The Wow I Can't Believe That News Story Thread

[Soulflower]

Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth

he instigated an altercation but there is a difference between instigating and getting physical. it is legal to be a stalkerish *******. not recommended and not good manners, but legal.

But my point is that does not fit the description of "self defense" so why are you calling it that?

[John Wilkes Booth]

it does fit the description. the court already ruled on that and most honest lawyers will tell you they got it right. he brought it on himself but once trayvon started physically attacking him he still had the right to defend himself.

[Soulflower]

In the past, our American leaders have always argued morality, equality over "legality," yet when it comes to African Americans this principle suddenly does not exist.

This is what this verdict highlights.

[John Wilkes Booth]

i'm not sure about that, but at the end of the day legality is the only thing that matters in court.

and the media will pick up on stories like this specifically because of the racial element and turn it into a huge us vs them issue where everyone gets all riled up. there was a very similar incident in florida when i was a kid where a white kid got shot on halloween for knocking on someone's door and running away. castle law says you have the right to defend your property and the homeowner mistook the kid as a robber/threat. it made a little buzz locally but never went national cause there was no racial aspect of it for the media to exploit.

[Psy-Fi]

Originally Posted by Soulflower

Get educated.

Like I said earlier, you won't be able to post a single reliable statistic to prove your statement that millions of black males have been murdered by the police in the USA.

There's nothing in that list that has any bearing on your statement.

The first item on that list does, however, corroborate my statement that the overwhelming majority of black murder victims in the USA are murdered by other blacks (94% from 1976 to 2005) according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

[Soulflower]

Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth

i'm not sure about that, but at the end of the day legality is the only thing that matters in court.

and the media will pick up on stories like this specifically because of the racial element and turn it into a huge us vs them issue where everyone gets all riled up. there was a very similar incident in florida when i was a kid where a white kid got shot on halloween for knocking on someone's door and running away. castle law says you have the right to defend your property and the homeowner mistook the kid as a robber/threat. it made a little buzz locally but never went national cause there was no racial aspect of it for the media to exploit.

I am sorry but you are naive if you don't think this has to do with race!


If Trayvon was a white male it would have been a different verdict

[John Wilkes Booth]

i just gave you an example of a verdict where it was a white male. you are in denial.

[The Batlord]

Originally Posted by James

Well, yeah I suppose. Would have stopped this all in its tracks if there weren't any guns. I feel this verdict really highlights a great number of issues though.

But they didn't have guns. That's the point. And there are three hundred million people in this country. There are going to be bad things that happen in a country with this many people, and with a media that likes to take single incidents that have some kind of hook that they can sensationalize, it's easy to make America look like a shooting gallery.

Honestly, whatever the statistics for gun violence, I'd rather live in a permissive society that didn't decide my ability to defend myself based on graphs and pie charts. Just because I'm more likely to shoot someone who actually lives in my house doesn't mean I like the idea of not even having the option if my home is invaded.

[Soulflower]

Originally Posted by Psy-Fi

Like I said earlier, you won't be able to post a single reliable statistic to prove your statement that millions of black males have been murdered by the police in the USA.

There's nothing in that list that has any bearing on your statement.

The first item on that list does, however, corroborate my statement that the overwhelming majority of black murder victims in the USA are murdered by other blacks (94% from 1976 to 2005) according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

I never refuted your claim but that still does not change the fact that African American males are unfairly targeted by police.

Report: Black Male Teens Are 21 Times More Likely To Be Killed By Cops Than White Ones

Report: Black Male Teens Are 21 Times More Likely To Be Killed By Cops Than White Ones | ThinkProgress

[Soulflower]

Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth

i just gave you an example of a verdict where it was a white male. you are in denial.

It still does not change the fact that more blacks are targeted and murdered by police than whites.

You can gloss and sugar coat it, I am not going too.

It IS an issue!