Seconds later, the unarmed man on the left, Walter Scott, will die with five bullets in his back.
***
Last August, Michael Brown died with six bullets in his body 49 yards from Darren Wilson's patrol car.
That's half a football field from where the original altercation took place and nearly ten times as far as the distance between Scott and Slager in the photo above.
Michael Brown Killing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
***
When I ponder the lethal encounter between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman, I cannot imagine a scenario in which unarmed, skittles-carrying Trayvon would have attacked Zimmerman unless Zimmerman was a menace.
On the other hand, I have no difficulty imagining Zimmerman, pumped by his "piece," harassing Martin for no good reason... since there was no good reason, only gun-slinging vigilantism: Trayvon's family lived 64 yards from where he died and at the time of his killing the 17 year-old was on his way home from "the corner store."
Zimmerman -- whom the 911 dispatcher told to stay in his car until police arrived -- got out of his car, packing a gun, and, under cover of darkness, pursued Trayvon.
Diane Rehm Guest Gets To The Nub Of Police Violence And How Easily It's Prevented
In The United States Of Barbaria, We Train Our Cops To Kill
Compendium Of Pax Posts: Black People Getting Jailed, Maimed And Killed And By White Culture
In the end, Zimmerman was exonerated by arguing that Martin was a lethal threat. (See photo above.)
The likelihood is overwhelming that Zimmerman "got away with murder," killing the only witness to his crime, an unarmed 17 year-old black adolescent "standing his ground" against a vigilante thug who just had his seventh "run-in" with the police.
Trayvon Martin's "Innocent" Killer, George Zimmerman, Involved In Seventh Run-In With Police
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/05/trayvon-martins-innocent-killer-george.html
Trayvon Martin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Weighing "likelihoods," I would bet long odds that the fatal tussle between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman
Trayvon Martin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Weighing "likelihoods," I would bet long odds that the fatal tussle between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman
began when unarmed Martin was menaced by gun-carrying vigilante, George Zimmerman.
Dear John,
You could be right.
Officer Slager's killing of unarmed Walter Scott might not be what it appears.
However, the fact that a South Carolina police chief charged Slager with murder -- and charged him immediately after detention -- suggests that Slager had probably been problematic in the past.
"Walter Scott Is Not On Trial," Charles Blow
We also have the damning videotape, assuming of course that Americans are still civilized enough to suppose cops should not shoot "your son Steven" 5 times in the back - even if he ran away from a traffic stop for a dysfunctional tail light. (Michael Brown's original infraction was jaywalking. Trayvon Martin's original infraction was "walking while black.")
American police harass, brutalize and kill black people -- in large numbers -- even when they are unarmed, even when they have done nothing wrong and are considered "suspicious" only because they're black.
"Driving While Black"
Wikipedia
Blacks 2X As Likely To Be Arrested For Contraband Though Much Less Likely To Carry Contraband
The Future Of Race In America: TED Talk By Michelle Alexander, Author Of "The New Jim Crow"
American police selectively criminalize young black men under circumstances that would have zero legal impact on white guys. Niente.
Black Kids Get Shot For Their Mistakes. White Kids Get Psychologized
http://paxonbothhouses.
Judge Throws Out Black Teen's Conviction 70 Years After Execution
http://paxonbothhouses.
Judge Throws Out Black Teen's Conviction 70 Years After Execution
White Man Jaywalks With Assault Rifle. Guess What Police Do
http://paxonbothhouses.
"White Teen In BMW Hits Three Cars, Flees Scene, Assaults Cops, And Doesn't Get Shot"
"White Teen In BMW Hits Three Cars, Flees Scene, Assaults Cops, And Doesn't Get Shot"
"Actor Jesse Williams Gets Real About Relentless Dehumanization Of Black Men"
"The Talk." How Black Parents Tell Their Sons To Be Safe
"Ferguson Isn't About Black Rage Against White Cops. It's About White Rage Against Progress"
"More Americans Killed By Police Than By Terrorists Even Though Crime Is Down"
Whites Think Discrimination Against Them Is A Bigger Problem Bias Against Blacks
Furthermore, blacks get arrested for possession of contraband twice as often as whites even though whites are significantly more likely, per capita, to be carrying contraband.
