Something about the whole thing just doesn't seem to add up to me, randomly woke up to it happening and saw one of the earlier videos and it certainly didn't sound like sniper fire, it was relentless shots from what sounded like at least 4-5 at least semi-automatic guns. I'm not one for conspiracy theories or set ups but something seems off.
Agreed. The video on Twitter where the bloke runs up and does the policeman point blank with multiple shots, definitely isn't using a sniper.
Wouldn't shock me if this was an inside job to take the heat off the old bill tbh
Hang on a tick... the master plan to take the heat off the police is to kill policemen? And of all places, when surrounded by angry minority protesters, with policemen under pressure? Because there is absolutely no chance that the police wouldn't react badly to gunfire...
Something about the whole thing just doesn't seem to add up to me, randomly woke up to it happening and saw one of the earlier videos and it certainly didn't sound like sniper fire, it was relentless shots from what sounded like at least 4-5 at least semi-automatic guns. I'm not one for conspiracy theories or set ups but something seems off.
Or it could be that the news was being reported pretty much as it happened and nobody had a clue what was going on in all that madness. Clearly there was at least one gunman on the ground with an assault rifle but there could equally have been others elsewhere.
Obama had it spot on in his statement. It's too early to call what exactly has happened and they need time to go through it all before commenting further.
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
Do you accept there is a massive problem with racism in the US - it sounds to me like you don't. Presumably you've never looked at US history or the numerous examples of racist killings that don't get properly investigated. If you can't accept that black and white people aren't treated equally I assume it's because you don't want to. Racism is obviously not an issue to you as you're not affected by it.
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
Only just seen this, nail on head IMO also, was wondering if anyone had the spine to say it.
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
It's not black and white. There's a problem with both institutional racism AND Gun/Gang related crime in America.
There's far more than 2 incidents with police shootings where they've looked at fault, this is why for years now the relationship between the police and the black communities has been strained.
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
Only just seen this, nail on head IMO also, was wondering if anyone had the spine to say it.
Presumably the pair of you view Trump as a great thinker and don't accept that racism is a massive problem in the States. Obviously not an issue for either of you. Even that well known left wing paper the Daily Telegraph has an article today on how racist the US democracy is.
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
Only just seen this, nail on head IMO also, was wondering if anyone had the spine to say it.
How many black lives are saved by the police in the US every year?
Why is it relevant ?
Why isn't it relevant? It supports the fact that Black lives do in fact matter. ALL lives matter is what they should be championing.
Regarding taser use on baggy clothes
“The most effective place for a TASER probe to hit is one probe above the belt and one below the belt with a spread of a foot or more,” Tracy said. Baggy clothing can get in the way of probes making contact with the skin. Denim can stop the probes getting through all together. The probe can also come loose of the wire/skin and the probes can be shot too close together.
All of these scenarios would leave the intended target unaffected.
“A lot of times the top dart misses or the bottom dart misses,” Paxton said. "The top probe has a laser sight on it and is fired directly, while the second probe is fired at an angle. Firing it from a distance usually means a better spread of the probes, but the probability of missing is greatly increased by distance.”
It also is difficult to hit a moving target. If the probes are not shot directly into the subject, the TASER takes time and can be difficult to reload.
“The TASER X-26 (U.S standard Police issue) is limited to one deployment at a time,” Tracy said. "While the cartridge can be dropped and reloaded, reloading is difficult under stress.”
But black lives clearly don't matter to all coppers in the states, that's entirely the point.
And neither do white lives matter to all coppers otherwise no white people would have been killed.
How many black lives are saved by the police in the US every year?
Why is it relevant ?
Why isn't it relevant? It supports the fact that Black lives do in fact matter. ALL lives matter is what they should be championing.
Regarding taser use on baggy clothes
“The most effective place for a TASER probe to hit is one probe above the belt and one below the belt with a spread of a foot or more,” Tracy said. Baggy clothing can get in the way of probes making contact with the skin. Denim can stop the probes getting through all together. The probe can also come loose of the wire/skin and the probes can be shot too close together.
All of these scenarios would leave the intended target unaffected.
“A lot of times the top dart misses or the bottom dart misses,” Paxton said. "The top probe has a laser sight on it and is fired directly, while the second probe is fired at an angle. Firing it from a distance usually means a better spread of the probes, but the probability of missing is greatly increased by distance.”
