One of the most tearful moments of the DNC’s Day 2 came with the primetime focus on The Mothers of the Movement. The mothers of Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Dontré Hamilton, Hadiya Pendleton, Blair Holt and Oscar Grant participated in a video for Hillary Clinton, then they came out as a group to discuss the violence against their community. The LAT pointed out that of all of the high-profile deaths of black men and black children, Tamir Rice’s mother did not participate in this DNC stuff. Samaria Rice hasn’t endorsed any candidate, and she says that no candidate is speaking to the issues. Beyond the absence of the Rice family, the prepared video and speeches were the strongest moments in prime time on Day 2.
Here’s the prepared video of Hillary meeting with the Mothers of the Movement.
And here’s their speech at the DNC. The crowd started chanting “Black Lives Matter.”
I like that the DNC gave these women a public forum to discuss their grief and their hopes and dreams for real, systemic change. But even as the words were coming out of these mothers, police unions around the country were issuing statements about “why didn’t Hillary include the widows and mothers of fallen officers?” Because when a police officer falls in the line of duty, his murderer will be found swiftly and put in jail (or killed in a stand-off with police). Because when a police officer kills a civilian, that cop rarely sees the inside of a jail cell. That’s why these women are speaking. Because not only did they lose their children, they also lost faith in the justice system.
I bow in gratitude to the #MothersoftheMovement for being Beautiful Bright Beacons of Light even through the dark ❤️ pic.twitter.com/XOwEIEqIIa
— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) July 27, 2016
Photos courtesy of Getty, Twitter.
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No one has expressed it better, Kaiser. I won’t even try.
I know. I may have to “crib” this part:
“Because when a police officer falls in the line of duty, his murderer will be found swiftly and put in jail (or killed in a stand-off with police). Because when a police officer kills a civilian, that cop rarely sees the inside of a jail cell. That’s why these women are speaking. Because not only did they lose their children, they also lost faith in the justice system.”
So very well sais kaiser. And these women have faced so Much contempt, so Much hostily. We call them bad mothers because they did not teach their sons “better” but of course, not a word about the mothers of roof, lanza (who knew her son was sick and still left all those arms available). Sometimes it really looks lik America hate black women
This is exactly it. Well said. I may have to steal these words as the accuracy of your words is what people don’t get.
Absolutely spot on, Kaiser!
You said it. Or more aptly she said it! Think I’ll copy and paste Kaiser’s brilliant statement to my FB page.
Absolutely moving and I have a lump in my throat and tears on my face after watching the video.
So many of their children were SO YOUNG. You can’t imagine the pain (unless you have been through it I guess) and yet they stand up so strong to give their lost children a legacy and a voice and a purpose. I’m so moved and so humbled by them.
Well put, Patricia. I can’t imagine the pain they must feel, having to stand there and relive such painful events in front of the world. One of the most powerful lines from the speech, that got me deep inside was this: “…so that this club of heart-broken mothers stops growing”. Powerful.
So deeply touching.
Not all of those women lost their children to police actions so the issue of balancing it with police widows (and widowers – come on, there is no excuse for a police union in this day and age to continue sexist stereotypes) is off. The women did say good things about the police and the need to work together. The speaker immediately before them spoke to violence against the police as did former Attorney General Eric Holder. (Or are the police unions unaware that the AG is top cop?)
I don’t think they are not aware that he is a top cop. I personally believe that because he is not saying the same things they are saying he is not considered one of them.
That’s the thing that annoys me about the situation. ANY OTHER occupation would never let the bad apples dominate public perception of them for so long. Yet, in the police world protecting their own is seen as “brotherhood.” Until, they make it acceptable for cops to speak out against one another without this “shunning” business going on trust in them is going to tank, and people will continue to punish the whole for the actions of a few.
@Lynnie Exactly. They want black people to weed out the bad apples but they won’t do the same within their own ranks. And even if a cop does try to do the right thing, the others will pile on that person until the cop leaves the force or gets killed. They want us to respect them and follow the rules, but refuse to practice what they preach and use fear mongering to keep the status quo.
Police Unions are becoming the worst. They are too powerful and make the police look even more like thin skinned babies with a hero complex and delusions of grandeur. They didn’t any help with that. They ignore reality: violent crime is down, being a cop is safer now then it ever has been, being a police officer isn’t even in the top 20 most dangerous jobs in the US. Most police deaths are due to car accidents and most of those accidents are found to be caused by unnecessarily aggressive and recklessness by the police officer. So not only do they throw a hissy fit and time police actions are questioned, they seem to look for perfectly legal, minor slights and try to name and shame the citizens. Terrible things like not wanting to sit next to cops in a restaurant or wear a Black Lives Matter t-shirt while warming up in a WNBA pregame.
