Conquer Club

Most stories about police shootings stay buried or at best, see limited life in local media or the blogosphere. Only the select, as in selected by the media, stories become as big as the Michael Brown story. Certain stories simply transcend the perceived boredom of news headlines and become a part of pop culture.

Does the media intentionally stir up racial hatred? Is it part of their agenda? Is it because blacks in Ferguson rioted and looted while whites in Salt Lake City have remained calm?

America needs to find answers, because this racial divide is moronic. We are all "Americans," and not "African-Americans," or "Asian-Americans," or "Redneck-Americans," or anything else. We are Americans first, and we need to remember that. It is OK to love and celebrate your heritage. It is not OK to let it consume who you are and carry hatred that will explode at a moment's notice.
Ever heard of a kid named Dillon Taylor?

He was a white kid, 20 years old, who was killed by a non-white cop on August 11. This happened two days after Michael Brown was killed. Dillon Taylor seems to be a young man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was leaving a 7-11 convenience store. Officers were in the area because there was a report of a man with a gun. Taylor had headphones in and did not hear the police when they asked him to lay down on the ground. Taylor, unfortunately, reached into his pocket, for a cell phone, and that was the last thing he ever did. He had no gun. He did not rob any stores. He did not assault a police officer. His "crime" was that he did not think, and that non-crime cost him his life.

Officers were obviously in a heightened state of alert, and a white kid with headphones happened to be killed by a cop who was referred to as "not white." Do you think that was because of his race? I don't think it was, and that's my personal opinion, but…Where are the riots in Salt Lake City? Surely a lot of whites have to think that this was racially motivated. Right?

Wrong. I think most people (black, brown, and white) understand that it was probably not racially motivated. The frustration that falls over much of "white America" is that we are all thrown into one big pile of racists and if a white on black crime happens, the worst always gets assumed by a minority of people and is then pushed by the media, continually growing exponentially until out of control. That is when the real problems begin to happen.

That is also exactly where we are with the situation in Ferguson.

I live in a country where I am labeled a racist for not liking Obama's policies. If I don't like Obamacare, I am a racist and even a white man will call me that, so long as he is a Democrat.
When are people going to wake up and see that "the powers that be," which include both media and government, want us to stay divided? They really don't want me and a black man in Murrieta, California to agree on anything. That would eat away at the power that they only keep when we remain divided. We give them that power by our senseless bickering.
I think most of us could understand how the police might have felt that Dillon Taylor was reaching for a gun. I, for one, don't think this had anything to do with race. I think it was about a cop who felt his life was in danger. So why is it so hard to believe that Darren Wilson could have thought the same thing?

Why is it that, often times, when a white man, or any man who is not black in the case of George Zimmerman, kills a black man, it becomes a media circus? We will get nowhere by avoiding the tough questions in the name of "political correctness." People need to stop thinking that the black man or the white man is their enemy and look at the real enemy that resides throughout the halls of capitol buildings all over this nation and in newsrooms in virtually every city.

America needs to do some soul searching and come together in spite of those who want us divided. A lot of us are waking up and that is what "the powers that be" fear. So what happens when they fear that we will come together? They stir up more chaos just as they are doing in Ferguson and just as they did with Trayvon Martin.

This will continue until Americans open their eyes

Phatscotty wrote:Even when, as in some recent cases, we have no idea what happened; racism is loudly and repeatedly proclaimed front and center in government, media, and academia, while events are judged solely by the color of people's skin.

betiko wrote:While i disagree with you on most subjects, I completely agree with your viewpoint here.

patches70 wrote:This cop needs to be tossed into prison. But he'll be cleared by a grand jury and won't face any consequences for his mistake.

If a regular citizen shot this kid and then claimed "I thought he had a gun!", does anyone think that regular citizen would get away without at least having to face a jury?

If a cop is going to shoot someone, he/she damn well better be absolutely sure he is in the right and not just "I was afraid" is going to cut it. They are cops, they have to accept that there are certain risks to their jobs. They can't go gunning people down just because they are afraid.

The cop didn't see a gun, he just thought the kid had a gun. Those mistakes have to be stopped, period. It doesn't matter the race of the cop or the victim, that cop is too stupid to ever have even been allowed to be a cop. And far, far too afraid to do his job correctly. Cops are about the most scared, paranoid people on the planet. Not a good thing when armed and with the protection of the State behind one like that.

Racism is the red herring, the real issue is the idiocy of the police. And that idiocy is getting people killed for no good reason at all.

f*ck the police.

Phatscotty wrote:

betiko wrote:While i disagree with you on most subjects, I completely agree with your viewpoint here.

