Listening to all the noise these past few months, is to believe that to be black in America is to be a victim and a target for racist cops. To hear President Obama and Eric Holder and yes, Al Sharpton and other race-baiters tell it, what happened in Ferguson, and then New York was all about race. As I have watched the riots and screeching about 'injustice' and the deliberate targeting of citizens because they are black this past few months, I have waited for the POTUS and the supposed lead policeman of America (Holder) to quell the riots, and de-escalate the racist rhetoric.
Not happening. Even before any investigation took place in Ferguson in the aftermath of Michael Brown's death, the DoJ sent prosecutors there, ensuring the ongoing tone of the narrative painting local police as racist.
Same with New York. Never mind that in both cases Grand Juries have declined to lay charges against the police officers directly involved. Those Grand Juries had hands on ALL the evidence relating to both incidents, and were comprised of local citizens. However, facts be damned and never mind that most of us were not there. Since both events, armchair critics have whipped up the 'victim' mentality and fomented protests based on ignorance of the FACTS.
Yes, Garner's encounter with the NYPD was filmed by a sidewalk witness, but unless we were there, we don't know - we cannot know - what happened BEFORE the camera was turned on. There is an old cliche that 'the camera never lies' and while that may be true, it is also true that we cannot know of previous events that led to this deadly encounter. There are reports flying around that Garner had a long criminal record, and was well known to the police.
Does that mean he should have died on this day? Of course not, but to paint the cops as deciding to kill a black man is beyond absurd - AND racist. To suggest that any NYPD member needs retraining because of unconscious racist thinking (yes, that HAS been floated out there!) is beyond ridiculous..
War On Terror News pretty much sums up this whole "cops are automatically racist, and all blacks are targets" nonsense:
Race relations in America continue to deteriorate. This is not by accident. Anger, creating a greater divide, is and has been purposely fomented, by the very people that publicly decry it the most.
Why? Hatred and anger are powerful and blinding emotions. Those politicians, whether using the title of "Reverend" or "Honorable" or "Representative" are cashing in on the power and money garnered by an angry mob.
Racism is not present when a police officer arrests a criminal, nor when during an arrest he responds to violence in self-defense. Racism is not present because that criminal was committing a minor crime when he turned to violence against law enforcement. [emphasis mine]Racism is present when a firebrand whips a crowd into a frenzy and that mob attacks those of different skin tones, for no other reason than that skin color. Racism is present when that mob pillages stores because the owners don't have the same shade of skin as their attackers.Racism is present when politicians convince others that a particular race cannot compete on a level playing field, or that they should be given handouts to live a life of dependency.Justice is blind. Justice cannot see skin tone nor can it relent to mobs or polls. While the judicial system may be imperfect, a jury of peers is far more likely to decide justly, than a frenzied mob, or a powerful politician or their appointees.
Justice cannot be dealt if politicians or juries bow to the whims of vengeful mob of rioters, who, by their own actions, have become criminals themselves.Racism is not present when a police officer arrests a criminal, nor when during an arrest he responds to violence in self-defense. Racism is not present because that criminal was committing a minor crime when he turned to violence against law enforcement. [emphasis mine]Racism is present when a firebrand whips a crowd into a frenzy and that mob attacks those of different skin tones, for no other reason than that skin color. Racism is present when that mob pillages stores because the owners don't have the same shade of skin as their attackers.Racism is present when politicians convince others that a particular race cannot compete on a level playing field, or that they should be given handouts to live a life of dependency.Justice is blind. Justice cannot see skin tone nor can it relent to mobs or polls. While the judicial system may be imperfect, a jury of peers is far more likely to decide justly, than a frenzied mob, or a powerful politician or their appointees.
Justice cannot be dealt if politicians or juries bow to the whims of vengeful mob of rioters, who, by their own actions, have become criminals themselves....
We are all watching the continuance of criminal behavior as thugs burn Ferguson to the ground, and are now intent on disrupting law-abiding citizens by rioting, looting and protesting across the country.
