bboy87 said:

Well, of course. And then the whole sick saga is perpetuated.

Focus on the riots and show images that portray poor people and poor people of color as mindless, violent animals. This further implants the deep belief that these people's lives are somehow worth less than a decent white cop's life.

Keep this up, and the next time a young man of color is murdered in cold blood by a police officer (who has of course also been indoctrinated by the same images and cultural myths as you and I), there's a little something inside many people that says "well, the kid must have done something to provoke this." After all, haven't you seen the way they riot when they don't get their way?

FunkMistress said:

That's why I was really pleased to see the news show the guy at the funeral who was shouting something along the lines of "forget appropriate, we're gonna go down there & get ALL the police," then immediately showed him being interviewed a moment later admitting that what he said was inappropriate (especially at a funeral) but that he was simply at the breaking point.

I expected just the shocking stuff, but to the news' credit it actually showed him being thoughtful & expressing himself with clarity

NDRU said:

Do you really think that his two seconds of thoughtful expression is what will stick in most viewers' minds?

I'm just glad you didn't say "articulate."

FunkMistress said:

whatever it stuck with me, and I found it totally out of character for the news

FunkMistress said:

I think it's quite a stretch to compare a Police Officer to a Gang Member any day of the week but that's not to say that I don't agree with you when it come down to real lawless Police Officers like the ones who beat Rodney King, the ones who shot and killed Amadou Diallo in New York or the "Oakland Riders". They are lawless criminals just like any gang member.

Too many of those people killed in Oakland are struck by stray bullets from gang shootings and there might be 48 hours of outrage but then it all goes back to normal.

Ultimately Officer Mehserle needs to stand trial and be sent to prison for the shooting.

another interesting angle to view:
http://www.indybay.org/ne...559091.php

RenHoek said:

I agree with your sentiment, RenHoek.

RenHoek said:

You just took the words out of my mouth. I live in the South Bay, and I've been trying to make sense of it since the story woke me up this morning. What a waste of what could have been a meaningful protest.

IMHO, from this angle, the cop isn't in a shooting position when he discharges his gun. Not that it matters, Oscar is dead, the officer should be prosecuted no matter what but none of the frenzy should influence his sentence.

FunkMistress said:

I was just watching the news

Some of these muthafuckas were acting like it was a party or a sideshow

some Mexican kid was on top of a police car dancing and stomping while others were cheering him on

GetAwayFromMe said:

I think to a large extent it was a meaningful protest. but angry crowds don't always bring out the best in people

NDRU said:

It was meaningful while it was at the Fruitvale Station. When night fell and the rioting began it began to lose some of it's power and as soon as innocent peoples cars were burned and businesses damaged, then it lost all meaning. The Hooligans who provoked, encouraged and participated in the rioting did more harm to the cause than anything else.

Peaceful, constant, protest is what works best.

Are the riots happening only east of the bay, or is there also unrest in San Francisco?

Lammastide said:

Only in Oakland...

RenHoek said:

Is there anything going on at UC Berkeley?

Lammastide said:

Not that I've heard this seems very, very local...

FunkMistress said:

Seriously, calm down. All I'm saying is that I haven't read about the story or watched any video so I don't want to comment on something I don't know anything about. I was responding to Blue Zebra when he said that it may have been an error. I said that I don't see how you could make an error and mix up a taser gun and a real gun.

I'm not sure why you're busting my chops over this. I just don't like commenting on stories before I've had a chance to gather all the facts. Simple as that.

hokie said:

So now with the dearth of information and opinion that has cropped up in this thread, how do you see it? Has your opinion changed, evolved, or remained the same? I'm not tryin' to start beef, I'm just curious...

hokie said:

But you did.

And your comment sounded ignorant to me. Issues of police brutality and deadly racism are close to my heart, and in my work against them there are certain things I've heard time and time again. So don't take my reaction personally. No offense, but your chops are the last thing on my mind when it comes to shit like this.

