CNN: Protests play out in streets after teen is fatally shot by police

[Commander PK]

 

 

And please stop whining about "race baiters."   It's really not as simple as a FoxNews talking point, and it detracts from your legitimate points.   

 

Ok, fine.  I will whine about "people who make their name and in some cases living by stirring up racial animosity every chance they get."  

 

Better?  

 

and it would probably not surprise you or anyone here that yes, I do predominantly watch Fox News...because honestly I feel like they are closer than anyone else to telling it like it is as opposed to how we would like it to be...but make no mistake I think for myself, and I don't always agree with their angles or approach.  I try to look at most things objectively.  

[mistertim]

Ok, fine.  I will whine about "people who make their name and in some cases living by stirring up racial animosity every chance they get."  

 

Better?  

 

and it would probably not surprise you or anyone here that yes, I do predominantly watch Fox News...because honestly I feel like they are closer than anyone else to telling it like it is as opposed to how we would like it to be...but make no mistake I think for myself, and I don't always agree with their angles or approach.  I try to look at most things objectively.  

Then why are you, pretty much word for word, parroting their talking points and catch phrases?

[Commander PK]

Then why are you, pretty much word for word, parroting their talking points and catch phrases?

 

because in this case, I guess I agree with most of them.  I wasn't really aware that I was doing this though.  I don't really watch a lot of news, but when I do again it is usually Fox News or the local news channels.  I don't have an "agenda" other than speaking my mind.

 

Wrap your head around this...a mostly conservative minded individual...who's favorite heavy metal band is one fronted by an openly gay man.  

[Commander PK]

or even a mostly conservative minded individual who likes heavy metal at all...a music that is predominantly, both lyrically and thematically, for outsiders and social outcasts of all types.  

 

I believe in personal responsibility.  I believe in common sense.  I believe in "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  I try to treat everyone with respect, even those I do not agree with.  I believe most of the best answers are found in the middle ground.  I believe in compromise.

[mcsluggo]

because in this case, I guess I agree with most of them.  I wasn't really aware that I was doing this though.  I don't really watch a lot of news, but when I do again it is usually Fox News or the local news channels.  I don't have an "agenda" other than speaking my mind.

 

Wrap your head around this...a mostly conservative minded individual...who's favorite heavy metal band is one fronted by an openly gay man.  

 

ahhh you define your open mindedness by liking songs sung by Queen?  

Does an admiration for lesbian porn double down on your open-mindedness?  

[Commander PK]

ahhh you define your open mindedness by liking songs sung by Queen?

Does an admiration for lesbian porn double down on your open-mindedness?

In a world where some fans have stopped listening to both Queen and Judas Priest precisely because their singers were/are openly gay...yeah I think I do deserve some credit for that.

As for porn, I have no objections to Lesbian porn ...nor any porn at all really. Some of it interests me, and some I would not watch at gun point. Hey, demand has created the industry.

I don't care much at all about a person's sexuality. I consider myself a Christian, but unlike many of my brethren I do believe most gay people are born that way. I can't reconcile my Christian beliefs with that notion, nor can I explain why it is that some people are born gay....but I don't really care much about sorting it out either. I have relatives and some friends in my life who fit the bill. I do think some choose the lifestyle...but such things really do not interest me much.

I do believe in gun rights, as many here already know. Do I think citizens should have unfettered access to all military hardware available...no.

[visionary]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/12/ferguson-officers-shot-_n_6852700.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

2 Police Officers Reportedly Shot During Ferguson Protest

 

the St. Louis suburb just after midnight Thursday during protests following the police chief's resignation, according to reporters at the scene.

 

Images posted on social media appeared to show one officer being carried away. Witness Tony Rice told The Huffington Post he heard several shots and saw one officer on the ground hollering.

 

Officers drew their weapons and took protective positions after the shots were fired, and many of the protesters cleared the area. Officers advanced up a street across from the police department where the shots seem to have originated, one live stream showed.

[Larry]

Oh, goody.  That'll make things better. 

[tshile]

So leadership is resigning almost every day, and the response is to protest and shoot cops?

 

and yell "Acknowledgement 9 months ago would have prevented that" when a cop gets shot?

 

sound like lots of smart people that have their act together. good job.

[Kilmer17]

Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and the perps are caught and punished.

We don't need an escalation of violence again

[Burgold]

Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and the perps are caught and punished.

We don't need an escalation of violence again

Yeah, I agree. This is not the way. In fact, this is the opposite of the way. Violence only begets more violence.

[Jumbo]

<edit>

Wrap your head around this...a mostly conservative minded individual...who's favorite heavy metal band is one fronted by an openly gay man.  

 

 

Can I safely assume you even have some black friends? 

[Commander PK]

Can I safely assume you even have some black friends?

That's a safe assumption, lol

[Commander PK]

So leadership is resigning almost every day, and the response is to protest and shoot cops?

 

and yell "Acknowledgement 9 months ago would have prevented that" when a cop gets shot?

