Daniel - Thank you so much for sharing this, and I would like to think that 85% of our American citizens (no matter their race - and there are more than two races in our country...) feel the same way, but are reluctant to express their views, fearing a backlash.

David & Gene - My father and mother gave me similar talks about giving law enforcement (and being a military brat, that meant military police also) nothing to detain me for. I also had the talk about where I should and should not venture because of danger, and it had little to do with race. I understood from an early age that there were bad folks in lots of places, so I avoided those places. I also dated a police officer for several years and heard both sides of the story.

David - It is not a matter of whether it is better to be black or white. It is a matter of being the best person you can be. If we each practiced that and also stopped being sheep that blindly follow the pack over the cliff, the whole world would be a better place. I posted the following several years ago, I believe, but one of my college professors (from the 1960s, no less) warned us to watch out for the press and do our own thinking. Between the malcontents, the press, and social media in the hands of "know-nothings," we have a lot to watch out for, imo.

(07-06-2019 09:54 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  

(07-06-2019 06:28 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  

(07-06-2019 04:57 AM)DanielC Wrote:  Back to the original post. It’s a sad day when Colin Kaepernick determines what is offensive.

Yes it is. I just read that the band Confederate Railroad has been cancelled for a performance somewhere because of their band name.
I also predict that President Grant will find disfavor because he owned a slave (William Jones).

Many black fathers (if not all black fathers) have had "the talk" with their sons (and I am not talking about "the birds and the bees"). And, I remember years ago reading that even black members of the U. S. Congress (while members of Congress) have been pulled over for "driving while black" and the utmost respect and deference that young black men must show to the police officers, for their own good.

Is this statement true or not? And, is this still a problem? I believe that Colin Kaepernick has determined that this police practice is offensive.

Most of my patients are African-Americans. I can tell you that they believe it is true.

(07-04-2019 09:37 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  

(07-04-2019 07:15 AM)My Name Is Kate Wrote:  The question was:
Should American service personnel be prosecuted for war crimes committed overseas?

The answers were:
Yes, they should always be held to American standards, whether at home or abroad
No, war is a stressful situation and allowances should be made

As you can see, both the question and the answers were slanted to get the desired response. The poll was designed to make it appear that most Americans think war crimes committed overseas by Americans should never be prosecuted.

Kate, thank you very much for that insightful information. The PBS News Hour should be informed of this because in publishing this statement they have done an extreme disservice to the American people by mischaracterizing our opinion on the subject in such a disgraceful manner.

P.S. I copied over this entire post and sent it to viewermail@newshour.org. Hopefully, the PBS NewsHour will make a clarification and retraction. But, I will not be holding my breath.

I am disappointed in the PBS NewsHour. They did not respond.

77 percent of Americans believed U.S. service members shouldn't be prosecuted for overseas war crimes simply because "war is a stressful situation and allowances should be made."

(07-07-2019 06:15 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  

(07-06-2019 09:54 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  

(07-06-2019 06:28 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  

(07-06-2019 04:57 AM)DanielC Wrote:  Back to the original post. It’s a sad day when Colin Kaepernick determines what is offensive.

Yes it is. I just read that the band Confederate Railroad has been cancelled for a performance somewhere because of their band name.
I also predict that President Grant will find disfavor because he owned a slave (William Jones).

Many black fathers (if not all black fathers) have had "the talk" with their sons (and I am not talking about "the birds and the bees"). And, I remember years ago reading that even black members of the U. S. Congress (while members of Congress) have been pulled over for "driving while black" and the utmost respect and deference that young black men must show to the police officers, for their own good.

Is this statement true or not? And, is this still a problem? I believe that Colin Kaepernick has determined that this police practice is offensive.

Most of my patients are African-Americans. I can tell you that they believe it is true.

Bill - I am quite sure that your patients do feel that way, just as many citizens of other races suspect police bigotry. But are their beliefs based on personal experience or on what they learn from various types of media or neighborhood gossip? I am not trying to pretend that there is no wrong doing on the part of some police; I just question if it is as wide-spread as what folks are led to believe.

Also, how do they feel about black-on-black crime and gangs in a variety of races?

(07-07-2019 02:35 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(07-07-2019 06:15 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Most of my patients are African-Americans. I can tell you that they believe it is true.

Bill - I am quite sure that your patients do feel that way, just as many citizens of other races suspect police bigotry. But are their beliefs based on personal experience or on what they learn from various types of media or neighborhood gossip? I am not trying to pretend that there is no wrong doing on the part of some police; I just question if it is as wide-spread as what folks are led to believe.

