasses that somehow see all possible outcomes of every situation I can say with complete certainty that if this had been the stop of a caucasian man, no one would've ended up dead. I'm actually pretty sure that a white man wouldn't have been pulled over at all. I think anyone who can seriously just scratch their head with befuddlement and say "Well, golly, gee. I guess we'll never know how or why this happened" needs to spend some time with a serious reality check.

 

[TLSnell1981]

And he told the police officer he had a license to carry. Of course he was going for a weapon instead of his license. It makes perfect sense. Think of the element of surprise involved. It's the perfect plan. Announce you have a weapon, then go for the weapon. The police officer will think you are just going for your license, because what idiot would announce he was armed and then go for the gun? Especially for getting pulled over for a "broken taillight". And his four year old is in the car. It's a double-fake!

It was a dumb move....reaching for anything in the vicinity of the gun. You just DON'T do that.

I was taught to ALWAYS keep my hands visible, during a traffic stop and have ALWAYS been asked to step out of the vehicle, BEFORE retrieving my ID. And I'm just a small woman..

 

[JillianMarie]

It was a dumb move....reaching for anything in the vicinity of the gun. You just DON'T do that.

I was taught to ALWAYS keep my hands visible, during a traffic stop and have ALWAYS been asked to step out of the vehicle, BEFORE retrieving my ID. And I'm just a small woman..

Death is now a reasonable punishment for moving hands. Got it.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I know. It makes me sad and uncomfortable too so I also wish to live very deep in denial. It's a very human reaction. I don't necessarily blame people for hiding behind the idea that somehow all of this is just a rush to judgement and we should just sit back and wait for more people to be murdered before anyone even deigns to admit that there *might* be a problem. But, no. Even without the advantage of glasses that somehow see all possible outcomes of every situation I can say with complete certainty that if this had been the stop of a caucasian man, no one would've ended up dead. I'm actually pretty sure that a white man wouldn't have been pulled over at all. I think anyone who can seriously just scratch their head with befuddlement and say "Well, golly, gee. I guess we'll never know how or why this happened" needs to spend some time with a serious reality check.

Yet somehow when the roles are reversed the huge outcry is "don't rush to judgement".

I agree with that but it works both ways. Think St Louis cop and Freddie Gray....

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Death is now a reasonable punishment for moving hands. Got it.

Well we don't know exactly what happened yet, but IF the "moving hands" were to grab a gun, the answer is yes.

MG

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I'm not saying the cops were innocent in either of the two cases....

I'm just saying we should wait and see what the investigation unfolds.
MG

I can tell you right now that the investigation will exonerate the police. Why? Because they always do.

 

[gwynne]

Death is now a reasonable punishment for moving hands. Got it.

Exactly. How utterly tragic.
Try to comply, follow instructions and you can still lose your life because of a tail light. We have to be better than this.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I can tell you right now that the investigation will exonerate the police. Why? Because they always do.

Really??? Always??

Pretty weak arguement.

MG

 

[TLSnell1981]

O

Death is now a reasonable punishment for moving hands. Got it.

Hands moving towards a gun in the presence of LEO, telling you not to... ?? Punishment, no..but a reasonable expectation/consequence of those actions.

 

[rickybobby]

This guy had a criminal record. Do we know for sure he had a license to carry? And if he did, why?

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Exactly. How utterly tragic.
Try to comply, follow instructions and you can still lose your life because of a tail light. We have to be better than this.

Did he follow instructions??