[worry]

It does come very very close to saying that, thank goodness. And in tandem with the clear picture of racial bias, it basically does.



If only actual individuals were held accountable. Sadly, the fact that racism is systemic can offer it the same nebulous quality of "corporations are people" ideology, granting individuals a kind of force field as a nasty byproduct.

[Studlock]

I'm not even surprised about this shit anymore. I highly doubt the Ferguson PD is unique in this aspect in the USA. It's like the biggest, most horrifying game of 'stop-hitting-yourself' ever seen.

[Studlock]

http://www.theatlant...erguson/386893/

Ta-Nehisi Coates once again knocks it out of the ballpark.

This post has been edited by Studlock: 07 March 2015 - 04:44 AM

[Gnaw]

Studlock, on 07 March 2015 - 01:48 AM, said:

http://www.theatlant...erguson/386893/

Ta-Nehisi Coates ones again knocks it out of the ballpark.

As soon as I read "The "focus on revenue" was almost wholly a focus on black people as revenue." I knew a John Locke quote was coming. What does one do when the magistrate is the highwayman?

[Tsundoku]

Gnaw, on 07 March 2015 - 03:14 AM, said:

Studlock, on 07 March 2015 - 01:48 AM, said:

http://www.theatlant...erguson/386893/

Ta-Nehisi Coates ones again knocks it out of the ballpark.

As soon as I read "The "focus on revenue" was almost wholly a focus on black people as revenue." I knew a John Locke quote was coming. What does one do when the magistrate is the highwayman?

Over here we get the shits when our highway cops are obviously running what you guys would call "speed traps". We use phrases like "running behind in the quota?" and so on. The Police Service denies being agents of revenue-raising, but simple common sense would demonstrate otherwise. But I digress.

The thing is, that and a couple of other vehicular-related fines are pretty much the extent of what we would call revenue-raising by our police. What I've read about occurring in Ferguson et al is simply staggering. I genuinely never thought a police dept could or would be used in that fashion, and how it could be so biased. Whether that was the intention from the inception of the system, or it simply ended up that way I have no idea. But yeah, what does one do when the magistrate is the highwayman?

Makes me grateful to live in a place where our gripes about police are quite trivial in comparison.

My question now is: what happens next? Do Justice Dept investigations have the power to call down a righteous power of shit upon people? To effect process change? Or is it more of a direct pressure on lawmakers to do so? Or indeed, ammunition for those who would do so?

This post has been edited by Sombra: 07 March 2015 - 07:01 AM

[Studlock]

I don't know much about Australia's policing toward the aboriginals there but I think it's important to point out that for a lot of white people in America policing DOES work and is effective. We see a similar thing here in Canada when it comes to the over policing of First Nation communities, we don't have the particular problem with gun violence mostly because you don't have the same kind of gun culture, but I think we have to be careful in thinking that Ferguson or even the USA is unique in this manner, doubly so for countries that were colonized. There is shocking amount of shared experiences of people (and I'm including Black Americans in this) who have been colonized and there treatment of systems of government and I wouldn't be surprised if people Latin America, or Australia, or South Africa have similar experiences to those people living in Ferguson.

But like I said I don't know about Australia policing toward aboriginals there so they might be a shining example to follow.

This post has been edited by Studlock: 07 March 2015 - 07:17 AM

[worry]

Sunny Hostin (who's a lawyer/pundit/journalist) was on The Nightly Show last night and she seemed pretty sure that the DOJ's "suggestions" were in fact essentially orders and only the beginning, and that Ferguson will have to make some proactive change while under the microscope or the hammer will be brought down. Nobody's going to jail (of course) but people could lose their jobs as the town restructures (including police chief, mayor, etc). She seemed certain (as opposed to merely optimistic), and I don't doubt that this petty podunk squad could see some real hurt, but I'm still in wait-and-see mode till it actually happens.