“Black GOP Senator Talks About Being Pulled Over By Police 7 Times In One Year”

HuffPost 07/13/2016

“This is a situation that happens all across the country,” Sen. Tim Scott said, “whether we want to recognize it or not.”

In the course of one year as an elected official, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) was pulled over seven times by law enforcement. Another time, a Capitol Police officer demanded that Scott show him his ID because the special pin on Scott’s suit jacket ― a pin assigned to United States senators ― evidently wasn’t enough.

Scott shared these stories and more Wednesday evening during a roughly 18-minute speech on the Senate floor. He is the only black senator in the Republican conference, and one of just two in the upper chamber.

“There is a deep divide between the black community and law enforcement ― a trust gap,” Scott said. “We cannot ignore these issues. Because while so many officers do good ― and we should be very thankful in support of all those officers that do good ― some simply do not. I’ve experienced it myself.”

Scott said he chose to talk about his encounters with police, experiences that left him feeling humiliated and “very scared,” because he’s heard people trying to paint Philando Castile, who was shot during a traffic stop in Minnesota, and Walter Scott ― a black man who was killed by a police officer in South Carolina last year while running away ― as criminals.

And then we have two politicians in my area over the past decade: One who was killed while driving intoxicated with a woman other than his wife -- and ended up having a school re-named for him (it used to be named Lord Baltimore for the founder of Maryland). And just recently, another local politician was driving while intoxicated and doing well over the speed limit until he crashed, jumped out of his government car, and ran. And, he got re-elected...

Did the HuffPost give any details three years ago about what caused officers to stop Senator Scott? Would his speech on the floor of the Senate be preserved? Was he stopped each time by white officers only? There's just so much we need to know behind the headlines that are creating more racism than unity, imo.

(07-07-2019 07:47 PM)L Verge Wrote:  And then we have two politicians in my area over the past decade: One who was killed while driving intoxicated with a woman other than his wife -- and ended up having a school re-named for him (it used to be named Lord Baltimore for the founder of Maryland). And just recently, another local politician was driving while intoxicated and doing well over the speed limit until he crashed, jumped out of his government car, and ran. And, he got re-elected...

Did the HuffPost give any details three years ago about what caused officers to stop Senator Scott? Would his speech on the floor of the Senate be preserved? Was he stopped each time by white officers only? There's just so much we need to know behind the headlines that are creating more racism than unity, imo.

“Black GOP Senator Talks About Being Pulled Over By Police 7 Times In One Year”

Within the story, there is a video of an eloquent 10-minute speech by Senator Tim Scott (R - S.C.) on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Senator Scott was appointed by Governor Nikki Haley to replace the retiring Jim DeMint. He later won a special election in 2014 and was elected to a full term in 2016. Please pay special attention to the last minute of this speech.

David, I may be totally wrong on what I am about to say, and it may look like I am making an excuse for the police, but do you possibly know the tint level on Senator Scott's car windows? I would be curious on this because Vicki and I have noticed that cars with really dark tint are almost a "red flag" for police where we live. IMO, the cars with the darkest tint are, percentage-wise, more likely to be pulled over by the police. It does not matter if the driver is white, black, Hispanic, Asian, etc. And it may be there is a very legitimate reason such as the driver's eyes are very sensitive to light, and he or she purposely had very dark tint put on the windows.

Judging by his fingers it looked like 2 of the 7 times Senator Scott was stopped were for speeding. IMO, that's a lot for one year! Possibly I saw that wrong; I am going to watch the video again.

I will also say that during my life, especially during my teaching years, I did have black people tell me that they purposely drove below the speed limit as they felt they were more likely to be pulled over while driving than a white person.

I think there is a small minority of "bad apples" in all professions. Sure, this is true for police, but it's also true for doctors, teachers, clergy, lawyers, etc.

(07-08-2019 04:37 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  I think there is a small minority of "bad apples" in all professions. Sure, this is true for police, but it's also true for doctors, teachers, clergy, lawyers, etc.

Roger, that is a statement with which I ABSOLUTELY agree. I speak from personal life experiences.

Regarding the Walter Scott incident, what is usually not mentioned is that Walter Scott had attacked and threatened the police officer just prior to his being shot, and there is video to prove it. This video is part of the same video that was turned in to the police because the person who took the video said he couldn't allow the police to get away with murder. But the first part of the video is not what most "news" outlets show to the public.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rfjoo0ucBc

Michael Slager was sentenced to twenty years in prison. All anyone ever hears is that he shot an unarmed black man in the back as he was running away. But it was a matter of one to two seconds from the time he was on the ground fighting for his life with the suspect, and the time he began firing. He will have plenty of time to think about any alternative actions he might have taken.