It also is difficult to hit a moving target. If the probes are not shot directly into the subject, the TASER takes time and can be difficult to reload.
“The TASER X-26 (U.S standard Police issue) is limited to one deployment at a time,” Tracy said. "While the cartridge can be dropped and reloaded, reloading is difficult under stress.”
But black lives clearly don't matter to all coppers in the states, that's entirely the point.
And neither do white lives matter to all coppers otherwise no white people would have been killed.
There was a white lad shot, whilst on the floor, with video evidence, whilst all this has been going on. This was also after a routine traffic stop (speeding in this case) and the result of four rounds. Am I saying that the US doesn't have race issues? Not at all. Am I saying that stories that reinforce the race issues get reported more? Yes.
A lot of perspective is needed - not every shooting is racist, but the result of a police force who are contemplating whether every stop is going to result in a gun being pulled out. A quick search of Youtube shows compilation videos of dash-cam footage where police officers have been murdered on traffic stops. If you deal with that fear multiple times per shift you WILL misread a situation and kill someone one day.
For those claiming that the particular shooting in question is racist, if you watch the video then the cries of "FUCK. FUCK. I TOLD HIM NOT TO REACH FOR IT." from the police officer underlines that he was distraught. He wasn't congratulating himself on killing a young black man, he was in pieces having just killed another human being.
How many black lives are saved by the police in the US every year?
Why is it relevant ?
Why isn't it relevant? It supports the fact that Black lives do in fact matter. ALL lives matter is what they should be championing.
Regarding taser use on baggy clothes
“The most effective place for a TASER probe to hit is one probe above the belt and one below the belt with a spread of a foot or more,” Tracy said. Baggy clothing can get in the way of probes making contact with the skin. Denim can stop the probes getting through all together. The probe can also come loose of the wire/skin and the probes can be shot too close together.
All of these scenarios would leave the intended target unaffected.
“A lot of times the top dart misses or the bottom dart misses,” Paxton said. "The top probe has a laser sight on it and is fired directly, while the second probe is fired at an angle. Firing it from a distance usually means a better spread of the probes, but the probability of missing is greatly increased by distance.”
It also is difficult to hit a moving target. If the probes are not shot directly into the subject, the TASER takes time and can be difficult to reload.
“The TASER X-26 (U.S standard Police issue) is limited to one deployment at a time,” Tracy said. "While the cartridge can be dropped and reloaded, reloading is difficult under stress.”
But black lives clearly don't matter to all coppers in the states, that's entirely the point.
And neither do white lives matter to all coppers otherwise no white people would have been killed.
there was a really high profile case in america not long ago where a white college athlete essentially got off scot free on a sexual assault and rape charge because it might "hurt his career" further down the line. The reporting of the case used a college grad photo of him, not a police mug shot they usually use
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
Only just seen this, nail on head IMO also, was wondering if anyone had the spine to say it.
There was a chap from Black lives matter on TV last night who did say it. He said if black people have no respect for each other how can they expect others to respect them.
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
Only just seen this, nail on head IMO also, was wondering if anyone had the spine to say it.
Presumably the pair of you view Trump as a great thinker and don't accept that racism is a massive problem in the States. Obviously not an issue for either of you. Even that well known left wing paper the Daily Telegraph has an article today on how racist the US democracy is.
Presume all you want sunshine, if that's what it takes for you to swallow someone else's opinion you don't like, crack on.
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
Only just seen this, nail on head IMO also, was wondering if anyone had the spine to say it.
I'd say thanks for that meme a 16 year old knocked up in his room, but my opinion stands.
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
Only just seen this, nail on head IMO also, was wondering if anyone had the spine to say it.
Presumably the pair of you view Trump as a great thinker and don't accept that racism is a massive problem in the States. Obviously not an issue for either of you. Even that well known left wing paper the Daily Telegraph has an article today on how racist the US democracy is.
I don't get my opinion from any paper, I wouldn't know which way the Telegraph swings, nor do I care. Same goes for Trump and Clinton tbh. So I think you've presumed wrong there oal
A while back (after another mass shooting) there was a claim on here, in all seriousness as far as I could tell, that the shooting wouldn't have happened if the victims had been armed. Well, the pólice here were armed, but they didn't seem to be able to swat away the bullets with their guns. I know it's been round the mulberry Bush interminably on here, but for me, another arguement from the very small CL Gun Lobby evaporates. Guns do not make you safer.