Blacks Arrested For Contraband Twice As Often Though Much Less Likely To Have Contraband
And when whites do get arrested they are treated more leniently than blacks, often getting a "wink," a "pat on the back" and a pep talk to "do better next time."
In matters of race -- particularly when light-skinned people relate to dark-skinned people -- most humans "feel better" when they look down on those occupying lower positions on the totem pole.
We whites have so normalized our contempt for dark-skinned people that many (most?) Americans feel Michael Brown got what he deserved even though he died with six bullets in his body 49 yards from Darren Wilson's patrol car.
Diane Rehm Guest Gets To The Nub Of Police Violence And How Easily It's Prevented
In a minimally sane society - not to mention a just one - police protocols would have trained Wilson to stay in his car to wait for backup.
Instead, America loves a shootout! (Not to mention the money-saving convenience of extra-judicial execution.)
American Cops Fired More Bullets At One NYC Man
Than All German Cops Fire In A Year
One Small Town's Cops Have Killed More People
Than The Combined Police Forces Of Germany And U.K.
Than The Combined Police Forces Of Germany And U.K.
If it turns out that Walter Scott was carrying contraband - or was trying to "make a getaway" as a result of some other criminal activity - many Americans, perhaps most, will assume he deserved to be shot and killed like skittles-toting Trayvon Martin who, with very little doubt, was harassed by George Zimmerman, an asshole's asshole.
George Zimmerman's Other Encounters With Police
The profoundest truths are always revealed by the deepest contextualizations and it is a contextualized fact that American cops -- long accustomed to "getting away with murder" -- are, like the rest of American culture, gun crazy and trigger happy.
The following comedic shticks by Jim Jeffries and George Carlin cut to the quick.
Australian Comedian Jim Jeffries Nails 2nd Amendment Evangelists
http://paxonbothhouses.
"We Like War"
George Carlin Video
(This is a great companion piece to Jeffries shtick above.)
Australian Comedian Jim Jeffries Nails 2nd Amendment Evangelists
http://paxonbothhouses.
"We Like War"
George Carlin Video
"We Like War"
George Carlin Video
Killer Cops: Slow Motion Serial Killing By White People
A few years after moving to North Carolina in 1989, a garden variety robbery at Efland's Red & White resulted in the thief being shot dead by an off-duty cop who happened to be in the store.
For days, the community was abuzz with gloating satisfaction.
To this day, the memory turns my stomach and I cannot bring myself to visit "the site of the murder."
We Americans automatically assume that human beings should be killed to prevent the theft of green paper.
Here is Jesus' advice about conflictual situations:
(Biblical literalists! Where are you when needed most?)
A few years after moving to North Carolina in 1989, a garden variety robbery at Efland's Red & White resulted in the thief being shot dead by an off-duty cop who happened to be in the store.
For days, the community was abuzz with gloating satisfaction.
To this day, the memory turns my stomach and I cannot bring myself to visit "the site of the murder."
We Americans automatically assume that human beings should be killed to prevent the theft of green paper.
Here is Jesus' advice about conflictual situations:
(Biblical literalists! Where are you when needed most?)
Matthew 5:38-48
Love Your Enemies
38-42 “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
The Message
Here is the link to the rest of Matthew's fifth chapter: https://www.
God forbid we "turn the other cheek!" (Tell me. Do you know any Christian who believes that under any circumstance s/he is to "turn the other cheek?")
America will not get off "Scot-free."
And when we finally "meet our maker," do not be surprised if He appears in the guise of a ghetto black guy.
The fact is we all know but find it easier to behave like violent, vengeful simians rather than love-saturated people.
God forbid we "turn the other cheek!" (Tell me. Do you know any Christian who believes that under any circumstance s/he is to "turn the other cheek?")
America will not get off "Scot-free."
Dorothy Day: “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”
http://paxonbothhouses.
