Just Say That!

[justsaythatj]

Steve Harvey crosses the line with "joke" about Flint

I’m not from Flint. I’m not even from Michigan.  However, none of that is required when it comes to showing concern for what’s happening there.  So, when I hear someone mocking their plight, it gets may back up.

So, Steve Harvey was in his feelings when a caller from Flint mocked the Cleveland Cavaliers losing in the NBA finals.  Now, for most of us, a comeback to that would be to, perhaps, clown the Detroit Pistons for not making it to the playoffs.  Instead, Harvey goes for the low blow and, by doing so, belittles a very serious situation — one which has caused the deaths of a least 12 people and harmed an entire generation of the city’s children — the Flint water crisis.

You can hear Steve Harvey’s co-hosts telling him he’s going too far, even though they seemed to be yucking it up, too.  But, then he tells the caller this:

“enjoy your nice brown glass of water.”

I contend that, even if he was directing this toward the caller, the situation he’s joking about is not funny.  This man-made, entirely avoidable tragedy has been a daily part of the lives of the majority-black city.  You’d think that compassion, or at least good common sense, would have him pull back on something that would justifiably touch a raw nerve for anyone dealing with or concerned about this situation.

If this were a one-off for him, I might have avoided commenting but, this is the same man who belittled black concerns about slavery, who gave Paula Deen a platform to launch her comeback after her history of racism was exposed and who, in an attempt to cozy up to President Trump, got played for a photo-op, while claiming he went there to represent black folks.

No, Steve Harvey is out for Steve Harvey and the rest of us be damned.  We’ll see if he apologizes but, let’s be clear — he has once again shown that he’s not the least bit concerned about throwing black people under the bus, even if it’s for no more than to satisfy his bruised ego.

original post here: https://justsaythat.com/media/2017/06/steve-harvey-crosses-line-joke-flint/

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[justsaythatj]

Michigan health chief charged for Flint water deaths

In the 3 years since Michigan’s government created the water crisis in Flint, we have witnessed, in the starkest of terms, what environmental racism looks like.  The fact that we have a city in America where you literally can’t drink the water is unimaginable.  Even if this were fixed today, the effects will likely carry on for at least a generation.

What might not be at the front of everyone’s mind is that there was another deadly by-product of this mess.  Twelve people died from Legionnaires’ diseases as a result of bacteria in the improperly treated water.

Today, we learned that at least one person will be facing charges over these deaths.  Nick Lyon, the head of Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services has been charged with involuntary manslaughter over his failure to alert the public over the Legionnaires’ outbreak.

While it is good to think that someone might finally be held accountable for this man-made disaster, let us not forget that the water in Flint is still unsafe and there is not ETA on when it will be.  Let us not forget that a population of people is being denied access to a safe source of a basic necessity to sustain life.  Just let that one sink in.

  original post here: https://justsaythat.com/news/crime/2017/06/michigan-healt-chief-charged-flint-water-deaths/

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[justsaythatj]

Flint official resigns over recording of him blaming city's water troubles on "f**cking n****rs"

For over three years, the residents of Flint, Michigan have been subjected to the constant threat to their health that comes from living with lead-contaminated water.  To add insult to injury, despite being unable to safely consume or bathe in the water coming out of their pipes, residents are still being charged for their water.  The way the law is set up there, unpaid water bills can eventually lead to home foreclosures.

The largest holder of foreclosed properties is Genesee County Land Bank.  Today, they found one more reason not to be liked by the residents of Flint.

One of the bank’s sales managers, Phil Stair, resigned today after a secret recording surfaced of him blaming the city’s water problems on “f**cking n****rs” who “don’t pay their bills”.

“Flint has the same problems as Detroit — f**ing ni***** don’t pay their bills, believe me, I deal with them.”

This audio was part of a 20-minute recording, taken over 2 days, by Chelsea Lyons, an environmental activist and independent journalist.  Lyons tracked Stair down at a bar he frequents and he apparently had no qualms about expressing his feelings about the black residents of Flint to her.