A while back (after another mass shooting) there was a claim on here, in all seriousness as far as I could tell, that the shooting wouldn't have happened if the victims had been armed. Well, the pólice here were armed, but they didn't seem to be able to swat away the bullets with their guns. I know it's been round the mulberry Bush interminably on here, but for me, another arguement from the very small CL Gun Lobby evaporates. Guns do not make you safer.
I think the argument is that enough of the US public would like the choice (rightly or wrongly) to be able to defend themselves from the amount of illegal firearms in circulation over there, it is as simple as that. Anything that is done now, like a ban on the sale of ALL firearms will firstly, only apply to law abiding gun owners and secondly, be shutting the doors after the horse has bolted IMO. I'm personally not sure what the answer is, but I think there's gonna be plenty more bloodshed before anything gets sorted out.
Just like to also acknowledge that yes, there has been shootings carried out by people using registered guns, so like I said above, god knows what the answer is......
How many black lives are saved by the police in the US every year?
Why is it relevant ?
Why isn't it relevant? It supports the fact that Black lives do in fact matter. ALL lives matter is what they should be championing.
Regarding taser use on baggy clothes
“The most effective place for a TASER probe to hit is one probe above the belt and one below the belt with a spread of a foot or more,” Tracy said. Baggy clothing can get in the way of probes making contact with the skin. Denim can stop the probes getting through all together. The probe can also come loose of the wire/skin and the probes can be shot too close together.
All of these scenarios would leave the intended target unaffected.
“A lot of times the top dart misses or the bottom dart misses,” Paxton said. "The top probe has a laser sight on it and is fired directly, while the second probe is fired at an angle. Firing it from a distance usually means a better spread of the probes, but the probability of missing is greatly increased by distance.”
It also is difficult to hit a moving target. If the probes are not shot directly into the subject, the TASER takes time and can be difficult to reload.
“The TASER X-26 (U.S standard Police issue) is limited to one deployment at a time,” Tracy said. "While the cartridge can be dropped and reloaded, reloading is difficult under stress.”
But black lives clearly don't matter to all coppers in the states, that's entirely the point.
And neither do white lives matter to all coppers otherwise no white people would have been killed.
there was a really high profile case in america not long ago where a white college athlete essentially got off scot free on a sexual assault and rape charge because it might "hurt his career" further down the line. The reporting of the case used a college grad photo of him, not a police mug shot they usually use
That was used in/by his defence yes but he was still found guilty. And pretty much everyone (not least other Americans) was in uproar about how lenient his sentencing was. SOME of the reporting did use a grad photo but there were plenty of others who used the mug shot. It was nearly universally seen as a travesty that he got out so lightly.
Rosenberg's rant (around 9 minutes) on this subject is spot on to me. One of the biggest problems at the moment is that no police officers ever seem to acknowledge that one of them has done wrong. Like he says, in any other profession, someone who can't do their job properly will lose it and will not be so protected by people in the same job. Tensions would surely be a lot less strained if some police officers went to demonstrations or at least admitted that something was not done correctly and they would have done things differently.
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
Only just seen this, nail on head IMO also, was wondering if anyone had the spine to say it.
I'd say thanks for that meme a 16 year old knocked up in his room, but my opinion stands.
Once again completely unable to get the point and continue to troll a thread about some one who's died. Super classy.
The point on it being Fox News is they pursue a right wing agenda.
As a former resident of Flower Mound and Grapevine I can unhappily testify their nightly "local news anchors" in Dallas railed against every conceivable "injustice" being perpetrated by the "illegal aliens" in terms of their overcrowding schools, queuing round the blocks to get into community hospitals for medical care, or grouping on street corners waiting for any work opportunity to come along.
They are all factual comments but if you drip, drip such stuff on a daily basis without offering a shred of balance into the local community you will create division, frustration and anger on both sides.
You "alienate" people at your peril. It cannot be in anyone's' interest to denigrate/ demonise/ disenfranchise even a minority part of your community.
Normal Americans are not losing it. US society in general has a problem, in fact a huge problem, because of "special interests" in terms of its Gun Laws.