I bet ya we agree on most subjects, and we just disagree on certain variants. I bet we could possibly end up in agreement on many variants as well, chop much of the rest out to different principles n values along with geopolitics and be totally okay with that at the end of that day.

I don't really care so much about agreement, never have. Should be obvious by now I don't really seem to care about disagreement either What I do care about; clarity, details, examples. Some people can't handle it, some people can. Not exactly sure what that means about the disagreezeez who can't handle it, but I do have a theory. I think some part of it, in many to most of those who disagree and seem overly distraught about it to the point not being able to befriend anyone who disagrees or getting between family members even.... They are in love with themselves and anyone who doesn't agree is hated/or think they are perfect and anyone who doesn't agree believes in lies/or think they are smarter than everyone else, obviously that everyone who disagrees is stupid/that they stand for what is good, so anyone who doesn't agree is evil. What else could refusing to associate with someone based on disagreement be based on?

I think in this group where you are likely to find 2 types.

#1 a lot of knowledge, and sure they may be smart or even really smart, all kinds of college degrees, straight A's the whole way, makin 6 figures right out of the gate...and that is great, but there is little to no wisdom. That's not a lowblow either, they simply haven't had the chance really to have any true experience in various issues/fields or had enough time play out to see how things change. Wisdom can only come with experience and study, sometimes even error and failure can help a lot too. It's hard to know until after you get into the real world for a while and then look back. They've studied all the terms, know by heart terms you or I may have brainfarted in one ear out the other, can give you an intro to a few different types of things in a given field, but they have never been in the field. And that's okay, its the only way to learn and gain experience. Just please please, don't lecture someone in the field about how the field is from having only known the sideline your entire life! This is a big part of the reason why I try very hard not to call people mean names, try not to hurt their feelings, and I've never felt the need to build myself up by tearing others down....I remind myself they are 15 years younger, to speak a bit more, and when an older person like Saxi is speaking, I remind myself they lived the 1940's before, and to listen a bit more

#2 little knowledge/lot-o-passion. For example, and this happens to some people all their lives, they have never actually studied their opinions/beliefs, and certainly never challenged their beliefs. Evidenced by the topic matter here of not even allowing others to challenge it either, and just hating/blocking them instead. These types have studied their talking points, but only on some of the issues they already 'felt' were correct before, and any response to their talking point, they go and find the next talking point, and that's how they learn that. And hey, that's really where it all starts. The only problem I have with these types is with the one's that do not know they are just greenhorns. Some of them take their issues as gospel and make it their life's work. They parade out 'expert this' and 'expert that' while only understanding the issue through confirmation bias and likely do not even understand the reason why they should seek out different opinions, if not to only test theirs and make it stronger, or else admit that was dumb and move on.

Basically, we just have to tolerate them the way we tolerate new 16 year old kids first getting their drivers licenses every year. It's never going to change. Some 16 year olds have had 2 parents advising them every step of the way for the previous 2 years repeating common mistakes and rules over and over and over again, other 16 year olds are gonna put the gas pedal to the floor everytime the light turns green and take that left as hard as they can. It won't be long before it's wet out and they have to learn the hard way why that's a bad idea.

Where I've admitted I felt I was dumb and moved on....and this is just my experience, and I'm aware that others have different experiences, and when they disagree with me that's perfectly fine even if I do seek to challenge them all the way or not. when I was in college, for perhaps a year or so, I was the loudmouth atheist, oh so certain was I!!! Looking back, I didn't know jack shit! even though I took a class in world religion and was raised Catholic, felt I knew all I needed to know, I DID NOT KNOW SHIT about religion compared to what I know now. I based most of my religious 'thoughts' on the level of humor in the word 'skydaddy' and all the skydaddyism's my professors tossed around reinforcing that, and for most of my life thinking to myself 'so many different religions, how can they all be right?' as a yute it was more something like 'only one can be right' but as I grew older I began to understand it's so much more than that, and nothing at all to do with what religion has the correct version of purgatory or how that rule is dumb because we can eat pork now and not get sick. Right now, to me, religion is about how to seek peace for my soul, how to try to stay on the path of goodness and charity and helping others and not stray to the path of negativity or hurting others or misguiding others, how to avoid getting caught up/trapped in materialism and avoid a plastic life, believing there is a higher power, believing there is purpose. And from the Bible, it's no longer about stoning adulterers and refraining from shellfish, that's just more 101 skydaddyism. It's about seeing examples and understanding stories, hopefully in more context too, methods to walk the path that have existed for thousands of years, seeking wisdom. And I'm more aware that things will most likely change for me later in life too, as right now I honestly believe I have never hurt anybody without cause, as anyone who got knocked out with their eyes rolled into the back of their heads knows they heard me say at least 5 times I didn't want to fight, and they had to push me so far and so hard there can be no doubt they know it's all their fault, and hopefully they learned a lesson as well. But basically I'm sayin not sure what I would ask forgiveness for right now, but I'm aware that there are still concepts and awarenesses that I have not yet discovered or understood in the right light that may come to be more clear in the future. And when that day comes I will probably open my Bible and read some more and find meaning and understand why I have missed that certain point in the Bible for so long, even as others have told you many times before exactly what I might realize at that point, but can only truly understand it from experiencing it for myself and going through the motions.