The most egregious example is Stephen Loomis who repeatedly slandered Tami Rice, a child one of his officers executed in the first few seconds he was on scene. Then told the press he thought the Rice family should use the wrongful death settlement to teach black children to respect the police. Then he got his feelings hurt by a drawing posted by a running back on social media. The drawing was inappropriate, especially right after Dallas, but fell within the bounds of free speech. After his fans commented he quickly took it down, gave an actual sincere, unconditional apology (Not one of the I am sorry if I hurt your feelings style celebrities have become notorious for) and said he would donate his salary for his first game to help the slain DPD officer’s families. Loomis doesn’t think that is enough from a “grown-ass man” and threatened to stop patrolling the stadium or allowing officers to work Browns’ games leaving tens of thousands of fans and hundreds of millions of city property without protection because of the perfectly legal actions of one man.
They created this false dichotomy that Black Lives Matter is so opposed to Blue Lives Matter that you have to choose a side. If you want to support the police you have to do it unquestionably and unconditionally. They promote the us vs them mentality. After years of having it pounded in their heads that you should assume everyone is a criminal and everyone is trying to kill you it’s no wonder they shoot first instead of trying de-escalation techniques that work so well in other countries and have drastically reduced police shootings in departments here that have chosen to embrace them and train their officers (Dallas and Las Vegas are great examples.) They are also the ones that keep and encourage the ‘Blue Wall of Silence’. It takes away public trust from “the good cops” because they are complicit in the corruption. The police unions also champion the bad ones and protect them. Example: they get 24 hours to get their story straight before they are allowed to give a statement and make it hard to fire any cops, even ones with numerous excessive force complaints. If they want this hero worship they need to start cleaning house. There is no question that the police have bad actors and people not mentally cut out for police work. They don’t want to do it and the status quo can’t continue.
Holder is the top prosecutor. They don’t view him as a member of the police community. He opens investigations into police departments and shooting. He isn’t supportive of the ‘Blue Wall of Silence’ or current police culture. He is not see as a brother in blue. He is an outsider who wants to hold them accountable.
Yes, agreed that some within the Police are making this a Black vs Blue issue. The killing of that young black man with 16 shots in Illinois was horrific. The police in that case made up a story and put it on paper. This of course contradicted the camera in the police car. After the shooting the police walked into a Burger King where they destroyed evidence. I think most police are honorable but they have to get rid of the bad apples.
Steve Loomis is beyond disgusting. I’ll stop there before I say something I don’t regret.
Amen @Lindsay. Great post
I posted the bulk of this on a previous thread but think it’s apt here…
The majority of Americans support the individual peace officers out there, but the mass militarization of U.S. law enforcement has created a serious, serious issue that’s coming back to bite us in the ass. The failed war on drugs created a program whereby local law enforcement agencies could receive surplus military equipment — guns, gear, outfits, tanks, personal armed carriers, grenade launchers, etc — IF they used that equipment at least once. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have just increased this plus an additional $35M from Homeland Security to further acquire this gear and weaponry. In addition, the cross pollination of law enforcement and armed services because of the war on terror has had a huge effect. People, esp politicians, seem to think these two jobs are the same, but they are supposed to be vastly different. Because of the nature of what our military was doing in Afghan. and Iraq and the locations they were in, the military reached out to law enforcement agencies to get training and help. Added to that, there has been a tremendous number of individuals who have moved from the military to law enforcement sometimes multiple times in their careers. All this has lead to a radical change in the way law enforcement agencies do their jobs and interact in our communities. They have been essentially given a green light to use weapons and gear, like tanks and armored carriers, that were designed for use on the battlefield on American streets, against American citizens, in American communities. The view has shifted to one of fighting crime by getting the biggest guns and baddest gear. I mean, look at the battledress outfits that many SWAT teams use now — why the f*ck do you need to be in camouflage in the middle of the g*ddamn street? It’s done to appear imposing.