The great majority go about the business of life in a true spirit of community and good faith. As a former resident yesterday's events are an absolute tragedy.
As with many major cities there are "areas" of concern which do run across racial lines but such concerns were never at the level which would prompt this sort of tragic incident certainly not with the African American community.
There was a large under privileged Mexican - Hispanic community.
Apart from one neighbour, an Irish American woman (she also despised the English) there was little overt racism though many in our "God fearing community" would happily exploit the cheap labour of the poorer members of the racial divide.
My next door neighbours were black he running a very successful insurance brokerage and his wife a local doctor specialising in child care. On the whole block they were the only people born and bred in Texas.
Much of the "professional community" emanated from all parts of the USA and indeed beyond - the company I worked for was a veritable United Nations including British, Irish, Argentine, Nigerian, Kenyan, Caribbean, Polish, Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan, Native American, Sierra Leone, Mexican origins.
My team alone including German, Irish, Israeli, British, Native American, Mexican and Texan influences all with their own histories and values.
They were good people. We celebrated our differences.
The strength of the community post the events of 9/11 was a privilege to behold.
For many the huge challenge is the complete distrust of government and on such basis any attempt to curtail what they see as their historic democratic rights is a red rag to a bull.
In all honesty when you look at the nature of US government at a state and federal level which are both subject to enormous "commercial influence " they have a point. Remember the legal and justice establishment is also an elective/ political process.
There is a general dismissal if not contempt of elected officials as being useless or corrupt or both.
The challenge of course then extends to the abuse of those historic gun freedoms they are determined if not paranoidly driven to enjoy.
It is indeed legal to carry firearms in Texas. Many did seem to regard it as second nature especially in rural areas. I was cautioned by a fellow Brit on starting work to never get into any conflict with neighbours, and especially avoid road rage. You never ever know who is carrying a gun.
I recall the tragedy of US couple who moving back to Dallas from the UK were out house hunting. The wife who was driving became confused with the lane exits (very easily done in Dallas) cut up two drivers and got into an argument. At the next set of lights one of the other drivers pulled up alongside them, shot assumedly at the wife, missed and killed the husband.
It is a culture shock when dealing with armed police or even armed security guards. The sight of seeing former, then redundant, colleagues being escorted of company premises by armed guards is not something you forgot. The paranoia around such incidents gives a flavour of the concerns. After one round of lay offs the CEO even had the building altered to give him private and guarded access to his offices.
This level of paranoia extends across the privileged in America. It is no accident with US appetite for overseas conflict now greatly reduced the armaments industry wasted no time in helping the federal and state police to become increasingly militarised over the past decade.
That said over the decade I was there none of my friends or work colleagues I knew well owned a gun.
The assertions concerning black on black crimes are misplaced. Of course it is only right to condemn the internal gang and criminal culture but to argue the proliferate or random acts of criminals to further their own personal greed against victims in their own community is commensurate with institutional racism by those empowered to serve and protect that community is without doubt the emptiest argument I have ever heard.
Where in God's name are these people supposed to turn?
It is inherent on a just society to lift people out of/ not condemn them to living in some sub culture where they are deprived of the same human rights as everyone else.
A while back (after another mass shooting) there was a claim on here, in all seriousness as far as I could tell, that the shooting wouldn't have happened if the victims had been armed. Well, the pólice here were armed, but they didn't seem to be able to swat away the bullets with their guns. I know it's been round the mulberry Bush interminably on here, but for me, another arguement from the very small CL Gun Lobby evaporates. Guns do not make you safer.
I think the argument is that enough of the US public would like the choice (rightly or wrongly) to be able to defend themselves from the amount of illegal firearms in circulation over there, it is as simple as that. Anything that is done now, like a ban on the sale of ALL firearms will firstly, only apply to law abiding gun owners and secondly, be shutting the doors after the horse has bolted IMO. I'm personally not sure what the answer is, but I think there's gonna be plenty more bloodshed before anything gets sorted out.
Just like to also acknowledge that yes, there has been shootings carried out by people using registered guns, so like I said above, god knows what the answer is......
Only an idiot would argue that there isn't a big problem with racism in the States - with a history of segragation and lynchings it's hardly a surprise. If an issue doesn't affect you it's easy to ignore it.