 

 

 

That statement reminded me of Chris Rock's "O.J." skit from the mid-nineties.  

 

"I ain't sayin' he should have killed her...but I understand."  

[Slateman]

So who is more to blame for this? The NRA or the liberal media?

[pjfootballer]

There's been enough violence. It needs to stop. Continuing on this path is a waste of human life and doesn't solve anything. When will someone stop it? It's ridiculous at this point. When are enough deaths enough? Peace to Ferguson.

[The Sisko]

My impression is that ultimately some of you are WAY too comfortable with Darren Wilson being a sacrificial lamb for bad cops everywhere...  

 

Do we really want our Law Enforcement officers treated this way?  If I was a young person right now, and I witnessed how this whole thing went down I definitely would think twice before going into public service as a Law Enforcement officer.  Where if god forbid you have to pull the trigger on somebody you can expect to be raked over the coals almost immediately.

They are members of an exclusive fraternity that values blue lives over any others - White, Black or any other color for that matter. Sure, White lives matter more than Black, but still not as much as Blue. So the concern over his rights as an employee while he and others are violating the constitutional rights of a community strikes me as a bit ironic.

And speaking of whining, I'm pretty sick of cops always whining about how dangerous their job is. Waaaah waah waah, get over it. Your job is dangerous but that's taken into account in the compensation. You know what? Most jobs are dangerous to a degree and the market prices the salaries to account for the level of danger. I didn't go whining to anyone about how dangerous my job was when I got a couple of accidental needle sticks from patients...and I didn't even have a powerful, secretive union that's generally above most union busting efforts to protect me either. So if you don't like how dangerous your job is and you're so worried about not coming home at night, find another job. I'm sure there are plenty of mall cop openings that are much safer.

More than the whining though, the real issue I have with the dangerous job line of reasoning is that it's generally trotted out as an excuse for bad police behavior like threatening civilians, punitive behavior for civilians that are uppity enough to expect their constitutional rights be respected or those expecting they be treated with a modicum of respect among other even worse offenses. I'm sorry but you can have a difficult, dangerous job but that in no way excuses you from doing it correctly and in a professional manner. You're paid to take the risks, not me. I (and everyone else) have rights and I damn well expect them to be respected. So yes, I'm truly completely and totally sick of cops. I don't condone violence against them like the recent shootings in Ferguson. However given our experience on the other side of it, please forgive me if I just have less than zero ****s to give about it either. Cops have a whole legal establishment there to protect them. But in the words of KRS-1, "You were put here to protect us, but who protects us from you?" Answer: in most cases, nobody.

[DaGoonie55]

There are a lot of interesting points of view in here.

 

All American Lives Matter.

[Jumbo]

There are a lot of interesting points of view in here.

 

All American Lives Matter.

 

 

If it works to reduce "all lives matter" to "all American lives matter", amigo, why not reduce "all American lives" even further to suit as one sees fit?

 

I think as long as we leave out the German and the Irish, all lives matter.

[Larry]

If it works to reduce "all lives matter" to "all American lives matter", amigo, why not reduce "all American lives" even further to suit as one sees fit?

 

I think as long as we leave out the German and the Irish, all lives matter.

 

[Destino]

Is it too much to ask that people wait for the facts to come out?

Who brings the facts to light? Is it the supervisors that are constantly found to rubber stamp use of force reports without so much as reviewing the evidence? The ones that clearly place backing their guys above everything else? Perhaps it's prosecutors that routinely refuse to apply the same practice of aggressively leveling charged in hopes of getting an easy plea, that they apply to everyone else?

The standard of evidence required to convict them is outrageously high and the evidence deemed exculpatory hilariously low.

The only court in which they are harshly treated is the court of public opinion. Perhaps that wouldn't be the case if they were held accountable.

[Commander PK]

I will respond to those two posts when I get the chance. I have to work tonight...and it's a Friday night so I'm sure we will be busy.

Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.

[DaGoonie55]

If it works to reduce "all lives matter" to "all American lives matter", amigo, why not reduce "all American lives" even further to suit as one sees fit?

 

I think as long as we leave out the German and the Irish, all lives matter.

 

I see your point.

 

Just tired of the slicing of different segments of American lives into Blue, Black, White, etc.

 

Not trying to slight our international friends at all.

 

Cheers!

[Commander PK]

They are members of an exclusive fraternity that values blue lives over any others - White, Black or any other color for that matter. Sure, White lives matter more than Black, but still not as much as Blue. So the concern over his rights as an employee while he and others are violating the constitutional rights of a community strikes me as a bit ironic.

And speaking of whining, I'm pretty sick of cops always whining about how dangerous their job is. Waaaah waah waah, get over it. Your job is dangerous but that's taken into account in the compensation. You know what? Most jobs are dangerous to a degree and the market prices the salaries to account for the level of danger. I didn't go whining to anyone about how dangerous my job was when I got a couple of accidental needle sticks from patients...and I didn't even have a powerful, secretive union that's generally above most union busting efforts to protect me either. So if you don't like how dangerous your job is and you're so worried about not coming home at night, find another job. I'm sure there are plenty of mall cop openings that are much safer.