Soldiers are meant to use force as instructed by their superiors. Police officers are paid NOT to follow instructions, but to apply their own good judgment to NOT use force. They’re called peace officers for a reason — their job is to keep the peace. The best officer is not one who has written the most tickets or made the most arrests — the best one is the one who has the least. The best cop is the guy or woman who has invested themselves in developing relationships with the communities he or she serves, used their good judgment and conflict resolution skills to prevent violence, and not over burdened and inflamed their communities with heavy-handed ticketing or stops. But that type of policing 1) doesn’t make money, 2) isn’t popular with certain sectors of the population…the ol’ soft on crime bit, and 3) wouldn’t allow them to receive certain types of govt support. Add to that — the absolute explosion among private companies developing and supplying the military and law enforcement with the newest, biggest, baddest guns and gear. There’s a lot of money to be made. Lawmakers can be easily swayed by that money and the promise of jobs in their districts, counties, states, etc. A return to level-headedness, relationship building and conflict resolution becomes less and less attractive to agencies and lawmakers.
The use of arrest/ticketing quotas, the military like training and gear and equipment, and the shocking lack of training in conflict resolution and de-escalation has led to heavy-handed policies and tactics, very often disproportionately against minorities and those living in areas that are socio-economically depressed. Their training cultivates a climate of fear among officers and the belief that they must be obeyed at very turn without hesitation. And THAT is not how law enforcement is supposed to be. Citizens should be able to question police officers. They should be able to even be “difficult” without being shot. A cop that can’t handle someone “disobeying” them — I’m talking about someone who is not threatening or participating in violence — is a cop that shouldn’t be in our communities. Some officers believe that no one may ever not do exactly what they told them to do exactly the moment they told them to do it. They are not soldiers, and they are not operating in a war zone so no, they do not have that right. Should people do what an officer says? Sure, but they shouldn’t have to do it b/c they fear being shot or detained if they so much as question why they were stopped or why they’re being arrested.
I think another issue that plays into all this is the overly punitive sentences handed out to non-violent drug offenses and the time and money that is spent on law enforcement going after these individuals with heavy-handed tactics. A whole generation of black men are gone — sometimes pulling life sentences for non-violent drug offensives, leaving their families and communities irrecoverably damaged and changed.
I truly believe we need a complete overhaul of the system, their training, and to stop those programs that finance and allow these agencies to get and use military-grade or type weapons and gear.
@Jess, wow. This is op/ed worthiness. Letter to the president, something. Please continue reposting this!
The RNC operated their convention with fear and terror, the DNC chose hope and change.
And inclusion and love
What the hell is wrong with these police unions representatives. Who is telling them this is okay. These women outlived their children because cops are shooting them for being black.
This was the highlight of the night for me. They were so profound in their purposeful desire to commemorate their children. Shame on the Bernie or bust crowd that walked out before this moment.
It was really very moving.
We all have something to learn from these women. They are our conscience. They are our Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. It is time that we in the U.S. stand up and demand to know why all these children are being allowed to be “disappeared” by racist individuals who are defended by a racist system.
Loved that you mentioned Madres. I’d very much like it if both groups met at least once.
Kaiser you make an excellent point. These women are not only grieving over their children, they are grieving the lack of justice. There is not closure for these women, only hate and denial directed at them full force.
The soul of this country needs an exorcism.
How can they allow the losses of their children become abused by a politician that has repeatedly voted for war when she knew at the time the war was not justified? How can these mothers stand next to someone responsible for countless mothers losing their children in several nations?
Gee, I don’t know. But what would be helpful is if you take your privilege and immediately start trying to direct the issue away from what these grieving Black mothers are looking to address with the only viable candidate willing to help. Because if POC start talking we should immediately talk over them with our own issues. Because talking over the concerns of Black women and scolding them for wanting to focus their efforts on the issue that killed their children is just the way it’s done! 🙄
Maybe if these grieving black mothers raised their children to be honest citizens rather that criminals they wouldn’t be grieving now.
@SamiHami
Sincere question how sad is your life that you need a narrative to keep you from feeling empathy from another person?
How small is your intellect that you’ve never taken the time to research not just each individual story but the realities and statistics of black crime and poverty?
I think you wanted anger but what I look at in your comment is fear. Right at the core of your being. That must be a very uncomfortable thing to deal with and know that the fear will only grow as the world changes more and more away from coddling you.
@SamiHami This is a pathetic attempt at trolling and trying to get a reaction. I’ll educate you instead. One the mothers in the group was of the mother of Jordan Davis. He was shot and killed because somebody didn’t like that he was playing loud music. Trayvon Martin you’ll recall was walking home from the store when he was killed. It’s in your best interest to know the facts before spouting off and showing your ignorance.