Genesee County Land Bank is now dealing with the PR fallout over this incident but, given the ongoing mistreatment of the people of Flint, the residents are probably not surprised by this story.

original post here: https://justsaythat.com/society-and-culture/race/2017/06/flint-official-resigns-recording-blaming-citys-water-troubles-fcking-nrs/

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[justsaythatj]

Bill Maher apologizes (sort of) for "house n*gger" joke

Yesterday, Bill Maher, in an attempt at edgy humor, referred to himself as a “house n*gger” in an interview with Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse.  At the time, I predicted that Maher would just double down by decrying any criticism of him as political correctness.  Well, shockingly, he apologized…sort of.  I say “sort of” because the apology was issued through his publicist.  It reads:

“Friday nights are always my worst night of sleep because I’m up reflecting on the things I should or shouldn’t have said on my live show. Last night was a particularly long night as I regret the word I used in the banter of a live moment. The word was offensive and I regret saying it and am very sorry.”

However, I wonder if the company he works for might have helped him arrive at the need for an apology.  HBO issued the following statement:

“Bill Maher’s comment last night was completely inexcusable and tasteless. We are removing his deeply offensive comment from any subsequent airings of the show.”

So, we’ll see what the future holds for Maher.  As I’ve stated previously, he lost me as a fan long ago.  If he says something that interests me, I’ll just catch a clip on YouTube.  Otherwise, I’m done letting this guy occupy a space in my thoughts.

original post here: https://justsaythat.com/entertainment/celebrity/2017/06/bill-maher-apologizes-sort-house-ngger-joke/

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[justsaythatj]

Bill Maher calls himself a "house ni**er"

In the lastest episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, the host was interviewing Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse.  I guess he called himself being “edgy” when this exchange happened:

Maher: “Halloween used to be a kid thing.”

Sasse: “It’s not anymore?” said Sen. Sasse.

Maher: “Not out here. No, adults dress up for Halloween. They don’t do that in Nebraska?”

Sasse: “It’s frowned upon. Yeah, we don’t do that quite as much.”

Maher: “I’ve gotta get to Nebraska more.”.

Sasse: “You’re welcome. We’d love to have you work in the fields with us.”

Maher: “Work in the fields? Senator, I’m a house nigger.”

First, let me be clear.  I haven’t been a fan of Maher for many years, now.  To me, he embodies the very stereotype conservatives have about Hollywood liberals.  He acts condescending, entitled and superior, as if having a TV show imbues him with a knowledge of all things.  He also acts as if sleeping with the occassional black woman somehow makes him a knower of all things black and get him an automatic pass on insulting black people and our concerns.

I say all that to say this:  I am not surprised by this latest incident.  Of course, when the inevitable blowback occurs, he’ll decry it as poltical correctness run amok.  However, there’s something that people like Bill Maher need to recognize.  When you mock historically disenfranchised people, it never sits well.  Mocking a President or congressperson is more acceptable because it involves taking on powerful people.  Mocking people who are not in power is simply punching down.

Bill Maher lost me a long time ago so, if he were suddenly fired by HBO, it would be no big deal to me.  His latest behavior seemed like a desperate move to keep people talking about him but, it fell completely flat. I suspect that, one day soon, conversations about Bill Maher will start with, “Wasn’t he the dude that used to have that show on HBO?”

original post here: https://justsaythat.com/entertainment/celebrity/2017/06/bill-maher-calls-house-nier/

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[justsaythatj]

He stunted pretty hard until the police kicked down the doors

It looks like a young brother in Jacksonville, FL just managed to provide police (and the internet) with amusement and incriminating evidence, all in one video.  He decided to show the world how he was getting money but, did he have to live stream from inside a trap house, though?

For the first 55 seconds, you see him waving around money, all the time bragging about how well he’s doing.  Then, everything gets real when the sheriff’s department shows up to execute a raid.  He leaves but, a short while later, armed police show up.  All this is still on Facebook Live, mind  you.  The last shot is that of a police finding his phone, almost as if to say, “thanks for the evidence.”

Shaking my d*mn head!

NSFW Language Warning

  original post here: https://justsaythat.com/entertainment/lol/2017/06/stunted-pretty-hard-police-kicked-doors/

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[justsaythatj]

Terrorism has no color

In this country, terrorism is seen as something done by brown people.  However, let’s look at its definition:

“the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.”

Where, in this definition, is the color brown or the word Muslim?  When someone goes into a church and kills 9 people because they are black and he wants to start a race war, what do you call it?  When someone drives from Baltimore to New York for the purposes of killing black men because killing there would get him the most media attention, what do you call it?  When a known white supremacist kills two people for intervening on behalf of two Muslim women, what do you call it?  When a man plots and actively attempts to recruit others to commit mass murder on a Muslim town in upstate New York, what do you call it?

