Our Country Has To Heal Now After the Events of Last Week

Another article that's titled: 'Alton Sterling Wasn't the Right Guy'. It goes on to say that the store owner considered Alton Sterling a friend, and not the sort of person who would ever threaten anyone with a gun and they confiscated the stores video without a warrant. The wagons are being circled.



http://www.inquisitr.com/3281381/alton-sterling-was-the-wrong-guy/

http://usuncut.com/black-lives-matter/alton-sterling-new-video/ (this is a clearer video of Mr. Sterling's last moments)
 

One more op-ed, this one from a former NYC officer of color. Good piece.


The Thin Blue Line Between Us


It begins:
"THERE were days when I marched shoulder to shoulder with outraged New Yorkers, after the police-involved death of Amadou Diallo in the Bronx and police assault on Abner Louima in Brooklyn, and we chanted, “No justice, no peace.” There were evenings when I was policing the same protests and keeping the peace, and people came up to me and voiced their anger, not realizing I had stood with them just hours earlier.

They saw the uniform but not the man wearing it.

I have worn the blue uniform of the New York City Police Department, upholding the law even as I raised my voice to reform its enforcement and make policing better. I have also worn the blue jeans of a black father concerned about the safety of his family."
 
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Excellent article Bob and thanks for sharing it. I was glad to see that the writer included greater education for the police as well! He suggested community policing, does that mean cops that get out of their cars and walk the streets and getting to know the people who live in those communities? Maybe if they had 'known' Mr. Sterling, they wouldn't have done what they did.

I think the one thing he didn't touch on because it's kind of outside his area of expertise is that there have to be jobs for people. Somehow, those rich one percenters have to lose their hold on your government so that the rules that allow industry to head to where wages are lowest, etc., can no longer do that. If people can count on a job when they get out of high school or college, they have hope. Nowadays though, what hope? A hope that maybe you'll find a job, maybe you'll be able to pay off a mountain of student debt by the time your first child is leaving high school.....can't live on maybes'. It's not a lot different where I'm living these days....menial jobs maybe and little opportunity to work your way up a ladder.

It's a difficult process that's for sure.
 

Debby said:
No camera's? Really? You're right, they should all be required to wear camera's. No ifs ands or buts. I think I read somewhere that when camera's were included in officers uniforms, complaints against the police went down.
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The majority of the police force are good officers and they don't mind the cameras because they have nothing to hide and they also want to crack down on the bad cops who are killing people for no good reason.

Until the police stop overstepping their bounds and regain the trust of the citizens (of all races), this won't be resolved. It appears some are starting to have a conversation and make changes, but they need to quit the stalling. This isn't anything new, it's been happening for years, only now the new technology is blowing their cover.
 
Debby said:
I get a feeling that there is a tiny bit of adjustment going on in the attitudes of both the police and especially the communities. Like with Ferguson, terrible rioting, but this time and even with the video of Mr. Castile's death, an incredible calm. I hope the calm prevails and there is a true coming together and talk and change.

I do think though that the NRA has really revealed its true nature (silence when the gun carriers are killed 'because they have guns'). They're willing to support taking the money of those black buyers, but not willing to stand up for them when those purchases get them killed.
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OR, it's the proverbial calm before the storm.
 
Butterfly said:
OR, it's the proverbial calm before the storm.
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You may be right. I have a feeling that these upcoming Political Conventions are going to be a catalyst for even more violence in coming weeks. The 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago was marked by waves of violence and protest, and I see a real potential for this years conventions...both Parties...to increase the divisions in our nation, and serve as "justification" for even more senseless shootings and riots as the year progresses.
 
QuickSilver said:
Mr. Castile was not killed because he carried a gun.. He was killed because he was a Black man carrying a gun... despite he was doing do legally.. Why sugar coat it... He would not have been killed if he were White. This country suffers from a deep cancer.. I am doubtful it can be cured.
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He had informed the police he was licensed and was carrying a pistol, to avoid confusion he should have been told to keep his hands above his head and get out of the car, assuming that position. The officer could then remove the pistol, avoiding any misinterpretations of the subjects action. I must agree the shooting was intentional or the officer was poorly trained.
 
It's just sad...in the late 1930's they let a certain leader rise to power, now not quite a hundred years later they're letting a racist, sexist, certain businessman rise to power. There was still segregation when I was born. Now fifty four years later...gay people can legally marry, we've had an African American president...yet we still can't solve race relations in America.
 
fureverywhere said:
..yet we still can't solve race relations in America.
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Racism is Not a U.S. phenomenon, nor is it a recent problem. Racism has existed throughout human existence...going back as far as when the Cro Magnon species competed with the remnants of the Neanderthals. Every "race" thinks it is superior to the others, and this has led to numerous conflicts throughout history. I doubt that this "flaw" in human character will ever be resolved...unless/until interracial marriage, for example, creates a global race that is virtually all of the same color and genetic makeup.

