Looking for a silver lining... Hoping that this becomes a watershed event, a tipping point, by which we begin to roll back the police state in general.

Why are there so many "criminals?" Largely, because we have criminalized vices. Vices, that is, in the perception of those writing the laws.

Agreed, it's really hard to find any silver lining here but I do think people are starting to realize how serious the problem is. People like Radley Balko have been writing about this for years and sometimes it takes a tragedy like this for people to pay attention. The police treating citizens like an occupying force is an absolute disgrace and it happens in a lot of places in this country.

@CaptainAwwsum: I don't know how it was in IRQ and AFG, but in Bosnia we had less firepower while on patrol than the cops in #Ferguson

https://storify.com/AthertonKD/veterans-on-ferguson

Also, really interesting link with compiled tweets from US military veterans pretty much blasting the police for having this weaponry on the streets of America.

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:There's something deeply depressing about people acting on behalf of the state attacking journalists representing a Middle Eastern press outfit in the fucking continental United States of America.

In addition to it being indefensible,

okay, yeah,

this will be held up by the "what about xyz" crowd who love critiquing every American action, domestic or abroad, as if the fact that the police in St. Louis County, Missouri having a crappy couple of nights mean we should ignore tens of thousands of people dying on a mountain somewhere because our moral standing is sufficiently poor that we don't have the ability to intervene to prevent them from dying of starvation/dehydration/beheading/crucifixion or whatever.

omigodwattheffuk

Saw it starting last night on Twitter. People saying things like "we have no business sticking our noises in other countries when this is how we run ours" and the like.

Roger Dorn wrote:Yeah so the Pentagon needs to stop giving away surplus military equipment to local police forces

I bet dollars to donuts you just need to follow the money trail on this one. I can almost guarantee that this scheme was designed by a military supplier/contractor.

the buildup occurred after 9/11 when the US was providing this stuff like candy for 'preparedness'. Remember the Boston bombing??? a backpack put everyone in fear and the weaponary came out

Maddow had an attorney/columnist for the St Louis American on last night, and she talked about how she had little faith in the local prosecutor's investigation. She told an anecdote about how when she interviewed for a position in that office, they literally asked her "so, Liz, you'll hear the n-word get thrown around a decent amount here... will you be comfortable with that?"

Found video of the interview: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/little-faith-in-fairness-in-ferguson-317949507975

But hey guys, it's just a few bad nights. It's not incompetent/hostile leadership trickling down into the ranks of law enforcement and prosecutors.

Seriously, jh? I get the point you're trying to make, but that comment makes you seem, well... let's be generous and call it naive. This is a flashpoint of a conflux of things that have been increasingly (rather than decreasingly) problematic around our country. Ingrained racism/racial stereotyping in law enforcement, the militarization of law enforcement, and the mistrust of law enforcement in the African-American community.

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:Maddow had an attorney/columnist for the St Louis American on last night, and she talked about how she had little faith in the local prosecutor's investigation. She told an anecdote about how when she interviewed for a position in that office, they literally asked her "so, Liz, you'll hear the n-word get thrown around a decent amount here... will you be comfortable with that?"

Found video of the interview: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/little-faith-in-fairness-in-ferguson-317949507975

Was watching that live and had a tremendously tough time believing the story. Who the hell would ask that question?

there's multiple eye witness reports saying that the kid was shot 8+ times in the back with his hands up and that there were more videos of the incident but that the cops destroyed some of them

jerseyhoya wrote:Saw it starting last night on Twitter. People saying things like "we have no business sticking our noises in other countries when this is how we run ours" and the like.

do you really think Ferguson's having just a couple of crappy nights

pacino wrote:the buildup occurred after 9/11 when the US was providing this stuff like candy for 'preparedness'. Remember the Boston bombing??? a backpack put everyone in fear and the weaponary came out

huh?

i mean there was a lunatic(s) running around with more bombs and stuff. dont really think whatever parallel you are trying to draw works here.

jerseyhoya wrote:

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:Maddow had an attorney/columnist for the St Louis American on last night, and she talked about how she had little faith in the local prosecutor's investigation. She told an anecdote about how when she interviewed for a position in that office, they literally asked her "so, Liz, you'll hear the n-word get thrown around a decent amount here... will you be comfortable with that?"