I call it all terrorism.

This terrorism is not new.  The Ku Klux Klan (and other racist groups) practiced this form of terror from its inception.  Murders, lynchings and bombings were their calling cards.

Do other groups of people commit terrorism? Of course.  However, when they do, it’s called out as such.  For some reason, brown skin (with the notable exception of the Tsarnaev brothers) seems to be the requirement before we are willing to call terrorism what it is.

Francis Maxwell of The Young Turks cut a video that brilliantly and forcefully makes the point that we must stop assigning a color to terrorism and instead call it out for the crime it is, regardless of who’s committing it.  Well said…well said indeed.

original post here: http://justsaythat.com/society-and-culture/race/2017/06/terrorism-no-color/

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[justsaythatj]

Jason Whitlock says Lebron James is too rich to experience racism

My mother used to say, when she heard somebody say somethings stupid, “(he/she) opened their mouth and their brains fell out.”  Jason Whitlock’s brains fell out — again.

As you are aware, Lebron James’ California estate was vandalized when someone spray-painted the n-word on his front gate. In response, Lebron James stated that, even when you have money, being black is still tough. However,  according to Jason Whitlock, what Lebron James faced wasn’t racism.  Why?  If you ask Whitlock, it’s because Lebron James is rich.  In Jason Whitlock’s mind, only poor black people experience racism:

 “I think it is a disrespectful inconvenience for LeBron James. He allegedly had the n-word spray-painted on his $20 million Brentwood home. He wasn’t there. His family wasn’t there. He heard about it…Racism is an issue in America but is primarily an issue for the poor. It’s not LeBron James’ issue. He has removed himself from the damages and the ravages of real racism. He may have an occasional disrespectful interaction with someone, a disrespectful inconvenience.”

Now, if I chose to be fair on this one, I would say that the most vicious forms of racism are generally enacted on people who are considered to powerless to fight back.  But, nothing about having money exempts you from racism.  Just ask former President Barack Obama. Just because you’re not being called “n****er” to your face every day doesn’t mean that you’re exempt from people treating you like one.

So, back to Whitlock.  I continue to hear his “logic” being employed by people who keep telling us that “real” racism is a thing of the past.  One of my favorite songs, of late, is “No Lives Matter” by Body Count.  If you are not familiar with them, they are a black heavy-metal band, fronted by Ice T.  Yeah, that Ice T — the legendary rapper and the guy you see on “Law and Order SVU”.  In the song, he raps about how when you’re black, specifically, and poor, in general, your life is not valued.  The criticism that I read about this song, over and over, is that Ice T is rich so, he has no right to raise this concern.

This is the diabolical part of any “-ism”.  Suddenly, money is supposed to make it all go away and that, when you make money, it’s crass or impolite for you to advocate for or show solidarity with people who are also subject to these “-isms”.  With people like Whitlock, what I hear is a desire to make enough money that he no longer has to be “bothered” with the concerns black people face.  I think Lebron James reaction bothered Whitlock because it burst a bubble, one that told him that, when he got rich enough, he’d be a full-fledged member of the club.  However, even when you’re rich, your black skin will always make your membership conditional.

So, Charlemagne Tha God gave out his “Donkey of the Day” and, guess who won?  This time, he let Dr. Michael Eric Dyson handle his work and the takedown was both intellectual and masterful.  Check it out for yourselves.

  original post here: https://justsaythat.com/entertainment/sports-entertainment/2017/06/jason-whitlock-says-lebron-james-rich-experience-racism/

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[justsaythatj]

City of Cleveland fires police officer who killed Tamir Rice

Timothy Loehmann, the police officer who killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice, has been fired by the city of Cleveland, Ohio.  In November 2014, Loehmann responded to a call of someone with a gun in a local park.  It was Tamir, who was playing with a toy gun.  Within 2 seconds of rolling up beside the boy, Loehmann fired on the 12-year-old.  Tamir Rice later died of his wounds.  In the wake of the shooting, records for Loehmann’s previous stint as a police officer for Independence, Ohio were scrutinized by the press.  They painted a picture of someone who should have never been a police officer.  In fact, Deputy Chief Jim Polak of the Independence police wrote in a letter recommending Loehmann’s firing that, “He could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was dismal” and that “I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct the deficiencies.”  In other words, the Deputy Chief did not believe Loehmann should be a police officer.  Despite these records being publicly-available, the Cleveland police did not review his personnel file before hiring him.