No matter. The president continues his long-demonstrated disdain for the rule of law, and the role of local cops. Remember the beer summit he held in the White House in 2009 after he declared a Massachusetts cop 'stupid' for doing his job? That - as usual - was before he knew the facts. At that time, Obama said, in part, "...that there’s a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately...."
New York politicians are not above entering the fray either. The New York Post has this:
De Blasio’s slur against NYPD imperils us al
lBy Michael GoodwinDecember 5, 2014
[...]
Determined not to let a crisis go to waste, the mayor has spent the last two days cranking up the volume and the vitriol of his anti-cop agenda. Predictably, he trots out his son, Dante, to put a personal spin on police-black relations, saying he is fearful the biracial teen will end up in a confrontation with a cop.
Imagine that. The city is in turmoil over the Staten Island case and the mayor throws gasoline on the fire by painting the entire police force as a bunch of white racist brutes. Has he no shame?
He certainly has no facts....
Well worth the read.
Today we see that de Blasio is continuing to stoke the racism fires by declaring that former Mayor Giuliani 'Fundamentally Misunderstands the Reality' of RaceIt is well known I don't live in NY, so do not have first-hand knowledge of the political dynamics, but from where I sit, Guiliani's record speaks for itself, and it isn't what the current Mayor is saying.
Somebody else who IS well familiar with the local issues is Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. The New York Post had this editorial in light of Garner's death:
Wise words from NYC’s top cop
By Post Editorial Board
August 13, 2014
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton sent New Yorkers an important message Tuesday in the wake of Eric Garner’s death, allegedly by police chokehold: There is no constitutional right to resist arrest.
“What we’ve seen in the past few months is a number of individuals failing to understand that you must submit to arrest, you cannot resist,” Bratton said in an interview on Brian Lehrer’s radio show.“The place to argue your case is in the court, not in the street.” [emphasis mine]
It’s a critical point, and one Bratton’s made before. We just wish he wasn’t the only public official sending that message.
The simple fact, painful as it may be for some to acknowledge, is that Eric Garner would be alive today if he’d cooperated when cops tried to arrest him for illegally selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.
Instead, he argued with police, refused to put his hands behind his back, accused them of harassing him and vowed, “It ends today.”
As Bratton said from the outset, “My officers are not going to walk away” when someone resists arrest. He also notes that cops aren’t in the harassment business.
Enforcement of “quality of life” crimes, like selling loose cigarettes, is prompted by calls from community merchants and local officials, who “definitely want more police in their neighborhoods.” [As to whether police need to be pursuing 'these quality of life' crimes, is another debate for another day]
The fastest way to defuse a confrontation like the one that ended in Garner’s death is not to resist arrest....
The editorial goes on to comment on Mayor de Blasio.
Again, I wasn't there, and I am sure most of these criminals looting, protesting, burning down whole neighbourhoods, were not at the scene in Ferguson nor New York. WE don't know what happened.
The Grand Juries in both cases were given all the evidence they needed to make informed decisions on the outcome of these events. From what I can tell, their decisions had NOTHING to do with race or color, and was based on the FACTS, by witnesses who were there. That is how the justice system is supposed to work in America. Period.
For all these outsiders to claim racist motives on behalf of the police and continue to scream 'victimisation' is not only absurd it defies the statistics. Take a look here: White Cops Aren't Victimizing Black Youth.
Fact: Every day in America, blacks are killing blacks in gang warfare, and whites are being killed by blacks. Do they garner 24/7 blanket coverage by the mainstream media? No, and why? Because it doesn't fit the 'victim' agenda adhered to by this administration.
Yes, America does have a long history of racial discrimination, but for politicians and race-baiters such as Sharpton et al to continue to insist that to be black in America is to disproportionately risk death by white cop, and perpetuate the 'black as victim,' is a huge dis-service to the law-abiding citizens across America.
Go look at this video editorial, which says pretty much sums it all up.
As the mayhem continues across America, and thugs continue to wrap themselves in the 'entitled victim' cloak, maybe this video by Chris Rock should be required viewing.