Thank you SamiHami, I didn’t know being killed by a police officer, even if you were committing no wrongdoing, was a crime. I’ll start making that point to people, “Don’t get murdered by a police officer! It’s against the law?”
Just wanted to add a +1 for Mia4s. I was about to write a response to this, but could not have done any better than this beautiful piece of work above. Kudos.
@SamiHami I realize you are troll but: What is your definition of an “honest citizen”?
Tamir was being an honest citizen who was outside playing by himself. Was his crime that he was playing by himself.
Mike was being an honest citizen who was walking down a street. Was his crime walking in the middle of the street and not on a sidewalk.
Hadiya was being an honest citizen when she was standing with a group of friends late at night. Was she being a criminal when she was talking to her friends outside? Was her skirt too short? Was she being the typical loud black girl?
Rekia Boyd had every right to also be out at night at a party with her boyfriend. Was she being a criminal because she was loud in an alleyway?
Sandra Bland was also following the rules when she pulled over. Same as Philando. Were they being criminals when they pulled over to the side of the road and were following the orders that the cops were giving them?
All of these people were born in the US, went to American schools, spoke English (possibly spoke multiple languages). Even if they weren’t born here or became citizens later, it does not mean they deserved to die the way that they did. Some of them did not get to be real citizens because they were murdered before they could vote.
We are receiving reports on this really ridiculous and downright cruel comment by SamiHami but so many of you have responded to it that we can’t really delete it at this point.
SamiHami’s comment is an illustration that racism never mixes with social intelligence.
Kaiser…wow. That last paragraph sums up everything. Samaria Rice has the same feeling of loss as the rest of those mothers, but she’s not as far along in the grief process as them. Not sure if she’ll ever be. It was incredibly humbling to see those women and hear them say their jobs as mothers wasn’t dead with their children being dead.
The DNC convention has been one of hope and unity. So very unlike the RNC’s of fear, divisiveness and exclusion.
If Samaria Rice is not comfortable sharing on a public stage, you know what? That is her comfort zone, she has lost too much already and we all need to support everyone’s grieving. I’m happy that they got as many mothers as they did. It’s important to have our listening become a catalyst for change and not just lip service.
Nauseating.
You. Completely. Missed. The. Point. Go. Away.
ETA: I wished I’d copied and pasted your original comment, so everybody could see the tone-deafness in all it’s glory. 😑😑😑
When someone in police custody or in prison commits suicide, it is because someone wasn’t doing his or her job. There are strict rules for the handling of suicidal people in custody.
Lol, so you were bold enough to make what I assume was a pretty ignorant comment but then got a little scaredy that people would call your ignorance out.
You don’t even have the strength to stand by your nonsense, lol.
I cannot believe people are still whining and pining for Harambe, and then movements like this gets crickets.
As INeedANap says, “The soul of this country needs an exorcism.”
Oh many a white person will cry tears over an animal before a human life. That goes all the way back to slavery when the master’s doc was valued and treated better than the black humans toiling to keep him comfortable.
Correct. I’m not making light of what happened to that poor baby who was killed by the alligator and I recognise that the circumstances are a bit different (no barriers, age of the child, endangered vs. not, visibility of animal) but I didn’t hear the same criticisms of his parents or the same anger over animal lives lost. Trevor Noah was dead on, people really can’t compare us to monkeys, apes, etc. because they give actually a damn about real monkeys, apes, etc.
The animals over people stance is–let’s be real– largely a white sentiment. Animals are similar to us in many ways, they do have feelings, form families, have protective instincts etc., and I like animals, truly, but if more people were used to seeing and hearing that their lives were worth less than a dog’s, they might think twice about confirming it by waxing rhapsodic on the ‘purity’ of animal life elevating it above humans. They might think that they’re talking about something abstract and pure and beautiful, but we’ve been experiencing the end result of that thinking in a very real way for a very long time and it’s not so beautiful. Who decided animals were better than us? Not black people. I’m not comfortable with bestowing sainthood on animals for the purpose of finding people wanting and then and using that to justify a hardness towards human life because the consequences of it are visited on black people who, already historically regarded as animals, then get the distinction of being lower than beasts, to boot. Because all of that ‘animals are better than people’ talk is forgotten when it’s the worth one of their lives that’s being weighed against that of the animals.
I think it’s all talk, anyway, you’re not picking the badger’s life over your own.
