tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post844695109928832750..comments2024-03-28T22:51:32.258+00:00Comments on Shadows & Light: Some Thoughts About FergusonSteve Reedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684120060438252945noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-4819959187691113012014-12-07T15:20:26.933+00:002014-12-07T15:20:26.933+00:00I agree that the amount of guns here is a major pr...I agree that the amount of guns here is a major problem but if you are so fearful of getting killed while doing your job that you react by killing first and then investigating, you need to get a different job. many people have said that if those black people had just done what the cop said they might still be alive but in many, maybe most, cases they aren't even given the opportunity to comply. read an account today of a black man in a white neighborhood accosted and harassed by police when a neighbor saw what was happening and came to his defense saying he was known in the neighborhood and to leave him alone. turns out the cop was responding to a burglary report in a different neighborhood so this black guy walking through a completely different neighborhood was accosted as a possible suspect just because he was black. when kids walking to school repeatedly get stopped and searched, their backpacks searched while white students don't, that's racism. Yes, guns are a big problem but it's not white people being singled out, harassed, and shot. it's black people. a black guy was shot and killed in a store that sells toy guns while he was holding the toy gun he planned to buy because someone called in a report of a black guy with a gun in the store and that happened in an open carry state. white guys walk in stores all the time carrying actual semi-automatic weapons and not only do they not get shot on site, no one even calls the cops. so yeah, guns. but it's clearly racism that gets black people killed. these people have been killed with impunity from the get go. by their owners when slaves, by their neighbors when freed, and now by the cops.ellen abbotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00535475792150335186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-68560733236472966092014-12-07T14:57:37.284+00:002014-12-07T14:57:37.284+00:00I do agree with you about the guns. I take issue w...I do agree with you about the guns. I take issue with what in the US has become the rush to demonize the victims however. The news for example is batting around the fact that Eric Garner was arrested 31 times, mostly for selling loose cigarettes, but also for resisting arrest and such. None of these articles citing his arrest record mentions convictions. None that I can find. So 31 arrests. No convictions. Sounds like the man was targeted by police, as he clearly felt himself to be. And even if there was marijuana around or loose cigarettes, this certainly does not justify murder. We are none of us saints. Nothing frustrates me more in these cases than the attempt to turn the victims into thugs who are better off dead. Well. Other things frustrate me too of course. But that. It's a big one. But your point about the proliferation of guns in the US is so central to this ongoing nightmare. Sorry if this sounds like a rant. I'm not ranting at you, just at what is. I know. It is often a very useless endeavor to rant at what is. 37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-9055254624096511062014-12-06T15:37:47.024+00:002014-12-06T15:37:47.024+00:00Beautifully stated! I agree wholeheartedly. It&#...Beautifully stated! I agree wholeheartedly. It's a very, very complicated issue with many sides but, the proliferation of guns and violence plays a huge role. Sharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645915869786296771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-38642521841901933632014-12-06T14:36:46.651+00:002014-12-06T14:36:46.651+00:00You considered your words wisely. There is NO ONE ...You considered your words wisely. There is NO ONE ANSWER but I have to say that racism and the proliferation of guns in America are big parts of it. <br />Can there be change? I don't even know.Ms. Moonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09776404747858099919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123631695572626256.post-6050236052743777012014-12-06T14:28:41.286+00:002014-12-06T14:28:41.286+00:00These cases are such a snarl of attitude and distr...These cases are such a snarl of attitude and distrust and tragedy. <br />And I couldn't agree more with your assessment. Thanks. Martyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02366449267039641100noreply@blogger.com