I'm sure this is why you don't like commenting on stories before you have enough information. I understand that. Like I said, it's not personal.

FunkMistress said:

You know. I just spent the night in hell from being sick and in the hospital so I don't have the energy to try and make you see where I'm coming from. I can see that this is an important issue to you. I did not mean to upset/or offend you, but I stand by my feelings. On this one we'll have to agree to disagree.

FunkMistress said:

Umm, she didn't say he made an error. And it wouldn't be fair for her to say that he did or didn't, without knowing all the fact, which is why she didn't say it. It sounds from your post that you are accusing her of making that judgment.

FunkMistress said:

Why? because she said that she she doesn't know enough in order to make a judgment? Sounds to me like the smarter thing to do. Sounds like you expect her to find the officer guilty without knowing all the facts.

RenHoek said:

I just hope the protest being planned for Wednesday is the hell away from my neighborhood. I'm less than 10 minutes away from the downtown ruckus, I do not want that shit outside my door! Fucking up peoples cars & shit, it's a mess

& I still don't understand why the cop still hasn't been interviewed (as of yesterday, at least) - are they gonna relocate this mf & that's the end?? What the hell??

CalhounSq said:

When they were supposed to, dude resigned

FunkMistress said:

We may disagree on what constitutes that justice (I don't know) but I agree.
[Edited 1/10/09 19:09pm]

FunkMistress said:

Ex-cop charged with murder in Calif. shooting

OAKLAND, Calif. – A former transit officer has been charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black man that set off violent protests, officials said Wednesday.

Johannes Mehserle, 27, was arrested Tuesday in Nevada and on Wednesday appeared briefly in court, where he waived extradition to California. He was expected to be returned to California later Wednesday.

Witnesses said Mehserle, who is white, fired a shot into the back of 22-year-old Oscar Grant while the man was lying face down on a train platform at a station in Oakland. Grant and others had been pulled off a train after reports of fighting, as New Year's Eve revelers were shuttling home after midnight.

Alameda Country District Attorney Tom Orloff said he would not speculate on whether the charge would end up being first-degree murder or second-degree murder.

"At this point, what I feel the evidence indicates, is an unlawful killing done by an intentional act and from the evidence we have there's nothing that would mitigate that to something lower than a murder," Orloff said at a news conference announcing the charge.

Mehserle's attorney, Christopher Miller, planned a news conference later Wednesday at his office in Sacramento.

The shooting, captured on cell phone cameras and widely viewed on the Internet, has inflamed long-running tensions between law enforcement authorities and many African-American residents.

Hundreds of people have taken to the streets calling for the prosecution of Mehserle, with one rally last week spiraling into violence that resulted in more than 100 arrests and damage to dozens of businesses.

Another demonstration was planned Wednesday afternoon.

Mehserle surrendered without incident Tuesday at a family friend's house in an upscale neighborhood on the east shore of Lake Tahoe in Douglas County, Nev., law enforcement officials said.

Douglas County Undersheriff Paul Howell said he believes Mehserle went to Nevada for his own safety.

"He just wanted to get out of the Bay Area due to the magnitude of the incident," Howell said. "He wasn't trying to run."

John Burris, the attorney for Grant's family, said the news of the charge was "terrific."

"It is consistent with the evidence I have seen. I think the family will be pleased," Burris said.

Mehserle had refused to talk to Bay Area Regional Transit investigators before resigning last week.

"I want to know why he did it," said BART board member Carole Ward Allen. "We've heard from everybody else but him. While I can't speak for the entire BART board, we want to make this process as transparent as possible."

State Attorney General Jerry Brown assigned a prosecutor to monitor the case, and the U.S. Department of Justice sent mediators to help avert additional violent demonstrations.

Thank God.

This needs it's own thread SCNDLS.

'bout damn time... Now let's just see if prosecutors & a jury come up with something real...

I also love how "transparent" is becoming the goto word of 2009...