I don't know if I should write this (Probably not)

CannonFire ^ | November 26, 2014 | Joseph Cannon

[2ndDivisionVet]

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)

What to write? What to write? I spent all day yesterday trying to think of the right way to respond to the injustices of Ferguson. Anyone unfortunate enough to get within listening distance heard some pretty brutal words -- the kind of words which, if published, might have gotten me into trouble.

The following may seem intemperate. Those around me have heard worse.

While downtown Baltimore yesterday, I talked to an older black guy who derided the rioters in Ferguson. He recalled the riots of April 1968, which destroyed a sector of this city which has never been properly rebuilt. (One of those areas surrounds the cemetery where the fetid cadaver of Allen Dulles lies not far away from the corpse of John Wilkes Booth.) "Rioting never solves anything," he said. Maybe he was right, but I still didn't want to hear it.

Some thoughts:

1. White people -- on teevee and elsewhere -- keep repeating that Michael Brown "charged" the officer's car. McCulloch clearly stated that there was conflicting testimony on this score. The fact that so many white people use that term unthinkingly proves their racism.

I'm sorry, but the R word is justified in this instance. You cannot presume from the outset a point of questioned testimony that should have been determined at trial. Racists consider testimony "credible" only when it buttresses their preconcieved notions -- and we have to ask ourselves why these racist pundits fear cross-examination of those whose testimony fits their preferred narrative.

2. A man in a car (especially a heavy vehicle like police cruiser) never -- NEVER -- has anything to fear from a single unarmed individual. That's what the gas pedal is for.

Well, to be fair: If the car is out of gas or trapped between two other cars, the driver may have reason to fear. But Officer Wilson was not in that situation. He could have scooted out of the way and, if need be, called for back-up.

3. McCulloch kept repeating that the Grand Jury made its decision based on physical evidence. It is clear now that this decision was based primarily on Darren Wilson's testimony.

4. McCulloch could have gotten an indictment if he wanted one. As the commonly-heard saying has it, a DA can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. A grand jury was convened purely to allow McCulloch to blame others for his decision.

5. As a reader of this blog put it: "Differing accounts of what happened huh? That's USUALLY why they have trials." Those twelve words sum up this entire post. If we allowed trials to occur only when all witnesses agree, we'd have a lot fewer trials.

6. Wilson's testimony seems to have been a prime example of what the cops in L.A. call "testi-lying." See video above.

7. Why should we trust what the police call "physical evidence"? Why should we trust their testimony? The cops -- in that town and in other towns -- have been running a racket, using poor working people as a cash register. Check out the revealing words about forfeiture in Ferguson's budget (pdf)). And check out this piece. Even the NYT has published an uncharacteristically hip article.

At trial, a clever attorney could have reminded the jury of the many things the cops have done to earn the community's mistrust and hatred.

Frankly, that's the kind of spectacle I long to see.

I would love to see juries automatically presume that the cops are lying in every single case. Not one syllable cops say should be trusted. If a cop says "He wore a blue jacket," presume that the jacket was some other color -- even if you have a photo proving that the jacket was blue.

More than that. Jurors and other citizens should do everything possible to make the lives of cops miserable. A cop's kid should be spat on every single day he goes to school. Cops should wake up to see paint buckets emptied on their cars. Why? Here's why. And here's why.

Keep treating cops like garbage until cops stop acting like garbage. And a hearty {EXPLETIVE} YOU to any thuggish cop who boo-hoo-hoos about being hated by the very people he is trying to serve when he's out there every day putting his life on the line yada yada yada. Cops are hated for good reason, as you can see here.

For the average citizen, the police are worse than the mafia. Until the cops stop functioning as a hyper-mafia, they should be treated the same way the heroic Vietnamese treated French and American soldiers.

I used to have a great respect for policemen. Seriously. I was taught from an early age to revere those guys, and I would love nothing more than to return to that attitude. But damn it, there have been too many stories like this one. And this one. And this one. And this one. And this one.

Cops need to be taught a lesson, and that lesson is this: Actions have consequences. If cops have become robbers -- as indeed they have -- well, they chose that course, and now they must take the consequences.

