by Jack
The recent brutal murder of two Brooklyn police officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, is a national tragedy because it was caused by a systemic , and to some degree an institutionalized, form of bigotry.
The gunman, who shall be nameless, stated his motives clearly on the internet. He said to a passerby as he approached the police car, “Watch what I’m going to do.” This was not the random act of a person with a history of mental problems as we saw in the case of Gabby Giffords. This was a long simmering cultural hatred for the police that once again manifested itself into a senseless violent act.
It is no exaggeration that this shooter matches the profile of millions of people that view the police as the enemy. That’s systemic and it’s a very short step from letting thoughts and words turn into action.
When elected representatives in government and places of higher learning join in to this false narrative it becomes institutionalized biggotry. Evidenced, the Black Caucus that can’t seem to get past their glory days of Selma when they really had something righteous to complain about.
This unfair rhetoric pitting Blacks against the police is reinforced by attention grabbing headlines. Anytime a headline reads, Black Teen Shot by Police, there is this instant anger and assumption the police acted with murderous intent by far too many, especially in the Black community. These headlines, regardless of how justifiable the circumstances were becomes a lit match tossed into gasoline. It’s an “I told you so moment,” whether it was right or wrong. At the heart of the problem is the notion of Black victimization by White America and the point of this spear are the White cops. This is about as wrong it gets, yet some like Spike Lee can’t wait to exploit this lie.
Last night in Berkeley, Mo., a Black teenager was shot dead by police. A tragedy for sure, nobody wants to see a loss of life. But, the news media charged in to interview the deceased friends and family who knew nothing of the incident. And what did they have to say? They said he was just walking to his girlfriends house and the police shot him for no reason. Never mind that makes no sense. The reporters just let it go.
Absent from all the wailing and condemnation by the deceased family for TV was the glaring fact that the teenager pulled a gun on a cop!
Absent from this hysteria for the media was any mention of a video at a gas station that showed the deceased pulling a gun, pointing it at the police and the police officer reacted to this deadly threat.
So, here we go again, another rush to judgment by over a thousand angry protesters that poured out onto the streets to support the criminal who drew down on a cop. A gun was recovered at the scene.
The mayor, who is black, said, “Everybody don’t die the same. Some people die because the policeman initiated. Some people die because they initiated it.” And… “At this point, our review indicates that the police did not initiate this, like Ferguson.” LIKE FERGUSON? Wait a minute Mr. Mayor, the police in Ferguson didn’t initiate anything, Michael Brown did when he robbed a grocery store. Did the media call the Mayor on this misrepresentation? No, of course not, they let it go as they so often do.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a six time most valuable player in the NBA. He’s become a role model for many youths and he’s Obama’s educational ambassador. Obviously, he carries a lot influence in the Black community, so when he says, “The police aren’t under attack. Institutionalized racism is.” This reads like an indictment on all of law enforcement and it hurts race relations. That was an irresponsible thing to say, but the media never questioned it.
There are simply too many people in the Black community spouting rhetoric that passes for fact. For example, before he knew all the facts, President Obama leapt to the defense of Henry Luis Gates and accused the Cambridge police of “acting stupidly.” This was an inappropriate and unbecoming of his office. It certainly did not help race relations in this country, if anything it aggravated them because the President was wrong. The police were doing their job and Gates created a scene and broke the law by obstructing the police and that got him arrested.
When Trayvon Martin was killed there was another rush to judgment by many Blacks, including President Obama. The shooter was not a cop, he wasn’t even White he was Hispanic, but the liberal media tried to present him as being White because they had an agenda. The President inserted himself into this municipal event because of race and he caused the Attorney General to insert himself into it because of race. And in the end there was no crime, no racism, at least not by the shooter, but thousands of people bought into another false narrative.
This was followed by the events in Ferguson, Mo. Once again the President showed a bias in favor of the criminal and against the police officer and once again the usual suspect descended on the scene. Al Sharpton cried injustice! Eric Holder promised a thorough investigation! Black leaders almost exclusively presumed wrong doing by the officer. He was found innocent by a Grand Jury, then the Grand Jury became the object of their race based suspicions.
Are you beginning to see a pattern here?
Then a resisting arrest incident triggered a heart attack and the suspect died. “Murder!” was the mob verdict long before the facts were known. And when the Grand Jury said the police did not violate the rules, this was not acceptable and the mob demanded a different verdict.
I have a question for you: How many liquor stores must be looted and how many businesses must be burned down before our society takes notice that the race agitators and riot inciters have no credibility?
“At the heart of the problem is the notion of Black victimization by White America and the point of this spear are the White cops. … Last night in Berkeley, Mo., a Black teenager was shot dead by police.”
That you can write these two sentences, nearly in sequence, and yet not grasp the problem … is amazing to us all.
Libby, what problem am I failing to grasp, please enlighten us all. And I didn’t write that in sequence as you alleged.