In 2015, a grand jury declined to indict Loehmann.  It was no surprise, given that the county prosecutor Tim McGinty seemingly behaved more like a defense attorney than someone who should have been seeking charges against the officer. In early 2016, voters ousted McGinty in a clear rebuke of his handling of this case.

That brings us to today.  We learned that Loehmann is not being fired for his actions in regards to killing Tamir Rice.  Instead, Public Safety Director Michael McGrath and Chief Calvin Williams announced that he is being fired for not being truthful on his application to become a police officer in the City of Cleveland.  So, it wasn’t the killing of a child but, lying on a job application, that has him being removed from the force.

We are expected to believe that it took two-plus years to uncover these discrepancies, especially given that his record with his previous employer available for any member of the public, much less another police force.  The most sickening part of this is that had the Cleveland police done their due diligence in hiring Loehmann, it’s possible that Tamir Rice would still be alive today.

Sadly, justice has still been denied in the case.

original post here: https://justsaythat.com/news/police-legal-2/2017/05/city-cleveland-fires-police-officer-killed-tamir-rice/

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[justsaythatj]

FBI looking at student's killing as possible hate crime

This week should be one of the happiest moments in the lives of Richard Collins III, his family and his loved ones.  He was set to graduate college and start a career in the U.S. Army, where he had just earned the rank of second lieutenant.  None of this will happen now: Richard Collins III was murdered.

It happened in the early hours of Saturday morning.  Collins, a soon-to-be Bowie State graduate was visiting some friends on the University of Maryland’s campus.  Collins and two friends were standing near a bus stop, around 3am, when a man approached them and began shouting.  The man demanded the group move aside saying, “Step left, step left if you know what’s best for you”. Collins refused and the man stabbed him in the chest.

Richard Collins III was taken to a hospital, where he died.

The killer, 22-year-old University of Maryland student Sean Urbanski, was arrested at the scene.  He was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree assault. Urbanski didn’t know Richard Collins so, police initially characterized this killing as a random attack.

Today, however, evidence is leading them to question Urbanski’s motives as something else: racial hatred.

The FBI is now investigating this killing as a possible hate crime.  Police received information about Sean Urbanski belonging to a Facebook group named “Alt-Reich Nation”.  The group contains racist, misogynist and anti-Semitic posts.  An FBI digital forensics team is examining this group to see if it might have something to do with Urbanski’s motivation for his crime.

Near the end of the  Bush presidency, the Department of Homeland Security produced a report, citing domestic right-wing terrorism as this country’s greatest threat.   The report wasn’t released until 2009, the first year of the Obama administration.  Caving to pressure from Republicans, the administration ran from the report.  In 2015, DHS issued another warning about right-wing terrorism, which again went unheeded. Now, with President Trump in office, his administration is intentionally placing less focus on the right-wing terror threat.

Perhaps, just as is done when person of the Muslim faith commits a killing, we need to ask how right-wing killers are becoming “radicalized”.  Terror needs to be treating as terror, regardless of the skin color or religion of the person commiting the act.

original post here: https://justsaythat.com/news/crime/2017/05/fbi-looking-students-killing-possible-hate-crime/

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Trump supporters threaten to lynch congressman who called for President's impeachment

Last week, Congressman Al Green (D-TX) became the first lawmaker to officially call for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.  He threw a rock and some dogs got hit. In a town hall meeting today, Rep. Green shared some death threats he’s received as a result of his call for the President to be tried for his alleged violations of his oath and the law.

In a story from Fusion, here’s the text from one of the calls he played at the meeting:

“Try it,” the first caller threatens, referring to impeaching Trump, “and we’ll lynch all you f*cking n****rs, you’ll be hanging from a tree. I didn’t see anybody calling for the impeachment of your n****r Obama when he was born in Kenya. He’s not even an American. So, f*ck you, n****r.”

Green played another message with a similar threat and said his staff also recorded a third threatening call.

Representative Green says his is not backing down, despite these threats.  He did state, however, that his team enacted tighter security protocols as a precaution.

