Ongoing U.S Police Brutality and Corruption Discussion Thread

kind of a big difference there

yeah I cringed when I saw that circulating, because I just knew it was being cheered for the wrong reasons.

white people cheering because it's a lack of challenge from a minority, that allows them to go about their business comfortably as before. kind of answers the question of why these protests exist to begin with.

i should know this already, but what are the best groups to donate to that work on countering police brutality? is there a standout baltimore organization? national groups especially worth supporting?

yeah I have no idea - I feel like there needs to be some non-local oversight required whenever a cop kills somebody, but I don't know who would provide that or the legal barriers that would need to be overcome.

I can't believe you guys didn't know that stands for "free the police."

Where I come from that stands for Fuck the Pope ... and I am not joking!

i should know this already, but what are the best groups to donate to that work on countering police brutality? is there a standout baltimore organization? national groups especially worth supporting?

― Karl Malone, Tuesday, April 28, 2015 7:08 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah I have no idea - I feel like there needs to be some non-local oversight required whenever a cop kills somebody, but I don't know who would provide that or the legal barriers that would need to be overcome.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, April 28, 2015 7:20 PM (1 hour ago

there's always the ACLU or its local affiliates

yeah, i'm an aclu supporter too but they cover so many other things; i was hoping for an org more focused on this

i support the southern poverty law center
http://www.splcenter.org/what-we-do

Afaik the splc has never labelled a police dept a hate group...

They do good work tho

1) a white guy named Legba? 2) yeah that reads like tourism

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, April 28, 2015 10:02 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

very predictable that he'd wind up going and breathlessly reporting back, but all i did about it was subtweet about riot tourism

The pro-cop white right has snatched not only the terrified slapping mother but pictures of lines of activists building a protective line to defuse tensions as "protecting the police." Photoshop in some apple pie and Reagan's rotting corpse fucking it while you're at it, assholes.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDsR4S8UIAAtCYr.jpg

To donate yr hard earned several pennies!

Communities United for Police Reform (NYC)
http://changethenypd.org/

Legal support and bail fund for Baltimore demonstrators/organizers
https://www.crowdrise.com/legalbailsupportforbaltimore/fundraiser/tremurphy

We Charge Genocide (Chicago)
http://wechargegenocide.org/

copwatchnyc.org, who monitor and document police in public areas during especially busy times of day

thanks io!

http://www.salon.com/2015/04/29/where_is_joseph_kent_social_media_erupts_after_cameras_capture_activists_suspicious_looking_arrest/
this is some kafkaesque shit here

Joseph K, huh?

wow @ whole foods

pumped for Turkey & Cheese

enough with "thugs": http://www.splicetoday.com/politics-and-media/stop-using-the-word-thugs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/28/hector-morejon-police-shooting_n_7165106.html

I also thought Obama was more casually eloquent than I've seen him in months. Through the boilerplate the sentences were sharp and smart.

this blew my mind:

"But how does that justify what they did?" Burnett said. "I mean, that's a sense of right and wrong. They know it's wrong to steal and burn down a CVS and an old person's home. I mean, come on." "Come on?" Stokes said. "So calling them thugs — just call them niggers. Just call them niggers." "When you say 'come on,' come on what?" he added. "You wouldn't call your a child a thug if they did something which was not what you'd expect them to do." "I would hope I would call my son a thug if he ever did such a thing," Burnett shot back.

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a34673/thugs-are-in-the-eye-of-the-pundit/

If state power wants people to follow the law they need to set and follow their own example first.

can news rebloggers refrain from using phrases like "zipped merrily through the Intertoobz" just this once

I'm oddly tempted to have "thug" tattooed on my arm this week

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDux2RJVEAIigZ4.png

only seen this point mentioned once, halfway through this one story, but worth repeating in light of the oft-repeated 'they torched an old folks' home' point:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/the-paradox-at-the-heart-of-police-brutality-protests/391637/

The problem with taking news reports at face value became apparent as the night wore on, when a senior home across the city in East Baltimore caught on fire. Initially, it was believed to be connected to the unrest—reporters even spoke with residents who were aghast that the violence had moved to their neighborhood. Yet the fire department later told The Washington Post the fire was not related to protests and seemed to be an unfortunately timed construction mishap.

&

Eyewitnesses: The Baltimore Riots Didn't Start the Way You Think
Baltimore teachers and parents tell a different story from the one you've been reading in the media.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/04/how-baltimore-riots-began-mondawmin-purge

The senior center fire is still under investigation. They haven't officially linked it to the riots. That caught my eye too, when I saw it, but when I went to the Washington Post to confirm I couldn't find anything.

The Sun has consistenly been better on the protests and riots, and I am no fan of the Sun.

eyes out on stalks moment for Britishers there till they remember the Baltimore Sun.

that took maybe 0.3 seconds tbf

http://news.yahoo.com/baltimore-gangs-unite-call-for-peace-171200004.html

almost 2000 comments in 5 hours

ughhhh my cousin just shared the line of people "protecting the police" image. "Step 1, in taking their city back!" glsdkgjsldkgjg

Forgive my ignorance, but what was actually going on there?

they weren't 'protecting the police' so much as keeping a de-escalated presence between the guys with guns and the crowd--more 'keep em separated' than 'leave our cops alone.'

photos from the front tend to play as 'protecting the cops,' i've seen others from the space between the line and the cops played as 'WE TURN OUR BACKS ON THEM', its a neutral enough gesture for people to be able to do what they want with it.

Just really really loathe the implication that all 'real' Americans love the police, that only some inexplicable outsiders oppose them, that people aligning with the police would be ''taking back 'our' streets,'' the whole bit. barf. granted i did not expect different from these particular cousins but still

Guy I know noted that the most pro cop / anti rioter people on his Fb feed were the same ones who are most vocal about needing assault rifles in case they need to violently oppose an oppressive police state.

this was good:

http://www.upworthy.com/he-shows-how-the-news-talks-about-black-people-by-talking-about-white-people-instead?c=upw1&u=6206655180e9c2cf20d464c46b928ee930e7caa8

Watch the Hayes clip.

lol @ upworthy's awkward effort to switch their headline style up

https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/7315/donate_page/ows-bail-fund

Bail fund for NYC arrests btw

wow. Fuck CNN

“I have to say, you’re a leader and so many people have said don’t say it in rap, don’t say it so loosely, don’t assume you can say it because you’re one color and another color can’t. It’s just so painful to hear it no matter what color we are and I’m glad you decided not to use it on this show.”
http://gawker.com/white-cnn-anchor-scolds-black-baltimore-councilman-for-1701025065

fucking moron

omg that Hayes thing is awesome

It took less than 24 hours for the lie that Freddie Gray had a pre-existing back injury to become accepted CW among the FOX news/Beetbort crowd. Amazing.

Would like the media to shut up about how the culture is to blame when they are defining that culture themselves dumb-heads.

I don't get it has the internet destroyed all history or do these people need to go back to school and learn about the history of power structures?