[Terez]

Studlock, on 07 March 2015 - 07:16 AM, said:

I don't know much about Australia's policing toward the aboriginals there but I think it's important to point out that for a lot of white people in America policing DOES work and is effective. We see a similar thing here in Canada when it comes to the over policing of First Nation communities, we don't have the particular problem with gun violence mostly because you don't have the same kind of gun culture, but I think we have to be careful in thinking that Ferguson or even the USA is unique in this manner, doubly so for countries that were colonized. There is shocking amount of shared experiences of people (and I'm including Black Americans in this) who have been colonized and there treatment of systems of government and I wouldn't be surprised if people Latin America, or Australia, or South Africa have similar experiences to those people living in Ferguson.

But like I said I don't know about Australia policing toward aboriginals there so they might be a shining example to follow.

A quick Google shows that aboriginals make up 2.5% of the Australian population and 25% of the prison population.

[Tsundoku]

Not again.

http://www.news.com....v-1227253246612

Not enough facts yet, but talk about shitty timing.

This post has been edited by Sombra: 07 March 2015 - 10:34 PM

[Tsundoku]

Double post

Following an unrelated series of links today, I stumbled across this from Sep 13. If this has been posted before I apologise (but I can't recall seeing it on here).

Is this shit true? Has it progressed any from the time it was written? All I could think when I saw it earlier today was "Holy shit!" when considered in relation to what the DoJ found out about the Ferguson cops.

http://www.motherjon...quota-cca-crime

This post has been edited by Sombra: 09 March 2015 - 09:38 AM

[Primateus]

Sombra, on 09 March 2015 - 09:36 AM, said:

Double post

Following an unrelated series of links today, I stumbled across this from Sep 13. If this has been posted before I apologise (but I can't recall seeing it on here).

Is this shit true? Has it progressed any from the time it was written? All I could think when I saw it earlier today was "Holy shit!" when considered in relation to what the DoJ found out about the Ferguson cops.

http://www.motherjon...quota-cca-crime

Quote

But what made CCA's pitch to those governors so audacious and shocking was that it included a so-called occupancy requirement, a clause demanding the state keep those newly privatized prisons at least 90 percent full at all times, regardless of whether crime was rising or falling.

Emphasis is mine


This beyond fucked up! I'm not an american, but can shit like this even be legal?

[Gnaw]

Yeah, privatizing prisons is just fucked up.

If you really want to get shocked, look up what they do with the "rehabilitation" programs. They tend to come in two forms:

• Nothing.
• Private industries/companies set up on prison property and paying prisoners $.50 an hour to do the work. When I was at Slippery Rock University, I found out that all the dormitory furniture is made, supplied, and even delivered and setup by PA prisoners.

[Gnaw]

"there's a Uni called Slippery Rock?"

http://www.sru.edu/i...pages/home.aspx

[amphibian]

It is better than the Sticky Rock uni, that's for sure.

I'm still digesting the Department of Justice report on Ferguson Police. In many ways, it is not a unique document, but the timing of it in terms of social attitudes, the black President, the black Attorney General and the destruction of the media-enhanced facade of "we finished dealing with racism" make this a momentous thing tp read.

And the investigation/writing still pulled punches bc the naked truth would hurt too much.

[Stormcat]

http://www.usatoday....d-man/24689183/


Maybe he was reaching into his pocket for a gun... wait...

We have a problem. A huge problem and I am so sick and sad in my heart that people are still making excuses for the constant every day murders.

This post has been edited by Stormcat: 11 March 2015 - 03:50 AM

[Terez]

http://www.redstate....son-doj-report/

Good article from Red State. Not reading the comments...

[worry]

Now this is something else:
http://www.addicting...-businesswoman/

[Primateus]

worry, on 26 March 2015 - 01:17 AM, said:

Now this is something else:
http://www.addicting...-businesswoman/

Well isn't that just a big pile of scary shit...

[Maark Abbott]

Primateus, on 26 March 2015 - 10:56 AM, said:

worry, on 26 March 2015 - 01:17 AM, said:

Now this is something else:
http://www.addicting...-businesswoman/

Well isn't that just a big pile of scary shit...

The one word that I summarised that article up into was 'Murrkr.

This post has been edited by Maark: 26 March 2015 - 11:32 AM

[Illuyankas]

The NYPD has a history of this, for example Adrian Schoolcraft.