@Jo Mama 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Sharing this with my friends. Thank you 😊
@Jo Mama
Every word you said. 🙏 The moment I saw a petition to declare social services investigate her and all the people calling her a bad mother my sympathy waned. How much can I value an animal’s life when in the same picture I see people casually disregarding a child’s life.
If the keepers of that zoo had not made a hard choice that beautiful creature would be alive and a child dead and so many seem to prefer that possibility over us just improving the safety and security of zoo walls.
“The soul of this country needs an exorcism.”
I want to hug INeedANap for that statement.
I read SamiHami’s comment above and I had to walk away from my computer for a while. Kudos to ESE and Finger Binger for answering them with class. Me , I would have used much stronger language.
@feministajones in twitter is having a very very good convo about why Samaria Rice is being excluded from a lot of these moments…she doesn’t kowtow or presents in a way that coddles to respectability and also she is RIGHTEOUSLY ANGRY, Leslie McSpudden face still hurts me when I see her, to this day, I cannot think about her having to speak about her freshly killed son to the news….even in Lemonade she still feels so so raw…..sigh… all the same, I’m so happy they got a moment to be full force like this in such a big audience but I honestly feel zero hope that reforms in policing will come in any fashion
I really feel for Samaria Rice. I really do. Also respectability can go fuck itself. None of these women have gotten a 1/10th of respect for them or their loved ones, so the media and others can go away with that bs.
Yep, yep, yep. It is still fresh and her sons last killer just walked. I believe she will speak, just not right now. She will make sure in the future this or her son’s death will not be forgotten.
I give all these women all the love and respect in the world. God knows if it was me many an ugly and honest word would come from my mouth and I dont know how I’d ever stop.
This breaks my heart.
This is well said @Kaiser. I was speechless by these brave and beautiful mothers who went on stage and said their griefs and disappointments in the justice system in USA. I truly admire these women, I literally cried for them and anyone who lost their families and loved one in the violence of police brutality. My heart goes out to them.
As for the police killed, as much as they had no right to be killed by civilians but at this point I have no sympathy for them at all. They know that they have a duty to protect and serve and they chose to live in fear and shoot black young men. I am not saying, all police are bad but bad apples spoiled the bunch and if some these bad apples are so “afraid” of their lives then they should not protect and serve. I am so sorry for the families of the police who are killed but BLUE LIVES DO NOT MATTER. They have made the damage and they have to deal with it.
Also, it makes me sick to my stomach and I am saddened that the Bernie or Bust people stubbornly will not get on board with Hillary Clinton. Therefore, I say this…. You can go and live in the stench with DONALD TRUMP AND THE RESST REPUBLICAN SUPPORTERS. SHAME ON YOU!
Having the mothers onstage was beyond powerful. But I don’t blame Rice’s mother for not appearing one bit. It’s the same rigged system, either party.
http://www.gq.com/story/tamir-rice-story
The way these women manage to be so composed and keep their heads up despite the grief they have been forced to go through for the rest of their lives is truly admirable and humbling.
They are some of the most courageous people for continuing on and speaking out in spite of their heartbreaking stories. Their children were so wrongly taken from them by people who were supposed to protect them. I honestly don’t think I could live through something like this happening to my child.
Their dignity and their ability to continue to endorse love instead of hate is awe-inspiring. I am so, so, sorry their children were not alive to see them rise above it all. Every weekend in Chicago we hear of individuals, sometimes children, being shot or killed. Who is doing the shooting varies but when it’s the police, it’s such a basic violation of trust, how can any mother of a young black man not fear for his safety? Samaria Rice is living this out her own way, it’s her path to choose and no one else’s. And I want to weep for all of them.
Because when a police officer is killed in the line of duty he was doing his job. He kissed his children on their heads and promised he’d be back after work. A job he gets paid handsomely to put his life on the line for? No. Because when Michael Brown was killed he was commiting a crime and evading arrest. Is there supposed to be a fair fight between hard working, dedicated police officers and criminals? No, sorry. I feel sorry for Brown’s mother. Grief is grief. But she needs to face the truth about her son, not blame the police. Do we live in a society that says white is better than black? Absolutely. But there is no excuse for criminal behavior.
Actually, there are often are excuses for criminal behavior. For instance, I’d wager you’d call Edward Snowden a hero. But he is a criminal. You just choose to justify some criminal activity and not others based on what? The wealth of the person committing the crime? The status? Whether or not you like the outcome of the crime? Or the person’s skin color?