"Race" is used as an excuse for many of today's conflicts....but in reality, those conflicts are more the result of social/economic differences that go far deeper than just the color of a persons skin. There are some low life scumbags out there that make me almost ashamed to be part of the White race...while, at the same time, there are Blacks that have reached levels of intellect and success that few of Any race ever achieve.

I think the bulk of conflicts have their root causes in the increasing "disparity of wealth", and the increasing inability for millions of people to make a decent life for themselves. Eventually, I see the world essentially divided between the "Haves" and the "Have Not's"...and that day may not be more than a few decades from now.

I see nothing that is going to bring the races together....and now, we are faced with a new, and equally disturbing issue with Islamic Radicalism, which seems to be accelerating globally. It's a crazy world, and getting nuttier every year.
 
I think you're right. It boils down to the " haves" and " have nots". I mean I don't see people in color at all. But when I'm parked in the lot next to Whole Foods...yes I hate them all. Folks who can shop organic and hand-crafted when some of us worry how the heck we'll find food for our families eventually. Someone who can spend what we make in a month on one or two shopping trips. Okay if I ever became the shooter...Whole Foods and Trader Joes goes first. Sorry to joke about such things but really I understand the simmering anger.
 
fureverywhere said:
I think you're right. It boils down to the " haves" and " have nots". I mean I don't see people in color at all. But when I'm parked in the lot next to Whole Foods...yes I hate them all. Folks who can shop organic and hand-crafted when some of us worry how the heck we'll find food for our families eventually. Someone who can spend what we make in a month on one or two shopping trips. Okay if I ever became the shooter...Whole Foods and Trader Joes goes first. Sorry to joke about such things but really I understand the simmering anger.
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The GOP would tell you "tough!" The people able to shop at Whole Foods for the organic and handcrafted products DESERVE it more than you. They are harder workers and smarter and earned the right. They will never mention how they have worked to stack the deck in favor of well off families and creating an "upper class" right here in the USA... Hard work sometimes never enters the equation.
 
fureverywhere said:
I think you're right. It boils down to the " haves" and " have nots". I mean I don't see people in color at all. But when I'm parked in the lot next to Whole Foods...yes I hate them all. Folks who can shop organic and hand-crafted when some of us worry how the heck we'll find food for our families eventually. Someone who can spend what we make in a month on one or two shopping trips. Okay if I ever became the shooter...Whole Foods and Trader Joes goes first. Sorry to joke about such things but really I understand the simmering anger.
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Hmmm, I've shopped at Whole Foods a couple times, I'm glad you weren't in the parking lot when I walked in there in those brief moments.
 
They will never mention how they have worked to stack the deck in favor of well off families and creating an "upper class" right here in the USA... Hard work sometimes never enters the equation.

Exactly if you examine how many working poor there are. Those people are working harder than many white collar folks. But it's like a house of cards. All it takes is one benefit being reduced or denied. One person becoming ill, and the whole family can fall.
 
Throughout the history of man there has been the same struggle, those have vs. those who do not. Money dictates government, which dictates law, which in turn supports money .In the event one is able to arise out of the ashes of poverty and join the affluent, their priority becomes the same as the affluent, thus the vicious circle never ends. There are exceptions, but they are few and far between . You will notice, racial unrest stays amongst the middle and lower classes; though the upper classes deal the cards. Corporate America's influence in government allows them to dictate who runs the show, as well the laws governing commerce ,trade , and labor. Tis why socialism is such a "bad " word in the USA because it's priorities are the health and welfare of the population as a whole. The majority would rather see a Hilary Clinton or a Donald Trump over a Bernie Sanders; pretty sad.
 
fureverywhere said:
I think you're right. It boils down to the " haves" and " have nots". I mean I don't see people in color at all. But when I'm parked in the lot next to Whole Foods...yes I hate them all. Folks who can shop organic and hand-crafted when some of us worry how the heck we'll find food for our families eventually. Someone who can spend what we make in a month on one or two shopping trips. Okay if I ever became the shooter...Whole Foods and Trader Joes goes first. Sorry to joke about such things but really I understand the simmering anger.
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I never had a lot of money growing up or in my adult life. I was always middle class, my family worked hard and spent what they had wisely, and I followed suit as an adult. Never spending more than I had, and never putting something on a credit card that I couldn't afford to pay off in one lump sum.

