Just when you think society is finally seeing the light, some idiot has to throw us back another 10 steps. My prayers go out to this strong young man and his family, as well as the families of Oscar Grant and Adolph Grimes III, two young black men that have lost their lives already this year in this same barbaric fashion.

Some people refuse to come into today with us. Still holding onto fear and hate. This shouldn’t be an issue in 2009. Yet another part of our government that has been failing us. It is time to evaluate the system and make some serious changes. It has been long past time that we enable an active monitor on police activities. If big brother is watching us, he should also be watching them.

Just look at the cops that are in hot water for the arrest and assault (two separate incidents) at two Critical Mass events. It’s not that hard to find, they’re all over youtube.

Watch it, and tell me that there aren’t cops with chips on their shoulders.

I’m not saying every cop does, but there are a handful.

Bellaire is KNOWN for their asshole cops who have a propensity for pulling over minorities AND high school age kids. EVERYONE in all of the local high schools (St. Thomas, Strake Jesuit, Episcopal, Bellaire, Lamar, etc.) know that you DO NOT give Bellaire cops a reason to pull you over- You either end up with a ticket for the most inane thing, or in handcuffs. There’s rarely, if ever, an inbetween.

And even the kid who got shot by the BART officer, was wiggling around on the ground when they were cuffing him. I would expect a “victim” (not perp) to be, absolutely, still if they are “cooperating”. The above observed behavior, still, in no way justifies the Bart officer even pulling his gun out! Maybe it is because black people, for so long, have always been the “good little n—” and they are tired of the crap! I don’t know. I don’t want to seem insensitive. I know how bigotry can be used to hurt good people, black or white. I have too many (more than none!) family members that are racist, as well.

I just think that if I am ever in such a situation, I won’t so much as blink. I know they have the guns and can use about any reason they want to shoot and kill me! We have turned into a police state, again. I thought that stuff was controlled back in the sixties when everyone cried police brutality! Here it come lifting its nasty head up, again!

but this kid might not have been shot if everyone had been a hell of a lot more submissive at the scene.

This is part of the problem … We The People have become far too pliant and placated that we are seen as submissive and docile sheep. This breeds further contempt and abuse by those in “power”. They have no FEAR OF GOD in them because they know most citizens are pliant, submissive BITCHES. The courts rarely mete out justice — they are courts of INjustice.

My views might mean a lot of martyrs, but that is the only solution. Try to work with your government to solve it? The same system that led us to this point? You have to understand what you are fighting in order to have success (which won’t come at no cost). You are fighting a system – and thus people – that have the deck stacked against YOU, in order to control your actions more and more as the years go by. Do you think for a second that a messiah will come by and wave a magic wand to fix it all? That asking nicely will slowly change things? The system attracts and breeds monsters, and monsters won’t give up their sources of power. Might makes right, ends justify the means, etc. to these monsters (cops, prosecutors, judges, city council, mayors, governors, federal legislators). Every once in a while you get an honest person speaking the facts, such as a Ron Paul, but for every 1 of him there are hundreds of monsters.

“I’m a little confused- you say ‘Everyone should know by now to assume that the police are insane, akin to Yosemite Sam on meth, but some of the above posts would do nothing but exacerbate the situation.’ in post 39, but in post 34 you say ‘Out of ten, maybe 1 or 2 will be monsters. The rest will be regular Joes…’ I’m not seeing many ‘regular joes’.”

The same that you assume that a dog you don’t know is a biter, you don’t immediately run at it and start petting it all over the head.

You assume the cop is a sociopath looking to beat you half to death for giggles. Not because they all are, or even the majority of them are.

Don’t provoke an unfamiliar dog.

And if the government decides to basically sodomize you, well, there’s nothing you’re going to do to interrupt it, the best you can hope for is legal satisfaction afterwards. Even if you come home and catch a uniformed cop beating and raping your wife, if you shoot him you’ll probably still go to jail.

Someone in one of these threads said that only in Texas is it legal to defend yourself against a cop if they’re breaking the law.

No one’s saying it’s right. If you don’t want to get eaten by sharks you can stay the hell out of the water. Not much you can do against crooked cops, unless you change some politics.

Killing one would basically be the end of your life as well, no matter how in the right you are. Which yeah, that sucks, but this kid might not have been shot if everyone had been a hell of a lot more submissive at the scene.

This would just be another wrongful arrest lawsuit.

I may have to have this made into a bumper sticker!

‘Who is Jim Bell?’

I’m a little confused- you say ‘Everyone should know by now to assume that the police are insane, akin to Yosemite Sam on meth, but some of the above posts would do nothing but exacerbate the situation.’ in post 39, but in post 34 you say ‘Out of ten, maybe 1 or 2 will be monsters. The rest will be regular Joes…’ I’m not seeing many ‘regular joes’.

I don’t agree with assuming they’re insane. They look like sociopaths drunk on power- not ill people unable to determine right from wrong. The simplest situations are being escalated by the obvious contempt many have for the public. How do you de-escalate a situation for someone who shows nothing but contempt for you? If it’s a spouse, you get divorced… if it’s an employer, you get a new job… if it’s the govt, you’re fucked.

Why do we tolerate these assholes?!!!

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_141946.asp

Because they have the power and the court backs them. We need to find another way to deal with them…

“I’m sad to say it, but we’re starting to reach the point where vigilante justice against these rogue cops might be the only thing that will make them think twice about abusing the citizenry under the color of authority.”

Who is Jim Bell?

“I’m actually kinda glad that kid got shot. It finally brought to light something that has been swept under the rug for far too long.”

I know where you’re going with this, but that’s one of the more unfortunate sentences I’ve read in a while. Appreciated the local perspective, though.