Ferguson Grand Jury: No Indictment for Darren Wilson in Michael Brown Shooting

a reply to: jrod
It is bigger. Week before last I spent the night at a friends house. It has been 10 years since her brother was shot by LEO as he reached for his wallet. LEO went free, Brother dead, and my friend cried all night. She is white, he was white, I am Indian. It is not a racial problem.

originally posted by: FlyersFan

The following is my opinion as a member participating in this discussion.

originally posted by: Monger
If you're a black teenager who happens to be tall and heavy set, keep in mind that many white people, like our friendly mod FlyersFan, no longer regard you as a youth. You're a grown man, and extremely threatening.

A full grown adult man - over six feet tall and over 250 pounds and who attacked a cop IS THREATENING.

A thug who can be shot in the street like a dog, whose corpse was left on full display, and half of America will celebrate it.

Straw man and absurd. A thug who was shot in the street because he tried to steal a cops gun and was attacking a police officer. And no, half of America isn't celebrating.

Meanwhile, a 6 foot tall white teenager is the captain of the football team, and a local celebrity.

If he's not out robbing cigar stores and attacking cops, then that captain of the football team would deserve to be treated well, no matter what his skin color is.

Instead of emotional rhetoric, the facts should be examined. The facts support the cops actions in this case.

As an ATS Staff Member, I will not moderate in threads such as this where I have participated as a member.

You are correct....which is weird because you're missing the point.
The facts need to come out to a jury of his peers.
There is two sides to this story and Wilsons side has variations - the Grand Jury was out of line by making a determination of guilt or innocence.
They only needed to admit there was/is probable cause for an indictment and then Wilson could have had his just day in court for a jury of his peers to decide upon.

a reply to: entermemo

Actually it's a common misconception that only "racists" have difficulty with setting apart distinguishing features or another race.

When you are raised as a child in a fairly homogeneous community, you learn to distinguish among those members of the community at a fairly young age. When introduced to people who share facial traits that may be unfamiliar to you, it becomes difficult to distinguish among individual members because you learned at a young age to distinguish only between members of your own community. This is fairly common in largely one-race communities and has nothing to do with racism.

For example, I was raised in rural new mexico mostly among "white" folks and "latin americans". I can easily distinguish between different latinos and whites. But I have trouble distinguishing between black people. I do not have a racist bone in my body, despite my mother's best efforts to the contrary.

originally posted by: watchdog
a reply to: Grovit

HUH? I have no idea what you said. Whatever argument you are making is not coming across as clear. Please rephrase so that I understand the point you are trying to make.

the point i am trying to make is both 'sides' need to be ready and willing to love..to heal...to move past this..
i didnt see much evidence of that on the protest side last night

when the cops were close the chants were about loving everyone and making sure nobody gets hurt.
when the cops were not close the chants changes to "if we dont get it we gonna shut this # down"

"no justice no peace, no racist ass police"
saying the cops are racist faggots

both 'sides' have to be ready...thats my point

a reply to: Grovit
Exemplary coached testimony. We even had the word demon thrown in.

originally posted by: jhn7537
And looting/rioting/destroying your community is a WONDERFUL way to honor this persons death... The family asks for peaceful protest, so does the Governor, the President, etc... But these animals decide to destroy their community... Now watch, they will likely ask for federal/state assistance to repair the damage now...

The businessmen are not the rioters. They are the victims. I see nothing wrong with them getting state/federal assistance to rebuild if they qualify for such a thing.

originally posted by: Grovit

"At this point it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I'm shooting at him," Wilson said. "And the face that he had was looking straight through me, like I wasn't even there, I wasn't even anything in his way."

Coming from someone trained in the profession of maintaining law and order, I find this lacking a firm foundation.

Fear does not need to be responded to with deadly force.

This officer should have been more in control of the use of force, and measure it out in appropriate response.

a reply to: macman

The way the laws are set up, everyone will commit a crime in their lifetime, at least in the US.

