Beyond appalling.
Please post useful links, pics, videos. I will update this post with more.
Video of demonstration, police firing teargas and rubber bullets.
Ferguson Is 60 Percent Black. Virtually All Its Cops Are White.
Google News Realtime coverage of Ferguson
Thanks, David!
Here’s something cheerful to kick things off:
St Louis PD fired a Lt. who was under investigation for alleged racial profiling.
When combined with Ally’s Mother Jones link about the stats in Ferguson, that’s a pretty bad dynamic.
(thx4thread Dave <3)
I just can’t help but compare this result to the Bundy Ranch standoff a couple of months ago. So a bunch of armed white people gather with the explicit purpose to violently resist the government stopping a man from stealing from taxpayers? Why, lets celebrate them as heroes on fox news! But a bunch of (primarily) black people protest police brutality and the execution of an unarmed teen and suddenly its rioting and the proper response in tear gas, rubber bullets, and arresting journalists.
Tells you everything you need to know about racial politics in the US.
Honestly, I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often, given that the police seem to murder black men all the fucking time.
Video from earlier today. You can hear police asking media to turn off their cameras. Scary. http://new.livestream.com/accounts/9035483/events/3271930
Another fun one:
You Have A Right To Record The Police in the course of their duties, in spite of what protestors in Ferguson were being ordered to do.
Police militarization + hostility to scrutiny + racial tensions = clusterfuck
Apparently, there was an uptick in gun sales within the St. Louis area. The people buying guns were, of course, white people. A white person with a gun is seen as exercising their 2nd amendment rights. A black person with a gun? Well he or she is just seen as a dangerous criminal.
I can’t be the only one who thought of these songs after reading about the situation… Still, this is some horrible crap. I think we have yet another Rodney King situation here…
Video from earlier today. You can clearly hear cops asking for cameras to be turned off. http://new.livestream.com/accounts/9035483/events/3271930
This discussion is about the defense of black rage.
http://www.salon.com/2014/08/12/in_defense_of_black_rage_michael_brown_police_and_the_american_dream/
Seconded for truth.
@redpoppy:
Worse than that, a white man with a gun is regarded as less dangerous than an unarmed black man. Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis are the three that spring immediately to mind, and it should not be that easy for me to keep track of cases with those characteristics in another freakin’ country.
The case it calls to mind for me is Thomas “TJ” Hickey.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/michael-brown-shooting/fbi-investigating-ferguson-police-shooting-teen-michael-brown-n177761
Dunno if that’s a hopeful thing or not.
Been watching this unfold, and I gotta say, it’s a real goddamn shame what’s been happening over there, in Ferguson, Mo.
There is obviously a major corruption problem within many police departments today, and, yes, I think we can agree that much of it does involve racism. Although, perhaps we can also agree that said type of corruption is also not exactly new, either.
@strivingally– Good point and agreed. And, unfortunately, we have to add YET ANOTHER to the list. An unarmed black man was gunned down by the LAPD. I am posting this as I feel it is overall relevant to the discussion.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/unarmed-black-man-killed-lapd-says-family
His name is Ezell Ford, by the way.
Here’s a really good article about the militarization of US police.
Scary, scary shit.
An article from NPR about the “If They Gunned Me Down” twitter campaign.
Oh, and R.I.P., Michael Brown. ='(
Gawker has compiled some pretty intense twitter images. http://gawker.com/ferguson-missouri-august-13-2014-1621363611
Some reporting on the story from my part of the world
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT IS THIS THING YOU CALL POLICE BRUTALITY THIS IS PRACTICALLY TICKLE-FIGHTING TEAR GAS IS WHAT WE CONSIDER A POLITE INTRODUCTION
Seriously, WTF.
Not really related, but possibly really related:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/13/lapd-shoot-kill-ezell-ford_n_5674679.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
Apparently, it’s national police homicide month.
Ugh, yeah. I just read about that. Let’s not forget about Eric Garner http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/staten-island-man-dies-puts-choke-hold-article-1.1871486?utm_content=buffer96a7a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=NYDailyNewsTw
It’s like there’s a new one every day.
I’m wondering if there’s been an increase in this the past few years or if the internet has just made us pay more attention? I always knew police brutality against people of color was common. As a kid I knew about the violence against civil rights activists and the whole Rodney King thing happened when I was about 12. But it didn’t seem like it used to be an almost daily occurrence.
There’s a moment of silence tomorrow at 6 pm in remembrance of police brutality victims. Not sure if that’s supposed to be time zone specific or if it’s supposed to be 6:00 wherever you are though. I’m guessing the latter?
@ weirwood, I think it’s always been like that.
At least this Washington Post reporter kept his sense of humour: