Very rare when I start a thread by calling people d-bags... but it is appropriate.
Maybe some of their football team would like to convert to a school that appreciates cultural diversity?!
They can start by looking up the definition of "Jayhawk" to better understand where Kansas stands.
University of Missouri president, chancellor quit after football team walks out ↗
@drgnslayr Every school has prejudiced idiots. I actually applaud the way the students handled the situation. They engaged in non-violent protests for a cause they believed in which isn't being emphasized nearly enough. The inaction and dismissal of events needing to be addressed and investigated absolutely warranted the change at the top of administration. I can't address whether the racial incidents there were isolated or not because there isn't enough information out there on the events themselves.
Sports has always been the biggest and best way for social change to happen. Jackie Robinson 10-15 years before the Civil Rights movement kicked into high gear. If you haven't seen the movie Invictus, it is a great movie about the role Rugby played in helping heal South Africa after Apartheid ended.
I say good for the Missouri students who initiated change in a positive way instead of rioting and destroying property to get their way.
It's ok that students stand up. Yet it's not like the president didn't do anything. The real problem isn't the students standing up. It's that now the minority (blacks) have a favoritism in the school. That is the same thing as the racism the whites always get accused of.
" I actually applaud the way the students handled the situation"
I might have posted a confusing message... I also applaud the students handling of the situation. Yes, every school has prejudiced idiots, just like they exist everywhere in the world, and those idiots exist in every race, too.
The current situation is really being taken out of context. Missouri has a history of racial struggle and the administration being lax from those events. I used to go to Columbia often because my then-girlfriend was from there. They (her family) told me stories I would expect to only hear from the deep south.
What has bothered me the most about this racial protest /anti-police vibe we have been seeing lately...and the MU students did the same damn thing...linking their protests to the Ferguson incident.
By all accts, that kid in Ferguson went towards the police who wanted to question him, and actually dove into the police car to assault the officer. Why? Because he was guilty of the crime they were questioning him about.
I have no problem calling that Ferguson kid astonishingly stupid, I mean who wrestles with an armed police officer? What does any sane adult in this country think could happen in that scenario?
Any police shooting must be investigated factually, not emotionally.
The MOMENT those students said "Ferguson", and expected administrative officials to say something in favor, they LOST credibility.
There are improper police shootings, just as there are justified police shootings. Each individual case must be analyzed separately.
You know whose "lives matter"? To each human looking at himself in the mirror, his life should matter the most, to himself first & foremost. If that Ferguson kid valued his own life, he would have NEVER dove headfirst into a police car trying to fight with an armed officer. He cheapened and demeaned his own life, plain and simple.
And how perverse is the country getting that in some public forum, one of the candidates said "ALL lives matter"...and some of the audience jeered at him. How was he wrong? Its no joke--> its simply the sensationalized deconstruct of this society, piece by piece. If there are no absolutes (like an absolute "no-no"), then there is less societal framework, and individuals lose their frame of reference.
People have come full circle & are now "questioning" or challenging some of society's most basic tenets: law and order. What does civilization mean? It doesnt mean you protest some perceived injustice so violently that it becomes an effin riot full of looting & burning, right? What if the store owners were on hand with their 12ga & AR15s to defend themselves & their property? I shudder at the thought.
Do we really want every Joe Blow packing a pistol? What would the rate of unjustified shootings do then?
This civilization is looking doomed. America is in decline, without question. Open class warfare. Someone tell those poor, utterly uneducated Guatemalans that are flooding us...they coming for nothing.
Putin has us figured, we are rotting from within. A superpower only in the historical sense.
@ralster said:
What has bothered me the most about this racial protest /anti-police vibe we have been seeing lately...and the MU students did the same damn thing...linking their protests to the Ferguson incident.
By all accts, that kid in Ferguson went towards the police who wanted to question him, and actually dove into the police car to assault the officer. Why? Because he was guilty of the crime they were questioning him about.
I have no problem calling that Ferguson kid astonishingly stupid, I mean who wrestles with an armed police officer? What does any sane adult in this country think could happen in that scenario?
Any police shooting must be investigated factually, not emotionally.
The MOMENT those students said "Ferguson", and expected administrative officials to say something in favor, they LOST credibility.
There are improper police shootings, just as there are justified police shootings. Each individual case must be analyzed separately.
You know whose "lives matter"? To each human looking at himself in the mirror, his life should matter the most, to himself first & foremost. If that Ferguson kid valued his own life, he would have NEVER dove headfirst into a police car trying to fight with an armed officer. He cheapened and demeaned his own life, plain and simple.
And how perverse is the country getting that in some public forum, one of the candidates said "ALL lives matter"...and some of the audience jeered at him. How was he wrong? Its no joke--> its simply the sensationalized deconstruct of this society, piece by piece. If there are no absolutes (like an absolute "no-no"), then there is less societal framework, and individuals lose their frame of reference.
People have come full circle & are now "questioning" or challenging some of society's most basic tenets: law and order. What does civilization mean? It doesnt mean you protest some perceived injustice so violently that it becomes an effin riot full of looting & burning, right? What if the store owners were on hand with their 12ga & AR15s to defend themselves & their property? I shudder at the thought.
Do we really want every Joe Blow packing a pistol? What would the rate of unjustified shootings do then?
This civilization is looking doomed. America is in decline, without question. Open class warfare. Someone tell those poor, utterly uneducated Guatemalans that are flooding us...they coming for nothing.
Putin has us figured, we are rotting from within. A superpower only in the historical sense.
+10000
"The MOMENT those students said "Ferguson", and expected administrative officials to say something in favor, they LOST credibility."
True. If this movement is so important to the students, and they are protesting MU, then they should pull up past cases of prejudice precisely from MU. Those accounts are there.
"You know whose "lives matter"? To each human looking at himself in the mirror, his life should matter the most, to himself first & foremost. If that Ferguson kid valued his own life, he would have NEVER dove headfirst into a police car trying to fight with an armed officer. He cheapened and demeaned his own life, plain and simple."
Spot on. I have mixed ethnicity and I'm the last guy that will just jump into a movement thinking... "hey, we can get something out of this." That is the way I feel about most of these movements. In the end, they do more harm for their cause then good.
@ralster said
And how perverse is the country getting that in some public forum, one of the candidates said "ALL lives matter"…and some of the audience jeered at him. How was he wrong? Its no joke–> its simply the sensationalized deconstruct of this society, piece by piece. If there are no absolutes (like an absolute “no-no”), then there is less societal framework, and individuals lose their frame of reference.
I heard a great example given about this and thought this would be a good place to share.
Let's imagine that you are invited to a big dinner where everyone is going to get to eat. Instead of a buffet, there will be servers coming around to serve. You are seated on the far end of the table away from the kitchen. As the serving staff comes out, you notice that they are only serving people to about three quarters of the way down the table.
You stand up and shout "People at the end of the table should be served food, too!"
Someone at the head of the table stands up from their plate and shouts back at you "Everyone at the table should be served food! Don't be rude to those of us at the head of the table."
Now let me ask this - if you don't have food, is it rude to say that you deserve food at that dinner, or should you sit quietly and be ignored? Further, is it necessary to say that those who already have food should also be served, or just to point to those that do not?
That's what the movement is about.
In almost every instance where an African American has been killed by police, there has been a large contingent pointing to what that individual did wrong to deserve to be shot. There are many that say that police should not be held accountable for their actions. This has even been in the cases where the video evidence clearly points to wrongdoing on the part of the officer. So why do people say "Black Lives Matter?" Because minorities are sitting at the end of the table, waiting to be served. We don't need to say "All lives matter" because I see many around that already have been served. It's only those that haven't gotten their food yet that need to be championed. Those that are already on the third course don't need a champion.
@justanotherfan Man, that is a great post, with an almost perfect analogy.
But, speaking for myself, (and I have mixed ethnicity myself), it goes back to what we are taught as kids (doesnt matter if 1- or 2-parent home): right vs. wrong.
Sitting at the "end of the table", rightfully expecting your fair share cannot be equated on any moral/ethical/legal ground to be the same as theft compounded a few min later by charging a questioning police officer...& then diving into the police car to get his gun & get inevitably shot, & shot dead.
The core logic flaw in all those Ferguson riots was that those masses took this kids death and tried to make it racial, ABSOLUTELY ignoring what that specific Ferguson kid did. The rioters made themselves look like idiots, who chose not to let facts get in the way.
Unfortunately, the analogy of sitting at the table "expecting what we deserve" actually DOES apply to that Ferguson kid: his actions put him squarely at the table of "violent criminal", & by his actions directly & physically & violently towards an armed, sanctioned police officer--HE GOT EXACTLY WHAT HIS ACTIONS DESERVED. Didnt he? Any police dept's investigation in these 50 states would come to the same conclusion. Even if the investigating internal affairs officers were non-Caucasian.
Regarding race, I see plenty of poor white small town KS kids who are extremely busy, focused, & engaged in using meth, other drugs, & busy spending their career-bldg yrs covering themselves with elaborate tattoos...they wont get far either. They are being outcompeted, sadly, by the other thousands of same age kids at KU, KSU, WSU, etc...(and I mean the ones already with criminal records, out on probation, just screwed up yet again, yada, yada...).
What is that time-tested parable: Dont judge a book by its cover (dont judge a man by his paint job), but judge him by his actions. (What's under the hood?)
When dealing with police/law enforcement, what ever happenned to "yes, sir", "no, sir"? I know I was taught to respect authority.
Cliff Notes on this Ferguson stuff: I dont care what race the kid was, I want the facts and analysis of what he was doing, why was he shot, and was it justified or not? One cannot look at this as "another black shooting" in a vacuum. The actual facts of the case are almost deafening.
There are plenty of violent criminals that just so happen to be white, black, hispanic, asian, or mixed race. I'm so past the sensationalization of race.
I think the riot/protests were looking to happen in some places based on past issues that went unresolved. I think that is what happened at Ferguson and MU. So certain groups were looking for the opportunity to raise these issues and the Ferguson incident was used to do so. The opportunism blinded their vision... because they backed a bad situation where the dead person appears to be more of one who victimizes instead of one who was victimized. I think the credibility was lost for this one reason.
Stand back from all of this and look in. Gain a wider perspective. I'm pretty sure all of us in here believe black lives matter. But the way you build a movement... the details... are crucial and telling. Naming your organization "Black Lives Matter" infers these people only care about black lives. I can understand that they might want to show more specificity in their movement so maybe "All Lives Matter" is too general for them. Why didn't they call it "Black Lives Matter, Too!?" Why doesn't your organizational message combine the importance of ALL people?
I find it offensive to just say "Black Lives Matter!" They might as well have called it "Black Lives Matter Only!" And they don't understand why not everyone is jumping right on board their movement?!
The feeling I get from it is the engine running it is hatred. So address issues (one of them is hate) with more hatred? It feels like an escalation instead of a path for resolution.
@drgnslayr Beautifully put! I got the same gut feeling, that this is reactionary, and actually limiting the entire length & breadth of 'Black America' down to one end of that spectrum.
The flip side is looking at the successful, proud AfricanAmercans, regardless of party affiliation or vocation. There are many such positive examples of success, both Democrat & Republican, and seen evetywhere in all walks of life. And its better than it was in the 80s when I grad from h.s.
I hope the core msg of the Black Lives Matter! movement is to highlight successful people. What was their path? What did they do?
I recall a line from a late-90s LLcoolJ lyric (a particularly angst-driven song): "..either sell dope, be a rap thug, or play ball.." His exact point of that song was to break the mold, get out of that cycle. And the core of this is that it comes from within. No one can hand you success, you have start by taking the right steps. Your feet & hands, not someone else.
The thing I'd like to tell young people today, is that nothing is given free. You want to be somewhere in life, you always ask: "what do I have to do to get there?" Kind of like that investing commercial 'how do we get there from here?'. And just like jnvesting, there arent any guarantees in life. But you arent ever done trying, unless you say you are "done". Its what I tell my 27yr old, and my 16yr old.
The 27yr old stepdaughter actually just got booted out of KU pharmD school, due to recurring poor standardized test taking skills, despite being a magna cum laude grad from WSU. A life's lesson in persevering & making one's self better. Try again, now elsewhere. That's what life is.
I agree with you 100%...
I think the real issue we have today is...
"The thing I’d like to tell young people today, is that nothing is given free."
And young people are of all colors... and all need to have this perspective.
Life is complicated. Kids grow up using only their thumbs to play games. Instead... they should have to deal with a simpler life that includes being bored. When I was bored, it usually motivated me to do more real things. From there, ambition took over.
When I was a kid, I played with sticks and mud. I made dams to see if I could stop water. It was the start of developing my creativity... versus having life brought to me like these kids have with their cellphones and laptops.
@ralster I agree with your point that individuals should treat police with respect. However, part of what is not addressed is that often times, police approach minorities with hostility that, simply put, is not seen by non-minorities in their interactions with police. As a result, when black and hispanic males tell these stories, while blacks and hispanics understand that what these guys are saying is true, society at large dismisses it because our interactions with police are very different.
Michael Brown was wrong for robbing that store.
But let's look at the facts. The police officer stated that he was unaware of the robbery when he engaged Michael Brown. That's a critical fact that is often lost. The officer flat out did not know that a robbery had just occurred, or that Brown was a potential suspect. The officer yelled at Brown and his friend because they were walking in the street. According to witnesses, he yelled "Get the F! out the street". Some witnesses say he yelled "get the F! out the street, boy!" As I detailed in another post, the history of white males calling black males "boy" as a statement of disrespect is well documented. The question is, as an officer of the law, and as an authority figure, did this officer approach this situation appropriately. I would say no.
By no means does that mean that what Brown did next was okay. It was not. Brown should not have escalated the situation. He should have held his tongue, moved out of the street and went about his business. But at the same time, that officer should not be addressing a citizen like that. That's unprofessional and unbecoming of a police officer to make a normal interaction hostile for no reason.
True story: Back when I was in college, I worked on campus and often was leaving campus late after studying or working. I got stopped by the police quite a bit driving home late at night (at least once or twice a semester). Once, I got stopped by an officer and the first question he asked as he approached my car was if I had any weapons or drugs in the vehicle. The very first question. He did not ask me for my ID. Didn't ask for my registration. Didn't ask why I was leaving campus so late. He basically accused me of doing something wrong as soon as he stopped me. I spent 30 minutes that night on the side of the road right next to campus while this cop ran my information. Finally, when everything came back clean and there was nothing more to run, he handed me a bogus ticket. I call the ticket bogus because when I went to contest the ticket a week later, the officer did not appear and, on top of that, submitted a one sentence report on why he ticketed me. The prosecutor immediately apologized and threw the ticket out. That happens to black men all the time. My roommates couldn't believe it when I got home that night that I had actually been stopped by the cops and that had happened. Up to that point, they had assumed that kind of stuff never really happened, except when people were actually doing something wrong. It actually happens. Unfortunately, even though that officer was completely wrong in how he handled the situation, because I didn't have to pay a fine, I wasn't injured, my car wasn't damaged, etc, I could not bring a claim against the police department for how I was treated, so that story didn't make the national news.
Black Lives Matter isn't about Michael Brown. If you look around, you see that Ferguson is about a culture and societal practice that allows police officers to harass minority males with little threat of retaliation or punishment because the stories that make the national headlines are always a little fishy one way or another. My story doesn't get a voice because I behaved myself in a way that was upstanding and respectful even though the officer did not carry himself that way. Had I been shot or beaten, there are people out there that would have immediately dug into my life story to try and argue that I did something to deserve my fate. Few would have questioned that officer. Many would have taken him at his word, even though he started that encounter with unnecessary hostility and tried to cover that up by writing a bogus ticket, hoping I wouldn't contest it because I was just some young black kid.
I think, in general, there is plenty of blame to go around.
I'm not white. I've never had a problem with police. But I am careful (as should all people) what body language I cast, the tone of my voice, and I always clearly showing respect for the law. I don't do those things just because I'm not white. I do those things because I was brought up to respect the law. I think about being in their shoes and how challenging their jobs are. And I'm thankful we have police that, for the most part, are not totally corrupt and worthless. People should head south into Mexico for a taste of something different. Bring cash and spread it out in small amounts in separate pockets for the bribes....
I want to make it clear that I don't stake all the blame on one group. Every situation is unique. From what I understand, the police officer was under attack from Michael Brown. Anyone challenging the police in a threatening way, deserves what he/she gets. People that have general attitude issues with the police, bring problems to themselves. I believe there are very few times when police instigate one of these situations by themselves. At this point, the police are afraid when approaching certain groups of people, especially as the crowds get larger. That isn't something strictly formed by "racial targeting." A big chunk of it is the vibe officers feel the second they show up on a scene.
I think it is good for all of us to think about being in the shoes of all sides. Start everything by having a positive attitude and looking for positive ways to live life, deal with issues, deal with others... etc. I'm sure it must be difficult for some people to find that correct attitude. It is a real shame when they have to pay the ultimate price because of their attitudes and decisions.... but there are no promises in life, even for those with a positive attitude. Just do what you can, "keep the light on" (stay positive), and do your thing and be happy and feel fortunate for all the good things you have, even if it seems little.
@justanotherfan Your story has probably occured thousands of times...& sadly, I'm sure happens a few times across the nation every single day. Truly distressing.
If we could weed out bigotry from police and social interactions in general, America would have a chance at approaching the perfect ideology, as a nation, that our laws supposedly espouse. Hope we can make progress in that direction.
As far as corrupt cops or those officers found guilty of an unjust shooting, throw the book at them. I never mentioned it in earlier posts...but that scale of justice needs to always tip in favor of the side of the truth, if it can be determined--crooked/guilty cops need punishing too. Thats the law as well...
@drgnslayr The whole race thing has always weirded me out. I just don't get it. ( I am white, by the way ). People have always called me one of two things: naive or optimistic. (especially during BB season) I prefer to think I'm a little of each.
I don't ever remember meeting someone and thinking "Oh - this person is a _____ fill in the blank". I truly feel like I just try to get to know the person, not the color of the person. So, it especially bothers me to hear people talk about what WE did to them 200 years ago. I didn't do nothin! My parents and grandparents didn't do nothin. At what point do we quit paying for the sins of our great/great/great grandfathers and be judged on who we are and how we act now? Like I said before, I am pretty naive, I like to think the best of people, but I can honestly say I've never seen racial discrimination. Maybe it's in the eye of the beholder?
Anyway, I know it exists and I hate that it exists. We all have the power to change it too. It's up to each one of us. Love your neighbor as yourself. Bingo. Discrimination ended.
Michal Brown punched the cop and tried to take his gun. What do you expect?
When I was younger I left a party with some friends (I'm white)(like it matters), to find some girls. Make a long story short we wound up in a back alley when the cops showed. They didn't ask for id's no they pulled guns. You know what my happy white ass did? Got down face first in the pavement of that dirty alley. I wasn't playing the hey I'm white card.
Yes Black lives matter, and so do Brown lives, White lives and so on. All lives matter.
Yet what is happening at MU isn't about equality. It's about the football team and minorities high jacking the administration. They in return will receive special treatment and positions because of the color of their skin. That my friend is racism.
My (white) brother was murdered by his ex-wife and the police still don't give a fuck. Don't think discrimination by police is just for minorities. Many officers and DA's are lazy pieces of crap.
The good Lord helped us through ways we didn't see coming. He provided the money to pay for the lawyers (the way I see it) so the girls ended up where they are safe and belong...Far from that evil woman and in the loving home of their grandparents.
Black lives will matter more when black lives matter more to blacks.
When blacks stop killing each other at incredible rates in our inner cities, I think there will be more ears open to the issue. There is an element of black society that is conveniently ignored by liberals, and as usual, excuses made ad nauseam.
What we need as a society is truly a complete intolerance to the violence that is killing, injuring, and terrorizing inner city folks on a nightly basis.
It starts with the tolerance and glorification of the violence within elements of the black culture, which has spread to the rest of society. And it is fueled by a lack of parental direction -- 73% of black kids are born out of wedlock. In the inner city, the rate is higher.
At MU, no one was killed, injured, robbed, or maimed.
Perhaps the MU students would have been better off caravanning to Chicago for the weekend and canvassing the street looking for leads regarding the 9 year old black kid killed last week? I don't know. I guess someone yelling the "n" word from a passing vehicle is more worthy of attention.
And I guess a black kid from a family with multimillionaire parents going on a supposed hunger strike is supposed to be instructive to us all.
What we have seen is an all out assault of free speech and dissent. At MU now, students are to call 911 if someone says something offensive. Astonishing to me, but not surprising given the idiots that run universities.
There was an interview with a black kid after the MU president resigned. He was asked how the resignation would change his life. He was stumped. But that's makes sense -- the answer is zero. And that's the point. This stuff makes all of the hand-wringers sleep better and feel better, but it means nothing.
It means nothing. Meanwhile, folks are killed every night, robbed at convenience stores, little kids shot playing on their porches, and a certain element of the political spectrum remains silent. Why? Because we can't take a chance that we might offend a key constituency and their pandering brethren.
I never said that whites don't have things happen to them in encounters with police. They do. And when that happens, it's just as wrong.
I said above that Michael Brown was wrong for what he did. But here's the thing that I think you are missing about this whole episode.
As a result of the Brown shooting, even though he was wrong, it revealed a systematic problem with the Ferguson police department and municipal court system. Have you read the DOJ report on their investigation? The report details many unconstitutional stops, arrests and other harassment that the Ferguson PD carried out as a regular practice. The actions of the officer in the case of Michael Brown were justified, but when the light shone on the Ferguson PD, evidence of unconstitutional behavior were rampant. A sampling:
In October 2012, police officers pulled over an African-American man who had lived in Ferguson for 16 years, claiming that his passenger-side brake light was broken. The driver happened to have replaced the light recently and knew it to be functioning properly. Nonetheless, according to the man’s written complaint, one officer stated, “let’s see how many tickets you’re going to get,” while a second officer tapped his Electronic Control Weapon (“ECW”) on the roof of the man’s car. The officers wrote the man a citation for “tail
light/reflector/license plate light out.” They refused to let the man show them that his car’s
equipment was in order, warning him, “don’t you get out of that car until you get to your house.” The man, who believed he had been racially profiled, was so upset that he went to the police station that night to show a sergeant that his brakes and license plate light worked.
At times, the constitutional violations are even more blatant. An African-American man
recounted to us an experience he had while sitting at a bus stop near Canfield Drive. According to the man, an FPD patrol car abruptly pulled up in front of him. The officer inside, a patrol lieutenant, rolled down his window and addressed the man:
Lieutenant: Get over here.
Bus Patron: Me?
Lieutenant: Get the f*** over here. Yeah, you.
Bus Patron: Why? What did I do?
Lieutenant: Give me your ID.
Bus Patron: Why?
Lieutenant: Stop being a smart ass and give me your ID.
The lieutenant ran the man’s name for warrants. Finding none, he returned the ID and said, “get the hell out of my face.”
This incident is also consistent with a pattern of suspicionless, legally unsupportable
stops we found documented in FPD’s records, described by FPD as “ped checks” or “pedestrian checks.” Though at times officers use the term to refer to reasonable-suspicion-based pedestrian stops, or “Terry stops,” they often use it when stopping a person with no objective, articulable suspicion.
In another case, officers responded to a call about a man selling drugs by stopping a group of six African-American youths who, due to their numbers, did not match the facts of the call. The youths were “detained and ped checked.”
Frequently, officers arrest people for conduct that plainly does not meet the
elements of the cited offense. For example, in November 2013, an officer approached five
African-American young people listening to music in a car. Claiming to have smelled
marijuana, the officer placed them under arrest for disorderly conduct based on their “gathering in a group for the purposes of committing illegal activity.” The young people were detained and charged—some taken to jail, others delivered to their parents—despite the officer finding no marijuana, even after conducting an inventory search of the car.
That's just a sampling. It should be noted that the police in Ferguson were using pedestrian ("ped checks") checks even though this activity is an unconstitutional stop. Michael Brown was wrong, yes, but it the things that the people of Ferguson complained about were found to be true - there were systematic abuses within the police force.
I appreciate what @nuleafjhawk says, but the trouble is that discrimination happens. Does it happen all the time. No. But the thing with discrimination is that it might not be noticeable unless it happens to you. I have a co-worker that goes through hell when we business travel. I never really thought about it until seeing what she has to go through on literally every single business trip. I'm sure that type of thing happens all the time, but until it happened literally right in front of my face, I didn't see it. I couldn't recognize it.
Like the story I told above, until my roommates actually heard about it from me, they didn't believe that type of thing happened.
What is happening at MU is a result of the administration ignoring small incidents and letting them fester. Now, it has exploded. They just arrested a student at another school for making a terrorist threat against the campus in Columbia.
Currently in the US, there is a DOJ investigation going on about sexual assaults on college campuses. KU is one of the campuses being investigated. Are the women that have complained about the unwanted groping and other behavior seeking special rights? Of course not. They want to be treated with decency and dignity as a member of that community. If university leaders don't want to do that, and root out those who are perpetrating these types of behavior, they should be replaced.
There is a similar problem with race. Not just black, but also with Latinos and a growing issue with middle eastern individuals. That, too should be rooted out. To some, it may just be isolated incidents. But the problem with hate is that if you don't root out the isolated incidents, it becomes a systematic problem.
At MU, the football team isn't saying "make one of us president of the university." They are saying, select a president that cares about all students, and won't look the other way when we are being mistreated. It's not special treatment to not be subjected to abuse.
@dylans what has happened to your brother is terrible, and unfortunately, is a problem everywhere. Some police and DA's see things a certain way and make assumptions about a crime. That attitude must also be rooted out. Don't lose hope though. The system is flawed, but, hopefully, getting better.
You make a good point about scoring highest in school, but it isn't about two parent homes. It is about stability at home. For two parent homes that are unstable, those kids do not do well in school because the instability at home makes it difficult for them to concentrate at school, hard to sleep, inconsistent eating, etc. When there is stability, whether in a single parent home or whatever, the child can reach their full potential.
A big part of the problem is our media. All they want to do is make money. They make money by getting more viewers. We don't have actual news these days... just complete utter nonsense trying to grab attention away from other "news" sources.
We'll never make a dent in any of these social issues with our current media. They want to stir up people so their reporting story escalates along with the protesters.
I think this entire "black lives matter" movement is creating more hatred than it is resolving issues and helping spread the word that black lives DO matter. I wouldn't be surprised if some marketing wonk is behind this all.
There are definite situations that need to be investigated concerning how some black people were treated by law enforcement. There are also plenty of situations that need to be investigated concerning how some white people were treated by law enforcement. Not all of the black situations related to being racial issues. A lot of time it is just police being non-professional. But the media is on the hype wagon and the end result is added tension between police and some groups. I'm not saying it is media's job to make the world a happy place... but they are instigating a big chunk of this. They bait viewers into coming to the conclusion, "oh my... that is injustice!" When people see something they think is injustice the last thing they want to do is change the channel.
Media is also at the heart of all of this "PC" uber sensitivity. BTW: the "Black Lives Matter" group is racist against African Americans because they use the word "black" as part of their identity and label for certain people when it was decided a while back that using the word "black" as a descriptor to a group of people is racist! Dang racists!
Here you go people... no more using the words... "inner-city", "ghetto", "thug", "Oreo", "uppity", "you people", "shady", "sketchy".
7 Phrases Everyone Needs to Stop Using to Describe Black People ↗
In essence... if you put any descriptor in your comments about an African American that isn't super positive... you are a RACIST! We all know that there isn't a single African American that is sketchy, or shady. Someone is going to have to sue Oreo cookies and make them change their name! Even though they started their business and using that name back in 1912... they should have known!
The more I rave on... the more it makes me want to turn off mankind, period. The nonsense is making me nauseated. I'm afraid that I have to stop buying chocolate cookies because it will look like I support racist ideals.
Oh oh... I used the word "chocolate!" And I am sure I will be damned to hell for all the times I praised my big guy "Chocolate Thunder!" He must have been racist to himself because I remember when he called himself that name.
Interesting how much you and I agree in areas not related to Coach Self.
Excellent post, I was going to post much of what you wrote but you did very well. What amazes me is that in our current environment where every little incident is amply documented by dozens of cell phone cameras, yet the 3 alleged incidents that started the whole thing at MU have not a single piece of evidence to back them up.
First, there is the alleged "poop-swastika" that was allegedly smeared on a bathroom and which I would think is more an insult to white supremacists than to black people; not a single photograph of that appears to exist. The other two involved individuals yelling the "N" word, one on campus and the off campus...how exactly is the chancellor responsible for event off campus escapes me...and yet again not a single picture or video.
Also interesting that the Student Body President is not only gay...but also black; so much for intolerance at MU. He is also the one that made the false allegation the KKK was on campus and had to retract later with no consequences to his absolute dangerous allegation. And the kid that went on a hunger strike alleging white privilege and the raising cost of graduate school? Well...he grew up in a $1.5M mansion in Omaha and his father makes $6M per year...if MU was so bad to black students...why is he there in his 8th year in college?
These events have created an extreme dangerous precedent, in short, the inmates are running the asylum. Any group that feels oppressed, whether it is true or not is apparently not important, now is free to demand the resignation of the head of any institution...and get away with it...
The professor that would not postpone a test because alleged fear by a few students was labeled a racist and basically force to resign while the liberal professor that attempted to prevent a student reporter form exercising his right to report and asked for "muscle" to forcibly remove him...is still teaching. Un-effin'-believable.
Finally, here is a pots from a reasonable MU student which I believe is typical of the majority...
One has to wonder how long before she is labeled a racist and expelled from MU...I will say it again...Un-effin'-believable.
Here... I've now repaired my choc***te cookie company. From now on, we'll just call these cookies "multi-color cookies." Kind of a catchy name, don't you all think? Definitely not sketchy!
It's obvious this is now a joke, so I think I am going to take a break for a while.
It isn't a joke. But sometimes a humorous angle shows the absurdity.
In the years I worked the swing shift and drove the 55 miles home at night from the Nawlin's CBD, I was stopped numerous times. Once the officer said he stopped me for 5 mph under the posted limit and I was hugging the white line on the edge of the road. Explained to him I was headed home from work (still in work shirt and id badge clipped to my pocket) and I was tired. He asked if I would like him to follow me the remaining 16 miles to my rural home, which I declined and as he left he said be careful. Another ocassion, a less than cordial stop was because the light was out on my license plate. However, when he first approached he immediately practically stuck his head in the window which I assumed was to see if I was using something. The absuridity of the light being out is the fact that many people use plastic covers on their plates making it difficult for traffic cameras to read, plus Louisiana issues a LSU plate with tiger stripes on it that make reading the tag almost impossible unless you're standing next to it. I could relate more, but my point is it doesn't just happen to minorities and in all instances, no matter how absurd it seemed to me, I was respectful and always used "yes sir" and "no sir."
@drgnslayr Hey -European is one our favorite sayings out here in the country... Cept we spell it a ill' different but pronounce it the same. Plus "You're a peein" has just a slightly different definition out here as well...