Found video of the interview: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/little-faith-in-fairness-in-ferguson-317949507975

Was watching that live and had a tremendously tough time believing the story. Who the hell would ask that question?

my guess is racists

jerseyhoya wrote:

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:Maddow had an attorney/columnist for the St Louis American on last night, and she talked about how she had little faith in the local prosecutor's investigation. She told an anecdote about how when she interviewed for a position in that office, they literally asked her "so, Liz, you'll hear the n-word get thrown around a decent amount here... will you be comfortable with that?"

Found video of the interview: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/little-faith-in-fairness-in-ferguson-317949507975

Was watching that live and had a tremendously tough time believing the story. Who the hell would ask that question?

You really haven't ever set foot outside of suburban Jersey, have you? I'm not trying to be glib, but come on.

CalvinBall wrote:

pacino wrote:the buildup occurred after 9/11 when the US was providing this stuff like candy for 'preparedness'. Remember the Boston bombing??? a backpack put everyone in fear and the weaponary came out

huh?

i mean there was a lunatic(s) running around with more bombs and stuff. dont really think whatever parallel you are trying to draw works here.

i was not drawing a parallel. you read the post wrong.

'the weaponary came out'. we were talking about the militarization of the police.

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:Maddow had an attorney/columnist for the St Louis American on last night, and she talked about how she had little faith in the local prosecutor's investigation. She told an anecdote about how when she interviewed for a position in that office, they literally asked her "so, Liz, you'll hear the n-word get thrown around a decent amount here... will you be comfortable with that?"

Found video of the interview: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/little-faith-in-fairness-in-ferguson-317949507975

Was watching that live and had a tremendously tough time believing the story. Who the hell would ask that question?

You really haven't ever set foot outside of suburban Jersey, have you? I'm not trying to be glib, but come on.

i mean really

td11 wrote:there's multiple eye witness reports saying that the kid was shot 8+ times in the back with his hands up and that there were more videos of the incident but that the cops destroyed some of them

There are so many "reports" that I wouldn't jump to any conclusions there. People were claiming that there was dashcam video, but there are no cameras installed in any Ferguson PD vehicles yet, although they received grant funding this year for "a few" that hadn't been installed yet.

td11 wrote:

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:Maddow had an attorney/columnist for the St Louis American on last night, and she talked about how she had little faith in the local prosecutor's investigation. She told an anecdote about how when she interviewed for a position in that office, they literally asked her "so, Liz, you'll hear the n-word get thrown around a decent amount here... will you be comfortable with that?"

Found video of the interview: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/little-faith-in-fairness-in-ferguson-317949507975

Was watching that live and had a tremendously tough time believing the story. Who the hell would ask that question?

You really haven't ever set foot outside of suburban Jersey, have you? I'm not trying to be glib, but come on.

i mean really

My brother-in-law married a woman from a rural county outside of Richmond. I've heard all sorts of shit when we visit out there. From guys who serve as public officials there too--county supervisors, deputies, etc. Suddenly they turn that off when they step into the office?

Next you'll tell me that Ruben is doing a heck of a job.

we literally have a racist county commisioner who keeps getting re-elected because he gets the rural/suburban vote. we are 55 miles from Philadelphia

updated!

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

RichmondPhilsFan wrote:Maddow had an attorney/columnist for the St Louis American on last night, and she talked about how she had little faith in the local prosecutor's investigation. She told an anecdote about how when she interviewed for a position in that office, they literally asked her "so, Liz, you'll hear the n-word get thrown around a decent amount here... will you be comfortable with that?"

Found video of the interview: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/watch/little-faith-in-fairness-in-ferguson-317949507975

Was watching that live and had a tremendously tough time believing the story. Who the hell would ask that question?

You really haven't ever set foot outside of suburban Jersey, have you? I'm not trying to be glib, but come on.

It's St. Louis County, Missouri. It's a suburban county with a million people in it that has been run by a black county executive since 2003. It's not the deep south. It's a Democratic leaning county of inner ring suburbs of St. Louis. I don't really think one of their typical questions in the prosecutor's office when interviewing candidates is "we like saying the n-word, is that a problem for you?". It sounded, as the lady was saying it, like something she was making up to me.