One's immunity to crimes is highly dependent on income and LEO/Esquire connections. They may prosecute the occasional high roller to make a public spectacle but the reality is most people who get arrested in the US either pay to be free, probation is an example of this, or do some time in an enslavement camp.

The 13th Amendment allows this.

originally posted by: jhn7537
And looting/rioting/destroying your community is a WONDERFUL way to honor this persons death... The family asks for peaceful protest, so does the Governor, the President, etc... But these animals decide to destroy their community... Now watch, they will likely ask for federal/state assistance to repair the damage now...

The local city councilwoman will likely approve plans for any grants requested for infrastructure repair, but the local businesses will probably have to rely on insurance to rebuild. Grants are written for projects in the city, and then approved by some federal agency. Incidentally I saw the interview of her on Fox last night.

a reply to: TKDRL

No, all cops are not issued tasers. They cost money. Not all departments have the money to buy a taser for every officer, plus all the other pieces that go along with it. You want all cops to have tasers, pay more taxes. Buy them for your local PD.

Furthermore, tasers are not NON lethal. They are LESS lethal. Meaning there is a LESSER chance of you dying from being tased than being shot. And let's be honest, to use the "what if" or "he should have" scenario so many people want to use, let's say wilson did have a taser and did deploy it and brown STILL died, the vast majority of people who are sitting here railing against this whole case would simply be complaining about tasers instead of guns.

a reply to: jhn7537

And I'm sure they'll be arrested and fed into the machine.

a reply to: Grovit

the point i am trying to make is both 'sides' need to be ready and willing to love..to heal...to move past this..

Ferguson is a pulitzer prize winning example of how to
have a bad white guy/black guy
how to have a demon..take your pick side white or black
how to have the perfect victim , take your pick white or black

Checking out CNN for a bit while I am at work...Looks to be pretty calm and quiet right now in Ferguson.

I ended up going to bed rather early bc I had to work today, so I am still catching up on what happened over night. Sounds like lots of looting and fires!

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: TKDRL


Furthermore, tasers are not NON lethal. They are LESS lethal. Meaning there is a LESSER chance of you dying from being tased than being shot.

You are correct. Just as bludgeoning with bare fists can be lethal. Far less lethal than a gunshot aimed at the head.

The threat of bludgeoning therefore calls for less than a certainly fatal shot to the head. It calls for something more reasonable in response.

originally posted by: LDragonFire
a reply to: mr-lizard

Local churches are offering a safe place to go for food and water or a place to avoid the violence, allegedly street medics are claiming the police have shut down two locations.

Now that makes all the sense in the world. Shut down the safe havens for people to use but let the looters and arsonists continue in their desecration of the town. Yup, they definitely have their priorities straight.

originally posted by: Kgdetroit
a reply to: luthier

It has no application in criminal courts, it is a CIVIL doctrine. Find me one instance of qualified immunity being used in a criminal proceeding.

Better go find your wife and clarify. The debate has and always will be in regards to its application in CIVIL proceedings i.e. lawsuits.

Not all. A little research will pull up plenty of cases. Grand juries, supreme courts, criminal prosecutions. It was even expanded upon last year to provide more protection.

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
a reply to: Grovit
Exemplary coached testimony. We even had the word demon thrown in.

you very well may be correct....the testimony and language very well could have been coached....i absolutely accept that.

does not change the fact that brown was an adult. brown was a pretty big boy. brown shoved around a store clerk. brown punched a cop. brown tried to steal(for the second time that day:dn the cops gun

people are laying blame on everyone and every thing except the person who is at fault...brown

same with the looting and rioting....its cnn's fault. its obamas fault. its the cops fault. its tom cruises fault.
everyones fault except for the people doing the actual looting...not their fault.

its the cops fault the cop car got trashed and torched...they knew it was gonna get #ed up...

a reply to: Shamrock6

LTL Weapons are still weapons, and capable of killing. It's just unlikely. Thank you for pointing this out. People have died to BB Guns, for goodness sake.