I have a feeling the majority of Americans see through the tawdry game being played by the agitators and protesters.
The ideals and values of the left exist in the collective. The individual is unimportant. Individual behavior in any of these incidents is irrelevant. Thus the guilty in each case becomes “out of control” cops, and the victim, by default is Michael Brown who is defended through aggressive protest as part of the group “Black Minority.” His individual behavior and criminal acts are brushed aside.
The level of willful blindness required to maintain this group think position is astronomical and rigidly maintained by protesters only through an artificial sense of justice based on the collective. How easy it becomes to condemn a lone police officer when his guilt can be determined by his membership in the group “out of control cops!”
Statistics prove the group position is built on a bunch of hooey!
Whether they’re black, white, green or striped, those who pull a gun on a law enforcement officer can expect their next view to be either the hospital or the morgue.
And rightly so.
Funny how conservatives only see “institutionalized bigotry” when the most powerful and privileged groups are the target of criticism.
“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a six time most valuable player in the NBA. He’s become a role model for many youths and he’s Obama’s educational ambassador. Obviously, he carries a lot influence in the Black community, so when he says, “The police aren’t under attack. Institutionalized racism is.” This reads like an indictment on all of law enforcement and it hurts race relations. That was an irresponsible thing to say, but the media never questioned it.”
This makes absolutely no sense. He specifically said “the police aren’t under attack.” How can that possibly be read as “an indictment of all law enforcement?” Can you read?
Also, you’re leaving out a lot of context as to why the GJ verdicts were not automatically accepted. It was clear from the beginning that Officer Wilson got special treatment from the prosecutor that most defendants in a GJ never receive. Now the prosecutor has admitted to putting a witness for Wilson’s defense on the stand whom he KNEW was lying and wasn’t even at the scene at the time! Yet he did not reveal is information to the jury. That is a complete violation of ethics if not a direct breach of the law. Funny how no one here has commented on that yet.
http://newsone.com/3078354/fergson-prosecutor-admits-witness-40-lied/
Personally I believe that Wilson did act in self defense, but I can’t blame others for not being convinced when the legal process was so abused in this case. Had this been handled in a normal way with no preferential treatment from the prosecutor, then perhaps I’d be more sympathetic to those who say we should accept the verdict and move on. I’m not saying the protesters are right about everything–I think MANY of them automatically assumed guilt on he part of Wilson unfairly–but a fair dose of skepticism seems warranted here since the Wilson GJ was such a clear example of a government enforcer being given special privileges over ordinary citizens.
As for the Garner case, it wasn’t just leftists who took issue with the verdict, unless you consider George Will a wooly-headed Marxist. Unlike Ferguson, the killing was caught on tape, and there is plenty of reason for people on both the left and right to believe that it was unjust.
Then again, I doubt any of these specific points will even be addressed, so I’m probably shouting into the void.
Is it me, or does anyone else thing that these “protestors” are version 2.0 of the occupy clowns? Gotta wonder who is paying their bills and printing their signs. . . . .
Time for the fire hoses to be used on the “protestors.” The streets would get cleaned, and the side benefit would be that the “protestors” would get a bath.
Correction to #5: No you are shouting from the void.
All this agitation, rioting, and assignation of police started because of the hated toward one officers handling of a criminal, and more than likely political left leaning groups are using it and doing what activist Liberals do best politically, exploit a issue.
They will use economics’, play the race card, even use death to their advantage, and the results are predictable, more people are dying because of these tactics.
Liberals memorialize Rahm Emmanuel words, who stated “Never let a good tragedy go to waste” ,really turning a tragedy into a political advantage for your side is a good thing.
Liberal Politics currently have the press in their pocket and use them like empty headed puppets, but even puppets need a string to work properly.
So the need for the press to cover and promote it comes into play. And a peaceful demonstration is not going to retain the media’s attention.
What started as protests by local residents quickly became a haven for a very diverse collection of groups who are now taking the violence to new levels.
A list of groups seen ‘protesting‘ in Ferguson Mo. include: Nation of Islam, The New Black Panthers, Chicago Communists, Revolution Club Chicago, The Revolutionary Communist Party USA and Black Lawyers for Justice.
This just the beginning, and when it’s allowed to flourish by partisan politics, then we all suffer.
The police a privileged group?
I see them as a service oriented group of highly trained individuals willing to walk into unpredictable and dangerous situations.
It really is a scandal that some people in America still claim victim status when in fact they are free, free to succeed or fail based on their own efforts or lack thereof…just like the rest of us. Its a bigger scandal that radicals of a major political party spends so much time, money and energy keeping minorities stuck in poverty, victim thinking, and resentment for imagined oppressors. They should be teaching folks how to overcome obstacles and succeed through hard work, strong principles and discipline.
If radicals want to see police forces spend more time eating donuts and less time responding to crime they should start protesting to end thug attitudes that invite and perpetrate trouble. They should push for responsible citizenship. But they won’t because the game never ends and requires an “oppressed” group.