Trump fans…Making America Hate Again

  original post here: http://justsaythat.com/news/politics/2017/05/trump-supporters-threaten-lynch-congressman-called-presidents-impeachment/

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[justsaythatj]

Charlemagne Tha God bodied Jason Whitlock

If you’ve paid any attention to sports news in the past couple of days, you might be aware of a heated exchange that occurred between ex-NBA player and father of NBA prospect Lonzo Ball, Lavar Ball and Fox Sports personality Kristine Leahy.  Prior to his appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd”, Leahy had made some comments criticizing him as a father, as well as criticizing his business acumen.  When Lavar Ball appeared on the show, it was clear that he had seen/heard what Leahy said about it.  He basically told her he didn’t want to talk to her.  Then when he mentioned  she was going to get what’s coming to her (If you watch the exchange, it’s clear he’s referring to karma), she states that he’s threatening her.

Now, regardless of how much one likes/dislikes Lavar Ball, the image of the scary black man, particularly one that is seen as threatening a white woman, evokes a visceral reaction among many African Americans.  This was used as a justification for discrimination, violence and even murder against black men.

The following day, radio host Charlemagne Tha God, took to the airwaves to give Kristine Leahy his infamous “Donkey of the Day”:

Now, this is where it gets interesting.  Leahy’s Fox Sports colleague, Jason Whitlock, steps in, claiming that he has the credibility to check black people.  If you notice, there’s no real discussion about her previous comments, as if the whole of that interaction was based on Lavar Ball’s appearance on the show.

Then, yesterday happened.  Charlemagne turned it up to 1,000 and roasted Jason Whitlock.  Giving Whitlock his own “Donkey of the Day”, Charlemagne laid out why Jason Whitlock response was not only pitiful but, also, detrimental and dangerous when it comes to having real dialogue on race in America.  See it for yourself.

Somebody play “Ether” by Nas…

original post here: http://justsaythat.com/entertainment/sports-entertainment/2017/05/charlemagne-tha-god-bodied-jason-whitlock/

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[justsaythatj]

#22! Serena Williams wins Wimbledon

With all the bad news this week, I could use a little good news.  Thanks to one of the world’s greatest athletes, Serena Williams, I go it.  Today, she took the Wimbledon title.  This win marks her seventh at Wimbledon and her 22nd Grand Slam title, tying Steffi Graf’s record and putting her two behind the all-time record-holder, Margaret Court, who had 24 Grand Slams to her name.

Fourteen years since she first won Wimbledon, Williams claimed the title for a seventh time without dropping a set all tournament.

The world number one banished memories of last year, when she fell two matches short of a historic calendar Grand Slam, and of losing in the Australian and French Open finals this year.

“It’s been incredibly difficult not to think about it,” she said of finally winning number 22.

“It makes the victory even sweeter to know how hard I worked hard for it.

Congratulations, Serena Williams. You’ve done it again!

original post here: http://justsaythat.com/entertainment/sports-entertainment/2016/07/22-serena-williams-wins-wimbledon/

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[justsaythatj]

Suspect in Dallas Police shootings identified

Last night, I stayed up until about 2am looking that the scene unfolding in Dallas.  As you are aware, five police officers were killed when a person or persons opened fire following a Black Lives Matter protest in the city’s downtown area.  Seven more, include 6 officers, were also wounded by gunfire.

Police have identified  25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson as the prime suspect in these homicides. During a standoff with Johnson, authorities say that he was upset about the killings of blacks by police and “wanted to kill white people, especially white officers”.   Johnson said he was not affiliated with the Black Lives Matter Movement and that he “did this alone”. He was killed when police sent in a robot armed with a bomb and detonated it.

Johnson was a former Army reservist.

Three other people are in custody in relation to this incident. Police are not saying to what extent they believe them to be involved in the slayings of these officers.

original post here: http://justsaythat.com/news/crime/2016/07/suspect-dallas-police-shootings-identified/

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[justsaythatj]

Where the NRA after the Philando Castile killing?

From all indications, Philando Castile was exercising those Second Amendment rights the National Rifle Association claims are vital for every American.  So, why are they so quiet when a licensed carrier of firearms is shot dead over no more that what appears to be an officer’s fear?  Is it that the NRA is afraid of being critical of police?  According to Vox, the answer is not found in questions about law enforcement or Second Amendment principles.  The reason that the NRA is not likely to speak out on this issue is because American gun ownership is built on white identity politics:

The link between white identity and gun ownership has been shown by researchers: A 2015 study, published in the journal Political Behavior, looked at survey data going back to the 1990s, finding a strong correlation between opposition to gun control and levels of racial resentment.