Walter Scott's family was awarded $6.5 million settlement with the city of North Charleston, S.C.

(07-08-2019 07:45 AM)My Name Is Kate Wrote:  Regarding the Walter Scott incident, what is usually not mentioned is that Walter Scott had attacked and threatened the police officer just prior to his being shot, and there is video to prove it. This video is part of the same video that was turned in to the police because the person who took the video said he couldn't allow the police to get away with murder. But the first part of the video is not what most "news" outlets show to the public.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rfjoo0ucBc

Michael Slager was sentenced to twenty years in prison. All anyone ever hears is that he shot an unarmed black man in the back as he was running away. But it was a matter of one to two seconds from the time he was on the ground fighting for his life with the suspect, and the time he began firing. He will have plenty of time to think about any alternative actions he might have taken.

Walter Scott's family was awarded $6.5 million settlement with the city of North Charleston, S.C.

Apparently, a jury heard, saw, and considered all of the evidence presented by both the prosecution and defense attorneys before awarding Walter Scott's family a $6.5 million settlement with the city of North Charleston, South Carolina. What did the jurors have to say in explanation for their verdict? And, I believe that it was the trial judge who sentenced Officer Michael Slager to twenty years in prison.

My point is that the public was deliberately misled by ignoring an important part of what transpired during the incident. We can only hope that the court, jury, and judge were not as biased as the media.

Why is it that in this case you side with jury, judge and justice system, but you are full of doubts and criticism in the Gallagher trial and verdict?

(07-07-2019 02:35 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(07-07-2019 06:15 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  

(07-06-2019 09:54 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  

(07-06-2019 06:28 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  

(07-06-2019 04:57 AM)DanielC Wrote:  Back to the original post. It’s a sad day when Colin Kaepernick determines what is offensive.

Yes it is. I just read that the band Confederate Railroad has been cancelled for a performance somewhere because of their band name.
I also predict that President Grant will find disfavor because he owned a slave (William Jones).

Many black fathers (if not all black fathers) have had "the talk" with their sons (and I am not talking about "the birds and the bees"). And, I remember years ago reading that even black members of the U. S. Congress (while members of Congress) have been pulled over for "driving while black" and the utmost respect and deference that young black men must show to the police officers, for their own good.

Is this statement true or not? And, is this still a problem? I believe that Colin Kaepernick has determined that this police practice is offensive.

Most of my patients are African-Americans. I can tell you that they believe it is true.

Bill - I am quite sure that your patients do feel that way, just as many citizens of other races suspect police bigotry. But are their beliefs based on personal experience or on what they learn from various types of media or neighborhood gossip? I am not trying to pretend that there is no wrong doing on the part of some police; I just question if it is as wide-spread as what folks are led to believe.

Also, how do they feel about black-on-black crime and gangs in a variety of races?

Laurie: as far as their beliefs about it- I would say both—but I don’t know which has had greater influence. As far as black on black crimes and the gangs—that is never mentioned. And as a Caucasian - I would not be offering it up in discussion—not my role in the setting I’m in.

(07-08-2019 09:41 AM)My Name Is Kate Wrote:  My point is that the public was deliberately misled by ignoring an important part of what transpired during the incident. We can only hope that the court, jury, and judge were not as biased as the media.

Why is it that in this case you side with jury, judge and justice system, but you are full of doubts and criticism in the Gallagher trial and verdict?

The doubts and criticisms were reported by the New York Times. I just did a copy and paste from three stories.

In totality, I think that it shows that the top levels of the military wanted the outcome that was achieved.

Why do you think that the trial was not brought to a complete standstill while the possibility of perjury by the medic who claimed he actually committed the murder of the prisoner was investigated?

Do you really believe that this medic will be tried for murder by the military? You do realize that his defense would be that he murdered the teenager because the Iraq soldiers would have tortured and then murdered him. So, his murder of the boy was an act of kindness.

We'll just have to wait for medic's murder trial to find out the "truth," won't we?

(07-08-2019 11:10 AM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  The doubts and criticisms were reported by the New York Times. I just did a copy and paste from three stories.

Wow. What a classic copout.

I haven't been following the Gallagher trial at all. All I know is that he is a Navy Seal who was accused of murder. But I do know that most liberals tend to take a negative view of our military (and of law enforcement in general).