8. Let's not blame "outside agitators" for the Ferguson riot. Come on: Nobody takes the Revolutionary Communist Party seriously. They're clowns. Frankly, I've always thought that Bob Avakian worked for the feds. The RCP was Ronald Reagan's best recruiting tool on the UCLA campus, back when I was a student there. As for Al Sharpton: He definitely worked for Uncle.

The real "outside agitators" in Ferguson are the cops. The robbing, thieving, ultra-corrupt cops.

9. If a guy like McCulloch recommends peaceful protest -- well, what more evidence do you need? Obviously, peaceful protest is useless. Peaceful protest is what the Establishment wants you to do. (Yeah, I said it: The Establishment. Time for that useful term to come back into circulation.) The Establishment considers protest to be part of the system -- a way for the oppressed to blow off steam.

No.

Do not waste your time with protest. Rebel.

Each of you will have to work out the specifics of how to rebel, although the words written above may suggest an idea or two. But the following two pieces of advice may be of some help.

First, history tells us that the most effective forms of rebellion are planned events, done in cold blood.

Second, being a rebel is like being a boxer: You don't win if you hurt yourself. You have to hurt the other guy.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Laff riot.

[Jim Robinson]

A racist drones on and on and on trying to prove racism when he has no case.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Notice that he also loves the Vietnamese communists?

[Dr. Sivana]

2. A man in a car (especially a heavy vehicle like police cruiser) never -- NEVER -- has anything to fear from a single unarmed individual. That's what the gas pedal is for.

Tractor-trailers are REALLY heavy, so Reginald Denny (sp?) must have been EXTRA safe. The gas pedal, huh? You want the policeman to go all "Bonfore of the Vanities" on him? It doesn't work out any better.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

In before the zot. Anyone who thinks like this would be hung should I become the reincarnation of Genhis Khan. Publicly.

[skeeter]

No need to worry about the guy who wrote this stream of idiocy - he’s clearly too stupid to be a danger to anyone other than himself.

[dfwgator]

Opinions are like a-holes, everybody’s got one.

[BunnySlippers]

He says it’s easy for a prosecutor to get an indictment. I understand it is NOT easy given that Darren Wilson was LE and the perp tried to get his gun.

This guy is full of it.

[rockrr]

I won’t even attempt to correct any of his errors. Suffice to say that it is foolish to try to reason one out of a position they weren’t reasoned into in the first place.

The author will doggedly hold those flawed and idiotic POV until hell itself freezes over. I don’t care (as long as he doesn’t try to enforce any of his nonsense on me or mine).

He’s in for a very unhappy life.

[outpostinmass2]

“Racists consider testimony “credible” only when it buttresses their preconcieved notions”

I guess all the protesters are racist using your logic.

[knarf]

I am racist ... not A racist ... just racist ... and I could never come to the conclusions you have

[Enten]

Let’s just make the police departments a division of Welcome Wagon International (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Wagon). That will make these groups happy. sarc

[outpostinmass2]

“But Officer Wilson was not in that situation. He could have scooted out of the way and, if need be, called for back-up. “

A police officer has a job to do. He cannot run away from trouble.

[Jeff Head]

This person has drunk the Kool-Aid

Decades of indoctrination, propaganda, false narratives and history, and hand outs have purchased most of these poor folks hearts and souls.

Almost no amount of evidence...no logic...no truth will cut through their programming.

But we should try...while at the same time making unambiguously clear that their entitlement attitude, their desire for some kind of endless reparations for things that the ancestors of the people they demand things from shed a river of blood to end...is simply not going to be tolerated or accepted.

Everyone of them should have to read the following article and then sit down and discuss what their race pimps like Marion Barry, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama, etc. have actually been doing to them and their families.

Black and Latino Americans: WAKE UP!

"The over-riding segments of the population that enabled Barack Obama's victory in 2012 were the Black vote (who voted for him by over 90%) and the Latino vote (who voted for him by over 70%).

"And they did so, absolutely against their own best interest.

