Dallas Protest and Police Shootings. 10 Police officers shot, 3 Killed

Ruthanne said:
I guess I see things differently than you. There are many who prefer to be with their own race not just white people. I always see Chinese people in groups with other Chinese people for example. There are tons of interracial couples now. I was was married to a black man many years ago. I see a lot of mingling between races, too.
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No, I know that you are right. There are people other that whites who like to live amongst 'their own'. And, yes, mixed marriages and much more common than in the 'old days'. I haven't lived in the US for 16 years and probably don't get enough of an idea of how things are now on short annual visits. There is racism in the UK but from my perspective it is much less. I read somewhere (might have been here) that someone was complaining that there are so many different races and ethnicities in London. That is a reason to LOVE London, not complain. It's like a mini-world with people from every country.

BTW, I had a boyfriend in the 80's for several years that was Black. My sons loved him, but my family who taught me as a child that all people are equal, did not want to meet him. Hypocrites.
 

Ruthanne said:
It was a planned sniper attack by several people who knew what they were doing or were trained. They haven't told us yet who the people are just that it was a sophisticated attack.
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I've been hearing this on the news. Have had CNN on in the background all morning. Too professional to be revenge killings. Something sounds fishy.
 
Just awoke to this horrible news and as is so often the case, there are no simple answers. It seems clear at this point that this attack was a well-planned and coordinated event. I feel so sad for all involved in this terrible tragedy. Hope that law enforcement is able to catch all who were involved and give us answers as to their motivation for such a crime.
 

Bobw235 said:
Just awoke to this horrible news and as is so often the case, there are no simple answers. It seems clear at this point that this attack was a well-planned and coordinated event. I feel so sad for all involved in this terrible tragedy. Hope that law enforcement is able to catch all who were involved and give us answers as to their motivation for such a crime.
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What a waste! The cops that died were heros who were trying to protect the public from the snipers. One of the murdered cops was a transit cop who had just gotten married two weeks ago.
 
I stayed up late watching this heartbreaking event unfold last night.....I feel very very sad, sad for all that have been hurt, sad for our country that hate and fear have taken such a hold on so many.
 
Hoot N Annie said:
I gather that you are saying that the murder of these 4 Dallas LEOs is justified because of the events elsewhere.
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No, I'm not saying the murders are justified at all, either of the police officers or the African American citizens that are being killed without just cause in increasing numbers. I'm saying that what leads to this must be stopped in order for the violence to cease. My sympathy goes out to all the innocent victims who've had their lives taken and their families.

The small percent of cops who are abusing their authority and power are making life unsafe for both our citizens and the police force.

I give Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton a lot of credit for his honesty in calling it what it is, and his sincerity to want to find a real resolution. We need more good men like him to speak out and help make some real change in law enforcement.



Warning: graphic video


Another one of many...



Debby said:
I don't think that is what SeaBreeze was saying at all. I think she meant there is a small element within the police force (throughout the country) that are paranoid and violent and the black community is paying the price and it's unlikely to end if those policemen aren't outed and removed from the forces. Maybe 'to be expected' that someone will snap and go 'vigilantey' and seek retribution. No one is saying it is right or just.
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Exactly Debby.
 
Often when I read an article, I'll also look at the comments posted by fellow readers. In today's NY Times article about the shooting, a reader left this comment. It apparently resonated with a lot of others. I thought I'd pass it along, because it has a lot to say about our society, our political system and our gun culture. It was one of several NY Times Picks.

"America is becoming Afghanistan.

People are armed to the teeth with high power military style weapons.
Anyone can buy guns just about anywhere.
No restrictions on ammunition purchases.
Armor piercing ammo is readily available.
Many states now have both open carry and conceal carry and many of those do not require a permit or any training.
Law enforcement is terrified of the pubic.
The public is terrified of law enforcement.
The government through police brutality openly oppresses certain minorities.
Politicians have lost respect for law enforcement when they don't get a politically desired conviction.
We have state sanctioned dungeons called prisons that are busting at the seams from overcrowding.
We do nothing to counter massive inequality and hopelessness which breeds contempt and lack of respect for government.
We are on the verge of electing a demagogue for president who knows nothing but talks tough and rails against everything.
His opponent ignores legal requirements of office for convenience.
Congress is completely dysfunctional, accomplishes nothing and thinks its job is to gum up the works so no problems can be addressed. This is done in opposition to the duly elected leader whom whey have no respect for.
Mass shootings have become commonplace.


