Baltimore

[got tonkaed]

Lots going on right now, seems like a thing people would have an opinion about.

Quick recap for the non-US (feel free to actually post about stuff that I don't)

1)Freddie Gray is stopped by police and is arrested. After arriving at the station around 30-45 minutes after the original stop, paramedics are requested.
2)Gray dies in the hospital a week after he originally went with the paramedics (during which time he is in a coma and has had surgery completed on his spine)
3)A day before his death, protesting begins in a few different areas throughout the weekend of his death.
4)Police put out a report on the 20th saying no force was used in his arrest (with 6 officers suspended the next day). The DOJ begins looking into the case.
5)Protests intensify over the next few days as more people are brought out into Baltimore, with more information and statements being gathered, along with Police Commissioners meeting with the Gray family.
6)On the 24th, police admit mistakes in the aftermath, which leads to more violent protest occurring on Saturday the 25th. The family is on record as asking for peace
7)The funeral occurs on the 27th and rioting takes place throughout the day and evening hours, gaining increased coverage.


Lots going on right now, with a state of emergency declared, school canceled and the national guard being brought in. What does Troll Forest think?

[AndyDufresne]

Thanks, Obama.


--Andy

[saxitoxin]

National Guard ain't got shit on a sassy black lady

[tzor]

Thanks, Obama.

As much as I want to say otherwise, this isn't the POTUS fault. The primary fault starts with the city Mayor.

I’ve made it very clear that I work with the police, and instructed them to do everything that they could to make sure that the protesters could exercise their right to free speech. It’s a very delicate balancing act because while we tried to make sure they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we gave those who wished to destroy space to do that, as well. And we worked very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to deescalate. And that’s what you saw.

You don't give people "space" to destroy, unless that space is somewhere between the orbits of Venus and Mercury (where the solar wind will clean up the mess). These are high school idiots, educated by a horrible progressive, union dominated education system and indoctrinated in the mindset of entitlement and victimization. I don't really give a rat's tail if you hate someone (you probably didn't even know the guy in the first place, don't give me this crap) but it is still no excuse to rob a store or bash in a car of a person who had nothing to do with the people you hate.

This is a problem with all Progressive cities in the United States. From Chicago, to Detroit, to Baltimore and in some cases New York (there is a reason why Baltimore is known as the "Chicago of the east coast" and it's not always complimentary). I'm sure they will find some other scapegoat to blame because they will never admit that their efforts only leads to total anarchy and the complete breakdown of the society which they control so tightly.

[AndyDufresne]

Tzor, the real answer is more drones, with bullets that can follow you around as you run.




--Andy

[GoranZ]

American Democracy... What a pile of rubbish

[AndyDufresne]

American Democracy... What a pile of rubbish

Here is a picture of GoranZ trying to wrap his mind around complex thought:




--Andy

[tzor]

Maryland Governor Says Obama Urged Him to Exercise ‘Due Restraint’

Both the mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland said they spoke to President Obama on Monday, but the president had nothing to say publicly about the out-of-control looting, burning and police-pelting in Baltimore, a city just 40 miles north of the U.S. capital. He’s letting his new attorney general handle it.

[got tonkaed]

It does seem initially that there is a difference in how the area was policed and how people at the scene were being dealt with, than the way things occurred in Ferguson for example.

Part of the commentary that was being shown across a few news channels yesterday seemed to suggest there just was not enough officers available to consistently police or hold areas.

Images do seem to be getting out showing some similar methods of crowd control as ended up being deployed in Ferguson, but i would say from what I have seen so far there does seem to be more restraint shown here and that is probably by design.

[Army of GOD]

hey look it's got tonkaed

[got tonkaed]

hey look it's got tonkaed

Hello!

[notyou2]

Welcome back.

[notyou2]

Thanks, Obama.

As much as I want to say otherwise, this isn't the POTUS fault. The primary fault starts with the city Mayor.

I’ve made it very clear that I work with the police, and instructed them to do everything that they could to make sure that the protesters could exercise their right to free speech. It’s a very delicate balancing act because while we tried to make sure they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we gave those who wished to destroy space to do that, as well. And we worked very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to deescalate. And that’s what you saw.

You don't give people "space" to destroy, unless that space is somewhere between the orbits of Venus and Mercury (where the solar wind will clean up the mess). These are high school idiots, educated by a horrible progressive, union dominated education system and indoctrinated in the mindset of entitlement and victimization. I don't really give a rat's tail if you hate someone (you probably didn't even know the guy in the first place, don't give me this crap) but it is still no excuse to rob a store or bash in a car of a person who had nothing to do with the people you hate.