I'd argue that only an idiot would be in complete denial of the fact that there's a massive problem in the black communities in most US cities with em shooting each other, leading in turn to the Police shooting them. Again, these the police in the latest 2 shooting look to be at fault, but that isn't necessarily the case for ALL of the others...IMO
Only just seen this, nail on head IMO also, was wondering if anyone had the spine to say it.
I'd say thanks for that meme a 16 year old knocked up in his room, but my opinion stands.
Once again completely unable to get the point and continue to troll a thread about some one who's died. Super classy.
Troll? You've just sent a meme with a fictional character from the matrix mate behave yourself.
I know it's hard for you to take but I've a different opinion to you, try and get that point and stop sulking.
Take it it's you who has flagged it, well if not whoever has has some sensitivity issues, seek help.
How many black lives are saved by the police in the US every year?
Why is it relevant ?
Well because if law enforcement in the US is so inherently racist, as quite a few people on both sides of the pond keep saying, surely this would be the case in them not wishing to save lives as well as cold bloodedly shooting non white folk on sight
Eh - so because the police have done their job some of the time we can ignore a couple of summary executions here or there ?
It may seem a flimsy link to make, but the criticism of the film industry for the 'white' nature of the Oscar nominations suggests that structurally the United States has huge issues with racism. Not simply white black racism but for other communities too. Trump has gone on about Muslims and Mexicans to what seems like acclaim. Structural racism combined with a heavily armed society is proving disastrous. The road rage incident reported by Grapevine, whilst nothing to do with race is a lot to do with weapons. An incident that ought to have at worse led to a letter to a local newspaper was turned into a killing because guns are so readily to hand. On Newsnight last night there was an interview with a mother who had lost her son in a police killing and she was alongside a Pastor. They expressed very well this problem, and statistics back them up, there is an equality and fairness deficit that affect minority communities from Hollywood stars to the ordinary person. It is amazing that Obama was elected twice in this context, but then again a lot of his programmes are thwarted by the wider political system. .
Rather than blame trump has anyone thought about blaming the music industry? You know the rap stars the youth in America look up to so much? Thes ones opening bragging about carrying guns and killing etc?
Comments
Obama had it spot on in his statement. It's too early to call what exactly has happened and they need time to go through it all before commenting further.
If you can't accept that black and white people aren't treated equally I assume it's because you don't want to.
Racism is obviously not an issue to you as you're not affected by it.
There's far more than 2 incidents with police shootings where they've looked at fault, this is why for years now the relationship between the police and the black communities has been strained.
Even that well known left wing paper the Daily Telegraph has an article today on how racist the US democracy is.
A lot of perspective is needed - not every shooting is racist, but the result of a police force who are contemplating whether every stop is going to result in a gun being pulled out. A quick search of Youtube shows compilation videos of dash-cam footage where police officers have been murdered on traffic stops. If you deal with that fear multiple times per shift you WILL misread a situation and kill someone one day.
For those claiming that the particular shooting in question is racist, if you watch the video then the cries of "FUCK. FUCK. I TOLD HIM NOT TO REACH FOR IT." from the police officer underlines that he was distraught. He wasn't congratulating himself on killing a young black man, he was in pieces having just killed another human being.
He said if black people have no respect for each other how can they expect others to respect them.
Just like to also acknowledge that yes, there has been shootings carried out by people using registered guns, so like I said above, god knows what the answer is......
Rosenberg's rant (around 9 minutes) on this subject is spot on to me. One of the biggest problems at the moment is that no police officers ever seem to acknowledge that one of them has done wrong. Like he says, in any other profession, someone who can't do their job properly will lose it and will not be so protected by people in the same job. Tensions would surely be a lot less strained if some police officers went to demonstrations or at least admitted that something was not done correctly and they would have done things differently.
As a former resident of Flower Mound and Grapevine I can unhappily testify their nightly "local news anchors" in Dallas railed against every conceivable "injustice" being perpetrated by the "illegal aliens" in terms of their overcrowding schools, queuing round the blocks to get into community hospitals for medical care, or grouping on street corners waiting for any work opportunity to come along.
They are all factual comments but if you drip, drip such stuff on a daily basis without offering a shred of balance into the local community you will create division, frustration and anger on both sides.