Phatscotty wrote:See what I mean, the white race is automatically disrespected, the black race is automatically claimed as the better race. Why are so many trying to be so sensitive to blacks, trying to be ultra politically correct, trying to express their white guilt.... why do you feel so guilty when you are bending over backwards for others, while at the same time others are taking everything away from you and yours. all historically white icons can be made black, but no black icons can ever be made white. you cannot say certain words, and that list is only likely to grow and be used more and more bitterly against you in the future, yet you continuously insist on bending over backwards to give others power over you. I want to know, why are you doing this?

Metsfanmax wrote:

Phatscotty wrote:See what I mean, the white race is automatically disrespected, the black race is automatically claimed as the better race. Why are so many trying to be so sensitive to blacks, trying to be ultra politically correct, trying to express their white guilt.... why do you feel so guilty when you are bending over backwards for others, while at the same time others are taking everything away from you and yours. all historically white icons can be made black, but no black icons can ever be made white. you cannot say certain words, and that list is only likely to grow and be used more and more bitterly against you in the future, yet you continuously insist on bending over backwards to give others power over you. I want to know, why are you doing this?

You should take a dose of your own medicine. You have no idea what it is like to be black in this country, and you don't know what experiences people have gone through that have led them to conclude that racism is really a big deal in this country. So why are you spending so much time trying to convince them that they are wrong? Those of us who take racism seriously do so precisely because so many black people talk about how it affects their everyday lives. We don't do it because of statistics or news stories, we do it precisely because of the stories told by people who really experienced what happens to them.

betiko wrote:Thinking that your race is your problem is what doesn t make you move forward. Mounting communities ones against the other, and creating that spirit is what is really dangerous.

betiko wrote:it s all about the social class.

betiko wrote:Sure there are some real racist ignorant fucks, but sure minorities victimize themselves a bit too. All is done to create a dichotomy... Why would it even be relevant to talk about someone s ethnic origins about anything anymore? Ethnic origins mean jack shit, it s all about the social class.
So basically a white trash living in a trailer gets less marginated than a black attorney in 2014 usa, really?
There is a big % of the black community living under poverty level, much more than "normal" proportions would suggest. This is what marginalises people. Thinking that your race is your problem is what doesn t make you move forward. Mounting communities ones against the other, and creating that spirit is what is really dangerous.the concept of a racist society is the inception of the racist society.

Army of GOD wrote:tl;dr

patches70 wrote:This cop needs to be tossed into prison. But he'll be cleared by a grand jury and won't face any consequences for his mistake.

If a regular citizen shot this kid and then claimed "I thought he had a gun!", does anyone think that regular citizen would get away without at least having to face a jury?

If a cop is going to shoot someone, he/she damn well better be absolutely sure he is in the right and not just "I was afraid" is going to cut it. They are cops, they have to accept that there are certain risks to their jobs. They can't go gunning people down just because they are afraid.

The cop didn't see a gun, he just thought the kid had a gun. Those mistakes have to be stopped, period. It doesn't matter the race of the cop or the victim, that cop is too stupid to ever have even been allowed to be a cop. And far, far too afraid to do his job correctly. Cops are about the most scared, paranoid people on the planet. Not a good thing when armed and with the protection of the State behind one like that.

Racism is the red herring, the real issue is the idiocy of the police. And that idiocy is getting people killed for no good reason at all.

f*ck the police.

“They are obviously looking for trouble just the way they look,” the caller stated. While she reported that “the one in the red hat had a gun,” when asked where the gun was located, she couldn’t answer. Then she seems to recant her original statement, saying he had “something in his pocket.”

When asked what race the suspect was, she reported that he was black, then said “um no Mexican, was it?” talking to another person who can be heard in the background.

When asked if she or anyone was in immediate danger, she said “No, not at all.”

You know, when you get old, in life, things get taken from you. I mean, that's... that's... that's a part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losin' stuff. You find out life's this game of inches, so is football. Because in either game - life or football - the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don't quite make it.