About the only hurdle left are roadside IEDs and suicide car bombs.


All because of politics, fanatic ideology, corruption in the form of campaign financing and lobbyists, and a misinterpreted 2nd amendment."
 
WhatInThe said:
Although there is a racial component to many police shootings I see too many paranoid, resentful, bitter and attitude filled cops. Their job is to serve the public, to protect the public but instead they worry more about protecting their own butts. If they are that scared to do a job they get for they get paid for they should quit and find another job. Being a cop isn't for clock punchers. There's something in the training. As soon as it becomes known there is a gun or weapon it becomes open season on a civilian, not even a suspect per say. The Louisiana incident started out as a call for a man brandishing a gun so right off the bat those cops were hyper vigilante, doesn't justify shooting a guy on the ground-A teen shot in ground in Fresno recently as well. But incidents like this(killing police) will not help already poor attitudes.
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It's perplexing & sad, I have to wonder about the police officer standards and training, in place in the jurisdictions involved; perhaps the U.S. Department of Justice needs to step-up the pressure on local agencies for higher training standards, and maybe also provide more funds to raise situational awareness for the officer on patrol.



Ruthanne said:
This is a real tragedy. The Dallas police didn't do anything to these people who killed them.
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Ameriscot said:
What a waste! The cops that died were heros who were trying to protect the public from the snipers. One of the murdered cops was a transit cop who had just gotten married two weeks ago.
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I strenuously object to the view that police(who happen to be white) are killing blacks as a racial hate motivated act. The culprit I see is ignorance and fear, ignorance of black people, ignorance of black culture and their perception of society at large.

Fear of the unknown is a strong force, blurs rational thinking, instead of properly assessing the threat level, fear inserts the 'nightmare' scenario images in the brain.

I see the Philando Castile fatal shooting video that his girlfriend took on her phone- utterly horrendous. so tragic. The officer failed miserably to "protect and serve the public"; I'm quite sure that his career is over. I can't help but think that part of the failure of the officer has to do with a failure of proper training, for today's society.
 
Killer/shooter identified

The suspect who is believed to be at least one of the shooters/sniper has been identified. Micah Xavier Johnson 25. He told police he was upset at recent police shootings and wanted to kill white people and police officers. He denied involvement with a group. He was killed after a standoff with police. One source said he was an Army reservist as a carpenter and mason.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dallas-shooting-suspect-kill-whites/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/suspect-dallas-ambush-shooting-idd-army-reservist/story?id=40422456
 
Good evening to all- I have read the accounts in Dallas since I got back home yesterday. A very, very bad situation.
Please permit a few observations:
1. Being a good police officer is the second hardest job I know. We put these men and women in impossible situations, and if there is any weakness or problem in the individual, it will come out- and someone will die.
2. Guns, guns, guns. there are too many damned guns in America, and they are absolutely too easy for anyone to obtain- quickly and legally.Once again I damn the NRA to hell for its unthinking, "you can't take my guns away" mentality and political demands.

Friends, we can do better than this. We must do better than this.

good evening to all- Ed
 
Bomb making materials among other things were found in the home of the suspect who kept on saying he had bombs/ieds all over the place. So far none found. Also the police who are "leaking" it was probably a single shooter have yet to release three suspects they arrested last night. Some reports have him involved with some social groups including more militant ones such as the New Black Panthers.