More than the whining though, the real issue I have with the dangerous job line of reasoning is that it's generally trotted out as an excuse for bad police behavior like threatening civilians, punitive behavior for civilians that are uppity enough to expect their constitutional rights be respected or those expecting they be treated with a modicum of respect among other even worse offenses. I'm sorry but you can have a difficult, dangerous job but that in no way excuses you from doing it correctly and in a professional manner. You're paid to take the risks, not me. I (and everyone else) have rights and I damn well expect them to be respected. So yes, I'm truly completely and totally sick of cops. I don't condone violence against them like the recent shootings in Ferguson. However given our experience on the other side of it, please forgive me if I just have less than zero ****s to give about it either. Cops have a whole legal establishment there to protect them. But in the words of KRS-1, "You were put here to protect us, but who protects us from you?" Answer: in most cases, nobody.

 

Where do I begin, and I wonder why I even bother...but here goes.  

I was not aware Darren Wilson had been charged with violating anyone's constitutional rights.  The police department he worked for has some problems, but he individually has not been accused of anything that I am aware of.  The Department of Justice cleared this man of any wrong doing.  He committed no crime, and was completely justified in the shooting death of Mike Brown. "Hands up don't shoot" never happened.  The narrative has been wrong from the start.  He did his job correctly.  Sorry that pisses you off.     

 

As sick and tired as you are of Cops and I presume anyone else who wears a badge....I assure you we are just as sick of people like yourself.  People who have no problem proclaiming the guilt of any LEO who has an allegation brought against him...something you would never do for the criminals and thugs he locks up.  "Innocent until proven guilty"  Right?  People who think for 40 thousand a year plus benefits a Cop's job is to take a beating or bullet from said criminal/thug before he dare shoot him.  People who don't want "militarized police" but expect officers to be proficient enough to shoot a fleeing felon in the leg from 25 yards away.  People who want Police to ignore "minor law breaking" like "throwing water bottles" at them.  People who do nothing but **** and whine about Cops, but would be wetting or ****ting their bed or both at the same time while dialing 911 begging for help the second somebody busts through their door to do god knows what to them or their family, because god forbid they have a gun in the house.  I mean THINK OF THE CHILDREN!   

 

I used to think like you.  I actually ended up in the field by accident.  Law Enforcement was a secondary career choice.  Definitely not something my 18 year old self anticipated getting involved in.  Definitely not Corrections.  I used to believe all the stories I heard about Police abuse of power, etc.  As the years went by I discovered the truth. You know what I have found after over 17 years of working in the field?  Most people I deal with through work are completely full of ****.  Are their bad cops? Sure there are.  Are their asshole cops?  Sure there are.  Do mistakes get made?  Absolutely...but that kind of thing is nowhere near at the level nationally that the media and detractors would have you believe.  I command a team of approximately 25 Correctional Officers at my facility.  1/4 of them are African American.  Good honest decent people just trying to make a living like everyone else.  They are called "uncle tom's" and "house n-bombs" all the time for even wearing the uniform and the badge.  2 of my officers have been spit on within the last week.  Just the other morning I had to send my tactical team in to deal with a guy who ate his breakfast tray, and then whipped out his manhood and filled it up with piss and refused to give it up, because he was completely out of his mind on narcotics.  They had to put on protective suits to take it from him so they didn't get the guys piss all over them, or he didn't try to throw it at the first person that walked by.  He kicked and punched at them while they did this.  

 

Supervision cover-ups?  Over the last (3) years, I have been directly responsible for the termination of at least (4) subordinates who were not cutting the mustard, or who were found to be dishonest.  One was found to be doing some pretty heinous things off duty, and because of an internally initiated investigation due to information that accidentally came to light (and could have just been blown off...you know because we protect our own above all others), was charged and sentenced to prison accordingly.    

 

I'm not asking for any special recognition for any of this.  This is my profession, and this is what I do.  Like you said, we are paid to take risks...but I would argue not nearly enough for the all the bull**** we have to deal with.  We are not paid to die in the line of duty forsake all else.  All I ask is for people like yourself to stop generalizing Cops and other LEO's.  Give cops the benefit of the doubt you would give anyone else.   

 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Ride along programs are available to the public.  Take a tour of a prison or jail.  I encourage you and Destino to take advantage of them sometime.  Perhaps your perspectives will change.  The old "walk a mile in my shoes" thing.  Try it sometime.  

 

If you dare.     

[Commander PK]

and just so we are clear.  I work shiftwork for a living...so I don't get to sit here and debate on the internet all day.  I have to go to sleep now, because I'm on midnights.  I'm sure you and some of the other usual suspects in these threads will have plenty of smart ass snarky responses to my post.

 

I'll respond whenever I get around to it if I have the inclination to do so.  Enjoy winning the internet.