You "alienate" people at your peril. It cannot be in anyone's' interest to denigrate/ demonise/ disenfranchise even a minority part of your community.
Normal Americans are not losing it. US society in general has a problem, in fact a huge problem, because of "special interests" in terms of its Gun Laws.
The great majority go about the business of life in a true spirit of community and good faith. As a former resident yesterday's events are an absolute tragedy.
As with many major cities there are "areas" of concern which do run across racial lines but such concerns were never at the level which would prompt this sort of tragic incident certainly not with the African American community.
There was a large under privileged Mexican - Hispanic community.
Apart from one neighbour, an Irish American woman (she also despised the English) there was little overt racism though many in our "God fearing community" would happily exploit the cheap labour of the poorer members of the racial divide.
My next door neighbours were black he running a very successful insurance brokerage and his wife a local doctor specialising in child care. On the whole block they were the only people born and bred in Texas.
Much of the "professional community" emanated from all parts of the USA and indeed beyond - the company I worked for was a veritable United Nations including British, Irish, Argentine, Nigerian, Kenyan, Caribbean, Polish, Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan, Native American, Sierra Leone, Mexican origins.
My team alone including German, Irish, Israeli, British, Native American, Mexican and Texan influences all with their own histories and values.
They were good people. We celebrated our differences.
The strength of the community post the events of 9/11 was a privilege to behold.
For many the huge challenge is the complete distrust of government and on such basis any attempt to curtail what they see as their historic democratic rights is a red rag to a bull.
In all honesty when you look at the nature of US government at a state and federal level which are both subject to enormous "commercial influence " they have a point. Remember the legal and justice establishment is also an elective/ political process.
There is a general dismissal if not contempt of elected officials as being useless or corrupt or both.
The challenge of course then extends to the abuse of those historic gun freedoms they are determined if not paranoidly driven to enjoy.
It is indeed legal to carry firearms in Texas. Many did seem to regard it as second nature especially in rural areas. I was cautioned by a fellow Brit on starting work to never get into any conflict with neighbours, and especially avoid road rage. You never ever know who is carrying a gun.
I recall the tragedy of US couple who moving back to Dallas from the UK were out house hunting. The wife who was driving became confused with the lane exits (very easily done in Dallas) cut up two drivers and got into an argument. At the next set of lights one of the other drivers pulled up alongside them, shot assumedly at the wife, missed and killed the husband.
It is a culture shock when dealing with armed police or even armed security guards. The sight of seeing former, then redundant, colleagues being escorted of company premises by armed guards is not something you forgot. The paranoia around such incidents gives a flavour of the concerns. After one round of lay offs the CEO even had the building altered to give him private and guarded access to his offices.
This level of paranoia extends across the privileged in America. It is no accident with US appetite for overseas conflict now greatly reduced the armaments industry wasted no time in helping the federal and state police to become increasingly militarised over the past decade.
That said over the decade I was there none of my friends or work colleagues I knew well owned a gun.
The assertions concerning black on black crimes are misplaced. Of course it is only right to condemn the internal gang and criminal culture but to argue the proliferate or random acts of criminals to further their own personal greed against victims in their own community is commensurate with institutional racism by those empowered to serve and protect that community is without doubt the emptiest argument I have ever heard.
Where in God's name are these people supposed to turn?
It is inherent on a just society to lift people out of/ not condemn them to living in some sub culture where they are deprived of the same human rights as everyone else.
Revolutions are based in such inequality.
Until these type of views on guns change and gun laws completely overhauled I'm afraid this is what you get
I know it's hard for you to take but I've a different opinion to you, try and get that point and stop sulking.
Take it it's you who has flagged it, well if not whoever has has some sensitivity issues, seek help.
Structural racism combined with a heavily armed society is proving disastrous. The road rage incident reported by Grapevine, whilst nothing to do with race is a lot to do with weapons. An incident that ought to have at worse led to a letter to a local newspaper was turned into a killing because guns are so readily to hand.
On Newsnight last night there was an interview with a mother who had lost her son in a police killing and she was alongside a Pastor. They expressed very well this problem, and statistics back them up, there is an equality and fairness deficit that affect minority communities from Hollywood stars to the ordinary person.
It is amazing that Obama was elected twice in this context, but then again a lot of his programmes are thwarted by the wider political system.
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Good job we haven't all got guns.