"Christians" will be called upon to explain "why" they did not know the contents of Matthew 5 or why they "knew" but still acted as if killing unarmed black people was not just a virtue but a Divine Mandate.
Most of what we "do" in our social, economic and political lives not only fails to "live up" to the master's teaching. In fact, most of what we do is antipodally opposed to Yeshua's teaching.
A common theological trope holds that we humans continually crucify Christ with our daily behaviors.
But rather than change those behaviors, we "feel" that our "theoretical" admission of wrong-doing constitutes exculpatory confession and that our ongoing alliance with Roman soldiers on Golgotha is somehow inconsequential.
On the flip side of the coin, many Christians cling to "sex-and-gender morality" because they're afraid of sex, too old for sex, or most often because deep inside we all know Yeshua's real moral challenge is TOTALLY beyond our reach... or, at least beyond any place we are willing to go.
But rather than change those behaviors, we "feel" that our "theoretical" admission of wrong-doing constitutes exculpatory confession and that our ongoing alliance with Roman soldiers on Golgotha is somehow inconsequential.
On the flip side of the coin, many Christians cling to "sex-and-gender morality" because they're afraid of sex, too old for sex, or most often because deep inside we all know Yeshua's real moral challenge is TOTALLY beyond our reach... or, at least beyond any place we are willing to go.
Killing Good Black People Over Dysfunctional Tail Lights
Cleveland Police Shoot And Kill 12 Year Old With Toy Gun
Pop Quiz! Guess the skin color of the 12 year-old!
Pop Quiz! Guess the skin color of the 12 year-old!
"Given Florida's "Stand Your Ground Law," Can This Black Woman Kill The White Cop Who Assaulted Her?"
Walter Scott’s Killing Is the Sum of Every Black Nightmare About White Cops
http://paxonbothhouses.
Here's The News Report We'd Be Reading If Walter Scott's Murder Wasn't On Video
Here's The News Report We'd Be Reading If Walter Scott's Murder Wasn't On Video
Blacks Arrested For Contraband Twice As Often Though Much Less Likely To Have Contraband
Lists Of Americans Killed By Cops In 2013, 2014, 2015
Compendium Of Pax Posts: What's Wrong With Race Relations - Hatred, Cops And The Law
Lists Of Americans Killed By Cops In 2013, 2014, 2015
Compendium Of Pax Posts: What's Wrong With Race Relations - Hatred, Cops And The Law
On Thu, Apr 9, 2015, JT wrote:
Alan I have a feeling ...perhaps my bias that this shooting story will make a rapid turnaround...this, after the whole video is seen and facts surface regarding his alleged police record which he may have been eluding and not the stun gun. Then the meat of the new position from the original stop site...over 100 yards....tells me there was a chase to the shooting site and perhaps the first stop is where the victim attempted to take the taser...or did take it. I think a lot more will come out in support of the officer....Sherlock
Almost done!
Well done!
Alan: Most Americans have living relatives who were alive when these good Christians cooked this man.
Several years ago, I attended a talk by UNC-Chapel Hill Public Health Professor John Hatch who mentioned that all four grandparents were born into slavery. In one ancestral family the children were all auctioned off in a single day. Knowing that their new owners would remove them to distant plantations - with no hope of family reunion - a bereaved daughter committed suicide within hours of her sale.
To think that this heritage - still burningly alive in human memory - can be transcended in a few generations is more Pharisaic than the good church-goers whom Yeshua railed against.
"Yeshua Excoriates Fellow Pharisees"
Not just good Christians, but "saved!" Bible Belt Christians.
"Bad Black People." Why Bill O'Reilly Is Wrong Even When He's Right
http://paxonbothhouses.
blogspot.com/2014/08/bad- black-people-why-bill-oreilly- is.html Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On Miscarriage Of Justice And Misplaced Punishment
http://paxonbothhouses.
blogspot.com/2015/02/ compendium-of-best-pax-posts- on_20.html Compendium Of Pax Posts On Violent Criminals And Violent Police
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