I can’t take the Sharptons, Jacksons, and Holders seriously because over a sixty year period they have done nothing to help the class of people they repeatedly use for political power. None of the radical groups that are represented in these protests have done anything either. In fact they have contributed to destruction and decline and in my opinion, are the real oppressors.
Re #9 Tina: Spot on. Except that I include the great “community organizer” professional divider in that group of racist/racialist political beasts from hell — Obama.
But this this is what Democrats, Marxists, and various and sundry communists and socialists are always all about. Divide and conquer and then pose as the great saviors. Transparent garbage from the kings of transparent garbage.
I think the results of the last election were evidence of thoughtful American voters rejecting that left wing paradigm.
And the strings held by the media are controlled by puppet master George Soros. Follow the money rule applies to why the media has shifted to the left biased coverage to keep the money flowing from the deep pockets of various Soros funded organizations.
Why Don’t We Hear About Soros’ Ties to Over 30 Major News Organizations?:
“When liberal investor George Soros gave $1.8 million to National Public Radio , it became part of the firestorm of controversy that jeopardized NPR’s federal funding. But that gift only hints at the widespread influence the controversial billionaire has on the mainstream media. Soros, who spent $27 million trying to defeat President Bush in 2004, has ties to more than 30 mainstream news outlets – including The New York Times, Washington Post, the Associated Press, NBC and ABC.
Prominent journalists like ABC’s Christiane Amanpour and former Washington Post editor and now Vice President Len Downie serve on boards of operations that take Soros cash. This despite the Society of Professional Journalists’ ethical code stating: “avoid all conflicts real or perceived.”
This information is part of an upcoming report by the Media Research Centers Business & Media Institute which has been looking into George Soros and his influence on the media.
The investigative reporting start-up ProPublica is a prime example. ProPublica, which recently won its second Pulitzer Prize, initially was given millions of dollars from the Sandler Foundation to “strengthen the progressive infrastructure” – “progressive” being the code word for very liberal. In 2010, it also received a two-year contribution of $125,000 each year from the Open Society Foundations. In case you wonder where that money comes from, the OSF website is http://www.soros.org. It is a network of more than 30 international foundations, mostly funded by Soros, who has contributed more than $8 billion to those efforts.”
Continued..
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/05/11/dont-hear-george-soros-ties-30-major-news-organizations/
George Soros’s Sector Weightings:
“Communication Services – 3.7%”
http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=George+Soros
Media Silence Explained?: Soros Fingerprints On FCC Newsroom Probe:
“The real mystery behind the FCC’s now abandoned “study” to police American newsrooms is why the mainstream media refused to raise holy hell over it. While Obama’s lapdogs refused to bark, it was conservative media who fought for newsroom independence and got the FCC to finally back down. Other than the media’s natural obedience to Obama, the fact that the fingerprints of left-wing billionaire George Soros have been found on the FCC study might also help to explain the media’s silence.
CNS News reports that for the first ten years of the last decade, Soros donated more than $52 million to numerous media outlets. In a world where the media is dying a slow, painful suicide (brought about by their own incompetence and corruption), that is no small amount of money. And you can bet that those media organizations that have not benefited from Soros’ largesse would someday like to. So why antagonize him?
The media’s hands-off policy with Soros is nothing new. While outlets such as Politico and NBC News obsess over every move made by the libertarian Koch brothers, Soros and his spider-web of influential left-wing political operations (Media Matters, Center for American Progress) almost never receive any kind of media scrutiny. A recent media study found that the ratio of references between Kochs’ organizations and Soros’ organizations, in news outlets that pose as objective, are literally hundreds to one. Politico actually has Ken Vogel, a former Soros employee, constantly harassing covering the Koch brothers.”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2014/02/22/media-silence-explained-soros-fingerprints-on-fcc-newsroom-probe/
Here’s a good example from Business Times.
Tech Titans Are Living in a Naïve, Dangerously Insular Bubble:
“Indeed, Schmidt could have taken lessons from a financier, George Soros, on how to generate good PR and real collaboration around a big issue. The financier usually devotes his annual dinner to talking about some market idea—Eurobonds, how animal spirits influence traders. This year, he gave the whole thing over to garnering multilateral support for humanitarian aid in Syria, inviting a group of the world’s best informed aid workers, internationalists (Kofi Annan, Mark Malloch Brown), government officials and Syrians themselves (from businessmen to refugees) to talk about what’s really happening on the ground in a crisis that is on track to be the worst (in human loss and suffering terms) of the last decade. Soros is no saint, but it was clear that he still believed in the power of government and civil society – aided (but not replaced by) business – to do something. I found that one of the most hopeful things I’d seen in Davos this year.”
http://business.time.com/2014/01/24/eric-schmidt-george-soros-a-tale-of-two-titans/
Andrew McCarthy at National Review sorts out legal and moral culpability and includes a reminder about the First Amendment.