But the results only found a correlation, so the researchers dug deeper. They asked nearly 1,200 white participants a series of questions online about gun laws. But one half of the group first looked at pictures of white and black people from an implicit association test — to make them think about race — while the other half did not.

The researchers found that white participants who were primed by the pictures were more likely to oppose gun control than white participants who didn’t see the images. What’s more, primed participants who reported higher levels of racial resentment were even more likely to oppose gun control than primed participants who reported lower levels of racial resentment.

This is not the first incident by a long shot.  The day before, Alton Sterling was shot in Lousiana, a state in which concealed handguns are very common (but we’re still not certain he even had a gun).  In late summer 2014, John Crawford III was shot and killed by police in a Dayton, OH Walmart while he was walking around with a BB gun he had picked up off one of the store’s shelves, despite Ohio being an open-carry state.  Crawford was shot almost immediately by police.

Later that year, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was gunned down within 2 seconds of police arriving on the scene.  At the time, he was playing with a BB gun in a Cleveland, OH park.  Again, Ohio is an open-carry state.

So, where is the NRA on this?  As usual, when it comes to black people with guns having their rights violated, the NRA’s silence makes it clear who they consider their people.

original post here: http://justsaythat.com/society-and-culture/race/2016/07/nra-philando-castile-killing/

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Will the death of Philando Castille be a tipping point?

Less than 24 hours after the killing of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile lost his life at the hands of police.  At a routine traffic stop, for a supposed broken tail light, Philando Castile was shot to death.

Philando Castile didn’t have a criminal record.  He had a number of traffic violations but, obviously nothing major.  In fact, he was able to get a concealed carry permit in his home state of Minnesota.  According to his girlfriend, Lavish Reynolds, who was in the car also, Castile informed the officer that he was carrying.

Immediately after the to-be-fatal shots were fired, Reynolds had the presence of mind to begin live-streaming to Facebook.  I know to some this may sound weird but, phones can be confiscated and video destroyed.  Once it hit Facebook, the video wouldn’t be easy to delete.

In the video, you can hear Ms. Reynolds, who manages to stay surprisingly calm, correct the officer who claims Philando Castile was reaching for his gun.  She informs the officer that he had actually instructed Mr. Castile to reach for his wallet, which he was trying to do when the officer shot him. (Warning: Graphic Content)

Here’s the thing.  Philando Castile was a working man.  He was a cafeteria supervisor for St. Paul, Minneapolis schools.  He was apparently well-liked by both students and staff.  As I mentioned before, he had no criminal record.  From all indications, this was a bad shooting by the officer and you can hear the panic in his voice in the immediate aftermath.

This shooting was immediately criticized by state officials, including Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton who called for an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. However, he went even deeper.  Gov. Dayton said that he believed that race played a factor in this and that if Philando Castile had been white, this wouldn’t have happened.

Maybe, just maybe, this case will be different.  The cynic in me, tempered by history, doesn’t leave me hopeful for justice.  However, given that it is hard to dismiss this victim as “just another black thug”, perhaps we’ll see police here held to account for their actions.

original post here: http://justsaythat.com/news/police-legal-2/2016/07/will-death-philando-castille-tipping-point/

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Alton Sterling Killing: Inhumanity and Humanity

I’ve been away for a while so, who knows if anyone will read this post.  Maybe it’s just therapy for me.  In the span of a day, in two separate states, two black men were killed in cold blood by police. I’ll touch on the first of these, now.   Alton Sterling was a 37-year-old father who, close to 2 decades ago, ran afoul of the law. This is not a relevant fact but, somehow, the news media tried to make this part of the issue.  At the time he was gunned down, he was selling CD’s in front of a convenience store, with the consent of the store’s owner.  According to police, an anonymous caller claimed he threatened them with a gun.

Police arrived and, from all indications, decided to escalate rather than communicate with Mr. Sterling.  If Alton Sterling had a gun, it doesn’t look like he pulled it on the police, as they had him pinned to the ground.  Several shots later, he lay dying.

I don’t know what image in all this will haunt me the most — the him lying on the ground while his life is slipping away or the sight of his 15-year-old son sobbing uncontrollably over his father’s death.

These images represent the inhumanity of our treatment and the undeniable humanity of our response to it.  I’ll leave it here, along with these videos.  Some are graphic but, perhaps this is what’s needed for people to see the reality of these incidents.

original post here: http://justsaythat.com/news/police-legal-2/2016/07/alton-sterling-killing-inhumanity-humanity/

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