LaserWolf said:"ÔÇ£Police Officer Shoots TeenagerÔÇØ is a vastly different headline than ÔÇ£White Police Officer Shoots Black TeenagerÔÇØ Is it a matter of individual rights or civil rights?"
The difference is, one contains more factual content than the other.
Taken out of context we have a homicide.
In context we have the culmination of years of civil rights abuses.
Ferguson population
To talk about the shooting of Michael Brown and not talk about race ignores the context in which the shooting occurred.
As for criminal prosecution. You are right. The Ferguson Police Department will almost certainly be found guilty of civil rights violations. Michael Brown's killer may also be found guilty of civil rights violations. The chances of Michael Brown's killer being found guilty of homicide is next to zero. If you go back and read this thread, I think you will see that, the lack of prosecution of police is one of the reasons for anger toward the police.
The Justice Department has been using statistics like these to bring civil rights cases against police departments across the country. Including Portland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._v._City_of_Portland
http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2014/09/ferguson_shooting_justice_dept.html
Hey LaserWolf,
Those are great statistics, sir; however, the fact remains that the 'belief in a just world' ideology says that Michael Brown SURELY did something wrong for the officer to shoot and kill him. It's an ego defense that's hard to penetrate with mere facts and logic. ;-) I've had debates on such topics for decades now, and facts seem to come up short among people with deeply held (and self-serving) worldviews. Hell, rape victims have been prey to such thinking (by armchair social critics and defense attorneys) for eons, and it's downright awful. People, especially those in the dominant position (e.g., Whites, males, etc.), NEVER want to think that they can fall victim to violent acts. NO ONE deserves such an experience!
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
The difference is, one contains more factual content than the other.
Taken out of context we have a homicide.
In context we have the culmination of years of civil rights abuses.
Ferguson population
To talk about the shooting of Michael Brown and not talk about race ignores the context in which the shooting occurred.
As for criminal prosecution. You are right. The Ferguson Police Department will almost certainly be found guilty of civil rights violations. Michael Brown's killer may also be found guilty of civil rights violations. The chances of Michael Brown's killer being found guilty of homicide is next to zero. If you go back and read this thread, I think you will see that, the lack of prosecution of police is one of the reasons for anger toward the police.
The Justice Department has been using statistics like these to bring civil rights cases against police departments across the country. Including Portland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._v._City_of_Portland
http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2014/09/ferguson_shooting_justice_dept.html
Hey LaserWolf,
Those are great statistics, sir; however, the fact remains that the 'belief in a just world' ideology says that Michael Brown SURELY did something wrong for the officer to shoot and kill him. It's an ego defense that's hard to penetrate with mere facts and logic. ;-) I've had debates on such topics for decades now, and facts seem to come up short among people with deeply held (and self-serving) worldviews. Hell, rape victims have been prey to such thinking (by armchair social critics and defense attorneys) for eons, and it's downright awful. People, especially those in the dominant position (e.g., Whites, males, etc.), NEVER want to think that they can fall victim to violent acts. NO ONE deserves such an experience!
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
