So there's this riot going on right now

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Inanna
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Inanna »

Given the research findings on how humans recall, and construct events to make sense of them, I do sympathize with witnesses, and can understand the reasons for rare prosecutions.

But to pretend that you are an eyewitness when you heard about the event from the NEWS is just.... And to get away with it. However all this is nothing compared to what the prosecutor is getting away with.


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Frelga
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Frelga »

Yeah...
It wasn't run of the mill attention seeking, either. She gave testimony collaborating Wilson's version of events, when that was exactly what was in question.
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Voronwë the Faithful
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

The Ferguson saga just keeps getting messier. It had been reported that a deal had been reached between the City and the Justice Department regarding reforms of the law enforcement practices in the City, but the City Council voted to unilaterally change the terms of the deal (!?!?!?!?!) and so the Justice Department is suing the City to compel the City to make the changes the department believes are necessary to fix the longstanding constitutional problems.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/09/us/fergus ... index.html
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

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Even money says the city gets dissolved. Which in a way is sad, as there are forty or fifty municipalities in the county that deserve it even more.
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Impenitent »

Lighting my ignorance in neon here, but what does dissolving the city mean?

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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by axordil »

It means it ceases to exist as a political entity: no mayor, no council, no police, no fire department. It would become an unincorporated part of St. Louis County, who would provide the civic services it formerly provided. All property owned by the city would be...well, now it gets tricky, depending on the outcome of the various litigation arrayed against the place. But I believe it's possible the former police department building could end up in the hands of one or more of the litigants suing Ferguson.
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Impenitent
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Impenitent »

Hm. Very dramatic and final, it seems.
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
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Primula Baggins
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Primula Baggins »

It happens more often for undramatic reasons, such as a town running out of tax base so it can't pay for the services it needs to supply, or the population shrinking so far there's no one left to serve.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
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tinwë
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

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So, another police shooting, another man dead, more riots. This time in my hometown of Charlotte. The initial shooting took place right outside the front door of the townhouse I used to live in before I moved eight years ago. I know a few people who still live there - not friends exactly, I haven’t seen or talked to any of them since I moved - but still, I can’t imagine how terrifying it must be to live in the center of this nightmare.

The riots that took place last night were in the center city part of town. Wampus works down there, a late shift no less, so she was there during the worst parts of it. She posted a picture on Facebook of windows that had been smashed in the building where she works. I assume she made it home alright. Hope she had an escort to her car. I always worry about being there alone late at night, but this is more then just scarey.

Pray for us, folks. We need all the help we can get. All of us.
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Lalaith
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Lalaith »

:hug: I am praying. I'm so sorry. :(

Wampus did say she made it home safely, but yikes. I'm scared for you all and scared for this nation.
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

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Oh no! :(
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Primula Baggins »

Charlotte's in my prayers, too, tinwë. :( I'm glad to hear Wampus got home safe. I have not had time to be on Facebook lately.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Inanna
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

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Take care, all of you...
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Frelga
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Frelga »

In not unrelated news, the national Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed Trump a few days ago.

Stay safe, everyone. :hug:
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Túrin Turambar
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Túrin Turambar »

This has been major news over here. Obviously seeing Charlotte, NC, flashing up on the TV screens showing the riot footage made me think of the two HOFers there.
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tinwë
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by tinwë »

I'm tired of seeing my city and state in the international news. Seems like it's only for things that are utterly horrible. The HB2 story broke when we were in Ireland, I remember riding in the car listening to the radio and hearing something about North Carolina and thinking, oh cool, they're talking about us, then when I heard what it was about my heart just sank.

I don't know what the international coverage is on this story, but I doubt it is an accurate reflection of how things really are here. Charlotte is actually a pretty good place and has largely avoided much of the racial tension going on in other places in the US. We had an incident a few years ago where a police officer shot and killed an unarmed black man whose car had broken down. Things were tense, and heated, but we avoided the rioting. The officer was charged and tried, but the case was dismissed after a hung jury. That brought about more tension, but again protesting was mostly peaceful. My guess is that a lot of what is happening here now is being caused by outside provocateurs.

Charlotte is fairly liberal for a southern city. We have had several black mayors and black police chiefs, we more or less peacefully integrated our school system back in the 60’s. We certainly have had our share of problems, but we have a history of peacefully working through them.

On the other hand, after reading some of the stories in the paper this morning, I recognized one of the people interviewed as someone I had known when I lived there. She described the man shot as "friendly people" and confirmed that he waited in his car for his son to get home from school most days. The question of whether he had a gun is irrelevant to me. You can legally have a gun in the US, you can open carry a gun in NC without a permit. Reports about the video footage suggest that the man did not point the gun at the officers. I'm left with the inescapable conclusion that he was killed because he was a black man with a gun. In this country, a white man with a gun is a patriot defending his 2nd amendment rights, whereas a black man with a gun is a thug and a criminal and deserves to to be shot and killed.

I hate the riots, I hate the violence, I hate the hate, but I understand where it comes from.
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by River »

What's interesting about the Charlotte shooting is the officer who shot the black man was, himself, a black man.

And then in Tulsa a black man was shot after he put his empty hands up. The officer involved claims she was in fear for her life. The Tulsa DA is charging her with 1st degree manslaughter.

I don't know what's going on. I really don't. I've got a weird, nasty feeling that, while race is definitely a huge factor in these events, it's not the only factor. There's something else at play.
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Primula Baggins
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Primula Baggins »

Some people are angry, some people are frightened, and everyone has guns.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Frelga
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by Frelga »

https://twitter.com/alicesperi/status/7 ... 6403528704

A tweet with a brief video of protesters hugging the members of the National Guard that were called in. Another twitter comments on the sense of relief that the soldiers were there to protect the protests from police, not the other way around.
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tinwë
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Re: So there's this riot going on right now

Post by tinwë »

Yes, things were much better last night. I went to bed early and was relieved to wake up this morning to the news that my city was not burning. Let’s hope things stay that way tonight. I see that the protesters are out again, but so far everything is peaceful. We really do have some good people here.

I also watched the video that was released this afternoon that was taken by the victim’s wife, and have been seeing it played ad-infinitum on all of the cable news networks. It is disturbing, but all I can think of when I see it is ... I used to live there, in that very neighborhood, on that very street, that was my home, for 24 years I lived there. I walked my dog over the very spot where the man was killed, thousands of times. I know every inch of that place like it was the back of my hand. I was the president of the homeowners association there for four years. Good god.

The video does not answer any questions for me. All I know for certain is: the man lived in the complex, he had suffered a brain injury last year in a motorcycle accident, he often waited for his son to get home from school, in his car, in that spot, and now he is dead. Something went horribly wrong there, and it is difficult for me to believe that it was his fault. That is not to say that he did not do anything wrong, only that ... if the police had not been there at that time he would probably still be alive. That’s kind of the opposite of what the police are supposed to do.

I do hope that things continue to be calm here. I am really kind of amazed at the restraint of the protesters.
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