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/dallas-shooting-police-micah-xavier-johnson/2016/07/08/id/737759/
 
Sigh, I'm not reading any more on this particular thread. I just saw this headline a few minutes ago. All you can do is shake your head and think " I wonder how many they got this time?". Hearing the argument that if more people had more guns then they could defend everyone against all the other people with guns. There are actually people who believe that with all their heart. Go figya, I suppose if the police had assault rifles on a daily basis besides their service revolvers there would be less cops getting murdered every day. I don't know...the US is supposed to be so far ahead of other countries yet we allow for regular mass shootings.
 
Ed Mashburn said:
Good evening to all- I have read the accounts in Dallas since I got back home yesterday. A very, very bad situation.
Please permit a few observations:
1. Being a good police officer is the second hardest job I know. We put these men and women in impossible situations, and if there is any weakness or problem in the individual, it will come out- and someone will die.
2. Guns, guns, guns. there are too many damned guns in America, and they are absolutely too easy for anyone to obtain- quickly and legally.Once again I damn the NRA to hell for its unthinking, "you can't take my guns away" mentality and political demands.

Friends, we can do better than this. We must do better than this.

good evening to all- Ed
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You brought up the NRA Ed and like someone pointed out on a news broadcast, why isn't the NRA all over Mr. Castile's death and screaming about his right to carry a gun and how he should be safely permitted to carry it? The speaker said if Mr. Castile had been white, they'd have something to say, but so far I haven't heard that they've made a statement. Another display of racism?

And Bob235, your comment was sad but so appropriate! Tragic in ever sense.
 
This is very very tragic, sad for all the families involved and truly horrible, but I am only surprised that it hasn't happened sooner. In fact, I don't feel very optimistic about it at all and expect things might get even worse before they get better.
 
Maybe space program only, other countries may be more advanced in medicine and technology IMO. Then of course, there's the question of the moon landing, did it really happen, or was it staged, hmmmmm. Makes you wonder. Of course America thinks highly of itself, but could it be wishful thinking? Such a huge country will have many big problems too, it stands to reason.
 
Debby said:
You brought up the NRA Ed and like someone pointed out on a news broadcast, why isn't the NRA all over Mr. Castile's death and screaming about his right to carry a gun and how he should be safely permitted to carry it? The speaker said if Mr. Castile had been white, they'd have something to say, but so far I haven't heard that they've made a statement. Another display of racism?

And Bob235, your comment was sad but so appropriate! Tragic in ever sense.
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Debby, I thought it was sad as well, but it is an all too accurate assessment of the current state of our country. I said to my wife earlier, we just seem to be moving from one tragedy to another. It's painful to put on the news. Weren't we just talking about Orlando a few short weeks ago? It's all so sad......again.
 
People come to Cleveland Clinic for cardiac care, hepatic care and they come from all over the world as they are rated as the world's best. Yes, the moon landing really happened!! We are right up there with all the best in medical advances and technology. We are proud of our achievements and so are other countries proud of theirs. What's wrong with that? It's evident you don't think much of my country in the way you are criticizing it. But that is okay, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. I live here and love my country. I see all the good in it, too. Maybe you just see all the bad news that happens here and that colors your opinion of the USA.
 
Ed Mashburn said:
Good evening to all- I have read the accounts in Dallas since I got back home yesterday. A very, very bad situation.
Please permit a few observations:
1. Being a good police officer is the second hardest job I know. We put these men and women in impossible situations, and if there is any weakness or problem in the individual, it will come out- and someone will die.
2. Guns, guns, guns. there are too many damned guns in America, and they are absolutely too easy for anyone to obtain- quickly and legally.Once again I damn the NRA to hell for its unthinking, "you can't take my guns away" mentality and political demands.

Friends, we can do better than this. We must do better than this.

good evening to all- Ed
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With all due respect I'm not interested in having my constitutional right to have firearms taken away because of the actions of someone else. A fair analogy would be to take away your sports car because I drove one just like it 140 MPH and crashed. Its not the gun I'm defending. Its my constitutional rights . Thankfully and thanks to my rights if one of those crazies busts my door down at least I can drop him as opposed to being killed
 
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