Discussion for article #226498
Damned straight it was!!
2 Likes
No, Reverend Jackson, it was a police execution at most, unless you imply that official collusion went all the way up to the governor.
a municipal executive execution; geez what does it matter
1 Like
āthe Stateā doesnāt necessarily mean the specific level of government associated with the 50 primary political subdivisions of the United States of America. It can, for example, mean any sovereign nation, aāla āThe State of Israelā and āA Two-State Solutionā, āState-Sponsored Terrorismā, etc.
It can also mean any of the apparatus of central authority, from the highest level (ācrimes against the stateā, for example, usually means the national identity version), to government-controlled (if technically not government owned) entities that are used to maintain the official āparty lineā (āRussian State Mediaā).
Iām all for being a pedantic nit-picker, but if youāre going to play the pedantry game, play to win.
3 Likes
Hard to put it more plainly than that.
At what level do state executions occur in the United States? Who must sign off on them?
You, who scour the dictionary looking for all sorts of irrelevant definitions of āstateā, accuse me of pedantry?
Hie thee home, fragment!
Language does matter, especially from a public figure making a statement on television about an already inflammatory situation that newly-arrived Missouri State Police Captain Johnson was calming.
Thatās why it matters. Did the Reverend Jacksonās comments offer any fresh insight into the Ferguson affair, or did they help anyone involved? Well, today the Ferguson PD chief released a video of Michael Brown robbing a store, which āassassinated his characterā according to his parents. Coincidence?
2 Likes
Itās great to see so many people render judgments knowing so little.
Here is some pedantry and nit picking for you: Jesse Jackson lost all credibility with me when I learned about his stunt of appearing in public after rubbing the fresh blood of Martin Luther King all over his shirt. Oh, and referring to New York City as Hymie-town. Oh, and that delightful live-mike event saying heād ālike to cut Obamaās nuts offā; a particularly heart-warming reference to a work-force management technique practiced during the 400 years of slavery in North America. I donāt mean to be pedantic (YES, I DO!), but the man is a manipulative attention whore. Almost as nauseating as Al Sharpton.
Hyperbole never helps any situation particularly an inflamed one. I wish people would think twice before uttering that 30 seconds soundbite.
1 Like
This is exactly the kind of asshole statement that detracts from the seriousness of this tragedy. This is exactly the type of sound bite that Republicans use to further their racist agenda. Jesse Jackson is one of the best tools the conservatives have to make the great mass of uninformed and misinformed (FOX watchers) Americans question civil rights related events.
Itās a little premature to call it such, but that never stopped the Rhyminā Man before from saying something inflammatory:
1 Like
They allowed the Rev to appear on Politico and pick up an appearance fee.
Calling it a state execution is counterproductive IMO.
The act was murder from where I stand.
Calling it otherwise chums the water of public opinion.
jw1
2 Likes
The Ferguson police chief deliberately provoked a riot. He deliberately caused more tension and made things worse out of spite.
Chief Jackson didnāt want to release the name of his officer that was involved in the shooting. So when he was forced to do so by other authorities in the state, he made a deliberate decision to release information that was not pertinent to the investigation of the shooting. His only motive was to smear the memory of the victim to divert attention from the actions of his own officer knowing it would set off more violenceā¦and taint the jury pool of the eventual trial.
It is clear that Chief Jackson is not a professional law enforcement officer. Heās a brute who enjoys manipulating others. His primary goal as head of the Ferguson police department is to keep the black residents āin their placeā not to protect and service the entire community. His police force follows his lead. He must be fired.
Letās see if the Ferguson City Council has the guts to end this stand off by doing the right thing.
As they and everyone else in the St. Louis County political structure seem afraid to stand up against this small town tyrant, the young people there feel compelled to continue their protests on the streets.
When there is injustice and youthful hormones at work, there will be confrontations. Chief Jackson knows it and obviously revels in how he can make it worse. How much longer and how much worse this can get is yet to be seen.
If only these kids could be made to see that they have to register to vote and do it in every municipal as well as national election, they would have the power they donāt have now.
Jesse Jackson has told them this before, but they no longer believe their vote counts (if they even are allowed to vote with all the new voter suppression laws) anymore than the Bill of Rights in the Constitution pertains to them.
Chief Jackson has poisoned the well and he slept one happy man last night as the looting began again. This situation is a travesty for our Republic.
4 Likes
Jesse Jackson is a shameless grifter. His words and actions are a combined cluster of hypocricy.
Iām afraid itās much worse than a state execution, as the victim was denied due process.
I think some of yāall are too hard on Jackson (and Sharpton, who Iāll lump in here since so many others consider them to be a single unit), but I do agree that this wasnāt the most effective thing to say. Iād rather he point out that even if everything the police are claiming is true, the victim would not have been eligible for capital punishment, and even if he did do something really violent (like taking an officerās gun and attempting to use it against him), he still had his right to due process violated.
Thatās a more compelling argument in my opinion.
Also, thereās this: I didnāt read or watch the entire interview. We kind of accept it as gospel when TPM selects a single quote as a summarization of an interview.
2 Likes
That is the long term solution. Register Ferguson folks to vote and turn them out for the mayoral and council elections. This is extremely bad governance by this bunch of incompetent white folks. I see them as incompetent and stupid instead of actively evil.
2 Likes