Know who else went to jail and committed a crime? Rosa Parks. MLK. John Lewis. Occupy Wall Street protesters. But you stick to your narrative, why don’t you, since it helps you feel better and wash your hands of the real issue at hand.
–TheRealPinky
Lol. No. I do not consider Snowden a hero. Michael Brown was robbing a convenience store. That’s ok with you? SMH. You will put him with Rosa Parks and MLK?! The real issue in society is that white is considered better than black. But don’t put that on the police who receive a 911, call and have to get down on the ground and wrestle with someone who is evading arrest. In that moment, they don’t care about skin color, the care about staying alive.
@ Chris The police are not a separate entity outside of society. They are born and bred in the same society as everyone else. They learn to hate and love just like everyone else and then they take those biases with them when they go into the police academy, throughout training (where the prejudice is being enforced by the training that they get for certain areas), and then when they get into the field. There are numerous stories out there that prove that cops have different reactions to criminals of different races. Dylan Roof ambushed and murdered 9 people but was brought in unharmed. Same with Timothy McVeigh who murderd over one hundred people. Getting 12 bullets for stealing cigarettes is not ok. Also, if Darren thought his life was really in danger, why not call for backup and then wait until the backup arrived? Look at the incident that just happend with Dr. Dre. to see what I am talking about.
He may have committed a crime before he met Darren Wilson, but he stopped and put his hands up later on. Darren then shot him 12 times. We don’t know what was said during this entire event. We will never truly know because Michael is not alive to tell his side of the story.
The blood and fingerprints on the inside of the police car, as Michael Brown tried to grab the officer’s gun away from him, tell the truth of the story. We do know he robbed a convenience store earlier and assaulted the owner.
As for McVeigh, he was stopped for driving a car without license plates and didn’t resist arrest.
No, the blood in the car only corroborates the narrative that Darren successfully sold. That does not mean he was telling the truth. Why did he have the gun out in the first place? How did Michael get so close to the vehicle? How would he have just grabbed the gun if it was holstered properly? If Michael was running away from the vehicle, why shoot him?
There were several instances where standard procedures that should have occurred after incidences like this were not followed, so not enough evidence existed but the evidence they wanted to exist.
The entire situation was preventable. Darren chose to keep shooting until
Michael was dead.
How did he get so close? He probably thought he could fight the cop for the gun, and he probably fought with him to try to get it? They were similarly sized people. And Michael had no problem grabbing that store owner earlier, so he had no qualms about getting physical with people, as the video showed.
Sigh. Speechless. Every thug every intelligent poster on this thread said. God bless these women and police unions do f*cking better.
DO. BETTER.
Fyi- Samira Rice recently sat down with Joy Reid for a heartbreaking interview. I suggest everyone watch it because it really represents the anger and frustration so many people feel in this country towards our legal systems.
Tamir Rice was a 12 year old boy who was playing in the park when he was murdered. The officer who killed him is still on active duty.
This is the society we live in. Where the crime of being Black is punishable by death.
I’ll muster some fortitude and I’ll watch that interview.
My heart goes out to these women and their families. But, to the first woman who spoke, No, your God is not great. This whole world is his one big crime scene. Your God murdered your son.
“Because when a police officer falls in the line of duty, his murderer will be found swiftly and put in jail (or killed in a stand-off with police). Because when a police officer kills a civilian, that cop rarely sees the inside of a jail cell.”
Yas, Kaiser!
Police are placed in a position of public trust to keep us safe. That’s why they’re so mourned when they die in the line of duty. Why then, is it not equally outrageous when that trust is abused? It all reeks of white privilege, where they have always seen police as protectors, not aggressors, and want to bury their head in the sand about it.
There have been so many instances of police killings of unarmed civilians I”m having a hard time keeping track at this point. Fortunately The Guardian has a list:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/the-counted-police-killings-us-database
I truly hope other western democracies will sanction the U.S. Because the population is not safe. That’s the truth.
Beautifully written, Kaiser.
My favorite Kaiser post ever! I’ve always struggled to crystallize the argument of black vs blue and this is it! I posted it on FB, and am studiously avoiding the trolls as their thoughts and stance won’t change in the face of reality
You should probably stick to celebrity gossip. Done with this site.
Please feel free to let the door hit you on your way out.
Done too. Not printing rebuttals because they don’t agree with celebitchy’s narrative will do that to you.