This is a problem with all Progressive cities in the United States. From Chicago, to Detroit, to Baltimore and in some cases New York (there is a reason why Baltimore is known as the "Chicago of the east coast" and it's not always complimentary). I'm sure they will find some other scapegoat to blame because they will never admit that their efforts only leads to total anarchy and the complete breakdown of the society which they control so tightly.

What would Republican Jesus say and do.

"GUN THE FUICKERS ALL DOWN AND SHOOT THE EFFIN UNION EDUCATORS WHILE YOU"RE AT IT"

Thanks Jesus

[Lootifer]

Interestingly in NZ the spin has been that the protesters are in the wrong here, with that clip Saxi posted leading the charge.

This is both in contrast to previous media coverage around things like Ferguson, and the usual rhetoric the likes of PS comes out with around how media only provides one side of the equation.

Seems surprisingly balanced to me.

[saxitoxin]

Interestingly in NZ the spin has been that the protesters are in the wrong here, with that clip Saxi posted leading the charge.

This is both in contrast to previous media coverage around things like Ferguson, and the usual rhetoric the likes of PS comes out with around how media only provides one side of the equation.

Seems surprisingly balanced to me.

So essentially, what you're saying, is that I secretly run New Zealand?

[betiko]

I think that white american cops shouldn t kill black people just for fun so often, they end up getting in trouble and it becomes more and more difficult to find excuses.

[Dukasaur]

I think that white american cops shouldn t kill black people just for fun so often, they end up getting in trouble and it becomes more and more difficult to find excuses.

Police brutality happens in almost every country. There's a unique problem in the U.S. in that it tends to break down along racial lines, so it's a little more obvious than in places where the victims are the same colour as the cops. But other than that, it's really the same problem everywhere.

[betiko]

I think that white american cops shouldn t kill black people just for fun so often, they end up getting in trouble and it becomes more and more difficult to find excuses.

Police brutality happens in almost every country. There's a unique problem in the U.S. in that it tends to break down along racial lines, so it's a little more obvious than in places where the victims are the same colour as the cops. But other than that, it's really the same problem everywhere.

[GoranZ]

American Democracy... What a pile of rubbish

Here is a picture of GoranZ trying to wrap his mind around complex thought:




--Andy

And here are you:

[mrswdk]

Yeah, like Duk said, I don't get what the fuss is about. Guy gets arrested and is then roughed up a bit. Big deal.

There's any easy way to avoid this sort of thing happening: don't cause trouble and get yourself arrested.

[got tonkaed]

Yeah, like Duk said, I don't get what the fuss is about. Guy gets arrested and is then roughed up a bit. Big deal.

There's any easy way to avoid this sort of thing happening: don't cause trouble and get yourself arrested.

Replace some guy with a person who is of value to you (family member, friend, co-worker) and then imagine they die due to poor response after they were apprehended (for a valid reason or not).

Is there an issue with how people are policed, especially in areas that are underfunded in municipal budgets?

[Dukasaur]

Yeah, like Duk said, I don't get what the fuss is about. Guy gets arrested and is then roughed up a bit. Big deal.

There's any easy way to avoid this sort of thing happening: don't cause trouble and get yourself arrested.

That's not what I said.

What I said was, the problem exists in every country. I didn't say it's not a problem. I do think people wringing their hands and pretending this is an American problem are delusional.

Here's just a short list of the places I've personally witnessed police beating the shit out of an unresisting suspect or otherwise abusing their powers:
Warsaw, Poland
Praha, Czechoslovakia
Essen, Germany
Nice, France
Rome, Italy
Toronto, Canada
St. Catharines, Canada
Buffalo, US
Washington, US
Anaheim, US
Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
+ some place in Mexico I don't remember the name of.

That's just the ones I witnessed personally. Any day of the week I could go online and find an incident somewhere in the world, and on a long enough timeline there's probably been an incident in every town on the planet.

.. and that's just the violent incidents. That's not counting nonviolent abuses of official power, shakedowns for bribes, etc.

[mrswdk]

Yeah, like Duk said, I don't get what the fuss is about. Guy gets arrested and is then roughed up a bit. Big deal.

There's any easy way to avoid this sort of thing happening: don't cause trouble and get yourself arrested.

Replace some guy with a person who is of value to you (family member, friend, co-worker) and then imagine they die due to poor response after they were apprehended (for a valid reason or not).

The simple solution is not to get picked up by the police in the first place. If you don't have the connections, social standing or James Bond level charisma necessary to guarantee pleasant treatment at the hands of a bunch of jacked up guys with weapons, then don't piss them off. It's not rocket science.

The question here is whether or not he was picked up for bogus reasons.

[khazalid]

hey-ho gt.

the way they're going, they are gonna end up having to wear body cameras in the john.

i knew a guy once who has so retarded, he spent his entire youth fantasising about joining the army. he injured his leg pretty bad playing football, and they wouldn't take him.

he joined the police.