I don't hate anyone who has money whether they were born into it or worked for it. It's a fact of life that there will be rich people and the businesses will provide high priced goods for them, why wouldn't well-off folks shop in those places? I've been to Whole Foods only a couple of times in my life to see what they had, and only bought a few things there. Overpriced for me and their goods aren't very high quality, IMO. Certainly not worth the money they charge.

Why would I hate someone who shopped at fancy stores, just because I frequent Walmart and Target? If you hate people who shop at Whole Foods, how do you feel about the celebrities, people like the Kardashians, singers and actors that buy engagement rings for tens of thousands of dollars or more? The ones who own a half dozen elaborate homes and a car for every day of the week. It's comforting that people like you in that mindset are against guns, it's safer for you and all concerned that you never get one...not really a joke when it's driven by simmering anger. :(

It's true that the middle class is rapidly disappearing in this country and becoming poor. Rather than have one more thing to divide us and make us hate each other, why not point the finger at the real culprit? The government on both sides of the aisle are in bed with big corporations and money interests and they couldn't care less about the average American citizen. They do each other favors to fatten their own wallets, even if it hurts the citizens of our country.

I'm not going to despise Mrs. Jones who drives the fancy car and wears expensive furs, I want to see a fair playing field so the middle class can work their way up. I would like to see businesses thriving and jobs created in inner cities like Chicago that have been going down the toilet. The government has the power to help this country, but greed and corruption seem to make them help only themselves and other countries that wish us harm. Very sad situation.

America is a great country, I'm blessed to be born and raised here. We have the intelligence, the technology and the resources to provide for each and every individual in the US. We need to rebuild our torn down neighborhoods, and have employment available for all those who need it. Working two or three jobs to pay the rent and utility bills is a disgrace. Crime will go down and hopes will be raised only if the powers that be move forward and make some desperately needed changes.
 
The Kardashian's should be taken out one by one...But I mean of course I understand that Daddy was a celebrity lawyer who made sure his little darling's could make a career out of selfies and vapid smiles. I know some of these people have hellish commutes to the city every day to earn the right to Whole Foods. But we live in an area that just has a cutting edge between mere blocks. Walk down the street around the corner...
Yoga places that offer aromatherapy and every other new agey service available, they can adjust your chakra's too...
Next block and we get into wings and braiding places...oh and liquor, lottery and smokes.
Next block and most of the store fronts are empty or chained.
Next block grown over lots and stores that have been for sale for a decade.
Next block and you can smell Whole Foods...do you think for a minute those folks would be comfortable walking there?
 
SeaBreeze said:
I never had a lot of money growing up or in my adult life. I was always middle class, my family worked hard and spent what they had wisely, and I followed suit as an adult. Never spending more than I had, and never putting something on a credit card that I couldn't afford to pay off in one lump sum.

I don't hate anyone who has money whether they were born into it or worked for it. It's a fact of life that there will be rich people and the businesses will provide high priced goods for them, why wouldn't well-off folks shop in those places? I've been to Whole Foods only a couple of times in my life to see what they had, and only bought a few things there. Overpriced for me and their goods aren't very high quality, IMO. Certainly not worth the money they charge.

Why would I hate someone who shopped at fancy stores, just because I frequent Walmart and Target? If you hate people who shop at Whole Foods, how do you feel about the celebrities, people like the Kardashians, singers and actors that buy engagement rings for tens of thousands of dollars or more? The ones who own a half dozen elaborate homes and a car for every day of the week. It's comforting that people like you in that mindset are against guns, it's safer for you and all concerned that you never get one...not really a joke when it's driven by simmering anger. :(

It's true that the middle class is rapidly disappearing in this country and becoming poor. Rather than have one more thing to divide us and make us hate each other, why not point the finger at the real culprit? The government on both sides of the aisle are in bed with big corporations and money interests and they couldn't care less about the average American citizen. They do each other favors to fatten their own wallets, even if it hurts the citizens of our country.

I'm not going to despise Mrs. Jones who drives the fancy car and wears expensive furs, I want to see a fair playing field so the middle class can work their way up. I would like to see businesses thriving and jobs created in inner cities like Chicago that have been going down the toilet. The government has the power to help this country, but greed and corruption seem to make them help only themselves and other countries that wish us harm. Very sad situation.

America is a great country, I'm blessed to be born and raised here. We have the intelligence, the technology and the resources to provide for each and every individual in the US. We need to rebuild our torn down neighborhoods, and have employment available for all those who need it. Working two or three jobs to pay the rent and utility bills is a disgrace. Crime will go down and hopes will be raised only if the powers that be move forward and make some desperately needed changes.
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I agree, SB, I don't hate the wealthy, either. If we do that, then we justify people who have less than we do (and there are a lot of people who have less than I do) hating us, and the hatred just goes around in circles.
 
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