We have a very sad situation out in the St. Louis area. But it is a situation that should never have come about. We have come up with a new term in this country and it applies here. It is called “race baiting.”
A white officer shot a black boy. No one waited to see if the shooting was justified or not. Rather they all starting yelling it was another injustice like Trevon Martin. So they rioted and robbed businesses in the name of justice.
There was a murder in Savannah, Ga. where two black kids shot and killed a 15-month-old white baby because their white mother didn’t have enough money to make them happy when they robbed her. Nowhere in the entire United States did one single black person stand up and say that was a bad thing to do. Not one single black anywhere.
Then you had the two black kids who beat a white WWII veteran to death in a parking lot in Seattle so they could rob him. Nowhere in the entire United States did one single black person speak against that act.
Since Monday morning until Sunday of this week, over 800 blacks in this country will die at the hands of other blacks. But nowhere in this country do you see a black demonstrating against that. And it is kind of strange that they continue to bring up Trevon Martin when the court case made it quite clear that Martin got exactly what he deserved. Eric Holder in his infinite wisdom said the police should not be using military gear against his blacks. What does Mr. Holder want the police to do. Stand up against the blacks with small little revolvers while the blacks come at them with AK 47 and AR 15s?
I can’t go to Chicago, Washington DC, Memphis, New Orleans, etc. etc. etc. because the black people are out of control. More than one city in our country has a district they call the “killing fields.” And it is always because of the black gangs. That is just not the way a civilized people would act. Black people are not holding up their end of the bargain.
Tom Nickell
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The opinion expressed is so wrong that I scarcely know where to begin.
1. What "bargain"? We are American citizens. What "bargaining" is required? Our citizenship and person hood is not "conditional."
2. Nothing justifies a near war-like intervention and occupation as was enacted.
3. Why does a small town need that level of police presence anyway? Huge waste of taxpayer funds and police training.
4. The young man may have been summarily executed by the police officer for no good reason other than race. At minimum, multiple shots? Why?
5. Some "bargain." That's insulting.
Christopher Mobley
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Mr. Nickell, I've read a few eloquently written rants here and elsewhere. Yours is not one of them. As a white person, you in no way speak for me. Your base generalization and demonization of an entire race belongs to a less enlightened time.
Regarding the beating of a veteran you say, "Nowhere in the entire United States did one single black person speak against that act." Nowhere? Not one single black person? I have to ask, how would you know what the "blacks" think about that act or countless others?
Sitting in a bunker watching cable news is not a substitute for reality. You understand less than you think you do. In such cases, it is usually best to hold one's tongue and throw no stones.
Will Taylor
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Mr. Nickell provided examples of crimes committed by blacks but he failed to mention the fact the offenders were arrested and will or have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The difference in the Michael Brown murder is that most of the details were withheld including the statement from the officer.
He goes further to make generalization about black people, crimes in certain cities but fails to mention that America has sections that all colors can't frequent.
What is the bargain? Blacks as well as many other nationalities have done a lot in support of this country.
Clovis Calloway
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Mr. Nickell,
I agree with you that it's horrible, the riots and the looting. That's about as far as I can go with my agreement because to paint one group with such a broad brush is, in my opinion, a bigger mistake. I am a white, female senior citizen and while I've received some discrimination in my long lifetime I cannot even begin to understand what it's like to be a minority.
I hate to make the statement "some of my best friends are black," so I'm just going to say I have several friends that aren't white and are truly wonderful people. If you think they are pleased with the gangs and the terror that goes along with gang mentality then you are sadly mistaken. If you truly believe they are "happy or content" when something happens to paint them all into a corner you are again wrong, they hate it more than the white community...it's a pox on their house and they can't control it anymore than local authorities can.
What is the answer? I truly don't know, there are leaders on both sides that are fighting this battle behind the lines. They are trying to bring the community together and it's simply not going to happen overnight. I'm as confused as you are on why someone would destroy their own community, my thoughts are outsiders come in and stoke the fires. No one in their right mind wants to destroy the corner market that makes their lives a bit easier. Those outsiders? They could care less about the community they've infiltrated and I'm sure there are those within the city limits that allow anger to take over where common sense and patience could prevail.
If you want to fault anyone, fault those idiots that only see racial divide as a way to make more money for themselves and take advantage of people that have always had a peaceful co-existence. This battle has been going on since I was a small child, perhaps the tactics we use should finally be stopped and something new be introduced?
Sue White
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Since Mr. Mobley was the only black person to respond, I will ignore the liberal white guilt letters and just respond to his.
First of all, the “bargain” of which we speak is the same “bargain” everyone else in this country has with the government. Before you go completely nuts, you should wait to see if the police and officials are going to investigate properly. The black people in Ferguson did not wait, they just went nuts.
To say you are insulted to follow the same “bargain” that white people have with the government means you want something different. What do you want more or different than everyone else?
The other statement that “the young man was summarily executed” is just absurd. It was probably just aggressive behavior of that boy and overreaction of the officer. There is just as good as chance that the 6’4”, 285 pound “boy” who was fleeing after committing a strong arm robbery attacked the officer. The individual was not Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. No one knows what happened but "summarily executing" him is the least likely of possibilities. These rioters should have known more before they started being unlawful.
As far as “war-like” intervention…I would say that it was a response to war-like behavior. Shooting and throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails is not exactly a peaceful protest. If it weren't for groups like the New Black Panther party and other people like Al Sharpton, the protests might have been peaceful.
If there is going to be a conversation about race, it is not going to be just black people yelling, complaining, and calling people racist. A conversation is between two parties. That means that whites might just have a few gripes of their own. What about the fact that blacks out of wedlock birth rate is twice that of whites? How about the fact that blacks are 20 percent of the population but responsible for 50 percent of the crime? Maybe we should look at the fact that we have spent billions and billions of dollars on anti-poverty campaigns that were disproportionally helping blacks over any other group and still have the same problem we started with? Also, what about the fact that only a handful of blacks even acknowledge these problems or the fact that over 95 percent of black murders are committed by other blacks?
I know, I know,….I am a racist for reading statistics.
The bottom line is that if blacks want respect, then why don’t you address those problems by criticizing your own people. When a cop is in a black area with a high crime rate, who do you think that he will be suspicious of? Would it be a young black guy or a white man in a business suit? This immature, thuggish behavior helps no one. Clean up your own act before you go preaching to me about mine. Black people should have waited until the facts came out before going nuts.
Tim Price
Hixson
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I am a scientist, and statistics are my livelihood. As important and useful as statistics can be, they are useless without examining the causes. To dismiss an entire race of people over a handful of numbers, whether or not they are real, without consideration of social, economic, psychological and numerous other factors - with total disregard of the helplessness, hopelessness, desperation, and alienation they are made to feel - is despicable.
To paraphrase a quote - An ignorant person uses statistics like a drunk uses a lamppost: For support, not illumination.
Ray Ingraham
Soddy Daisy