"Oh, in the short term it can certainly be argued that Obama's campaign of "social justice," and equalizing the playing field from his perspective...which perspective is a socialist, redistribution of wealth perspective at best, and a Marxist perspective at worst, is appealing to voters who find themselves as a group the most negatively impacted in terms of employment, family stability, poverty, and crime rates in the nation, and particularly during this long standing economic down turn.

"When a politician promises specifically to "right these wrongs," and to give these voting blocks "stuff," be it contraceptives, food stamps, a portion of other people's income, free school loans, easier housing, etc., etc. one can see why people would be tempted to vote for them. And make no mistake, that is exactly what the progressive left is doing, as they have done for decades. Dangling entitlements and free "stuff," in front of people in an effort to buy their vote.

"But everything has a cost...as we shall see...and the cost is horrific for those whose life styles, livelihoods, and social positioning are adversely impacted.

"Despite it being hard to look beyond the entitlements and hand-outs, it is all the more important to examine the record of the politicians promising such things. Perhaps they do so to hide their actual record. What they have actually done (or not done) for these constituencies, is a critical determination to make before making a decision as to who should lead this nation and address its economic and social problems.

"This nation spends over a trillion dollars on welfare every year. Since the inception of the "Great Society" under Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s, this nation has spent tens of trillions of dollars at the behest of the progressive left to try and "equalize," things by "giving" away money, perks, food stamps, house loans, school loans, etc., etc.

"Have things improved?

"No, they have not.

"By abandoning the time honored and proven methods of hard work, personal accountability and responsibility, advancement due to merit, and the natural competiveness and reward of the free market, these socialist policies have failed...and are failing here in the United States, and failing miserably...just like they have everywhere else on earth they have been attempted." "

It goes on to share the demographic and statistical data in detail.

Every American should see it...and particularly Black and Latino Americans. The facts do not lie.

[Cincinatus]

I don't know if I should write this (Probably not)

Let this piece be a lesson to all writers -- listen to that little, inner voice in your brain. It's usually correct.

[ßuddaßudd]

wow

[Hulka]

In this case. . .heck yeah!!!

[will of the people]

well- i'm stupid enough to reply to this
when the story first broke- i was hard pressed to defend a police officer shooting an unarmed man multiple times
like many americans, i am concerned at the militarization and thuggish behavior of those who in my youth were expected to protect and serve
i have seen the rise of large bulky less that high intelligent men being recruited onto police forces
i do not think this is accidental
here's my upshot on the ferguson case
do i think wilson may have massaged the story in some ways- either to justify his actions or to relieve questions in his mind- very very possibley
but it's very hard for me to believe that blood inside the car got there in a way consistent with a defensible story for mr brown
it's very hard for me to understand fingerprints on the gun belonging to mr brown having gotten there in any innocent way
i cannot see how there could be a reasonable conclusion that there is enough evidence to prosecute this case
having said that- the thuggish behavior of police officers must be stopped- and if i as a white man feel that, i can only imagine that black men do as well will wallace

[BlackAdderess]

That is deeply disturbing. I particularly would point out number 8, which roughly should translate to: let’s not blame the people from the outside who come into your community, burn your small businesses, and make your entire city look like a war zone, only to go back to their own houses once the festivities are over. They are all an illusion, or a joke, woo.

[ctdonath2]

“4. McCulloch could have gotten an indictment if he wanted one. As the commonly-heard saying has it, a DA can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.”

Sure, a decent prosecutor could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.
BUT ... then he’d have to prosecute that ham sandwich, wrecking his career in the process.

Yes, McCulloch could have gotten Wilson indicted. But then he’d have to prosecute him - and given the evidence seen, that prosecution would fail miserably, wrecking his career in the process.
Yes, it’s entirely possible that McCulloch used the GJ to derail the case - because there wasn’t a viable case. His other options were either not pursuing the issue at all (for which he would be destroyed in the court of public opinion), or go straight to trial (for which he would be destroyed in the court of law); taking it to the GJ was a way to publicize the evidence and get a jury to formally agree there was no viable case.